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Ask Smithsonian: Five False ‘Facts’ About the Human Body

Think you know everything about your own body? Test your smarts against this one-minute video, where Ask Smithsonian host Eric Schulze uncovers the facts behind five popular myths about the human body.




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How Fast Does a Snake Strike?

Slowed-down recordings from a lab experiment show two snake species striking at a test glove. (Video clips courtesy of David Penning)




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Buzz Aldrin and Thomas Dolby Perform "She Blinded Me With Science"

Some of the brightest minds in the world gathered at Smithsonian's "The Future is Here" conference to discuss the great triumphs and future innovations in science and technology http://www.smithsonianmag.com/ideas-innovations/The-Future-is-Here.html




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J. Henry Fair on Devastating Beauty

The photographer talks about what he aims for in his shots of industrial scars on the American landscape. Read more at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/Devastation-From-Above.html.




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Ask Smithsonian: What’s the Deepest We’ve Ever Dug Into the Earth?

What’s the world record for deepest vertical dig? Go ahead, take a guess. We bet you won’t come close to the surprising answer unearthed in this one-minute video by Ask Smithsonian host, Eric Schulze. Then, stick around to find out what scientists found lurking below.




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The Ultimate Skywatching Guide for Every Season

Whether you're a passionate astronomer or a beginner eager to explore the cosmos, join us as we deep-dive into seasonal skywatching. Gain valuable insights into identifying meteors, stars, and fascinating deep-sky objects that grace the night sky. Interested in learning more? Check out this piece from Smithsonian Magazine on the celestial events to watch in 2024: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/nine-dazzling-celestial-events-to-watch-in-2024-180983505/ And don't forget to subscribe to our channel for more exciting videos exploring the wonders of the natural world. --- Digital Editorial Director: Brian Wolly Supervising Producer & Scriptwriter: Michelle Mehrtens Video Editor: Sierra Theobald




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Ask Smithsonian: What Is the Origin of Applause?

Put your hands together for our host, Eric Schulze, as he dives into history to answer your questions.




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The Books of Thomas Jeffersons Library

Jeffersons respect for the enlightenment ideals of memory, reason and imagination shaped how he organized his library (Video: Molly Roberts). Read more at https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/on-the-hunt-for-jeffersons-lost-books-38566672/




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Ask Smithsonian: Can Animals Predict Earthquakes and Other Natural Disasters?

Our host, Eric Schulze, explains how science is tackling this puzzling question from space.




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The Mass Extinction That Wiped Out the Dinosaurs

Almost 66 million years ago, an asteroid hit Earth – and changed our planet forever. From tsunamis to shockwaves, join us on a journey through time as we explore the science behind this cataclysmic event. READ MORE about the last day of a dinosaur here: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-last-day-in-the-life-of-an-edmontosaurus-180979932/ --- For more videos from Smithsonian Magazine: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/ Digital Editorial Director: Brian Wolly Supervising Producer & Scriptwriter: Michelle Mehrtens Video Editor: Sierra Theobald




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Cardiac MRI of an animal that has undergone photosynthetic therapy

Cardiac MRI of an animal that has undergone photosynthetic therapy. CREDIT: Stanford University School of Medicine, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery




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Thomas Edison's Stunning Footage of the Klondike Gold Rush

In 1896, Thomas Edison set off to a remote Canadian district near the Alaska border, with cameras in tow. He succeeded in capturing fascinating images of the prospectors brought in by the Gold Rush.




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Ask Smithsonian: Why Does My Nose Run When It’s Cold Outside?

Host Eric Schulze opens the floodgates of knowledge to reveal the answer.




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The Descendants: Kwesi Bowman as Andrew Jackson Smith

Smithsonian magazine commissioned Drew Gardner for a project that connects Black Americans today to their lost ancestry. Read about Gardner’s project and process, as well as more details about the subjects of this incredible series here: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/descendants-black-civil-war-heroes-wear-heritage-pride-180983397/ Video produced by Sierra Theobald. Special thanks to Drew Gardner Additional credits: Emma MacBeath, WikiTree US Black Heritage project; Ottawa Goodman, research and coordinator; Sam Dole, Penumbra Foundation; Elizabeth Zuck, set design; Calvin Osbourne, props and costume; Angela Huff, hair and make up; Diego Huerta, Lexia Krebs, behind-the-scenes filming; background prints by Fujifilm USA




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Ask Smithsonian: Why Are Planets Round?

