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How to Use Renaissance Paintings to Improve the Farming of Tomorrow

An arboreal archaeologist roots around the Italian countryside and in centuries-old frescoes for a cornucopia of fruits long forgotten—but still viable to grow and consume

Zora Neale Hurston wanted to tell the world about the "real ... historical Herod, instead of the deliberately folklore Herod."

Why Was Zora Neale Hurston So Obsessed With the Biblical Villain Herod the Great?

The Harlem Renaissance author spent her last years writing about the ancient king. Six decades after her death, her unfinished novel has finally been published for the first time

Works like Tissot's The Convalescent (1872), pictured here, reflect a sense of unease over a modernizing society that was sweeping women up in its fray.

These Stunning 19th-Century Artworks Reveal the Contradictions of the Modern Woman

A new exhibition spotlights James Tissot, whose paintings and prints reflected women’s ever-evolving roles in Victorian society

Around the world, a wealth of new museums are also bringing art and culture, science and technology, and education and storytelling to the forefront.

Ten Must-See Museums Opening Around the World in 2025

New institutions dedicated to artificial intelligence, West African art, barbeque and more are expected to welcome visitors this year

Charles M. Schulz, creator of the "Peanuts" comic strip, at his studio drawing table with a picture of his character Charlie Brown and some awards behind him in 1978

Why the ‘Peanuts’ Characters Still Thrive 25 Years After the Last Original Comic Strip Was Published

In the decades since the end of the cherished newspaper strip, audiences continue to find reasons to chuckle and cheer over Charlie Brown’s gang

Illustration from a 16th-century Falnama, or Persian Book of Omens

How People of the Past Predicted the Future, From Spider Divination to Bibliomancy

A new exhibition spotlights the ways in which cultures around the world have sought answers in the face of uncertainty

An Olivetti Studio 46 typewriter that belonged to Octavia E. Butler. As the author recalled: "I wrote my first ten books on a manual typewriter."

In Her Inventive and Prescient Stories, Octavia Butler Wrote Herself Into the Science Fiction Canon

On her beloved typewriters, the literary legend mapped out a course for the future of the genre

Major Pierce Butler, a U.S. senator representing South Carolina and an original signer of the United States Constitution, left the 1,500-acre rice plantation—and its enslaved laborers—to his grandsons when he died. For locals whose ancestors were forced to work there, it’s considered a sacred place.

Inside the Struggle to Preserve Georgia's Butler Island, Home to a Notorious Plantation

Descendants of people enslaved at the site are grappling with its complicated history while also honoring the region's rich culture

In Still Life With Brioche, c. 1890, Victoria Dubourg Fantin-Latour captures the buttery crust of a signature pastry. Known for her tablescapes, she met her artist husband Henri when both were copying the same painting at the Louvre.

Feast Your Eyes on These Paintings From the Impressionist Era

A new exhibition at the Frist Art Museum in Nashville will bring the food world of the late 19th century to its gallery walls

Loaded with leather and sheepskins, Salvatore Gungui tightens his headscarf. Although only men dress as Mamuthones, the scarf adds a feminine element.

See the Mysterious Winter Parade That Brings Tourists to the Remote Island of Sardinia

Since ancient times, a town on the Italian isle has marked the season with a grim costumed festival

A 1951 ad. The FDA informed Kraft in 2002 it could no longer market Velveeta as a cheese. 

The Gooey Goodness of Velveeta Was a Smash Hit From Its Very Cheesy Start

How Emil Frey whipped up a smooth dairy sensation after two years of tinkering

Works entering the public domain include The Sound and the Fury, the first recordings of Rhapsody in Blue, Popeye, Tintin and The Broadway Melody.

Happy Public Domain Day! Popeye, 'Rhapsody in Blue,' 'The Sound and the Fury' and Thousands of Other Captivating Creations Are Finally Free for Everyone to Use

On January 1, 2025, copyrights will expire for books, films, comic strips, musical compositions and other creative works from 1929, as well as sound recordings from 1924

The Original Vienna Snow Globe Factory produces roughly 300,000 snow globes per year.

How an Experiment to Amplify Light in Hospital Operating Rooms Led to the Accidental Invention of the Snow Globe

The origins of the decoration lie in Vienna’s 17th district, where the inventor’s descendants are still making them for collectors around the world

Daniel Bachman at home in Madison County, Virginia, with his trusty Martin D-18 guitar.

A Brilliant Folk Musician Turned the Natural Sounds of the Blue Ridge Mountains Into Powerful Songs

Daniel Bachman is on a mission to evoke Virginia’s past through strange medleys of sounds

Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown, a new James Mangold film

The Real Story Behind 'A Complete Unknown' and Bob Dylan's Early Career, From His Arrival in New York City to When He 'Went Electric'

A new film starring Timothée Chalamet tracks Dylan's evolution from an acoustic folk singer to a rock 'n' roll superstar

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The Best Board Games of 2024 Will Excite Players of All Ages

Whether you love cheese, wordplay, “Star Wars” or Japanese culture, this year’s list has something for everyone in what turned out to be a fantastic year for board gamers

Food has an undeniable way of breaking down barriers, whether it’s through learning about another culture’s culinary traditions or simply talking with others over a meal. 

How to Build Cross-Cultural Connections Over Food This Holiday Season

Supper clubs and immigrant-led cooking classes across the country bring people together, teaching diners to embrace their neighbors from around the world

A young girl puckers up to plant a kiss on a plastic Santa.  

Ho, Ho, Ho! 15 Festive Photos of Santa Claus to Get You Into the Christmas Spirit

It's the most wonderful time of the year, and ol' St. Nick is spreading holiday cheer for all to hear

By age 16, “being on some occasion made ashamed of my ignorance in figures, which I had twice failed in learning when at school,” Benjamin Franklin wrote, “I took Cocker’s book of arithmetic and went through the whole by myself with great ease.”

After Failing Math Twice, a Young Benjamin Franklin Turned to This Popular 17th-Century Textbook

A 19th-century scholar claimed that "Cocker's Arithmetick" had "probably made as much stir and noise in the English world as any [book]—next to the Bible"

This year's list includes Emergency Quarters, The Iguanodon's Horn and Ernő Rubik and His Magic Cube.

The Ten Best Children's Books of 2024

This year’s top titles range from an alphabet book of quirky tunes to an authentic portrait of our nation

Smithsonian Channel

Preview thumbnail for video 'The Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe May Never Be Solved

The Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe May Never Be Solved

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Preview thumbnail for video 'Ouija Board: The Mysterious Origins of a Cultural Obsession

Ouija Board: The Mysterious Origins of a Cultural Obsession

Preview thumbnail for video 'National Treasure: Sing a Song With Ella Jenkins, the Beloved First Lady of Children’s Music

National Treasure: Sing a Song With Ella Jenkins, the Beloved First Lady of Children’s Music

Photo of the day

This is a composite of two frames, capturing key moments of the 2024 total solar eclipse, passing through Buchanan Dam, Texas. Frame one marks the C2 (Contact 2) event, and frame two marks C3 (Contact 3), showing Baily's beads and prominences. Beginning and End of Totality