https://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/videos/RSS feed for the videosenMon, 15 Jul 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/the-dark-and-deadly-history-of-the-plague/What caused the Plague? And what methods did people use to combat the spread? Learn about its origins, past outbreaks (including the Black Death), and the long-lasting impact of its legacy today.Mon, 15 Jul 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/national-treasure-the-history-of-the-lie-det/Have you ever wondered whether lie detectors actually...work? Join us as we delve into the history and science behind these devices - from how they measure "deception" to the controversies surrounding their use. This video is the first episode of the National Treasure series, where we share behind-the-scenes stories of objects in the Smithsonian Collections.Mon, 08 Jul 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/what-bridgerton-gets-right-about-the-regency-e/From gender roles to etiquette to fashion, step back in time to learn more about the real lives of the Regency women who inspired 'Bridgerton.'Tue, 18 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/the-best-small-towns-to-celebrate-summer/From charming streets to stunning scenery, consider Hawaii, Idaho, Massachusetts, or New York for your next summer adventure.Fri, 14 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/the-dam-buster-bombers-set-their-sights-on-hit/On September 15, 1944, a 23 year-old Lancaster bomber pilot named Lawrence Goodman set off with his squadron on an ambitious mission: to drop a 12,000 pound bomb known as the “Tallboy” on German battleship Tirpitz.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/smn-thecurseoftutankhamun-clip02-thecursebring/Shortly after the discovery of his tomb, the "Curse of Tutankhamun" became a reliable headline for the international press. And the facts certainly appeared alarming: within 10 years of the tomb’s discovery, 13 deaths had been linked to the curse.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/only-the-higher-ups-in-lemur-society-enjoy-a-t/A plague of ticks crawl out of the ground by the thousands to infect the faces and ears of the lemurs. And while some spend the day covered in ticks, the queen isn’t one of them–her groomers see to that.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/gangs-of-lemur-island-104-theroadtoindependenc/A group of young lemurs engage in a lively play session where, unbeknownst to them, the lines of their own position within the troop are being drawn. For one privileged male youngster, it will prove a rude awakening. Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/a-female-bear-tries-to-fend-off-an-aggressive/A female bear and her cubs run into a marauder–a male bear twice her size who had picked up her scent. If she can’t drive him away, there’s a chance he’ll kill her cubs in order to force her to mate.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/this-lemur-queen-will-not-let-her-rivals-go-un/It was supposed to be an opportunistic raid into the territory of the foraging Ruins gang, led by tough-as-nails lemur, Queen Crystal. But Crystal leads her troop back–and she’s not in the mood to let bygones be bygones.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/smn-carpathianpredators-101-clip01-eurasianlyn/Nobody knows the purpose behind the distinctive ear tufts of the Eurasian lynx. But it’s the standout feature of one of the world’s most mysterious and solitary species. Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/this-wild-boar-female-is-the-decision-maker-in/Wild boar herds are led by a matriarch, known as the sounder. Adult males are banished from the herd when they’re around a year old. A matriarch then makes all decisions for the group, including where to find food.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/how-a-food-surplus-transformed-egypt-into-an-a/Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/why-fashion-was-so-crucial-to-queen-elizabeth/As the newly-crowned monarch, clothes were a crucial element in how Elizabeth projected her image on the world stage as well as at home. It soon became clear that she was a natural, eventually turning into a bonafide 50s fashion icon.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/this-forest-gecko-is-a-near-invisible-assassin/The New Zealand forest gecko is a master of camouflage, able to change its body patterns to mimic its surroundings. This stealth predator is a surprise for any prey unlucky enough to find themselves in its path.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/wolf-pups-are-helpless-for-the-first-three-wee/A litter of wolf pups are taking their first steps into the world, deep in the heart of Romania. Despite being born blind, deaf and barely able to crawl, by 3 weeks, their eyes are wide open and they’re busy finding their footing.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/how-wolves-use-complex-body-language-to-commun/Wolves have a better chance of a successful hunt if they have harmony within the pack. And the glue that binds the pack together is a complex array of body language and sounds that communicate mood, status and hierarchy.