The answer has everything to do with falling flat on your face




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The Last Transit of Venus Until 2117

The Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this epic footage of Venus crossing the face of the sun on June 5, 2012




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Ask Smithsonian: Why Does My Dog Howl at Sirens?

Eric Schulze delves into little Rover's mind to see what all that racket is about




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Ask Smithsonian: Is It True We Have Taste Buds in Our Stomachs?

Not one to hide from the bitter truth, our host, Eric Schulze dishes up the answer




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Impalas and Baboons Share a Feast

Research in Tanzania shows that impalas follow baboons to sausage trees to share fruits and feel safer from predators. (Video courtesy Brooke Davis)




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Pardis Sabeti's New Look at Infectious Disease

The American Ingenuity Award winner is on the brink of using the human genome to provide better diagnostics for deadly diseases




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Why Young Grassland Songbirds Sleep In




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How Dolley Madison Saved George Washington

As the British marched towards the White House, the first lady ordered a portrait of George Washington to be saved




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What Roberto Clemente Meant to Baseball

Biographer David Maraniss says that in order to truly understand Clemente's importance to the sport, you have to look beyond his spectacular numbers




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The Descendants: Jared Miller as Richard Oliver

Smithsonian magazine commissioned Drew Gardner for a project that connects Black Americans today to their lost ancestry. Read about Gardner’s project and process, as well as more details about the subjects of this incredible series here: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/descendants-black-civil-war-heroes-wear-heritage-pride-180983397/ Video produced by Sierra Theobald. Special thanks to Drew Gardner Additional credits: Emma MacBeath, WikiTree US Black Heritage project; Ottawa Goodman, research and coordinator; Sam Dole, Penumbra Foundation; Elizabeth Zuck, set design; Calvin Osbourne, props and costume; Angela Huff, hair and make up; Diego Huerta, Lexia Krebs, behind-the-scenes filming; background prints by Fujifilm USA




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The Past, Present and Future of Agriculture

Humans have been modifying plants since the beginning of agriculture, but now, globalization and new technologies have given us more control and more power over our food than ever before.




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Ask Smithsonian: How Do Colors Affect Our Moods?

Feeling blue? Try watching this one-minute video. Our Ask Smithsonian host, Eric Schulze, explains how colors affect our moods.




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What Was on the Menu at the First Thanksgiving?

Follow us to the very first Thanksgiving celebration, where the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag came together for a historic feast.




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Hazel Scott, Jazz and Classical Pianist, Performs Liszt

Read more at http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/Hazel-Scotts-Lifetime-of-High-Notes.html In a performance filmed for World War II soldiers, Hazel Scott begins with a section from Liszt's "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2" and ends with a jazzy tune (Army / Navy Screen Magazine).




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How NASA Captured Asteroid Dust to Find the Origins of Life

Capturing a piece of an asteroid and bringing it to Earth is even more difficult than it is time-consuming. After four years in space, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx craft made a brief landing on the asteroid Bennu to collect samples of the ancient rock. Six months later, part of the spacecraft began its journey home to Earth, and earlier this fall, that sample collection canister landed, via parachute, in Utah. Scientists will be studying those samples of Bennu for decades in the hope of unlocking the mystery of how life on Earth began — but they’ve already learned enough to get them excited. In this episode, we speak with Linda Shiner, the former editor of Air & Space / Smithsonian magazine, about the challenges and triumphs of the OSIRIS-REx mission, and what scientists hope it will teach us about how life on Earth began. Find prior episodes of our show here (https://www.smithsonianmag.com/podcast/) . There’s More to That is a production of Smithsonian magazine and PRX Productions. From the magazine, our team is Chris Klimek, Debra Rosenberg and Brian Wolly. From PRX, our team is Jessica Miller, Adriana Rosas Rivera, Genevieve Sponsler, Terence Bernardo, and Edwin Ochoa. The Executive Producer of PRX Productions is Jocelyn Gonzales. Fact-checking by Stephanie Abramson. Episode artwork by Emily Lankiewicz. Music by APM Music.




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Ask Smithsonian: Do Subliminal Messages Work?

This video does not contain hidden messages that will make you want to watch more Smithsonian videos.




