Smithsonian Magazine

Astronomers Peered at the Early Universe and May Have Discovered a New Kind of Celestial Object: Black Hole Stars

Since the James Webb Space Telescope started collecting data in 2022, it has found puzzling objects dubbed little red dots. A ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Covid-19 Can Reawaken Dormant Viruses in the Body, Which Might Worsen Symptoms of the Respiratory Illness, Study Suggests

Most people carry a sleeping virus in their bodies, such as the herpesvirus that causes mononucleosis, or the “kissing ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Here’s Why These Male Spiders Sacrifice Themselves by Somersaulting Into Females’ Fangs While Mating

While mating, a male redback spider somersaults so that his abdomen lands in his partner’s awaiting fangs, seemingly ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Schlitz Beer, an Iconic Midwestern Pour, Runs Dry in Chicago After 177 Years. Its Legacy, However, Goes Far Beyond the Pint Glass

With significant roles in the Great Chicago Fire, 1893 World’s Fair and modern-day architecture, the beer’s impact on the ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Two Oceans, One Country And Twenty Times The Sharks

Fossil shark scales from Panama’s Caribbean and Pacific coasts show that the two seas never held the same number of sharks, ...
Smithsonian Magazine

How X-Rays, Plastic Cups and Spools of String Help National Zoo Researchers Find Wild Box Turtle Nests

To figure out why Eastern box turtle numbers are dropping across Virginia, Smithsonian researchers are turning to some ...
Smithsonian Magazine

This Library Book Was 150 Years Overdue. Fortunately for the Man Who Just Returned It, Librarians Won’t Be Enforcing a $20,000 Late Fee

"The Antiquities of Athens" had likely been missing from an Australian library since the 1870s. Staffers say its recovery is ...
Smithsonian Magazine

Marine Biologists Solved a Wildlife Mystery From the Walkway of the Golden Gate Bridge: How the Harbor Porpoise Mates

The dolphin-like marine mammals returned to San Francisco Bay in 2008 after a decades-long absence from the area. Scientists ...
Smithsonian Magazine

An 11-Year-Old Boy in a Small Midwestern Town Just Became the Guinness World Record Holder for Being the Youngest Museum Curator

Four years after Anderson Taylor began collecting specimens, he opened the Cambridge Natural History Museum in Cambridge, ...
Smithsonian Magazine

This Dutch Painting Showed a 17th-Century Drinking Game Until Someone Smudged Out a Player, Spoiling the Fun. A Museum Just Restored the Imbibing Soldier

Pieter de Hooch was known for his 17th-century portrayals of domestic life. Some scenes suggested scandal or taught a moral ...
Smithsonian Magazine

A Historian at MIT Discovered the Surprising Truth About This Chinese Label Long Thought to Be a Souvenir of the Boston Tea Party

The saga of the artifact displayed at Boston's Old South Meeting House demonstrates how the study of history evolves ...