Innovation / Video
How Contacting the Dead Became a Family Game
After the Civil War, one man decided there was money to be made in contacting the dead. So he invented a popular, occult board game that lives on today.
Night in Review: The 2015 Smithsonian American Ingenuity Awards
See highlights from Smithsonian magazine’s annual celebration of ingenuity
This Man Risked His Life to Champion His Invention
In 1916, 32 men were trapped in a mine near Lake Erie. Garrett Morgan saw an opportunity to prove that his fireproof hood worked and went in to rescue them.
Why Would a Race Car Driver Invent Speeding Cameras?
The irony of speeding cameras is that they were invented by a Dutch race car driver, former Monte Carlo Rally winner Maurice Gatsonides. Here’s why
Smithsonian Ingenuity Awards 2015: Rudolph Tanzi and Doo Yeon Kim, Natural Sciences
The duos Alzheimers in a dish is a breakthrough for testing new treatments
Smithsonian Ingenuity Awards 2015: Françoise Mouly, Education
With Toon Books, her comics for kids, shes putting the fun back in literacy and learning
Smithsonian Ingenuity Awards 2015: Rana el Kaliouby, Technology
So long emoticons. The scientist is developing technology that can detect and read our expressions
Smithsonian Ingenuity Awards 2015: Theaster Gates, Social Progress
The artist and activist is using art to revitalize Chicagos beleaguered South Side
Smithsonian Ingenuity Awards 2015: Zoe Crosher and Shamim Momin, Visual Arts
Their 2,400-mile-long Manifest Destiny Billboard Project conquers America
Smithsonian Ingenuity Awards 2015: Lilianna Zyszkowski, Youth
The teenager has wowed Silicon Valley with a potentially life-saving invention, the PillMinder
Smithsonian Ingenuity Awards 2015: Bill Hader and Fred Armisen, Performing Arts
The SNL alums slay it with love in their sendups of nonfiction films in the TV series Documentary Now!
Smithsonian Ingenuity Awards 2015: Alan Stern, Physical Sciences
His New Horizons space mission is bringing us our first-ever close-up views of Pluto
Smithsonian Ingenuity Awards 2015: Lin-Manuel Miranda, History
The playwright, composer and actor has created a Broadway musical like no other in history
How Drones Are Being Used to Battle Wildfires
A fire crew fighting a large blaze in Yosemite National Park lose contact with their command. Their only hope of survival is an aerial drone with an infrared camera sent …
Viewers catch falling letters in an interactive installation by artists Camille Utterback and Romy Achituv
This Bionic Suit May Be the Future of Prosthetics
Inventor Scott Summit is personalizing medical devices through 3D printing
This Woman Invented Monopoly to Combat Greed
Monopoly, arguably the most-famous board game, was invented by Charles Darrow. But many attribute the original idea to Lizzie Magie, a Quaker and the creator of the Landlord’s Game, which …
The Man Who Changed Global Finance Forever
Part of an astonishing rags-to-riches story, Amadeo Giannini, a first-generation American, founded the Bank of Italy, a San Francisco institution that would later become one of the world’s largest commercial …
The Smiley Face Was Invented for Corporate America
A yellow circle with simply drawn eyes and a smile has become one of the most recognized American graphics. It was first created for an insurance company in the 1960s …
How a Small Tweak Made Lego the Toy You Know Today
Once a company of only 10 employees, Lego is now one of the most recognized brands on the planet-valued at over 14 billion dollars. But none of this could have …
Page 5 of 10