Smart News

Merriam-Webster has been printing English dictionaries since 1831.

'Polarization' Is Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year for 2024

The winning word beat out finalists such as "demure," "pander," "totality," "fortnight," "allision" and "democracy"

Caravaggio painted Portrait of Monsignor Maffeo Barberini in the early 1600s.

A Rare Caravaggio Portrait Was Hidden Away for Years. Now, Visitors Can See It in Person for the First Time

The 17th-century painting, which may depict a young Pope Urban VIII, wasn't officially attributed to the renowned Baroque artist until the 1960s

The Stegosaurus named Apex is on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.

You Can Now See Apex, the World's Most Expensive Dinosaur Fossil, on Display at a New York City Museum

The largest and most complete Stegosaurus specimen sold for a record-setting price in July, and it is currently on loan to the American Museum of Natural History for four years

While roughly three dozen of the stolen coins have been recovered, 13 are still at large.

A Trove of Gold Coins Stolen From 300-Year-Old Florida Shipwrecks Has Been Recovered by Investigators

Contracted divers found 101 gold coins from the wreckage of a Spanish fleet in 2015, but they only reported 51 to authorities. Now, 37 of the stolen coins have been found

Smithsonian magazine’s top science titles this year.

The Ten Best Science Books of 2024

From a deep dive on a fatal space shuttle disaster to a study of a dozen iconic trees, these are our favorite titles this year

An illustration of the Westminster semaphore from the January 16, 1869, issue of the Illustrated Times

On This Day in History

Chaotic Traffic From Horse-Drawn Carriages Inspired the World's First Traffic Lights

Initial reactions to the signal, installed in London on this day in 1868, were mixed. Then, a freak accident scrapped the project entirely after just a month

A worker sews a costume at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in 2021 in Stratford-upon-Avon, England.

On This Day in History

A Woman Appeared on the English Stage for the First Time on This Day in 1660, Transforming the World of Theater Forever

Despite this historic first, the identity of the first professional English actress on stage remains a theatrical mystery

A photo of the 124th Army-Navy Game, which was held on December 9, 2023

On This Day in History

When Instant Replay Debuted During the Broadcast of a College Football Game in 1963, It Revolutionized the Way We Watch Sports

Piloting the new technology was a risky move in front of the national audience that watched the Army-Navy showdown on this day in 1963

A sonar image taken on November 1 shows a rock formation.

Researchers Thought They Found Amelia Earhart's Missing Plane. It Turned Out to Be a Plane-Shaped Pile of Rocks

Months after capturing a promising sonar image, they learned that the blurry object was nothing more than a rock formation that resembled the aviator's Lockheed 10-E Electra aircraft

The Orion spacecraft during the fifth day of the Artemis 1 mission on Nov 20, 2022

NASA Pushes Back America's Return to the Moon to 2027, With the Next Artemis Program Flight Slated for 2026

The space agency's decision comes after an investigation into the Orion spacecraft's heat shield, which suffered damage during the Artemis 1 test mission in 2022

Hawaiian crows, or ʻalalā, are intelligent birds that play an important role in Hawaiian culture. (This is not one of the five individuals taking part in the pilot release on Maui.)

Scientists Release Five Hawaiian Crows on Maui, Giving the Imperiled Birds a Second Chance—on a New Island

Only about 110 individuals of the species, called ʻalalā, are left in the world, making them the most endangered crows on Earth

Known as the Joachim-Ma Stradivarius, the violin was once owned by the renowned Hungarian musician Joseph Joachim.

This 300-Year-Old Stradivarius Violin Could Become the Most Expensive Musical Instrument Ever Sold at Auction

Crafted by the renowned violin maker Antonio Stradivari in 1714, the rare instrument is expected to sell for between $12 million and $18 million

An annual event for more than 50 years, the Albuquerque International Balloon Festival has grown to become the largest in the United States.

Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries

Brighten Your Day With These 15 Photos of Beautiful Balloons From Around the World

Lift your spirits with these airy images from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest

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The Ten Best Books About Travel of 2024

These top titles of the year whisk readers away on adventures and remind us of the many wonders in this world

Corfe Castle as seen from the main bridge

Visitors Can See the View From Henry I's Tower at Corfe Castle for the First Time in Nearly Four Centuries

Located in southern England, the king's quarters haven't been open to the public since the castle's destruction during the English Civil War in the 1640s

Bust of Nefertiti in Neues Museum, Berlin

On This Day in History

German Archaeologists Discovered the Iconic Bust of Nefertiti in an Ancient Egyptian Sculptor’s Studio. Find Out Why Their Discovery Is Now One of Archaeology’s Most Controversial

For over a century, ever since the bust was found on this day in 1912, the world has debated who should rightfully own this work of timeless beauty

Pantone is betting that Mocha Mousse will reflect next year's trends.

Trending Today

What Is Mocha Mousse, the First-Ever Shade of Brown Chosen as Pantone's Color of the Year?

The 2025 hue is an "evocative soft brown" that was selected to suggest the rich flavor of a piece of chocolate or a cup of hot coffee

New England Aquarium staff treat a cold-stunned sea turtle.

Hundreds of Sea Turtles With Hypothermia Are Washing Up in Cape Cod, Cold-Stunned as Temperatures Drop

New England Aquarium staff and volunteers are treating the reptiles, which have gotten trapped after venturing north earlier in the year. Experts say climate change is leading more turtles to get stranded in the bay

The hunting pod is led by Moctezuma, an adult male, named after an Aztec emperor.

New Research

A Pod of Orcas Learned to Target and Feast on Whale Sharks, the Largest Fish in the Sea

Photos and videos of the apex predators reveal how they engage in coordinated hunts in Mexican waters to take down juvenile whale sharks

The hand ax, seen here beside a 20-pence coin, is between 40,000 and 60,000 years old.

Cool Finds

A Little Boy Found a Strange Stone on the Beach. Archaeologists Told Him It Was a Neanderthal's Hand Ax

The artifact is now on display at a museum in southern England. Experts say the find is "so rare that most qualified archaeologists would never find one themselves"

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