When Watchmen were Klansmen
Note: While history shouldn’t require a spoiler alert, this blog does contain some minor ones regarding the HBO series Watchmen.“You know...
How picturing the Boston Massacre matters
Maybe this painting looks familiar. A long row of red-coated soldiers. A cloud of gun smoke engulfing the street. Falling bodies.Detail of...
The most radical thing about Stonewall wasn’t the uprising
The Stonewall uprising began June 28, 1969, in response to a police raid at The Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York, and has since...

Blog Posts in "Invention & Innovation"

The little Jeep that could
What weighs a quarter ton, has four wheels, was the first of its kind, and was built in Pennsylvania? The Bantam Jeep Prototype of course!...
A group of people by what appears to be a hot-air balloon.
What did 1889 sound like?
Q: What’s cylindrical, made of wax, and part of one of history’s great showdowns?A: These records in the museum collection with audio...
White celluloid collar on black background
A white collar with a message
Men’s celluloid collar, 1900sAt first glance, this collar from the 1800s might not look like much. A closer inspection shows that this...
Grace Hopper examines a computer at work.
Grace under pressure
On December 7, 1941, two days before her 35th birthday, Grace Murray Hopper, an associate professor of mathematics at Vassar College, was...
"Green Egg" GPS Receiver
The crop of the 21st century
"Information is your new crop!" proclaimed John Deere's brochure, announcing the company's newly launched GreenStar Precision Farming...
Production drawings from Steamboat Willie show Mickey Mouse pulling on a string, tumbling on a bar of soap, and a wheel
Mickey Mouse turns 90
It is hard to believe, but Mickey Mouse is celebrating his 90th birthday this year. For an old mouse, he still looks pretty spry! One of...
A blue robotic arm
Adventures in collecting: Kenneth Salisbury's robot hand
A visitor to Kenneth Salisbury's Stanford University office can't miss the evidence of his life-long fascination with hands.Kenneth...
A red box shaped like a fire house station with a pull handle. The box is decorated with the company logo of Gamewell, complete with a hand gripping bolts of electricity.
“This is 9-1-1. What is your emergency?”: A history of raising the alarm
At 2 p.m. on February 16, 1968, a special red telephone rang at the police station in Haleyville, Alabama. Rather than a police officer, U....
Two lightbulbs, the bulb on the left has a blue cast
Bumping into new technologies: Hey, that's not what a light bulb is supposed to look like!
People tend to be creatures of habit. That tendency often shows up when we’re faced with an odd-looking new technology that replaces...
Image of what looks like a cell phone with one of its panels removed so that insides are visible.
Smart phones: Collecting an electronic montage
New inventions always build on inventions of the past—and sometimes more than one. Few devices demonstrate that more clearly than...
An old bottle of soap
Ordinary objects or incredible inventions?
According to a recent report by Mintel, a marketing research agency, few millennials use bar soap. Don't be alarmed, though. They...
Photograph of the opening of the New York City subway system. Courtesy of the New York Public Library.
A seven-year struggle to build New York's subway
William Steinway's diary resides in the National Museum of American History's Archives Center as part of the Steinway and Sons...
Rectangular cardboard box labeled "Rabies Vaccine (Duck Embryo)" in a printed label. It is half open. Inside, vials with liquid are visible.
Sneaky 1960s rabies prevention inventions
Antibodies are always looking out for us, and this week we're taking a closer look at them. Antibody-based tests, vaccines, and drugs have...
Three amber-colored bottles that resemble upside down bells with handles. They have yellowed labels on them.
An-tee-bodies: T-shirts in celebration of the antibody
Antibodies are always looking out for us, and this week we're taking a closer look at them. Antibody-based tests, vaccines, and drugs have...
(Zoom/Detail) Black and white photo of a woman on a stage. On stage are six fridges, two lamps, and a big banner that says "REA." On a table on the floor in front of the stage, a lamp. There are decorative tassels.
Now you're cooking with electricity!
Before Alton Brown, Rachael Ray, and Giada De Laurentiis, there was Louisan Mamer (1910–2005). An early employee of the Rural...
Postcard-sized illustration in color featuring three children. Two little boys light fireworks and play with toy soldiers while a little girl covers her ears and clutches a doll. Text reads "Wishing you a glorious 4th of July" in gold.
When real patriots got Tetanus
"The coming stupendous holocaust, caused by the sky-rocket, the giant fire cracker and the toy pistol, that leaves an annual trail of...
