Smithsonian Magazine5h
The Hero Who Convinced His Fellow Ornithologists of the Obvious: Stop Shooting Rare Birds and Watch Them Instead
Too late to save the ivory-billed woodpecker, Arthur Allen changed science forever with his seemingly simple idea ...
Smithsonian Magazine16h
How an Engraving of Queen Victoria Ushered in the Era of the Bouquet Holder in England
The monarch set fashion trends during her time, and the flower holder became a sought-after accessory in Victorian society ...
Smithsonian Magazine12h
Astronomers Discover a ‘Newborn’ World, the Youngest Known Transiting Exoplanet
In a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature, astronomers describe the youngest transiting planet ever found. It’s ...
Smithsonian Magazine13h
Archaeologists Say These Mysterious Markings Could Be the World’s Oldest Known Alphabetic Writing
Found etched into clay cylinders in Syria, the strange symbols date to around 2400 B.C.E.—500 years before other known ...
Smithsonian Magazine16h
A Little Girl Dropped a Message in a Bottle Into a Lake. Her Daughter’s Classmate Found It 26 Years Later
Makenzie Van Eyk wrote the letter as part of a class project in 1998, when she was in fourth grade. Recently, the note was ...
Smithsonian Magazine14h
Meet the Eastern Red-Backed Salamander, A Tiny Environmental Hero
Next time you’re walking through fallen leaves in a forest, keep an eye out for the Eastern red-backed salamander—a small ...
Smithsonian Magazine21h
A Deep Look Into the Wacky and Wild Lives of Earwigs
The insects participate in elaborate courtships, are devoted parents, occasionally eat each other and have a gregarious ...
Smithsonian Magazine22h
Italian Police Arrest ‘Clumsy’ Tomb Raiders Who Allegedly Posted Stolen Etruscan Artifacts on Facebook
Officials claim the items once belonged to an influential Etruscan family that lived around the third century B.C.E. Reuters’ ...