How Do Sea Creatures Survive the Intense Pressure of Living Deep in the Water? And More Questions From Our Readers

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Smithsonian magazine

November 2026

How do deep-sea creatures avoid getting crushed by the water pressure?

Unlike animals living on land or in shallower water, deep-sea animals have few or no air-filled spaces in their bodies. Their tissues are mostly liquid, and the pressure of their internal fluids matches the pressure of the surrounding water. Deep-sea animals also have special cellular and biochemical adaptations. High pressure can make cell membranes too rigid, so deep-sea species often have membranes rich in unsaturated fatty acids, which help them remain flexible and functional. Pressure can also disrupt the three-dimensional shapes of proteins, causing them to become unstable or denature. Molecules such as trimethylamine N-oxide—which help proteins hold their shape in animals like sharks and rays—occur in especially high concentrations in snailfishes, the deepest documented fishes in the oceans. Together, these adaptations help animals to survive and persist in the deep sea, despite the crushing pressures.—Andrea Quattrini and Ellen Strong, research zoologists, National Museum of Natural History

When did Americans begin using standardized spelling? 

In the early years of the United States, different regions had their own spellings. This began to change in 1783, when Noah Webster, a schoolmaster in Connecticut, published a schoolbook known as “the blue-backed speller.” The speller was so popular that enslaved people, including Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington, were able to find copies as they learned to read and write. In the 1830s, education reformer Horace Mann began pushing for a standardized teaching system and curriculum across America. But what finally put an end to most regional differences was the rise of national media, as more people began reading the same magazines and newspapers and listening to the same broadcasts. Roads and railways also made it easier for people to travel and relocate, which made American English even more uniform across the nation. —Debbie Schaefer-Jacobs, curator of culture and community life, National Museum of American History

Which space movies have the most accurate science? 

Our entire department put our heads together to come up with this list: In 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), filmmaker Stanley Kubrick and screenwriter Arthur Clarke worked to depict spaceflight in a realistic way. Apollo 13 (1995) is faithful to the nonfiction book Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13, which was co-written by the mission’s commander, Captain James Lovell. Contact (1997) has an excellent depiction of radio astronomy, drawn from Carl Sagan’s novel. October Sky (1999) includes the accurate rocket science found in NASA engineer Homer Hickam’s memoir Rocket Boys. (Fun fact: The two titles are anagrams of each other.) Gravity (2013) does a creative and largely accurate job depicting microgravity, but it takes factual liberties with orbital mechanics and spacesuit donning and doffing (which take more time than the fast-paced story allowed). Project Hail Mary (2026), which closely follows Andy Weir’s novel, roots its adventurous story in accurate equations from physics and plausible mechanical problem-solving.—Curators, Department of Space History, National Air and Space Museum

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