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/the-forgotten-documentary-about-the-charles-an/The live broadcast of the July 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer was a spectacular show. But it also yielded enough backup footage for a documentary that's been buried in the archives for 35 years—until now.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/this-unknown-abydos-pharaoh-was-unusual-in-man/Senebkay was an unusual Pharaoh in more ways than one: he was completely unknown to us, appeared to have a military upbringing, and, unusually for Egyptian kings, actually fought in battles.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/smn-animalsatplay-clip02-spotteddolphineplayca/A marine biologist uses an underwater scooter to attract a group of young spotted dolphins, testing the boundaries of their play. For a long time, biologists thought that playtime was a functionless activity. But now we know it’s a way for young animals to develop their bodies—and in the case of spotted dolphins, a valuable way to reinforce bonds.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/a-single-male-lemur-stands-up-to-a-entire-troo/An incursion by a lemur troop called the Raiders sees Victor, a powerful male from the Museum Gang, stand up to them on his own. He’s stalling for time until the rest of his gang arrive.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/frederick-douglass-disagreed-with-the-quakers/The Quakers were the first religious group to ally themselves to the abolitionist cause, and played a role in securing the freedom of Frederick Douglass. Some among them believed that buying an enslaved man’s freedom, even to set him free, was a tacit acceptance of slavery. Douglass himself took exception to this view.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/we-cant-stop-watching-this-egg-separator-in-a/Watching this egg separator keep the whites and the yolks apart is an astounding experience: the speed, the volume and most impressively the aerial precision, is mesmerizing. A single machine can get through 2 million eggs a day!Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/this-machine-creates-a-mesmerizing-waterfall-o/The extruder is the factory machine that forces pasta dough through individual holes to create endless strips of pasta. The result is something akin to a free-flowing pasta waterfall! In 1 minute, it transforms 200 pounds of pasta dough into 52 miles of spaghetti!Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/smn-wwiibattlesincolor-berlin-clip01-showingmi/On February 4, 1945, Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin met in Livadia Palace, in the Crimean resort of Yalta, with a single item on the agenda: to plan for the final defeat of Nazi Germany and the reorganization of Europe.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/wwii-battles-in-color-barbarossa-1007214-1-350_1/Stalin’s destruction of the USSR’s own Dnieper Hydroelectric Station ahead of the impending Nazi invasion, was a statement of resolve: the USSR would rather destroy its prized possessions, and Ukrainian citizens, rather than yield to the Germans. Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/smn-mightycruiseships-408-clip02-troubleshooti/On a routine approach to Belize City, cruise ship Sky Princess runs into an alarming problem. The tanks and water pumps designed to keep the ship level on the turn are malfunctioning, causing a dangerous tilt.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/smn-wwiibattlesincolor-elalamein-clip02-saving/The biggest American tanker in the world, accompanied by Allied battleships, aircraft carriers, cruisers and destroyers. Their mission was to break the German naval blockade and deliver much needed supplies to Malta.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/smn-wwiibydrone-106-naziwarmachine-clip1/This imposing concrete structure in the German city of Bremen is 1400 feet long, 300 feet wide and 90 feet high, and looks every inch the secret Nazi facility that it is. Its purpose was to build and test U-Boats.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/why-the-nazis-interviewed-british-pows-in-sl/For Goebbels, manipulation through propaganda was key to the German war effort. The Nazis knew the value of propaganda as a way to exude an air of invincibility: fighter planes were installed with cameras, flattering newsreels were carefully curated, and British POWs were interviewed on film.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/making-the-perfect-cup-of-tea-is-more-science/Brewing tea is an art–with a lot of science thrown in. So when Cherry Healy discovered that her tea-making technique was falling short, she turned to a scientist for help. Everything from choosing the type and color of cup, to the quality of water, to the absolute minimum brew time required needs to be considered.