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How Many Ways Can Snake Venom Kill You and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

His teeming canvases were like a “browser window with lots of different tabs open,” says Nairne.

Jean-Michel Basquiat's Artwork Is Appreciated Now More Than Ever

Decades later, Jean-Michel Basquiat’s complex works are increasingly prescient—and valuable

Scott Kelly upon his return to Earth.

Scott Kelly's Journey Home After His Year in Space

America’s longest-orbiting astronaut describes his rocky return to Earth in this adaptation from his book 'Endurance'

A painting of Franklin’s return to Philadelphia from Europe in 1785 shows him flanked by his son-in-law (in red), his daughter and Benjamin Bache (in blue), the grandson he’d taken to France as a sort of surrogate son.

Secrets of American History

What Led Benjamin Franklin to Live Estranged From His Wife for Nearly Two Decades?

A stunning new theory suggests that a debate over the failed treatment of their son's smallpox was the culprit

Esperanza Spalding’s Pop Culture Loves

She may not own a television, but the Grammy-award winning musician definitely has her favorite books and films

Thirty million TV viewers watched Fonzie water-ski while wearing his leather jacket.

Why 'Happy Days' — and the Fonz — Never Truly 'Jumped the Shark'

The Fonz was the epitome of ’50s chill on TV’s family-friendly “Happy Days.” And then he went over the top

Unionville today: The photographer used a process called intaglio printing to give her pictures an antique appearance.

Secrets of American History

After the Civil War, African-American Veterans Created a Home of Their Own: Unionville

One-hundred-fifty years later, the Maryland town remains a bastion of resilience and a front line in the battle over Confederate monuments

Chick Parsons (center and top) was the toast of prewar Manila, a convivial, polo-playing expat businessman with an eagle tattooed across his chest.

Secrets of American History

Without Chick Parsons, General MacArthur May Never Have Made His Famed Return to the Philippines

The full story of the American ex-pat's daring feats has not been told—until now

The Homefront During the Vietnam War, As Told By One Captivating Photo

In an indelible picture taken 50 years ago, one family faces a loss in Vietnam

Carefree, reckless, flappers seemed to enjoy living on the edge, like these atop Chicago’s Sherman Hotel.

History of Now

Flappers Took the Country by Storm, But Did They Ever Truly Go Away

Women of the Roaring Twenties had a lot in common with today's millennials

Benjamin Lay said he was “illiterate,” but his antislavery arguments were erudite. This portrait, commissioned by Lay’s friend Benjamin Franklin, shows him with a book.

Secrets of American History

The "Quaker Comet" Was the Greatest Abolitionist You've Never Heard Of

Overlooked by historians, Benjamin Lay was one of the nation's first radicals to argue for an end to slavery

The aftermath of the explosion.

A Newly Discovered Diary Tells the Harrowing Story of the Deadly Halifax Explosion

On the eve of the disaster’s centennial, a sailor’s 1917 journal details a rare eyewitness account of the massive harbor blast

Moby Dick (1956), Antonio Fernández Reboiro
, Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos (ICAIC), 1968


The Cuban Government Brought New Life to Hollywood Movies With These Vivid Posters

The U.S. embargo didn’t keep Cubans from watching movies they loved

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Ask Smithsonian 2017

Do Other Animals Have Baby Teeth and More Questions From Our Readers

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A skull believed to have belonged to a companion of St. Ursula. The bones of other saints are said to lie under the gemstones and gold fabric.

Portraits of Faith

A Pittsburgh Church Holds the Greatest Collection of Relics Outside of the Vatican

Behold the treasures of this tiny neighborhood church

It is not uncommon for highlands churches to be situated within caves. Mekina Medhane Alem, built of wood and layered stone, contains 800-year-old paintings but is believed to be centuries older.

Portraits of Faith

A Legendary Photographer Visits an Isolated Christian Community in Ethiopia

High in the mountains of eastern Africa, an ancient way of life continues apace

Vodou adherents, or Vodouisants, also call their faith sevis lwa, or “service to the spirits.”

Portraits of Faith

Explore the Timeless World of Vodou, Deep Within the Caves of Haiti

Photographer Troi Anderson captures the religion that has been misunderstood for centuries

Portraits of Faith

Portraits of Faith

In a world changing faster than ever, the enduring appeal of religious tradition shines in these photographs

Elizabeth Streb’s troupe is part of a new wave of circus performers. “The drama is in danger,” says Streb. “I’m trying to make people wonder, What’s going to happen next?”

Step Right Up! See the Reinvention of the Great American Circus!

As Ringling Bros. packs up its tent for good, all sorts of newfangled spectacles have sprung up to take its place

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