How Artists and the LGBTQ Community Made Wearing Trash Cool
Before hipsters descended on your local thrift store, repurposing discarded goods was a subversive art form
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Dine 21 Stories Underground in This 345-Million-Year-Old Cavern
Cavern Grotto, a new restaurant in Arizona, opens inside the largest dry cavern system in the country
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The Big Unsexy Problem With Tiger Selfies
Why drugging and caging the cats for Tinder photos is even more messed up than it sounds
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What Folklore Tells Us About Eclipses
Across multiple cultures, says a Smithsonian folklorist, a darkening of daytime skies provokes a foreboding of evil
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The Fuzzy History of the Georgia Peach
Once a feral resource for planters, the stone fruit got a marketing makeover in the late 19th century—and a boost from the segregated labor market
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Hollywood Loved Sammy Davis Jr Until He Dated a White Movie Star
A decade before the Supreme Court ruled in favor of interracial marriage, the Rat Packer risked losing his career—and his life
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A Brief History of Eclipse Chasers
They also go by umbraphiles, coronaphiles, eclipsoholics and ecliptomaniacs
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Christylez Bacon on Finding His Voice through Music
The Grammy-nominated artist takes inspiration from weaving together seemingly disparate musical forms
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Food Historian Reckons With the Black Roots of Southern Food
In his new book, Michael Twitty shares the contributions that enslaved African-Americans and their descendants have made to southern cuisine
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The Fascinating, Regal History Behind Britain’s Swans
The aristocratic bird’s has a legacy as a luxury status symbol that dates back centuries
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Take an Exclusive Sneak Peek Inside the Renovated Freer Gallery, Reopening in October
Charles Lang Freer gifted this meditative haven for art lovers to the nation and was James McNeill Whistler’s friend and patron
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Does the Narwhal’s Majestic Tusk Have a Point?
A Connecticut dentist, turned curator of a new exhibition, has long worked to solve the secrets of the whale’s characteristic horn
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The Secret Ingredient in Kellogg’s Corn Flakes Is Seventh-Day Adventism
America’s favorite processed breakfast was once the pinnacle of healthfulness—and spiritual purity
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¡Salud! to the Mexican-American Wine Revolution
Ceja Vineyards breathes new life into Napa Valley’s wine industry
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What Kind of Footage Do Historical Colorists Like Best?
According to the historians and art directors from Composite Films who worked meticulously on America in Color, these were some of their favorite subjects
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Why Hospitals Started Displaying Newborn Babies Through Windows
How peering at babies through glass became a feel-good staple of American maternity wards
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Three Generations of Inuit Women Defy Exploitation by Visualizing Resilience and Love
A grandmother, a mother and a daughter, all took up pen and ink to tell their stories
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Jackie Kennedy Was the Undisputed Style Icon of her Era
To Jackie Kennedy, appearance was everything
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This Bridge Transforms Data on Weather, Traffic and Twitter Rants into a Beautiful Light Display
The Jacques Cartier Bridge in Montreal lights up the skyline with the mood of the city
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How Sunbathing Became a National Craze in the 1930s
Tanning was big business in the 1930s, as people sought to recreate the sun-kissed California beach look
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The True Story of Dunkirk, As Told Through the Heroism of the “Medway Queen”
Retrofitted by the British Navy, the paddleboat saved 7,000 men over many dangerous trips across the Channel
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When New York City Rioted Over Hamlet Being Too British
In the deadly Astor Place Riot, how to perform Shakespeare served as a proxy for class warfare
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Conservation of a Pair of Saint-Gaudens Goes al Fresco at the Freer
The beauty of dry ice cleaning is the efficient and environmentally safe process; but also the procedure was on view from the street
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These Otherworldly “Earthships” Offer Visitors Unusual, Off-the-Grid Accommodations
Spend the night in an art house built from garbage
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Ai Weiwei Depicts the Brutality of Authoritarianism in an Unusual Medium–Legos
The renowned Chinese Artist finally gets to see his work about political prisoners at the Hirshhorn
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Take a Stroll Through Jane Austen’s England With This Interactive Map
A look at the houses and towns that shaped the life and writing of the famed author on the 200th anniversary of her death
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How Barack Obama Became the First President to Brew Beer at the White House
The former president and his staff crafted ales featuring honey from the White House garden
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The Timelessness of Millennial-Bashing
Even in the 14th century, writers blamed younger generations for ruining everything
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See Canada Through Fresh Eyes on a First Nations Tour
The mountains, forests and waters of British Columbia are given new meaning on a journey led by members of its indigenous communities
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Esperanza Spalding: Jazz Musician, Grammy Award Winner and Now Museum Curator
The title of her latest album “D + Evolution” is also the theme of a new exhibition at the Smithsonian’s Cooper Hewitt
