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The behemoth carcass has attracted lots of curious onlookers to Gearhart Beach.

See the Rare, 2,000-Pound Hoodwinker Sunfish That Washed Ashore in Oregon

The species was only described in 2017 after “hiding in plain sight” for nearly three centuries

Animal bones found at the site suggest it may have been used for ritual ceremonies.

Cool Finds

Discovery of 4,000-Year-Old Structure in Greece Stumps Archaeologists and Threatens Major Airport Construction

The mystifying Minoan structure, unearthed on a hilltop in Crete, is one of 35 newly announced archaeological finds in the area

Elephants at Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, on May 3, 2024. Elephants use low, rumbling vocalizations to call to others and while caring for their young.

African Elephants May Call Each Other by Name

In a new study, a computer model was able to identify the recipient of an elephant’s call more than a quarter of the time, which scientists say is significantly greater than chance

The coins were found in the courtyard of a farmhouse in the small town of Wettin, Germany.

Cool Finds

This Stash of Silver Coins Found in Germany Belonged to a Wealthy 17th-Century Mayor

The collection includes pieces from surrounding regions, as well as Italy and the Spanish Netherlands

A simulated perspective of Olympus Mons, the tallest volcano in the solar system, with water frost at its peak.

Astronomers Discover Water Frost on Mars’ Tallest Volcanoes

On early winter mornings, a thin layer of ice forms in craters atop the Red Planet’s towering peaks, near its equator, according to a new study

These stones were shot from catapults during one of the longest sieges in British history.

Cool Finds

Catapult Shots Fired During 13th-Century Siege Unearthed at British Castle

Found on the grounds of Kenilworth Castle, the eight stones were used during a clash between rebels and royal forces in 1266

Maternal Caress, Mary Cassatt, 1896

Women Who Shaped History

Mary Cassatt’s Paintings Take Women’s Labor Seriously

A new exhibition challenges longstanding assumptions about the American Impressionist’s artistic legacy

Wombats are stocky marsupials that can weigh up to 85 pounds.

Don’t Call Wombats Heroes, but Their Burrows Do Provide Food, Water and Shelter for Other Animals

During Australia’s devastating bushfires in 2019 and 2020, misinformation spread about wombats welcoming animals into their underground homes—but a new study finds a kernel of truth in the viral story

The 10-foot-deep well is located in Ostia Antica.

Cool Finds

Trove of Rare Artifacts Unearthed Beneath an Ancient Roman Well

Dozens of items, including burnt bones and ceramics, provide new insights into ritual activity in the city of Ostia

Val Castor, a veteran storm chaser for KWTV in Oklahoma City, saw the huge chunk of ice in a ditch on the side of the road.

Pineapple-Sized Hail Stone Falls in Texas—and It Might Set a New State Record

Veteran storm chaser Val Castor spotted the behemoth ice chunk in a ditch near Vigo Park in the Texas panhandle

Some of the newspaper articles describe the buying and selling of enslaved people, while others offer rewards for the return of runaways.

Ancestry Releases Records of 183,000 Enslaved Individuals in America

The genealogy company has digitized and published 38,000 newspaper articles from between 1788 and 1867—before Black Americans were counted as citizens in the U.S. census

Taken in December 1968 during NASA's Apollo 8 mission, William Anders' iconic "Earthrise" photograph galvanized environmental movements and inspired people on Earth.

William Anders, NASA Astronaut Who Captured Iconic ‘Earthrise’ Photograph, Dies at 90

The Apollo 8 lunar module pilot also served in the U.S. Air Force and worked extensively on nuclear energy projects

Researchers are particularly excited about the newly discovered chess piece, which is about an inch and a half tall.

Cool Finds

Medieval Game Pieces Unearthed Beneath a Castle in Germany

The “excellently preserved” chess knight, six-sided die and several other pieces are all about 1,000 years old

Children play in a spray pool in Rio de Los Angeles State Park in Los Angeles, California, on Thursday, June 6. A heat wave led to record-setting temperatures across the western U.S. last week.

The Western U.S. Is Sweltering Under a ‘Heat Dome.’ What Does That Mean?

A stagnant high-pressure system over the region is trapping heat, exacerbating high temperatures and setting records

Food, Fruit and Glass on a Table, Peter Binoit, circa 1620s

Two Nazi-Looted Paintings Were Returned to a Jewish Family, Who Donated Them Back to the Louvre

The 17th-century artworks were recovered from Germany and placed at the Paris museum in the 1950s

A horse herder in Inner Mongolia, China, in July 2019.

When Did Humans Domesticate Horses? Scientists Find Modern Lineage Has Origins 4,200 Years Ago

A new study suggests people in the Eurasian steppe bred horses around 2200 B.C.E., challenging earlier ideas about the beginnings of horse husbandry

A reconstruction of the central grave in the burial mound of Eberdingen-Hochdorf, located in southwestern Germany

New Research

Ancient Celtic Elites Inherited Wealth From Their Mothers’ Sides

A genetic analysis of opulent burial mounds in Germany sheds new light on how power passed through family lines

Chickens on a poultry farm in Tepatitlan, Jalisco State, Mexico, on June 6, 2024. Outbreaks of H5N2 avian influenza have recently been reported in poultry in Mexico.

Man Infected With H5N2 Bird Flu in Mexico Dies. Here’s the Latest on the Virus

The strain is not the same one that has infected U.S. cows and three dairy farm workers, and officials say the risk to the general public remains low

Archaeologists found amphorae, bronze jugs, bronze lamps and construction materials inside the room.

Cool Finds

See the Stunning Shrine With Rare Blue-Painted Walls Unearthed at Pompeii

The 86-square-foot space is adorned with artworks depicting female figures and agricultural imagery

Flamingos were nearly hunted to extinction for their feathers by the early 1900s. But, thanks in part to conservation and habitat restoration efforts, they're making a comeback in Florida. This flamingo was spotted in Miami Beach in 2018.

More Than a Century Ago, Flamingos Disappeared From Florida. Now, They’re Coming Home

Likely transported by Hurricane Idalia last August, more than 100 of the pink birds were counted in a February census in the Sunshine State, where they are considered a native species

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