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/smn-mightycruiseships-405-clip01-crewgettingth/The engineering team of the Costa Diadema have a tricky task ahead: maintaining the ship's impeller, a metal column which draws seawater from outside the ship and diverts it to the engines to keep them cool.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/why-many-italians-only-use-durum-wheat-to-make/When an Italian tells you that durum wheat is better for making pasta than whole wheat, it’s probably wise to listen. But Cherry Healy wants proof–and only a side-by-side taste test can deliver that.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/insidethefactory-ep408-pencils-clip1-youtube/A batch of graphite has just been delivered to this pencil factory in Germany. Once it’s been thoroughly mixed with clay, it’s ready to go into production, with around 550 pounds of the stuff making up to 200,000 pencils.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/smn-intothewildnewzealand-103-clip02-tuatara-yt/The lethargic Tuatara’s diet is mostly made up of invertebrates. But their metabolism is so slow that they’re fine if they don't make a kill for a while–one meal can last them for a long time.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/insidethefactory-ep404-curry-clip2-youtube-1/Cherry Healy heads off to the Indian city of Guntur, home of the largest chili market in the world.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/secrets-ep6-riddleoftheromanskulls-clip2-youtu/The Huns had been practicing elongation of children’s skulls for years, as a way to unify their people. They also required those they conquered, including the crumbling Roman Empire, to do the same to their children–and many complied.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/two-rams-establish-dominance-ahead-of-mating-s/Two rams, Roger and Hamish, clash in a bid to become the top stud in an English farm. After a brief period of sizing up their opponent, they charge at each other at speeds of up to 20 miles an hour.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/descendent-of-thomas-jefferson-and-sally-hemin/The fact that Thomas Jefferson had children with Sally Hemings was denied by Jefferson's family for almost two centuries–until DNA evidence confirmed it. A descendant of Sally Hemings learns the details of the story.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/zookeepers-suit-up-to-prepare-pandas-for-relea/For a giant panda cub in captivity to be released into the wild, keepers must make sure they are prepared for that day. To guide them along and keep an eye on them, are a team of instructors–all dressed in panda suits.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/smn-animalsatplay-clip01-keaplaycall-yt-bug/Keas may be the most playful bird species on the planet—so much so that all it takes is a special "play call" to get them in the mood. One biologist has even recorded that call, and is aiming to test it out.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/a-biologist-on-an-underwater-scooter-delights/A marine biologist uses an underwater scooter to attract a group of young spotted dolphins, testing the boundaries of their play. For a long time, biologists thought that playtime was a functionless activity. But now we know it’s a way for young animals to develop their bodies–and in the case of spotted dolphins, a valuable way to reinforce bonds.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/japanese-macaques-likely-keep-their-aging-mind/When most animals reach adulthood, they stop playing–not so for Japanese macaques. They continue to play with stones well into old age–and some scientists think it’s their way of keeping their minds active.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/two-lizards-fight-for-the-right-to-claim-a-tre/For thousands of years, the green anole was Florida's only native tree dwelling lizard. But today, Miami is home to nine other species, some arriving as unwanted pets or as stowaways on cargo ships, all looking for their own space. As a male crested anole takes on another lizard over a disputed palm tree a battle ensues. Battles like this can take a while to settle–some lasting as long as 30 minutes.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/the-queens-one-condition-for-celebrating-her/June 6, 1977 would mark the silver jubilee of Queen Elizabeth’s reign, an occasion she was persuaded to celebrate with greater pomp than initially intended–with one caveat: it could not be paid for by taxpayer money. Over 100 bonfires were lit around the country, followed by extravagant firework displays, concerts and parades. But the real surprise came from the over 12,000 street parties that spontaneously broke out all over the UK.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/smn-gorgona-snakeprisonisland-clip01-prisonhis/In the 1500s, the Conquistadores claimed the Pacific island of Gorgona for Spain–but they paid a heavy price when almost half their crew succumbed to the jungle's deadly denizens: venomous snakes.