An adorable seal pup

Why Do We Want to Squish and Squeeze Things That Are Cute? Science Has the Answer

The response dubbed “cute aggression” by researchers is the brain’s attempt to self-regulate when confronted with intense emotion

A wall mural outside Pollock's Toy Museum in London

U.K.'s Oldest Toy Museum Shuts Its Doors

Thousands of historic toys will sit in storage until Pollock’s Toy Museum finds a new home

The 12- by 12-inch runestone dates back to between 1 and 250 C.E.

'Sensational' Runestone Discovered in Norway May Be the World's Oldest

The find promises to shed new light on lingering questions about runic writing's early history

Arthur Duncan performing on "The Lawrence Welk Show"

Arthur Duncan, Talented Tap Dancer Who Broke Barriers, Dies at 97

The pioneering entertainer enjoyed a dazzling career that kept him dancing for decades

“Ulitsa Sezam” sought to teach young viewers the skills they would need to thrive in a nascent market economy, with Muppets serving as fluffy mascots of democratic values.

When the Muppets Moved to Moscow

A new book details the tangled tale of "Ulitsa Sezam," a "Sesame Street" spinoff that aired until visions of Russia's democratic future faltered

Sacheen Littlefeather speaking at the Academy Awards in 1973

Indigenous Rights Activist Sacheen Littlefeather Dies at 75

Marlon Brando sent her to decline his Best Actor award in protest over Hollywood’s depiction of Native Americans

Joan Hickson as Miss Marple in the BBC adaptation of Agatha Christie’s A Caribbean Mystery in 1989

Twelve Writers Bring Back Agatha Christie's Miss Marple

In a new collection of short stories, contemporary authors take on the much-loved detective

Filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard

Jean-Luc Godard, an Icon of the French New Wave, Has Died at 91

The groundbreaking filmmaker helped set the stage for modern cinema

Gwendolyn Midlo Hall

Gwendolyn Midlo Hall, Whose Database Identified Thousands of Enslaved Laborers, Has Died at 93

Searching through forgotten records, she collected data on more than 100,000 individuals

Davy Jones, Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork and Mike Nesmith on the set of the television show “The Monkees” in 1967

The FBI Kept Files on the Monkees—and Micky Dolenz Wants to See Them

The band's last surviving member is suing the FBI, which monitored the group in the 1960s

One of the man’s huts

The Last Member of an Uncontacted Tribe in Brazil Has Died

Known as "the Man of the Hole," he lived in isolation for more than two decades

The Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C.

Museum of the Bible Returns Centuries-Old Gospel Manuscript to Greece

The artifact had been stolen from a monastery during World War I

The X-ray of Lewis’ Praxitella beside a reproduction of Saunders’ Atlantic City

Lost Vorticist Masterpiece Found Hidden Beneath Another Painting

An X-ray revealed one of Helen Saunders' many missing works under a portrait by Wyndham Lewis

Some of the artifacts discovered in Israel

Israeli Archaeologists Uncover Hundreds of Ancient Dice Used for Divination—and Gaming

Made from animal bones, the artifacts are more than 2,000 years old

Andy Warhol in 1973

Paintings From Andy Warhol's College Years Will Go Up for Auction

The collection includes "Nosepicker 1," which may be the artist's first self-portrait

An 1843 illustration for A Christmas Carol by George Leech, in which Ebenezer Scrooge is shown his own tombstone

Charles Dickens Was a 'Fascinated Skeptic' of the Supernatural

A new exhibition explores the writer's enduring interest in ghosts and other paranormal phenomena

Alan Turing’s class photo at King’s College, Cambridge in 1931

King's College, Cambridge Will Install Abstract Memorial to Alan Turing

Despite pushback, plans for a sculpture honoring the visionary mathematician have been approved

“The Great Divide” explores how ideas that came to the fore during the Enlightenment at once blurred social hierarchies and reinforced them, particularly along lines of gender and race. 

These 18th-Century Shoes Underscore the Contradictions of the Age of Enlightenment

An exhibition at Toronto's Bata Shoe Museum examines fashion's role in supporting social hierarchies that emerged during the landmark intellectual movement

A plaque depicting a war chief and a royal military priest carrying a leather gift box

London's Horniman Museum Will Return Stolen Benin Bronzes to Nigeria

The 72 objects were looted from Benin City more than a century ago

A love note found among the collection’s many cards and letters

From Lists to Love Letters, What Do People Leave Behind in Library Books?

A California librarian assembles forgotten objects in a heartwarming digital archive

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