Where America's hidden treasures are found

By Debra Adams Simmons, Executive Editor, History & Culture

As the Smithsonian Institution celebrates its 175th anniversary this year, its complex of varied museums sprawls across the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and beyond. The institution’s storage facilities cover football fields worth of warehouse space around the country, and Smithsonian research centers are doing groundbreaking work around the globe. 

But in 1846, the Smithsonian was just a pile of money—about $500,000—donated by a British scientist named James Smithson, a man who’d never visited the United States. His bequest stipulated only that the institution be “an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge.” 

The Smithsonian has always taken its founder’s “anything’s game” philosophy seriously. 

As Bill Newcott writes for National Geographic, “the sprawling museum-and-zoo complex counts just over 155 million items in its 20 museums and off-site storage facilities. Across more than 11 million square feet of exhibition and storage space . . . those artifacts range from slingshots to space shuttles, ants to elephants.” 

Barely one percent of the vast collection is on exhibit at any one time, meaning most of the treasures are kept in conservation hiding most of the time. So, when Newcott and photographer Rebecca Hale were allowed a rare, behind-the-scenes look inside some of the institution’s secure storerooms, they were stunned to discover row after row of iconic cultural touchstones. 

They include a Babe Ruth autographed baseball (pictured above), the original Muppets from Sesame Street, and Sylvester Stallone’s boxing shorts, with fake blood, from Rocky (both pictured below).

In the backrooms of the National Museum of American History, they also found: 

—A cast of boxer Joe Louis's right hand 
—Phyllis Diller's joke catalog
—Mister Rogers’ red cardigan sweater
—The original stopwatch from the CBS News program 60 Minutes. 

“But don’t for one second confuse the Smithsonian with your grandmother’s attic,” Newcott writes. “Meticulously organized and surprisingly selective, the museum’s archives are an essential resource in its mission to explore and preserve the natural and cultural wonders of America and the world.” 

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TODAY IN A MINUTE

Tornadoes’ toll: Twisters over the weekend left a deadly path of devastation in several states. The greatest loss of life was in Kentucky, where in the small town of Dawson Springs (pictured above), about 75 percent of the community was wiped out and replaced by “chaos,” the mayor told CNN. (Related: Weather disasters of 2021 brought home reality of climate change) 

Remembering Jamal: Saudi diplomats in Washington will have to look at signposts on their embassy’s street that now call it Jamal Khashoggi Way, after the Washington Post columnist who was murdered by a hit team from the monarchy in 2018. Last week, the D.C. Council approved the re-designation of New Hampshire Avenue for the block where the embassy sits, near Watergate and the Kennedy Center for the Arts. 

Melted down: A statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee that was taken down in Charlottesville, Virginia, will be transformed into public art, Axios reports. The statue, removed in July, was a rallying point for hundreds of white nationalists in a deadly “Unite the Right” protest in 2017. 

Dodging the immune system: That’s what researchers are saying about the Omicron variant of COVID-19. In a more positive note, the researchers say they are impressed with the initial results of how boosters work against the emerging variant, Nat Geo reports.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Mexico, marriage, and mariachis: The style of music dates to the 18th century and has been designated as an element of Mexico’s “intangible cultural heritage” by UNESCO. Pictured above, in this image from National Geographic’s December 1990 issue, a mariachi band serenades a newly married couple on the way to their wedding reception in San Miguel de Allende. The image was recently featured in our popular Photo of the Day archival collection.

Related: How UNESCO designations help tourism

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THE BIG TAKEAWAY

The story of St. Nick: He’s one of the most recognizable figures of modern-day Christmas: Santa Claus is based on St. Nicholas, a third-century Greek bishop associated with December gift-giving. In this Russian icon, St. Nicholas is surrounded by scenes from his life. In 1890, merchant James Edgar started a long-standing trend when he dressed as Santa and greeted children in a Massachusetts department store. The rest is history.

Related: How did Christmas markets develop—and change?

HOW CHRISTMAS HAS EVOLVED 

LAST GLIMPSE

Traders and raiders: The Vikings held Europe in thrall for four centuries, as they sailed to Britain, Greenland, North Africa, and even North America. After bringing terror to Spain and France, they set their sights on Rome, Nat Geo History magazine reports. Pictured above, Albert Goodwin’s 19th-century painting captures the impact the Vikings made on the European imagination.

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