Smithsonian Magazine

Smithsonian Magazine takes you on a journey through history, science, world culture and technology with breathtaking images from around the world.

Smithsonian

FROM THE EDITORS

SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE FUTURE CON @AWESOME CON

Buzz Words • Even in the age of autofill, America is still in love with the centuries-old spelling bee

How to Win a Spelling Bee • EIGHT SECRETS OF CHAMPIONSHIP ORTHOGRAPHY

TORCH SONG • A new museum sheds light on America’s quintessential statue

Get Thee to a Monastery!

A Wing and a Prayer • AN INGENIOUS BUILDING PLAN FROM THE MIDDLE AGES COMBINES THE SACRED AND THE MUNDANE

Seeing Red • HOW SCIENTISTS ARE RECAPTURING THE MAGIC OF A BELOVED, LONG-LOST TOMATO

YOU CALL THAT MUSIC? • It’s not your imagination. They really don’t write songs the way they used to

Catching Cooties • WHY A 100-YEAR-OLD GAME IS STILL SPREADING ACROSS OUR PLAYGROUNDS

WHEN WOMEN HAD COOTIES

the cave man cometh • Revolutionary discoveries in archaeology show that Neanderthals, long maligned as knuckle-dragging brutes, deserve a new place in the human story

AT THE Edge OF THE Ice • DEEP INSIDE THE ARCTIC CIRCLE, INUIT HUNTERS EMBRACE MODERN TECHNOLOGY BUT PRESERVE A TRADITIONAL WAY OF LIFE

A MY STERY IN THE FAMILY

THE LAST OF THE GREAT AMERICAN HOBOS • HOP A TRAIN TO IOWA, WHERE PROUD VAGABONDS GATHER EVERY SUMMER TO HAIL THE NEW KING AND QUEEN OF THE RAILS

The Longest Hop • The true story of the railroad that spanned the nation

ask smithsonian • YOU’VE GOT QUESTIONS, WE’VE GOT EXPERTS