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1,700-Year-Old Sock Spins Yarn About Ancient Egyptian Fashion

This stripy toe sock appears to have warmed the foot of a tot in the late antiquity period




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Oldest Known Macroscopic Skeletal Organism Was Masquerading as Fossilized Feces

Some researchers initially dismissed the remains of Palaeopascichnus lineari as teeny turds from a bygone era




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Dallas City Council Votes to Remove Massive Confederate War Memorial

In a 11-4 vote, the City Council decided to remove the 65-foot-tall monument from its location in the heart of the city




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Easter Island's Ancient Population Never Faced Ecological Collapse, Suggests Another Study

New DNA analysis adds to growing research indicating the famous Pacific island did not collapse from overuse of resources before the arrival of Europeans




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A Thief Replaced This Iconic Churchill Portrait With a Fake. Two Years Later, the Original Has Been Recovered

Investigators discovered that the original print of "The Roaring Lion" had been sold to a buyer in Italy




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A Mysterious Seismic Signal Lasted Nine Days Last Year. It Was a Mega-Tsunami Caused by Climate Change, Researchers Say

A melting glacier caused a mountain in Greenland to collapse into a narrow fjord, setting off an oscillating wave that rattled seismic detectors around the world




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Divers Discover the Long-Lost Wreckage of a Passenger Steamship That Sank in a Hit-and-Run in 1856

"Le Lyonnais" descended into the depths off the coast of Massachusetts after colliding with the "Adriatic," a sailing vessel that left the floundering steamship to fend for itself




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The Sprawling Sculpture at the Center of the National World War I Memorial Has Been Unveiled in Washington, D.C.

"A Soldier's Journey," a 58-foot-long bronze artwork depicting vivid scenes from the war, was illuminated for the first time at a ceremony on September 13




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Scientists Find Microplastics in Human Brain Tissue Above the Nose

A new study identified the tiny pollutants in the olfactory bulbs of eight cadavers, suggesting microplastics can travel through the nose to the brain




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Astronomers Discover Record-Breaking Jets Escaping a Black Hole, the Longest Ever Seen

The energetic streams are together 23 million light-years in length—roughly as long as 140 Milky Way galaxies lined end to end




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In Case Humans Go Extinct, This Memory Crystal Will Store Our Genome for Billions of Years

Scientists have created "a form of information immortality" meant to instruct future species on how to recreate humans. But who, or what, will find it?




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The World's Best Pizza Is in New York City, According to Italy-Based Rankings

Una Pizza Napoletana on the Lower East Side has claimed the top spot in an annual ranking of pizzerias around the globe




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'The Starry Night' Accurately Depicts a Scientific Theory That Wasn't Described Until Years After van Gogh's Death

Researchers say that the iconic painting's swirling sky lines up with Kolmogorov's theory of turbulence, suggesting that the artist was a careful observer of the world around him




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Earth Is Getting a New 'Mini Moon' for the Next Two Months, Astronomers Say

A roughly 33-foot-long asteroid called 2024 PT5 will chart a horseshoe-like path around our planet




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You Can Climb Aboard a Massive Reproduction of a 17th-Century Spanish Galleon That's Sailing Around the World

The Galeón Andalucía, which is now making its way to London, was designed to resemble the armed merchant vessels manufactured by Spain and Portugal between the 16th and 18th centuries




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A Japanese Soldier's Son Receives a Memento of His Father, Who Was Killed During World War II

The so-called good-luck flag, which hung on an American veteran's wall for many years, returned home last month after nearly eight decades




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Virginia State Parks Install Viewfinders for People With Colorblindness, Just in Time for Leaf-Peeping Season

The viewfinders are outfitted with special lenses that help people with red-green colorblindness distinguish between hues




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This Lost Mozart Composition Hasn't Been Heard for Centuries. Now, You Can Listen to It

More than 250 years after a teenage Mozart wrote "Serenade in C," a copy of the piece has surfaced in the collections of a German library




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Mathematicians Discover a New Class of Shape: the 'Soft Cell'

If the structures look familiar, it's probably because nature has been using them for a long time in places like nautilus shells, zebra stripes and onions




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See Newly Discovered Nazca Drawings That Depict Llamas, Human Sacrifices and More

An A.I.-assisted study identified 303 previously unknown geoglyphs in the Peruvian desert. The art features surprising figures, like orcas holding knives