Editors' Picks

Romans Did All Sorts of Weird Things in The Public Baths—Like Getting Their Teeth Cleaned

For ancient Romans enjoying a day at the bathhouse, the list of items lost to drains includes jewelry, scalpels, teeth, needles and plates

Indians Made It to Australia More Than 4,000 Years Before the British

Evidence of substantial gene flow between Australian and Indian populations around 4,000 years ago refutes beliefs that Australia was an isolated continent before Europeans arrived

The Murky History of Foosball

How did the tabletop game get from parlor halls in 19th-century Europe to the basements of American homes?

History Beats

The Battle Over Richard III’s Bones…And His Reputation

Rival towns are vying for the king’s remains and his legacy now that his skeleton has been found 500 years after his death
February 08, 2013 | By Linda Rodriguez McRobbie

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The inventor's vision of a global wireless-transmission tower proved to be his undoing
February 04, 2013 | By Gilbert King

In 1978, Soviet geologists prospecting in the wilds of Siberia discovered a family of six, lost in the taiga
January 29, 2013 | By Mike Dash

In 1978, Soviet geologists prospecting in the wilds of Siberia discovered a family of six, lost in the taiga
January 28, 2013 | By Mike Dash

When was the first-ever rocket built?
February 2013 | By Jimmy Stamp

James Idle was only 19 when he became one of the earliest casualties of the First World War. But his senseless death inspired a lifetime of devotion from a 9-year-old girl who watched his funeral
January 18, 2013 | By Mike Dash

Ancient Roman pills, preserved in sealed tin containers on the seafloor, may have been used as eye medicine
January 07, 2013 | By Joseph Stromberg

For ancient Romans enjoying a day at the bathhouse, the list of items lost to drains includes jewelry, scalpels, teeth, needles and plates
January 14, 2013 | By Rachel Nuwer

Evidence of substantial gene flow between Australian and Indian populations around 4,000 years ago refutes beliefs that Australia was an isolated continent before Europeans arrived
January 15, 2013 | By Rachel Nuwer

The minister of armaments was happy to tell his captors about the war machine he had built. But it was a different story when he was asked about the Holocaust
January 08, 2013 | By Gilbert King

How did the tabletop game get from parlor halls in 19th-century Europe to the basements of American homes?
January 04, 2013 | By Derek Workman

A mountain hamlet in northern Japan claims Jesus Christ was buried there
January 2013 | By Franz Lidz

Fire can destroy in an instant—or burn for centuries

When the divinity scholar unveiled the papyrus fragment that she says refers to Jesus’ “wife,” our reporter was there in Rome amidst the firestorm of criticism
November 2012 | By Ariel Sabar

Photographer Luca Zanier looks at the view from where the decision-makers sit
October 2012 | By T.A. Frail

When a 18th century German prince visited Mt. Vesuvius in Naples, he insisted on building a replica of it on his estate back home. 200 years later, a chemistry professor brings it back to life
August 30, 2012 | By Andrew Curry

For athletes on the world stage, nothing is worse than choking under pressure. Here are the 10 most memorable transgressors
June 28, 2012 | By Jim Morrison

There must be something in the water at Eton, where rowing rules as the sport of choice
July 2012 | By Joshua Hammer

As London gets set to host the XXXth Olympiad, acclaimed sportswriter Frank Deford connects the modern Games to their unlikely origin—in rural England
July 2012 | By Frank Deford

Float down England's longest river, from its origin in the Cotswolds to its ramble through London, a journey through centuries of "liquid history"
July 2012 | By Joshua Hammer

The Rodney Dangerfield of wars in the United States, the 19th-century conflict is given great respect by our Northern neighbors
June 18, 2012 | By John Hanc

Where did these six poultry-based dishes (with one imposter) get their start?
June 01, 2012 | By Aviva Shen

Tim Jarvis's Plan to Cross the Antarctic in an Exact Replica of the James Caird
May 22, 2012 | By K. Annabelle Smith

The epic begins 10,000 years ago in an Asian jungle and ends today in kitchens all over the world
June 2012 | By Jerry Adler and Andrew Lawler

The question was not “Should you eat human flesh?” says one historian, but, “What sort of flesh should you eat?”
May 07, 2012 | By Maria Dolan

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