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Here’s How to Make a Canoe Out of a Tree Trunk

The boats are fashioned entirely by hand using simple tools, and traditionally are carved from magongo tree wood

How One 17th Century Scholar Reconciled Newly Discovered Species And the Space on Noah’s Ark

Here’s how Bishop John Wilkins got all the animals to fit on Noah’s Ark

Read Seamus Heaney’s Last Known, Previously Unpublished Poem

Two months before he died, Heaney wrote “In a Field” at the request of poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy

How Does a Tea Kettle Whistle?

This might seem like an obvious question, but it turns out that no one has looked into it until now

We Might Soon Know What Ancient Greek Music Actually Sounded Like

Music has been with humans for a very, very long time. But as time marches on, history can lose the records of what that music sounded like

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The Arctic Hasn’t Been This Hot for 44,000 Years

The average temperature in the Arctic, says new research, is hotter than at any time in the past 44,000 years, and maybe more

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Hibernation Doesn’t Have to Be Cold

Hibernation tends to go hand-in-hand with cold temperatures, but the greater mouse-tailed bat hibernates at a comfortable 68-degrees Fahrenheit

The migration paths that may have brought people across the Bering Strait Land Bridge.

The Very First Americans May Have Had European Roots

Some early Americans came not from Asia, it seems, but by way of Europe

Men Shop for Groceries, And Food Companies Are Noticing

Those companies have designed dark, bold packaging and bigger “man-sized” portions

U.S. paratroopers drop into Grenada

30 Years Ago Today, the U.S. Invaded Grenada

The conflict pit the U.S. military against Grenadian revolutionaries and the Cuban army

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The Most Isolated Tree in the World Was Killed by a (Probably Drunk) Driver

The acacia was the only tree for 250 miles in Niger’s Sahara desert and was used as a landmark by travelers and caravans

In the Wake of the Boston Marathon Bombing, Twitter Was Full of Lies

Of the 8 million tweets sent in the days following the Boston bombing, just 20% were accurate pieces of factual information

Coral Reefs Are Fighting Back Against Global Warming

When they get stressed by the heat, coral make their own shade by releasing a chemical that helps clouds form

Should EpiPens Be Stocked Everywhere People Eat?

Laws are in the works to get EpiPens into schools and restaurants

Archimedes Would Be Proud of This Now-Bright Norwegian Town

Inspiration for the idea traces back to the 212 BC legend about Archimedes’ burning mirrors used to set Roman battle ships ablaze

What Percent of the Population is Gay? More Than You Think

There may never be a time when people will accurately answer surveys, but at least survey givers are getting better at tricking us into being honest

There are 37.2 Trillion Cells in Your Body

You know that your body is made of cells - but just how many? Turns out that question isn’t all that easy to answer

(Not the temple in question)

Ancient Buddhist Frescoes in China Got Painted Over with Cartoons

he temple affairs head and the the cultural heritage monitoring team lead have both lost their jobs, and the Communist party chief has been scolded

What Is the Exactly Perfect Time to Drink Your Coffee?

It’s a good thing that science is here to figure out the exact perfect way to drink a cup of coffee

Before Hollywood Had Ratings, Films Were Way Racier

In the 1934 movie Murder at the Vanities there’s a whole musical number about the pleasures of marijuana sung by half naked women

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