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Cool Finds

Here’s How That Cow Got So Large

The sad fact is most steers are slaughtered before they reach their full, awesome size, making the Aussie bovine more lucky than freakish

The majority of homicides catalogued on the map occurred in public places, including crowded streets and markets

Relive Medieval London’s Bloody Murders With This New Interactive Death Map

The macabre tool features tales of revenge, thwarted love, infanticide—and a urinal that drove a man to murder

What is happening to the history major?

Trending Today

Why Are Fewer People Majoring in History?

Since the Great Recession, the number of history majors at colleges and universities has dropped by more than 30 percent

Drug-Resistant Bacteria Found on International Space Station Toilet

The bacteria do not currently pose a risk to astronauts, but that could change as the microbes adapt to their environment

Meet your new zombie overlord.

Cool Finds

These Wasps Hijack Spiders’ Brains And Make Them Do Their Bidding

Larvae of the newly discovered species in Ecuador hijacks the spider to build a super-tough incubation chamber

The Stone Age chefs likely boiled carp roe eggs in water or fish broth

Stone Age Humans Feasted on Caviar

Researchers used advanced protein analysis to identify traces of carp roe eggs left on a 6,000-year-old clay plot

Artist’s impression of Elasmotherium.

Modern Humans Emerged As Ancient ‘Siberian Unicorns’ Died Out—But Their Demise Wasn’t Our Fault

A new study has found that the ancient rhinoceros went extinct 39,000 years ago—not 100,000 years ago, as experts previously believed

New Research

Could a Freeze-Dried Vaccine Spell the End of Polio Worldwide Forever?

The vaccine does not require refrigeration, meaning aid workers could get it to children in hard-to-reach regions of the world. So far, it works in mice.

Pulter's poems offer an intimate glimpse into the private life of a 17th-century noblewoman

Critically Explore 17th-Century Noblewoman’s Little-Known Poems Online

Hester Pulter’s works detail chaotic political landscape of the English Civil War, scientific discoveries, theological queries, personal struggles

The cholla plant’s prickly proclivities actually serve a reproductive purpose

Researchers Stabbed Slabs of Meat With Cacti Spines to Learn About Puncture Strength

Barbed spines function much like porcupine quills, drawing on an overlapping shingled design to hook onto victims’ muscle fibers

"Rome Reborn" currently features site-specific tours of the Roman forum and the Basilica Maxentius

Virtual Travel

Ambitious VR Experience Restores 7,000 Roman Buildings, Monuments to Their Former Glory

You can take an aerial tour of the city circa 320 A.D. or stop by specific sites for in-depth exploration

Well-Preserved Female Mummy Found in Elite Egyptian Necropolis

In a first, Egyptian authorities opened the woman’s sarcophagus in front of the international press

Trending Today

North, South Korea Form Tag Team to Get Traditional Wrestling Unesco Heritage Status

The two nations filed a historic joint application to place traditional Korean wrestling on the world cultural heritage listing

'Statue of Unity" presently holds the record for world's tallest statue with a towering height of nearly 600 feet.

India Is Building the World’s Tallest Statue—Again

The monument of the Hindu god Ram is expected to stand 725 feet tall, and it plays a role in the country’s complex political landscape

New Research

It Takes 1.71 Days to Poop Out a Lego

Six intrepid volunteers swallowed the heads of LEGO figurines for the unusual study

Frost drought and extreme winter warming trigger a phenomenon known as "Arctic browning"

Extreme Weather Is Turning the Arctic Brown, Signaling Ecosystem’s Inability to Adapt to Climate Change

Vegetation affected by extreme warming absorbs up to 50 percent less carbon than healthy green heathland

Pieter Bruegel the Elder, "The Battle Between Carnival and Lent," 1559

Online Portal Reveals Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s Creative Process

The project’s launch coincides with a blockbuster Vienna retrospective celebrating the 450th anniversary of the Flemish old master’s death

Trending Today

Berlin’s Famous East Side Gallery Protected from Development

The outdoor gallery on a former section of Berlin Wall has been threatened by a building boom in recent years

"Mrs. Tabitha's Cats Academy"

Cats in Literature? It’s a Long Tail

A new exhibition at the British Library explores how cats have inspired—and frightened—writers across the centuries

Cool Finds

Early Mammals Were Thought to Be Small and Unseen in the Age of Dinosaurs. An Elephant-Sized Fossil Complicates That Story

At a time when proto-mammals and other creatures were getting smaller, this dicynodont bulked up with the thunder lizards

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