Smithsonian Magazine

Built in the 1940s, Big Boy No. 4014 retired in 1961 after traveling for more than one million miles. It’s now making its way across the country in honor of America’s 250th birthday The world’s largest operating steam locomotive is currently chugging across the United States. It’s known as Big Boy No. 4014, and crowds of Americans are lining railroad tracks to watch it pass through their towns. The locomotive stretches 133 feet and weighs 1.2 million pounds.

In a new report, the World Health Organization predicts that new annual diagnoses will rise from about 20.6 million today to almost 35 million by 2050. The biggest increases will be in Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean region While scientific advancements in the fight against cancer have improved the lives of millions of people, that progress hasn’t been spread evenly around the world.

In celebration of National Rock Day, learn how several rock specimens in the new exhibition “From These Lands” shed light on the nation’s geological heritage Choosing the appropriate rocks and minerals for an exhibit is a multi-city process.

For decades, Elizebeth Smith Friedman worked in near-total secrecy, cracking codes that shaped the outcome of two world wars. Recently declassified, the full extent of her story is still coming to light In the summer of 1916, Elizebeth Smith Friedman (1892–1980) walked into the Newberry Library in Chicago looking for work. She recently graduated from coed Hillsdale College in Michigan with a degree in English literature and a passion for Shakespeare.

The population of eastern gray whales, which annually migrate along the West Coast between the Arctic and Mexico, has been declining in recent years. Conservationists say 2026 could be one of the deadliest years on record for the marine mammals Gray whales are in trouble. So far this year, 145 of the massive marine mammals have washed up dead or got stuck and died along the West Coast of North America, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries.

The discovery suggests humans may have maintained relationships with wolves long after domesticated dogs came on the scene Dogs are man’s best friend. But exactly how these furry canines came to be humanity’s closest animal companions remains one of science’s mysteries. One leading hypothesis is that some wolves began hanging around human settlements, where they scavenged leftover food and gradually became less fearful of people.

23rd Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Artistic Cirrus Minor A cute single cloud is floated in the blue sky to show spring. Photo Detail Date Taken: 03.2023 Date Uploaded: 09.2025 Photo Location: shiraz, Iran Copyright: © mohammad amin shafiei Awards Photo of the Day: 07.12.26

23rd Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Artistic Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow On March 16, 2024, at an ancient-style venue in Zhongjiang County, Deyang City, Sichuan Province, two actors were performing a historical drama. Photo Detail Date Taken: 03.2024 Date Uploaded: 09.2025 Photo Location: Zhongjiang County, Deyang City, Sichuan Province, China Camera: Canon EOS 6D Copyright: © Junyang Liu Awards Photo of the Day: 07.11.26

The mud-brick village boasts streets, towers and a large church. Researchers unearthed everyday objects like grain grinders, an oven and some 200 ostraca—ancient receipts and notes written on broken pottery Beneath the western desert of Egypt, researchers discovered a settlement dating back to the fourth century C.E.—a remarkably intact remainder of the Byzantine Empire. The site contains housing quarters, a grid of streets and a basilica.

The illness is caused by the microscopic parasite Cyclospora cayetanensis, which spreads via food or water contaminated with feces, usually on farms. Health officials are still investigating the source of the multistate outbreak Cases of a parasitic infection that can cause “explosive” diarrhea have surged across the United States in recent weeks, according to health officials.