Smart News

NASA astronauts Scott Kelly (left) and Terry Virts (right) work on a day’s task on board the International Space Station

New Research

How Much Space Do Astronauts Need?

The answer could help design spacecraft for one day taking people on the months-long trip to Mars

The branching routes to Rome, as visualized by a design team

Cool Finds

The Many Roads That Lead to Rome, Visualized

Caveat: not all cities named Rome are in Italy

San Francisco's modern-day Chinatown. Old Chinatown was almost completely destroyed during the earthquake of 1906 and the fires that ensued.

Cool Finds

Traces of San Francisco’s Pre-1906 Earthquake Chinatown Uncovered

Old sewing machines shed light on an enclave that city officials once tried to eliminate

The "Great Garuda" seawall will be shaped like Indonesia's national symbol—a mythical, birdlike creature.

Cool Finds

Jakarta Is Building a Gigantic Bird-Shaped Seawall

But will the Great Garuda project be enough to save a sinking city?

A NOAA archaeologist examines the wreck of Two Brothers in Hawaii.

Cool Finds

NOAA Made a Sequel to 'In the Heart of the Sea'

Because the story that inspired <i>Moby-Dick</i> is just the beginning

Screenshot from Boogie Belgique - Ms. Yutani (official music video)

Cool Finds

Take a Tour of Postwar Tokyo in the 1940s

High-quality archival footage makes a fascinating backdrop in a new music video

Women in Saudi Arabia can finally cast ballots.

Trending Today

Tomorrow, Saudi Women Will Vote for the First Time

More than 130,000 women have registered to vote

When the crew felt they had a good chance of freeing the trapped Endurance from the sea ice of the Weddell Sea, they put the sails up. As we know, this and other attempts failed. Realizing the ship wasn't moving, Hurley went onto the ice to take this photograph. New details of sea ice have been revealed.

Trending Today

Restored Photos From Shackleton’s Antarctic Wreck Reveal New Details

Photos taken during Shackleton’s Antarctic expedition have been digitally restored for the first time

New Research

Genetically-Modified Mosquitoes Could Help Fight Malaria

Two research groups offer two different solutions to one big problem

Trending Today

Test Your Smarts With the British Spy Agency's Christmas Card Puzzle

Can you solve this head-scratcher?

Robot, baby. Baby, robot.

New Research

New Robots Could Learn Like Children

A research team is teaching artificial minds to imitate and innovate like kids do during play

Portrait of Suleyman I (1520-1566), 10th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

Cool Finds

Suleiman the Magnificent's Lost Tomb Might Finally Be Found

Hungarian historians believe they have found the Ottoman sultan’s final resting place

Cool Finds

Explore Laos' Plain of Jars with Drone Footage

Many parts of the 2,000-year-old-site are off-limits because of Vetnam-era cluster bombs

The ashram's entrance was once closed to visitors, who had to sneak in or bribe a guard.

Cool Finds

Abandoned Beatles Ashram Is Opened to the Public for the First Time in a Long, Long, Long Time

Get back to the site of the Fab Four's disastrous meditation retreat

Maybe the white whale just wanted a hyphen.

Cool Finds

Why Does Moby-Dick (Sometimes) Have a Hyphen?

The hunt for the true story behind Melville's hyphen is as mysterious as the famous white whale

During the first two years of the team's studies, snow sealed the entrance to Snow Dragon cave. But in recent years, low snowpack has kept the entrance open year-round.

Cool Finds

Behold the Beauty of Disappearing Glacier Ice Caves on Mt. Hood

Catch them before they're gone -- these tunnels and caverns may soon melt away

Surprising bright spots lurking in Ceres’ Occator crater, as spotted by the Dawn spacecraft

New Research

We Finally May Know the Cause of Ceres’ Bright Spots

It's not aliens

Cool Finds

When Rock Was Banned in the Soviet Union, Teens Took to Bootlegged Recordings on X-Rays

Teens snuck jazz and rock into the U.S.S.R. on records made of old x-rays

A dog mascot named Whisky in the arms of his captain Wolfgang Erhart on board a German ship in the harbor of New York in 1962

Cool Finds

The British Navy Has a Long History of Adopting Animal Mascots

Ships’ pets included dogs, cats and some other animals that were more unusual

It took Leo Tolstoy six years to write War and Peace.

Trending Today

There’s a ‘War and Peace’ Marathon Going On in Russia

It will take 1,300 readers four days and 60 hours to read the book out loud

Page 629 of 948