Smithsonian Magazine

09/16/2026

From the archives: 1925 – Blues legend B.B. King, born on this day in 1925, put a distinctive stamp on a range of genres of American music, starting with rock and roll.

A look back at the American music icon

09/16/2026

About 250,000 pets were left behind when their owners evacuated for Hurricane Katrina. How did their stories bring about change for pets when it comes to emergencies?

The loss of thousands of pets to the hurricane encouraged lawmakers to rethink society’s responsibility to animals

09/16/2026

The Russian Orthodox Church has sent a roughly 650-year-old fragment of a medieval warrior prince’s remains to its soldiers in Ukraine, a gesture meant to “spiritually strengthen” units fighting in Donetsk.

A reliquary containing part of the right hand of Dmitry Donskoy, whose crypt was discovered in August, has been dispatched to Donetsk

09/16/2026

What would Emmett Till’s life have been like if he hadn’t been murdered when he was 14? A new exhibition imagines an alternate future for the Black teenager who was kidnapped, tortured and killed more than 70 years ago.

Featuring photographs by more than 110 artists, the show honors Till’s memory by inviting viewers to contemplate the person he might have become had he made it to adulthood

09/16/2026

A home improvement project at Buckingham Palace—London’s preeminent royal abode—has accidentally uncovered a collection of historical, revealing detritus.

The findings include a card game tournament ticket, an important newspaper clipping and the schedule for a diplomatic evening event under Elizabeth II

09/15/2026

With their nearly identical black-and-white feathers, how can penguins tell each other apart when they’re nesting in huge colonies? At least one species of the iconic, tuxedo-wearing birds may use their mate’s pattern of black polka dots to pick them out of the crowd. https://bit.ly/46rDZBV

📸: Cristina Pilenga

09/15/2026

Roughly 66.5 million years ago, a hulking Tyrannosaurus rex marched through the then-swampy forested landscape of southwestern North Dakota. Now, paleontologists say they have unearthed four of the massive creature’s three-toed footprints—the first adult T. rex trackway ever found.

A high school teacher first spotted the remarkable trail while volunteering on a paleontological dig. Researchers suspect a hulking, full-grown dinosaur marched through the then-swampy landscape roughly 66.5 million years ago

09/15/2026

Virtually all cultures and epochs fizz with magic. You might call it a secret ingredient of human life, because magic takes so many forms and serves so many functions.

Throughout history, humans around the world have employed protective talismans such as special stones, herbs and plants, and decorative demon tiles

09/15/2026

The Mercator projection is the most widely used map in the world, but it might soon get booted to make way for one that more accurately represents the areas of landmasses.

The most widely used global map is almost 500 years old and was designed for navigation. But landmasses near the poles look larger than their actual relative sizes, and those near the equator look much smaller

09/15/2026

Archaeologists excavating Chan Chan, the capital of the pre-Inca Chimú civilization, found an undisturbed mausoleum that held the remains of at least 38 individuals, as well as a trove of rich funerary goods.

Archaeologists excavating Chan Chan, the capital of the pre-Inca Chimú civilization, found an undisturbed mausoleum that held the remains of at least 38 individuals, as well as a trove of rich funerary goods