How Cabinets of Curiosities Laid the Foundation for Modern Museums (www.smithsonianmag.com)
Discovery Channel’s ‘Shark Week’ Is Packed With Misinformation and Junk Science Scientists watched 202 episodes and found them filled with unreliable information (www.smithsonianmag.com)
The Teddy Bear Was Once Seen as a Dangerous Influence on Young Children (www.smithsonianmag.com)
Inspired by a moment of empathy from President Theodore Roosevelt, the huggable toy had a rocky start before it became the stuff of legend
Saturn's Rings Will Temporarily Disappear From View in 2025 (www.smithsonianmag.com)
Modern Medicine Traces Its Scientific Roots to the Middle Ages (www.smithsonianmag.com)
The National Zoo's Giant Pandas Bid Washington, D.C. Farewell (www.smithsonianmag.com)
Upon their arrival in China, 25-year-old Mei Xiang and 26-year-old Tian Tian will enjoy “a luxurious retirement,” while their son Xiao Qi Ji will have the opportunity to find a mate of his own, NZCBI’s director, Brandie Smith, tells NBC Washington’s Maggie More.
Roosters May Recognize Their Reflections in Mirrors, Study Suggests (www.smithsonianmag.com)
Foundry Workers Melt Down Charlottesville’s Divisive Robert E. Lee Statue (www.smithsonianmag.com)
Eventually, an artist will be chosen to transform the bronze bars into a public art installation
Netflix Plans to Open Brick-and-Mortar Stores in 2025 (www.smithsonianmag.com)
Visitors will dine at themed restaurants and participate in immersive experiences
Rodin Sculpture Has Been Missing From Scottish Museum Collection for Nearly 75 Years (www.smithsonianmag.com)
The piece is a plaster version of one of the figures from the French sculptor’s “Les Bourgeois de Calais”
Metal Detectorist Unearths Bronze Age Jewelry in Swiss Carrot Field (www.smithsonianmag.com)
Researchers suspect the trove may have belonged to a “rich woman with a passion for collecting”...
How One Robber Baron's Gamble on Railroads Brought Down His Bank and Plunged the U.S. Into the First Great Depression (www.smithsonianmag.com)
In 1873, greed, speculation and overinvestment in railroads sparked a financial crisis that sank the U.S. into more than five years of misery
One of Europe’s Most Endangered Birds Is Bouncing Back (www.smithsonianmag.com)
The Asteroid Hit by NASA Seems to Be Moving Strangely, High School Students Find (www.smithsonianmag.com)
The Influence of Star Trek and Science Fiction on Real Science (www.smithsonianmag.com)
For Star Trek Day, learn about the relationship between sci-fi and real-life science in this excerpt from
The Unlikely, Enduring Friendship Between Ireland and the Choctaw Nation (www.smithsonianmag.com)
A Journey Through Spain’s Islamic History (www.smithsonianmag.com)
cross-posted from: lemmy.smeargle.fans/post/42545...
Our Human Ancestors Very Nearly Went Extinct 900,000 Years Ago, Genetics Suggest (www.smithsonianmag.com)
Our Human Ancestors Very Nearly Went Extinct 900,000 Years Ago, Genetics Suggest (www.smithsonianmag.com)
doi.org/10.1126/science.abq7487
Our Human Ancestors Very Nearly Went Extinct 900,000 Years Ago, Genetics Suggest (www.smithsonianmag.com)
A study proposes that the population that gave rise to modern humans may have been reduced to roughly 1,300 reproducing individuals
The Dog Who Served on Both Sides of the American Revolution (www.smithsonianmag.com)
TIL Kudzu growth in the US has been way overestimated. Newer estimates stated that Asian privet had invaded some 3.2 million acres—14 times kudzu’s territory (www.smithsonianmag.com)
In news media and scientific accounts and on some government websites, kudzu is typically said to cover seven million to nine million acres across the United States. But scientists reassessing kudzu’s spread have found that it’s nothing like that. In the latest careful sampling, the U.S. Forest Service reports that kudzu...
The Sticky History of Baklava (www.smithsonianmag.com)
Baklava appears to have its origins in the ancient Assyrian Empire. The layering of flat breads evolved into how it is known today, requiring great skill to work with delicate layers of dough. It became a dessert reserved for special occasions, due to the time and difficulty it took to prepare. Its association with special days...
TIL The first air conditioner was created not for cooling a room but to prevent humidity causing swelling pages and blurry prints in a printing press (www.smithsonianmag.com)
At the turn of the 20th century, humidity threatened the reputation of Brooklyn’s Sackett-Wilhelms Lithographic and Publishing Company’s high-quality color printing. After two summers of extreme heat disrupted business and caused swelling pages and blurry prints, the printing company found that a nascent cooling industry...