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Levi's 501 blue jeans were granted a patent 150 years ago.

After 150 Years, Levi’s 501 Blue Jeans Are Still Kicking

The iconic garment began as a practical piece of clothing for miners to wear during long, difficult shifts

A portrait of Prince Alemayehu in July 1868

Buckingham Palace Refuses to Repatriate Remains of Ethiopian Prince

Taken from his home as a small child, Prince Dejatch Alemayehu died in England at age 18

One of Cassini's last looks at Saturn and its main rings from a distance, produced by combining images taken in October 2016

Saturn’s Rings May Be Younger Than Thought—and Disappearing

Data from NASA’s Cassini mission points to the rings being no more than 400 million years old—quite young in the planet’s 4.5-billion-year history

Tina Turner performing in Illinois in 1987

Women Who Shaped History

Tina Turner, Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Left an Indelible Mark on Music History

The barrier-breaking singer, who died this week at 83, influenced countless musicians who followed in her footsteps

Brazilian reef octopuses, like other types of cephalopods, defend themselves against predators by inking and extending their mantles. 

Octopuses May Have Vivid Nightmares, Video Suggests

Costello, a male Brazilian reef octopus, had “bizarre” defensive outbursts while sleeping in a lab

Two views of a composite reconstruction of the earliest known Homo sapiens fossils, which were discovered six years ago in Morocco and date to around 300,000 years ago.

DNA Suggests Modern Humans Emerged From Several Groups in Africa, Not One

Scientists used computer modeling and the genomes of several hundred living people to examine our prehistoric origins

The three-foot-long fiberglass mermaid sold for $300 at auction.

Who Wants to Buy the Creepy Dolls and Bowling Balls That Wash Up on Texas Beaches?

Hundreds of eclectic items were auctioned off to help fund the rehabilitation of sea turtles and birds

This X-ray of a study participant shows recording electrodes placed in the brain in red, as well as two controllers implanted in the shoulders.

Scientists Decode Brain Waves Linked to Chronic Pain

A new way to objectively measure chronic pain could lead to new treatments for the common condition that can be debilitating

Natasha Poonawalla arrives on the red carpet in a sari for the Met Gala in May 2022.

The Evolution—and Reinvention—of the Sari

“The Offbeat Sari” explores the traditional garment’s role in fashion, protest, sustainability and more

Four of the participants will exercise on a cycling machine while spinning around in a centrifuge designed to mimic artificial gravity.

Volunteers Are Spending 60 Days in Bed to Help Astronauts Stay Healthy in Space

For two months, the group of 12 men must eat, sleep, exercise, bathe and use the toilet while at least one shoulder is touching the bed

Pop artist Andy Warhol sits in front of artworks at his studio, the Factory, in New York City in 1983.

Supreme Court Rules That Andy Warhol Violated a Photographer’s Copyright

Experts are debating what the case will mean for the future of fair-use law

An illustration of the giant gorgonopsian Inostrancevia scaring off the much smaller African species Cyonosaurus

During the ‘Great Dying,’ This Saber-Toothed Predator Reigned

This ancestor of mammals briefly thrived amid a massive extinction event, hinting at how carnivores may respond to climate change today

The Colorado River's Glen Canyon Dam, which creates Lake Powell.

States Propose Landmark Deal to Conserve the Colorado River

The water cuts suggested by California, Arizona and Nevada are not as ambitious as those proposed by the federal government, but they will buy time

A Glasgow restaurant recently had to edit an advertisement including an image of Michelangelo's David after it was rejected due to nudity.

Glasgow Subway Ad Censored for Featuring Michelangelo’s ‘David’

Citing modesty concerns, an ad firm rejected a poster depicting the Renaissance sculpture

The Big Apple's 1,084,954 buildings weigh an estimated 1.68 trillion pounds.

New York City Is Sinking Under the Weight of Its Skyscrapers, Study Finds

As the city, and others like it, slowly subsides, it becomes more vulnerable to flooding driven by climate change

Dogs sunbathing at the Acropolis

Pets Will Soon Be Welcome at More Than 120 Archaeological Sites in Greece

The new policies won’t apply at certain high-traffic destinations like the Acropolis

A distinct subpopulation of orcas lives in the Strait of Gibraltar off the coast of Spain, where they hunt and eat Atlantic bluefin tuna.

Orcas Are Ramming Into Ships Off Europe’s Coast

One researcher says this may be a response to a “critical moment of agony” a female orca experienced with a boat

The only meeting between Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X occured on March 26, 1964, at the U.S. Senate.

Martin Luther King Jr. Never Said Famous Quote Criticizing Malcolm X

One journalist’s archival discovery is changing historians’ understanding of the two civil rights leaders

North Carolina's Camp Lejeune in 2017. From 1953 to 1987, the drinking water at the base was contaminated with a number of chemicals.

Common Chemical Strongly Linked to Parkinson’s

Service members stationed at Camp Lejeune, where water was contaminated, had a 70 percent greater risk of developing the movement disorder, new study finds

Mitzi Avila, who owns Cookies and Chill bakery in Austin, Texas, made a dessert version of Thomas Glassford’s Siphonophora and Teresita Fernández’s Stacked Waters.

These Artworks Are Good Enough to Eat—Literally

The Blanton Museum in Austin asked bakers to create edible versions of pieces in its collection

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