
Our Most Popular Videos of All Time
10 Clips
From the astonishing Miracle on the Hudson to intense footage of animals fighting to the death, watch Smithsonian's best clips of all time.
Playlist
A Mongoose and Black Mamba Fight to the Death
From: Lethal Attractions
- 2m 28s
- HD
A mongoose is lightning fast and has razor-sharp teeth. A black mamba can kill 15 grown men with just one bite. Which of these two mortal enemies will win?
Could You Survive Three M16 Bullets to the Chest?
From: The Real Story: Platoon
- 3m 37s
- HD
A weapons expert and a trauma surgeon recreate a scene from Platoon using high-speed cameras to show the damage caused by a single M16 bullet to the human body.
How to Land a Boeing 777 without Any Engines
From: Terror in the Skies: Technical Meltdown
- 3m 53s
- HD
Just one minute away from landing, both of this planes engines suddenly fail.
Ridiculous Planthopper Nymphs in Action
From: Wild Burma: Chasing Tigers
- 43s
- HD
These snowflake-like creatures seem almost lifeless from afar. Get closer, and it's a completely different story.
Something Ate This Shark... but What?
From: Hunt for the Super Predator
- 2m 50s
- HD
The film crew tags a number of great white sharks to study their movement patterns along Australia's coast. When one of the devices washes ashore, could a killer whale be to blame?
Miraculous Plane Landing on New Orleans Levee
From: Air Disasters: Nowhere to Land
- 3m 49s
- HD
A severe thunderstorm forced a Boeing 737 to attempt an emergency landing on the most unlikely, impossible place: a New Orleans levee.
A Newborn Hippo Takes His First Breath
From: Hippo Ganglands
- 2m 46s
- HD
A pregnant hippo leaves her pod in order to give birth in quiet waters, but when it's time for mother and calf to journey back to their family, the newborn hippo struggles to keep up.
Collision over California
From: Air Disasters: Blind Spot
- 3m 48s
- HD
A deadly mid-air collision between a Boeing commercial airline and a private Cessna sends both planes into a San Diego neighborhood.
Roswell's Bizarre Aircraft Boneyard
From: Aerial America
- 2m 12s
- HD
This ordinary small town holds extraordinary significance for aviation: it's home to Elvis' private jet, an airplane demolition yard, and the most famous aircraft that no one's ever seen.
Incredible: A Caracal Slaps Down a Bird in Flight
From: Speed Kills: Desert
- 3m 9s
- HD
The caracal is a fierce and agile predator. And the way it pursues airborne prey is astounding.
Related Shows
Hunt for the Super Predator
- 46m
- HD
Meet the oversized marine predators patrolling the waters of the wild and merciless Southern Ocean.
Wild Burma
- 3 Episodes
- HD
This unprecedented expedition could determine the fate of Burma's wilderness, and its creatures.
Terror in the Skies
- 4 Episodes
- HD
Get a passenger-seat view of near air disasters, captured on the cameras and cell phones of those on board.
Speed Kills
- 3 Episodes
- HD
The fastest animals on Earth use speed to kill. Our high-speed cameras capture them in action.
The Real Story
- 10 Episodes
- HD
Before Hollywood made them famous, history made them legends. Discover the truth behind "Scream," "Platoon," "The Da Vinci Code," "Star Trek," and other hits.
Aerial America
- 72 Episodes
- HD
Grab your ticket for a scenic cross-country flight, from the mountains to the prairies, and from sea to shining sea.
Lethal Attractions
- 46m
- HD
Watch lion vs. Cape buffalo, mongoose vs. snake, leopard vs. baboon and other lethal battles of the African savannah.
Air Disasters
- 135 Episodes
- HD
A new season of air catastrophes, featuring crashes in the Himalayas, the Atlantic Ocean, an Argentine desert, and more.
Hippo Ganglands
- 46m
- HD
Did you know that a hippo's bite could snap a crocodile in two? See the darker side of these three-ton beasts as they fight for survival in the Luangwa Valley of Zambia.