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/why-sloth-fur-is-perfect-for-an-upside-down-li/In mammals, hair parts grow along the spine and flow down the back to the belly. Because sloths spend most of their life upside-down in the trees, its fur grows the other way—belly to back—allowing it to drip dry from the rain.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/malcolm-xs-fiery-speech-addressing-police-bru_1/In 1962, a confrontation with the LAPD outside a mosque resulted in the death of a Nation of Islam member. It was an event seized on by an outraged Malcolm X, who would condemn it in an impassioned speech.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/smn-gorgona-snakeprisonisland-clip04-huntinghu/A blue anole–a lizard unique to Gorgona island–is being eyed up by another lizard, the Western Basilisk. Suddenly, a boa constrictor appears on the scene, and the hunter is in danger of becoming the hunted.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/how-the-billion-oyster-project-aims-to-clea/For hundreds of years, the waters off the Hudson river had an unlikely protector: oysters. This keystones species is a remarkable filter feeder which acts like a living sewage treatment plant.Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/evidence-of-an-ancient-horrifying-practice/When 51 elongated skulls were discovered in Mozs, Hungary, some people suspected extra-terrestrials. But the elongation was manmade–and evidence of this gruesome practice had been found all over the world. Wed, 05 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/insidethefactory-ep408-pencils-clip2-youtube/Graphite is a unique element with special qualities beyond its use in pencils. It’s a fantastic conductor of electricity, as well as extremely heat resistant, withstanding temperatures of over 3,000 degrees celsius!Thu, 30 May 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/why-queen-elizabeth-hit-pause-on-princess-marg/In 1953, Queen Elizabeth II faced the first crisis of her reign, brought on by her sister, Margaret. She was being asked to bless her sister’s engagement to a divorcé – at a time when divorce was controversial.Fri, 24 May 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/a-serial-killer-used-the-1893-worlds-fair-to/The 1893 World's Fair would end up drawing 20 million people to its Chicago showground. Two of them, sisters Minnie and Nannie Williams, came at the invitation of serial killer H. H. HolmesFri, 24 May 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/this-frank-gehry-building-was-called-unbuildab/The Frank Gehry design for the Louis Vuitton Foundation building was certainly innovative. But from a structural engineering perspective, there was nothing to suggest it was actually possibleFri, 24 May 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/the-lighthouse-of-chania-was-a-beacon-for-gree/No one is allowed up the historic Chania lighthouse anymore which, for hundreds of years, had guided sailors along the coast. But historian Bettany Hughes has special permission–and she’s taking us with her.Fri, 24 May 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/roman-emperor-vespasian-built-the-colosseum-to/From his years as a general, Emperor Vespasian knew the morale-boosting effects that a colosseum could have on common people. So he set about building one—a task that would take 10 years.Fri, 24 May 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/this-ancient-greek-town-suffered-the-same-fate/The eruption of Santorini in 1615 B.C. covered the town of Akrotiri with meters of volcanic debris. Today, archaeologists are in the process of excavating it–and marveling at its remarkably preserved ruins.Fri, 24 May 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/this-cactus-opens-its-petals-only-one-night-a/For the female lesser long-nosed bats in the Pinacate Desert, food is scarce. One possible source of nutrients: pollen from the saguaro cactus, whose milk-white petals open up only one night a year.Fri, 24 May 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/yellowstone-bison-are-built-for-winter-survival/With a dense coat, a powerful mass of muscle and a large head ideally suited for clearing away snow and locating buried grass, bison are built for frigid conditions in Yellowstone. If it wasn’t for a hidden herd in the deepest reaches of this National Park, bison would have been wiped out in the late 1800s. Today, thousands of them thrive.Fri, 24 May 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/the-shift-in-prehistoric-apex-predators/At the end of the Cretaceous period, only one mega-predatory dinosaur ruled North America: <i>Tyrannosaurus rex</i>. The Borealopelta was alive around the mid-Cretaceous era, so eyes turn to one of <i>T. rex</i>'s ancestors to figure out why it disappeared.Fri, 24 May 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/this-german-explorer-held-electric-eels-in-his/Alexander von Humboldt was intrigued by deadly electric eels. He was so determined to learn more about them, that in Los Llanos, he’d hold them in his hands to test the strength of their shock.Fri, 24 May 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/what-kind-of-damage-can-a-medieval-war-hammer/A