A horizontal glass bottle with metal machinery inside. There is wiring, a semicircular object, and a glass spout on one end with a tube attached below it filled with a black substance. Above, there is an object that is shaped like an golden, upside-down light bulb.
Well, that sucks…or does it?
Vacuum technology is fascinating to me. Unfortunately for my house, I'm talking about a vacuum defined by the absence of matter, not the...
A piece of paper three hole punched at the top. There is a comic printed on it off-center of two computers sitting on a chair with a picture on a small table and dialogue bubbles. A signature and text is in the lower righthand corner and information is stamped above the cartoon on the page
Man vs. machine: Computing innovations since Deep Blue
On May 11, 1997, a chess-playing computer, Deep Blue, and world chess champion Garry Kasparov were on their sixth and final game. His...
A photograph of a number of men standing in front of a greenhouse. Their clothes are not very fine and they all have hats on. There are overgrown plants and trees behind the greenhouse. The men hold different tools like a scythe or a rake
Piano maker William Steinway saw the future in suburbia in the 1880s, so he built a factory and then an entire village
Piano manufacturer William Steinway described his vision of suburban America to Congress in 1883, but in his own life the future had...
During the "Innovative Lives" event, curator Peter Liebhold (left) interviewed scientists Mary-Dell Chilton (center) and Robert Fraley (right).
Pioneers of agriculture reflect on the genetically-engineered revolution
The fall of 2016 was an important milestone in the history of agriculture—the 20-year anniversary of the first large-scale harvest of a...
A pair of dark leather books that are higher than ankle-length. They lace up the front. They have seen wear, as some of the seams look worn and the soles look like they're coming apart. On the ground in front of the shoes is a notebook. It looks to be made of dark leather and has rings like a modern binder, with pages covered in dark cursive.
Follow the yellow brick road, the Appalachian Trail, or your own path
Update: Thanks to you, our Kickstarter campaign to "Keep Them Ruby" was a success and we have the support we need to conserve and display...
on top of a grey surface, two rows of Pokemon cards are laid out, side by side. There are energy and trainer cards along with cards related to individual Pokemon. Some cards are in Japanese. In the bottom center row is a booklet with instructions for playing the card game.
Pokémon: A shared experience for a new generation
Every generation comes to define itself by the experiences it shares, whether tragic or blissful. Sometimes, a single entertainment...
A photograph of a man in the garb of the 1860s. He rests his hand on a large globe on the ground as he stands and looks at something out of the right side of the frame. In his right hand he carries a rolled up paper.
Thoughts provoked by the 150th anniversary of the Trans-Atlantic Telegraph Cable
I came to the Smithsonian in the summer of 1962, excited about the opportunity to apply my academic training in the history of science to...
An black and white image of a building surrounded by smoke. People gather around it, many in hats and winter jackets. The full caption at the bottom of the picture reads "The Collinwood School, photographed while the fire still raged"
The Collinwood School disaster influenced fire safety protocols
With the academic year in full swing, schools across the country are beginning their first rounds of fire drills. Remember those? As alarms...
Small, handmade car designed from cardboard pieces in red, white, and brown.
Frankenstrats and families: Inspiring family engagement in our "Draper Spark!Lab"
Rolling across the Potomac on any given Sunday morning in the late 1990s, you could probably find a white Volvo with my dad driving my...
An illustration showing a cluster of figures. Neptune rides some sort of chariot pulled by four horse, with sea nymphs surrounding him and a cupid flying in the air. The scene is framed by pink ribbons saying "Neptune Hose Co. Instituted August 6, 1805 and banners reading "To save out fellows we hazard ourselves"
I say "Always Ready." You say "Semper Paratus."
Our fire engine has a secret message. For a few years now, this hand-pumped engine has been on display on the museum's first floor. For a...
Photograph of the Tucker sedan on display on the museum floor
Preston Tucker's sedan: Showcasing a beautiful business failure
Given an opportunity to suggest a landmark artifact outside the entrance to American Enterprise, the museum's new business history...
a green square board with a number of small pes attached by screen to a roller contraption with a handle on which lace is stretched
The Torchon Lace Company: The fine line between entrepreneurship and fraud
Walking down a street in Chicago in 1901, Sylvester G. Lewis saw a large group of women enthralled with a lady making lace in a window...
