Blogs

A thermal infrared image of orchard water levels

Drones: The Citrus Industry’s New Beauty Secret

In the future, farmers will use unmanned drones to improve the appearance of their crops

A growing number of clocks automatically synchronize with a radio signal and don't have to be adjusted for Daylight Saving Time. How do they work?

How Do Some Clocks Set Themselves?

With Daylight Saving Time set to start, take a look inside the radio-controlled clocks that adjust automatically

Microraptor, covered in iridescent plumage

Microraptor Was a Glossy Dinosaur

The feathered, four-winged dinosaur had a glorious sheen

Will we see an artificial version?

Building a Human Brain

Could supercomputers create an artificial brain that can learn new behavior and develop cognitive skills? Some scientists say not if, but when

Laboratory technician injects tomatoes on the "factory farm" of the future (1961)

Super-Sized Food of the Future

How do you eat an eight-foot-long ear of corn?

A reconstruction of a new fossil beluga relative, described by Smithsonian scientists, is in the foreground. Its living relatives, the beluga and narwhal, are illustrated left to right in the background. Coloration of the extinct whale is speculative.

Behind-the-Scenes With Curator Nick Pyenson: A New Fossil Whale

Around the Smithsonian, routine work can often reap scientific discovery

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Underwood’s Deviled Ham: The Oldest Trademark Still in Use

The 1870 trademark was for "Deviled Entremets"—"Intended for Sandwiches, Luncheons, and Traveler's Repasts"

A medium-size solar flare with a coronal mass ejection, captured by the Solar Dynamics Observatory on June 7, 2011

Could The Sun Set Off The Next Big Natural Disaster?

A new study finds that a strong solar storm could disable satellites for a decade

17,000 feet

More Great Walks of the World

Which hikes are the best in the world, and which ones did we miss?

Black Lobster and the Birth of Canning

The canning innovation left another lasting impression: Foods are safe only when sterilized

Grapefruit and grapefruit juice can adversely interact with certain medications.

Why Does Grapefruit Mess With Your Medicine?

The juicy fruit can cause negative side effects with a number of prescription and over-the-counter medicines

Why is the horse so important to Native American tribes? Find out this weekend.

Weekend Events March 9-11: John Carter, Make Your Own Mud Cloth, and A Song for the Horse Nation

A crowd of 250,000 jammed Times Square to see the start of the race.

Paris or Bust: The Great New York-to-Paris Auto Race of 1908

Even before there were roads, there were men who wanted to drive fast

Julia Roberts and Lily Collins star in Relativity Media's Mirror Mirror

Which is the Fairest Snow White of Them All?

With two big-screen adaptations about to arrive, here are earlier versions of the fairy tale that you might want to see

How much of your information is shared online?

Somebody’s Tracking You

Technology now allows companies to follow your behavior on the Web and customize ads for you based on that data. When does that become invasion of privacy?

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Why We Have Sliced Bread

"Here is a refinement that will receive a hearty and permanent welcome," a reporter wrote of the best thing to hit grocery store shelves

Newlyweds Scott and Amanda Peters inside the mouth of Cabazon Dino Park's Tyrannosaurus.

Dinosaur Sighting: The Most Dangerous Place for a Wedding

Two dinosaur fans decided to get married inside one of the world's most famous roadside dinosaurs

The book reader of the future

The iPad of 1935

Yep, there was an app for that

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Who Is Linda Tatersmith?

If flashy package design lure people into eating factory-extruded chemical slurries, why shouldn’t it work to trick food addicts into eating vegetables?

This gazelle-shaped wine horn, on view at the Sackler Gallery, was used to impress guests at elaborate Iranian feasts.

What Was It Like to Dine with the Persian Kings?

For the 25th anniversary of the Sackler Gallery, elaborately crafted Iranian metalwork from Arthur Sackler's original gift are now on display

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