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J.D. Salinger (center left with his hand on his chin) on the deck of the M.S. Kungsholm, 1941

Get a Rare Peek Into the Life of Reclusive Writer J.D. Salinger

A new exhibition at the New York Public Library includes never-before-seen photographs, letters and manuscripts

Plants growing in lunar and Martian soil simulants.

New Research

Space Farmers Could Grow Crops in Lunar and Martian Soil, Study Suggests

With a little added organic matter, dusty lunar and Martian soil simulants produced tomatoes, rye, radishes and other crops in the lab

Lord Elgin is a controversial figure accused by many—including the Greek government—of looting valuable artifacts from the city of Athens

Cool Finds

Newly Discovered Treasures Came From the Same Sunken Ship That Carried the Controversial ‘Elgin Marbles’

The “Mentor,” a vessel owned by the notorious Lord Elgin, sank in 1802 while carrying panels and sculptures looted from the Parthenon

New Research

Trilobite Fossil Shows Animals Have Stood in Line for Hundreds of Millions of Years

A line of 480-million-year-old trilobites found in Morocco may be the earliest evidence of collective animal behavior

Olivia Colman and Tobias Menzies portray Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip

Based on a True Story

Watch the New Trailer for Season Three of ‘The Crown’

The hit Netflix show returns November 17 with a new cast and will focus on events from the 1960s and ‘70s

Leonardo da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man" will make an appearance in the Louvre's upcoming blockbuster exhibition

Leonardo’s ‘Vitruvian Man’ Is Headed to the Louvre Despite Italian Scholars’ Protests

Some researchers say the roughly 530-year-old drawing is too fragile, light-sensitive to travel

A sculpture depicting Irish author James Joyce is seen behind his grave in Fluntern cemetery in Zurich

Trending Today

Dublin Wants to Reclaim James Joyce’s Body Before the Centenary of ‘Ulysses’

Critics question whether the author, who died in Zurich after a 30-year exile, ever wanted to return home, even in death

For the first time in some 450 years, Nelli’s "Last Supper" is finally on public view

Renaissance Nun’s ‘Last Supper’ Painting Makes Public Debut After 450 Years in Hiding

The 21-foot canvas, created by self-taught artist and nun Plautilla Nelli, is now on view in Florence

On a cold day in early spring in China’s Qilian Mountains National Nature Reserve, photographer Yongqing Bao watched a fox and marmot tango for about an hour before they finally clashed. Minutes later, the fox trotted away with a delicious meal.

See a Fox Spook a Marmot and More Award-Winning Wildlife Photographs

The London National History Museum’s 55th annual contest garnered more than 48,000 entries from 100 different countries

Part of the Badlands Opens to Bison—for the First Time in 150 Years

A parcel of private land had previously stopped the animals from expanding their range in the Badlands National Park

The Melckmeyt sank in October 1659

Virtual Travel

Take a Virtual Tour of a 17th-Century Shipwreck

A new VR experience lets users explore the “Melckmeyt” without diving into Iceland’s freezing waters

Artist's impression of gas flow in a protoplanetary disk.

New Research

To Find Baby Planets, Researchers Chase Waterfalls of Gas

Analysis of data from the ALMA telescope shows gas flows from the surface to middle of protoplanetary discs as new planets form

“The poor Girls & their Teeth!” the author wrote in a letter to her sister. “ ... Lizzy’s were filed & lamented over again & poor Marianne had two taken out after all"

This Jane Austen Letter Highlights the Horrors of 19th-Century Dentistry

The missive, penned after the author accompanied her nieces on a visit to the dentist, will be up for auction later this month

The team hypothesized that works published during the so-called “good old days” would be more uplifting than those penned during times of hardship

What Millions of Books Reveal About 200 Years of Happiness

Researchers analyzed eight million texts to gauge how lifespan, warfare and the economy affect national well-being

NASA astronauts Christina Koch (left) and Jessica Meir (right).

Watch the First All-Female Spacewalk

Astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir will exit the International Space Station to replace a power controller that failed last weekend

A visitor catches a whiff of T. Rex breath at the Field Museum.

Cool Finds

You Can Now Smell a T. Rex’s Stinky Breath at Chicago’s Field Museum

The museum recently added a multi-sensory experience to SUE’s new exhibit

The wooden sarcophagi boast colorful, well-preserved paintings and inscriptions

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover 20 Sealed Ancient Egyptian Coffins

The sarcophagi—decorated in shades of red, green, white and black—were found stacked in two layers in a giant tomb

The 'blob' now lives in a terrarium where it loves warm temperatures and humidity.

Paris Zoo Unveils Bizarre, Brainless ‘Blob’ Capable of Learning—and Eating Oatmeal

Physarum polycephalum is known as a slime mold, but it is not in fact a fungus. It’s also not a plant. Or an animal.

Joint winners Margaret Atwood and Bernardine Evaristo attend the 2019 Booker Prize Winner Announcement at the Guildhall in London

Margaret Atwood and Bernardine Evaristo Win the 2019 Booker Prize

Some critics are lamenting that Evaristo, the first black woman to receive the award, has to share it

Violet King, an usherette at the London Coliseum, pocketed the half-smoked cigar and safeguarded it for the rest of her life

Cool Finds

A Cigar Puffed by Winston Churchill Is Set to Go on Auction

The British prime minister smoked the cigar while attending a movie premiere in 1953

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