Photograph of a Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz taillight assembly, 1959
When tail fins made waves
Although visitors would be hard-pressed to find shark fins in our museum's displays, there is one kind of fin (or, at least, part of a fin...
Postwar potluck: Grilling out, convenience cooking, and other 1950s food trends
For the third installment of our Patrick F. Taylor Foundation Object Project potluck series, we embraced 1950s cooking. We found...
Patent with black and white illustration
Inventing for the public good
New posters around the museum remind us as we come to work each morning that our theme this year is "America Participates." This...
1870s Remington typewriter, black with detailed flowers and patriotic emblems painted on it
Type-O-Rama: What do typewriters reveal about innovation?
The sound of clicking typewriter keys filled the museum's Innovation Wing recently during Type-O-Rama. This event, presented by the ...
Cover of "Recipes for Today" cookbook, with an illustration of a woman wearing a read and white dress and carrying a large bowl of soup
A taste of wartime rationing in 1940s product cookbooks
The Patrick F. Taylor Foundation Object Project team had a variety of reactions, taste-wise, to the 1930s recipes that...
Black and white photo of a large bank of snow. In the center, a tunnel has been made. A man stands inside the tunnel. Behind him, five buildings over one story high. "Hardware Iron & Steel" says the sign on one.
The blizzard of 1888
Piano maker William Steinway woke up on March 12, 1888, and discovered "the most fearful snowstorm . . . I ever experienced" had buried New...
Photo of fabric. Dark blue background. Images of small children wearing pink, brown, white, and blue outfits. Attached together with string.
The World War I story of Nénette and Rintintin
Some dolls, some dogs, and a charming Parisian story from our textile collections, part of our World War I series this month.In July 1918,...
Photograph of Monopoly board game, 1940s
Playing Monopoly (and its discontents) on its 80th anniversary
This month marks the 80th anniversary for Charles S. Darrow's patent for the board game Monopoly. By the time Darrow was awarded the patent...
"Park and Shop" board game
Board games have been teaching us how to shop for more than a century
 This November 27, 2015, the day after Thanksgiving, millions of Americans will kick off the holiday shopping season with what has...
1930s potluck spread
Tasting the 1930s: An experiment with congealed salads and other one-dish wonders
The members of the Patrick F. Taylor Foundation Object Project team have been poring over authentic period cookbooks as research...
1930s General Electric Monitor Top refrigerator
Not just a cool convenience: How electric refrigeration shaped the "cold chain"
Electric refrigeration motivated Americans to rethink how they purchased, prepared, and stored food when it first took off in the 1930s....
Dennis the Menace with stethoscope and "Less of a Menace" text on button or sticker
Combating infectious disease and slaying the rubella dragon, 1969-1972
Metaphors of war and combat are almost impossible to avoid when describing humankind's struggle to control infectious disease. The war may...
Next on your radio dial, 15 minutes of healthy talk
At the first sign of symptoms, many people turn to the Internet for health advice. Early listeners to radio could turn their dials and...
Black and white illustration of woman and girl using machine
The book boom: Early bookbinding inventions
American inventions associated with the book were having a bit of a boom between the 1850s and the 1880s. The number of books published...
Thomas Edison's patent model for improvements to a stock ticker
Learning the lingo of patents and trademarks
The Smithsonian and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) are hosting an Innovation Festival at the museum on...
The sazón in hip-hop
A slow disco melody spins on the turntable, interrupted by the metallic sound of symbols. Right after that, the running sounds of bongo...
Place setting and tray used by the Kim family to serve Korean food
Standing at the crossroads of innovation and immigration
Entrepreneurial success and innovative spirit can come in many forms, and emerge from innumerable paths. The same can be said for stories...
Black and white photo of building
Part 1: A Philadelphia snapshot from when daguerreotypes were new
Guest blogger Sarah Weatherwax, a photography curator at the Library Company of Philadelphia, brings her expertise to bear on several...
Black and white photo of building surrounded by trees
Part 2: A Philadelphia snapshot from when daguerreotypes were new
Guest blogger Sarah Weatherwax, a photography curator at the Library Company of Philadelphia, brings her expertise to bear on several...
Photo of a concert on the museum's stage
Director John Gray shares the joyful moments and lessons learned in opening a new wing
Now that the first floor of our West Wing is open, I was curious what the head of our museum, Elizabeth MacMillan Director John Gray,...

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