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Freckles the lobster was kept in a fishtank with other lobsters at the restaurant until the Virginia Living Museum employees rescued him.

Virginia Museum Rescues ‘Freckles’ the Calico Lobster From the Dinner Menu

Most lobsters are brown, but about one in 30 million of the crustaceans are calico-colored

Based on the size of the footballfish and the protruding appendage on the top of its head, state park officials said the fish is female. Female footballfish are the only ones that have the long bioluminescent appendages used to lure other fish toward their mouths.

A Jet-Black, Bioluminescent ‘Football Fish’ Washed Up on a California Beach

The sea creature typically lives in depths of 3,000 feet and rarely shows up on shore in one piece

This 1561 portrait depicts Catherine de' Medici standing alongside four of her children, including the newly crowned Charles IX.

Rarely Seen Portrait of Renaissance Queen Catherine de’ Medici to Go on View

The 16th-century regent, pictured with four of her children, wielded significant political power during the French Wars of Religion

At its height in the 13th century, Angkor boasted a population of around 700,000 to 900,000.

Thirteenth-Century Angkor Was Home to More People Than Modern Boston

New research tracks the famed southeast Asian city’s growth over hundreds of years

Three of the men featured in Facing the Mountain fought in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. The fourth was a conscientious objector who took his case to the Supreme Court.

Meet Four Japanese American Men Who Fought Back Against Racism During WWII

“Facing the Mountain,” a new book by author Daniel James Brown, details the lives of four 20th-century heroes

Via Getty: "Trees burned by the recent Bear Fire line the steep banks of Lake Oroville where water levels are low on April 27, 2021 in Oroville, California."

California’s Fire Season May Be Starting Early This Year

The state issued a ‘red flag’ fire warning on May 2, the first one issued in May since 2014, during a stretch of abnormally hot, dry and windy weather

Just one section of a marine worm with a strange, branching body. This species usually lives inside the many-chambered body of a sea sponge

New Research

This Marine Worm Sprouts Hundreds of Butts—Each With Its Own Eyes and Brain

When it’s time to reproduce, each of the worm’s many rear ends will swim off to get fertilized

While Koronon is the first covid-19 pandemic-specific mascot, other ones have also popped up to help fight the pandemic.

Meet Koronon: Japan’s Bright Pink, Masked Cat Mascot Fighting Covid-19

First seen in fall 2020, the giant fuchsia feline hands out masks to raise awareness and encourages social distancing

The newly released ID-Art app allows the public to easily identify and report stolen art.

Innovation for Good: Game Changers

Interpol’s New App Combats Art Crime and Protects Cultural Heritage

Amateur sleuths, collectors and dealers can use ID-Art to access the international organization’s database of 52,000 stolen artworks

Objects such as satellites and rocket debris constantly fall out of orbit and burn up upon re-entry into Earth's atmosphere before they can hit the surface. Still, larger pieces like the Long March 5B rocket can survive re-entry and pose a threat to inhabited areas.

Debris From China’s Recent Rocket Launch Plunged Into the Indian Ocean

The rocket’s uncontrolled orbit was tracked for days and, upon re-entry, received criticism from NASA

One of the cats from the experiment sits in a Kanisza square, which is four Pac-Man-like circles positioned to create four corners of a square.

Why Cats Love to Sit in Boxes—Even Fake Ones, According to Science

Scientists tested what the Internet has long known to be true: Our feline friends have an “if I fits, I sits” approach to picking the coziest spot

The gold bracteates served as a status symbol for sixth-century Scandinavian elites.

Cool Finds

Ancient Norse Elites Buried These Gold Pendants as Sacrifices to the Gods

The 1,500-year-old bracteates—found in a field in southeastern Norway—depict animal and human figures

Warming temperatures allowed archaeologists to begin examining the barracks, which had previously been sealed off by a glacier, in 2017.

Cool Finds

Melting Glacier in the Italian Alps Reveals Trove of World War I Artifacts

Excavations at the summit of Mount Scorluzzo offer rare glimpse into lives of soldiers fighting in the White War

Sanford Biggers' Oracle (2020) is now on view at Rockefeller Center in New York City.

This Monumental ‘Oracle’ Statue in NYC Subverts Traditional Sculpture

Part of an ongoing exhibition at Rockefeller Center, Sanford Biggers’ newest installation challenges the tropes of classical artwork

Supporters of the law argue wolves are a threat to livestock. However, only 102 sheep and cattle were killed by wolves last year. Idaho loses about 40,000 cattle to non-predator factors each year.

New Idaho Law Allows Killing of 90 Percent of State’s Wolves

The law allows almost unrestricted hunting methods, including the use of night-vision goggles and shooting from helicopters

A young green sea turtle with a solar-powered satellite tag that was used to track it to the Sargasso Sea.

New Research

Baby Sea Turtles Spend ‘Lost Years’ in Sargasso Sea

Researchers used tracking tags to solve the mystery of where young green sea turtles go after they hatch on the beach

An illustration of Shuvuuia deserti shows the long-legged dinosaur hunting an insect at night.

New Research

Big Eyes and Long Inner Ears Helped This Tiny, Owl-Like Dinosaur Hunt at Night

The chicken-sized Shuvuuia dinosaur had a fragile, birdlike skull, one-clawed hands and long skinny legs

Recent research unearthed a trove of remains at a site that first yielded a Neanderthal skull in 1939.

Cool Finds

Remains of Nine Neanderthals Butchered by Hyenas Found in Italian Cave

The fossilized bones appear to belong to one woman, seven men and a young boy

A California condor photographed in Tehachapi, California where this past week a group of the endangered raptors descended on a woman's back porch.

Group of Critically Endangered California Condors Trash Woman’s Deck

The group included 15 to 20 of the massive birds, which amounts to nearly 10 percent of the remaining wild population

Nepal opened up Mount Everest and its other seven peaks this year in hopes of regaining tourists after their mountaineering economy took a devastating hit.

As Cases Surge in Nepal, Covid-19 Reaches Mount Everest

Base camp officials have seen rising numbers of climbers with symptoms and positive coronavirus tests

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