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How Spam Went from Canned Necessity to American Icon
Out-of-the-can branding helped transform World War II’s rations into a beloved household staple
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The Hirshhorn Transforms Into a One-Day Soundscape
For one day, the museum will add an interactive soundscape to the works of visual art on display
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Step Right Up to the Big Top Circus Tent at the 50th Annual Folklife Festival
The day the circus rolled into Washington, D.C., and other tales from the Smithsonian’s hot summer party on the National Mall
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Why This Composer Made Melodies Out of Mountainsides
This forgotten Armenian musicologist literally drew the landscapes into his folksong scores
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The Whimsical, Chameleon-like Figure Behind the Myth of Sylvia Plath
Today, visions of a life marred by mental illness endure, but the author had a light side—and a knack for savvy image control
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Five Augmented Reality Experiences That Bring Museum Exhibits to Life
AR features allow visitors to explore historical spaces and artifacts in new ways
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The Pioneering Androgyny of Classic Hollywood Star Marlene Dietrich
The film icon embraced bisexuality, glamorous mystique and provocation
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The Cuban Government Brought New Life to Hollywood Movies With These Vivid Posters
The U.S. embargo didn’t keep Cubans from watching movies they loved
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A Pittsburgh Church Holds the Greatest Collection of Relics Outside of the Vatican
Behold the treasures of this tiny neighborhood church
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A Legendary Photographer Visits an Isolated Christian Community in Ethiopia
High in the mountains of western Africa, an ancient way of life continues apace
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Explore the Timeless World of Vodou, Deep Within the Caves of Haiti
Photographer Troi Anderson captures the religion that has been misunderstood for centuries
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Portraits of Faith
In a world changing faster than ever, the enduring appeal of religious tradition shines in these photographs
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New Exhibition Asks “What Kind of Nation Do We Want to Be?”
The American History Museum opens a trio of timely new shows on democracy, religion and immigration
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How One Mathew Brady Photograph May Have Helped Elect Abraham Lincoln
Before chronicling the Civil War, the nation’s first photojournalist took these portraits
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This Summer, Try Termite Chocolate Sprinkles on Your Ice Cream
Canada’s Insectarium invites visitors to dine on insects as part of a special menu
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Muralist Nicolas Party Samples Great Artists of the Past Like a Visual DJ
The Hirshhorn’s installation, inspired by Barack Obama’s “sun will rise” promise of continuity, highlights fantasy landscapes, beauty of nature
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Two Circus Pros Juggle History and Race to Springboard Black Entertainers
Cedric Walker and Veronica Blair share a common fascination for the history of African-American circus
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Which Books Do Americans Take on Vacation?
Our city-by-city breakdown uncovered some surprises
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What Makes Salt Water Taffy the Perfect Summer Candy?
The first families of the sugary treat stir up another season of making history by the bite
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What Happened to America’s Public Intellectuals?
Our nation has always depended on these heavyweights to guide us, but are they still with us, and if so, who are they?
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This 155-mile Hike Through the Pyrenees Merges Contemporary Art with Spain’s Stunning Landscapes
An art project of the Contemporary Art Center Nau Côclea brings artists and audiences together on a cultural pilgrimage
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A Guided Tour of Australia’s Blue Mountains Follows Ancient Aboriginal Songlines
Yanna Muru’s walkabouts to sacred sites teach visitors about Darug culture
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The Story Behind the World’s Largest Watercolor Painting
The massive artwork marks the opening of the MASS MoCA’s new 130,000-square-foot wing, which makes it the largest contemporary art museum in the U.S.
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After 50 Years of Song, Dance, Food, Even Hog Calling, at the Folklife Festival, Is It Still Worthwhile?
Recognizing traditional culture in the information age is ever more important argues the director of the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
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Why Piri Thomas’ Coming of Age Memoir Still Resonates Today
“Down These Mean Streets” was an instant classic, a text of painful truths
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Come for the Bug Eating and Get a Lesson in Humanity from Andrew Zimmern
A Q&A with the Travel Channel’s ‘Bizarre Foods’ Chef
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The Long and Winding Road of Yoko Ono’s Art
A Hirshhorn exhibition of four works opens the same week Ono is credited, 46 years later, as a co-writer of the chart-topping ballad “Imagine.”
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Cómo Los Científicos y Grupos Indígenas Pueden Aliarse Para Proteger Los Bosques y el Clima
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DetailsThe Musical Legacy Behind the Tupac Biopic ‘All Eyez on Me’
Curator Dwandalyn Reece from the Smithsonian’s African American Museum investigates
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When Fresh Air Went Out of Fashion at Hospitals
How the hospital went from luxury resort to windowless box
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