contemporary weapons expert is about to test a medieval war hammer on a steel breastplate from that era. The aim is to find out how much damage this fearsome instrument of death could deal.Fri, 24 May 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/stunning-footage-of-two-bears-duking-it-out-fo/The dominant bear in the swamp is fending off another challenge to his authority by an intruder. It's a clash of titans with mating rights on the line.Fri, 24 May 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/in-1960-a-would-be-assassin-tracked-jfk-to-hi/This wasn’t Lee Harvey Oswald in 1963 but one Richard Pavlick in 1960—a retired postal worker who tried to blow up Kennedy in his Palm Beach home.Fri, 24 May 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/the-railway-alternative-to-the-panama-canal-is/While the Panama Canal has been a boon for cargo ships, it can be expensive—as high as $450,000 a toll. For smaller loads, there is an alternative: a cross-country train journey on the Panama Canal Railway.Fri, 24 May 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/the-intelligence-failures-that-could-have-aver/Eight days before President Kennedy’s motorcade through Dallas, the Secret Service signed off on the planned route through the city—a baffling decision that would seal the fate of the President.Fri, 24 May 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/the-manubalista-was-romes-secret-weapon-in-an/In the hands of experienced Roman soldiers, the Manubalista was deadly: easy to move, quick to reload, and capable of launching a 7-inch, 70 mph armor-piercing projectile with terrifying accuracy.Fri, 24 May 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/the-last-ship-to-bring-enslaved-africans-to-am/By 1860, the US was no longer officially involved in the international slave trade. That same year, an illegal slave ship, the Clotilde, arrived in Mobile, Alabama, carrying the last slaves to be brought to America from Africa. In 2018, editor Deborah Plant published a forgotten book by acclaimed African-American writer Zora Neale Hurston. It told the true story of the Clotilde.Fri, 24 May 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/debbie-allen-recounts-the-true-story-of-amist/Debbie Allen is an award winning actress, dancer, and choreographer. She's also the producer of the movie ‘Amistad’–a moving account of captive Africans who broke free from their chains, then challenged their enslavement before the Supreme Court with the help of former U.S. president John Quincy Adams.Fri, 24 May 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/this-wolverine-lives-up-to-her-latin-name/Freya the wolverine is on the cusp of motherhood, and must gather enough food ahead of a long and punishing winter. Just 300 wolverines are left in her native Finland, thanks to habitat loss and human persecution.Fri, 24 May 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/smn-1000yearsofslavery-104-reckoning-clip02-en/Historian Lonnie G. Bunch III identifies 1877 as the year when all the gains of the Civil War, for Black people, began to be erased. As Jim Crow took hold, African-Americans found their constitutional freedoms curtailed.Fri, 24 May 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/1006771-1-3497778-eps02-pepperoni/It looks hilarious: a machine that holds up pepperoni sausages as they get sliced onto thousands of conveyer belt-propelled pizzas. But without it, your next pizza might be found wanting. Fri, 24 May 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/the-indian-ocean-slave-trade-was-likely-bigger/In the 17th century, the Indian ocean slave trade was arguably on a bigger scale than the Atlantic slave trade. The hub of this vile industry was in modern-day Tanzania, an area that specialized in three things: ivory, spices, and slaves.Fri, 24 May 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/attacking-a-male-mother-wolverine-mistakes-ma/A hyper alert female wolverine mistakes a visiting male for a threat, and attacks him in a bid to protect her newborn kits. But the male is no threat to her–in fact, he’s the father.Fri, 24 May 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/ancient-rome-s-polluted-air-was-attributed-to/We think of pollution as a modern phenomenon. But even ancient Rome struggled with a thick overcast sky from the amount of firewood burned there, thanks to a growing glass-blowing industry.Fri, 24 May 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/this-pyramid-was-built-to-honor-a-highly-unusu/A newly discovered pyramid yields a baffling mystery: A royal tomb, usually reserved for kings, is found to contain a mystery woman. Who was she and why was she given such a great honor?Fri, 24 May 2024 00:00:00 -0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/videos/dont-call-the-blobfish-ugly/From its unique appearance to its habitat and behavior, here's everything you need to know about this mysterious deep-sea creature. Dive into the world of the blobfish and discover why it has become an iconic symbol of marine life.Wed, 22 May 2024 00:00:00 -0000