Smart News: Latest Discoveries & News

Cool Finds

Check Out a Medical Pop-Up Book From the 17th Century

Early movable books were geared towards informing adults not entertaining children

January 13, 2016

New Research

Archaeologists Find World’s Oldest Tea in the Tomb of a Han Dynasty Emperor

No word on how it tastes, though it probably made a good cup 2,150 years ago

January 13, 2016

A Chicago rally of the Ku Klux Klan in the early 1920s

Cool Finds

The Ku Klux Klan Didn’t Always Wear Hoods

The white hood and robe is just the most popular of a variety of costumes used by the hate group

January 13, 2016

A rare English gold pound coin dating to 1594-1596, with a portrait of Queen Elizabeth I.

Cool Finds

Queen Elizabeth I Held England’s First Official Lottery 450 Years Ago

The lucky winner took home a prize that included not just money, but also fancy dishware and tapestries

January 13, 2016

Not so fast...incandescent bulbs could soon become more efficient thanks to nanotechnology.

New Research

Incandescent Light Bulbs May Have a Bright Future After All

Nanotechnology could turn the inefficient bulbs’ weakness into a strength

January 12, 2016

The Chateau d'Ussé has connections with Sleeping Beauty...and contains a slightly creepy surprise.

Cool Finds

The French Castle That May Have Inspired “Sleeping Beauty” Is Filled With Creepy Mannequins

In honor of Charles Perrault’s birthday, explore the Chateau d’Usse

January 2016

The official seal of the village of Whitesboro, New York.

It’s a story that might as well have been ripped from a plotline on “Parks and Recreation”

January 12, 2016

Cool Finds

Watch 100 Drones Dance Their Way to a World Record

The swarm recently took to the skies to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony

January 12, 2016

Library patrons will soon be able to check out ukuleles in libraries across Pennsylvania.

Cool Finds

Pennsylvania Libraries Will Let You Check Out a Ukulele

Read, strum, repeat

January 12, 2016

From “Space Oddity” to “Lazarus,” Bowie gave voice to the anxiety of science fiction

January 11, 2016

A piebald horse is usually called a pinto or paint in the U.S.

New Research

Geneticists Figured Out How Animals Get Their White Spots

The answer could help people with certain genetic conditions and diseases

January 11, 2016

An artist's impression of Philae's landing on Comet 67P. Philae is the small craft beneath the Rosetta orbiter. It detached from Rosetta and landed on the comet on November 12, 2014. Now it may be out of contact forever.

As Comet 67P hurtles further and further away, it’s taking the ‘little lander that could’ along with it

January 11, 2016

People view a painting at the Altes Museum in Germany. As populations age and address various health challenges, museums are increasingly tailoring their programming to better serve their patrons.

Cool Finds

How Museums Are Helping People With Memory Loss

Serving the community means changing museum offerings for guests with Alzheimer’s

January 11, 2016

New Research

Microbe Cells Don’t Outnumber Your Own

For years people have cited the ten-to-one ratio, with microbes dominating human cells, but that number is probably wrong, according to recent research

January 11, 2016

A blue bead uncovered at the Iron Age village archeological site in Norway.

Cool Finds

There’s a 1,500-Year-Old Farming Village Beneath a Norwegian Airport

An airport expansion gives archaeologists the chance to dig for historical treasures in a pre-Viking settlement

January 11, 2016

Turns out the discovery of the Palace of Knossos is just the beginning—the ancient city is three times the size archaeologists suspected.

Cool Finds

This Ancient City Was Three Times Bigger Than Archaeologists Suspected

Will Crete’s tourist boom threaten the archaeological treasures of Knossos?

January 11, 2016

New Research

Thank Neanderthals for Your Immune System

Genes inherited from our ancient cousins may have helped fight off disease

January 8, 2016

A trial at the Destrehan Plantation sentenced 45 men from the uprising to death or to go to New Orleans for future trials.

More than 500 slaves fought for their freedom in this oft-overlooked rebellion

January 8, 2016

Mumbai's gigantic Dharavi slum will soon be home to a mobile museum.

But is a museum showcasing objects created by slum residents ethical or exploitative?

January 8, 2016

Wrecking balls remain ubiquitous in popular culture today, despite their dwindling use at construction sites.

Cool Finds

The Rise and Fall of the Wrecking Ball

The instrument of destruction was popular in the 1950s and ‘60s but is now a rare creature on the demolition site

January 8, 2016