1. 8 May


    smithsonianmag: Photo of the Day: Snails enjoying sunshine on the patio Photo by: José De Rocco (Buenos Aires, Argentina); Buenos Aires, Argentina

    smithsonianmag:

    Photo of the Day: Snails enjoying sunshine on the patio

    Photo by: José De Rocco (Buenos Aires, Argentina); Buenos Aires, Argentina

     

  2. 8 May


    Charles Nungesser and François Coli Charles Nungesser and François Coli in heavy flying clothes before their Paris to New York flight attempt. They took off from Paris in their Levasseur 8 l’Oiseau Blanc (“The White Bird”), on May 8, 1927. They never arrived in New York and were presumed lost at sea. (via http://s.si.edu/kPho1)

    Charles Nungesser and François Coli

    Charles Nungesser and François Coli in heavy flying clothes before their Paris to New York flight attempt. They took off from Paris in their Levasseur 8 l’Oiseau Blanc (“The White Bird”), on May 8, 1927. They never arrived in New York and were presumed lost at sea.

    (via http://s.si.edu/kPho1)

     

  3. 3 May


    Today, @amhistorymuseum announced that @tonyhawk will be presenting a special gift at #innoskate2013 in June, a celebration on the National Mall in D.C.

    Today, @amhistorymuseum announced that @tonyhawk will be presenting a special gift at #innoskate2013 in June, a celebration on the National Mall in D.C.

     

  4. 25 Apr


    Alexander Graham Bell’s recorded voice heard for the first time, ca. 1885 (by SmithsonianVideos)

    For decades, early attempts at sound recordings by Alexander Graham Bell sat in our archive, unable to be played due to lack of sufficient technology. But thanks to laser technology from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and experts at the Library of Congress we were finally able to listen to them last year. And recently we were able to confirm that the voice heard on the wax and cardboard discs was indeed the voice of the famous inventor himself.

     

  5. 10 Apr


    You’re looking at an animated GIF of a dance instruction manual from 1815, drawn by eminent Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai (often known for his painting ”The Great Wave”). The creators of these wood-block illustrated books known as ehon in Edo-period Japan (1615–1868) developed designs that still inspire and inform today’s popular manga artists. Original illustration and others on view in  “Hand-Held: Gerhard Pulverer’s Japanese Illustrated Books,” at our Arthur M. Sackler Gallery April 6–Aug. 11    Official record: Odori hitori geiko (dance instruction manual)Katsushika Hokusai (1760—1849)Japan, Edo period, 1815Woodblock printed; ink on paperH x W x D: 18.5 x 12.5 x 0.9 cm Purchase - The Gerhard Pulverer Collection, Museum funds, Friends of the Freer and Sackler Galleries and the Harold P. Stern Memorial fund in appreciation of Jeffrey P. Cunard and his exemplary service to the Galleries as chair of the Board of Trustees (2003—2007)Freer Gallery of Art Study Collection FSC-GR-780.222

    You’re looking at an animated GIF of a dance instruction manual from 1815, drawn by eminent Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai (often known for his painting ”The Great Wave”). The creators of these wood-block illustrated books known as ehon in Edo-period Japan (1615–1868) developed designs that still inspire and inform today’s popular manga artists.

    Original illustration and others on view in  “Hand-Held: Gerhard Pulverer’s Japanese Illustrated Books,” at our Arthur M. Sackler Gallery April 6–Aug. 11   

    Official record:

    Odori hitori geiko (dance instruction manual)
    Katsushika Hokusai (1760—1849)
    Japan, Edo period, 1815
    Woodblock printed; ink on paper
    H x W x D: 18.5 x 12.5 x 0.9 cm 
    Purchase - The Gerhard Pulverer Collection, Museum funds, Friends of the Freer and Sackler Galleries and the Harold P. Stern Memorial fund in appreciation of Jeffrey P. Cunard and his exemplary service to the Galleries as chair of the Board of Trustees (2003—2007)
    Freer Gallery of Art Study Collection FSC-GR-780.222

     

  6. 26 Mar


    Michael Jackson, patent holder? He might not have patented the Moonwalk, but Michael Jackson does indeed hold a patent. For the 30th anniversary of the dance move’s debut, the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center writes about the inventive superstar

    Michael Jackson, patent holder? He might not have patented the Moonwalk, but Michael Jackson does indeed hold a patent. For the 30th anniversary of the dance move’s debut, the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center writes about the inventive superstar

     

  7. 19 Mar


    smithsonianlibraries:

    Dr. David Livingstone (yes, that one) was born 200 years ago today March 19th, 1813. To commemorate, some items of Africana housed in our Cullman rare book library.
    More information on this legendary explorer, missionary, writer and anti-slavery crusader can be found on the David Livingstone 200 site

     

  8. 18 Mar


    “Nor did any of those machines resemble the aircraft that he claimed to have flown in 1901-1902. Why did he not follow up his early success? Why did he depart from a basic design that he claimed had been successful? Are we to assume that he forgot the secret of flight?” New claims are making the rounds that Gustave Whitehead beat the Wright Bros to be the first to fly. A curator from our Air and Space Museum examines the evidence:  Not the First? | The Daily Planet

    “Nor did any of those machines resemble the aircraft that he claimed to have flown in 1901-1902. Why did he not follow up his early success? Why did he depart from a basic design that he claimed had been successful? Are we to assume that he forgot the secret of flight?”

    New claims are making the rounds that Gustave Whitehead beat the Wright Bros to be the first to fly. A curator from our Air and Space Museum examines the evidence:  Not the First? | The Daily Planet

     

  9. 14 Mar


    Smithsonian Magazine tackles the number one question asked of astronauts and the docents in our Air and Space Museum’s “Moving Beyond Earth” Gallery:  How Do You Pee in Space? | Around The Mall

    Smithsonian Magazine tackles the number one question asked of astronauts and the docents in our Air and Space Museum’s “Moving Beyond Earth” Gallery: 

    How Do You Pee in Space? | Around The Mall

     

  10. 7 Mar


    Postcard from Woman Suffrage Parade, 1913 On March 3, 1913, 5,000 women marched up Pennsylvania Avenue demanding the right to vote. Their “national procession,” staged the day before Woodrow Wilson’s presidential inauguration, was the first civil rights parade to use the nation’s capital as a backdrop, underscoring the national importance of their cause and women’s identity as American citizens. The event brought women from around the country to Washington in a show of strength and determination to obtain the ballot. The extravagant parade—and the near riot that almost destroyed it—kept woman suffrage in the newspapers for weeks. “The National Woman Suffrage Parade, 1913” display recreates the mood of the parade and illustrates its impact using costumes worn by participants along with banners, sashes, letters, photographs and postcards like the one shown here. 

    Postcard from Woman Suffrage Parade, 1913

    On March 3, 1913, 5,000 women marched up Pennsylvania Avenue demanding the right to vote. Their “national procession,” staged the day before Woodrow Wilson’s presidential inauguration, was the first civil rights parade to use the nation’s capital as a backdrop, underscoring the national importance of their cause and women’s identity as American citizens.

    The event brought women from around the country to Washington in a show of strength and determination to obtain the ballot. The extravagant parade—and the near riot that almost destroyed it—kept woman suffrage in the newspapers for weeks.

    “The National Woman Suffrage Parade, 1913” display recreates the mood of the parade and illustrates its impact using costumes worn by participants along with banners, sashes, letters, photographs and postcards like the one shown here.