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The researchers conducted static compression tests to measure the force needed to break the eggs in different positions.

This Is the Best Way to Drop an Egg Without Breaking It, According to Scientists

Experiments challenge the commonly held idea that dropping an egg vertically will help prevent it from cracking in a classic school assignment

The pipe was found during an archaeological survey ahead of new construction.

Cool Finds

Ancient Roman Wooden Water Pipe Made From Hollow Tree Trunks Unearthed Beneath a Street in Belgium

Archaeologists say the muddy soil in the area preserved the artifact, which likely dates to between the second and third centuries C.E.

Dumbo octopuses, like the Opisthoteuthis agassizii seen here during a 2019 dive, are the deepest-living group of octopuses known.

Humans Have Seen Only 0.001 Percent of the World’s Deep Seas, Leaving Most of the Planet a Vast Mystery

Researchers argue that expanding deep-sea exploration is vital to understanding and managing these marine habitats

Located in Northumberland National Park, the Sycamore Gap tree was well-known throughout England and beyond.

Two Men Convicted of Chopping Down England’s Beloved Sycamore Gap Tree in an Act of ‘Mindless Thuggery’

After five hours of deliberation, jurors found Adam Carruthers and Daniel Graham guilty of criminal damage for felling the iconic tree that stood near Hadrian’s Wall

Ava DuVernay delivers her acceptance speech for the National Museum of American History’s Great Americans Medal.

Women Who Shaped History

Trailblazing Filmmaker Ava DuVernay Receives the Smithsonian’s Great Americans Medal

DuVernay is the first director, writer and producer to earn the honor, which recognizes “lifetime contributions embodying American ideas and ideals”

Grizzly 399 (left) reigned as the "Queen of the Tetons" until her death in October 2024.

Male Offspring of Grizzly 399—the ‘World’s Most Famous Bear’—Killed by Vehicle in Grand Teton National Park

The 5-year-old boar known as Grizzly 1058 was part of a rare litter of four cubs born in 2020

Researchers reveal that some superb starlings form long-term, friendship-like relationships.

These Colorful Birds Form Long-Term ‘Friendships’ by Helping Out With Babysitting, Study Suggests

While scientists have observed animals assisting their relatives, a new study reveals that many superb starlings also form supportive relationships with non-relatives that can last for years

Tell Abu Saifi features housing units where soldiers and their families may have lived.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Uncover Evidence of Ancient Tree-Lined Road in Egyptian Military Fortress

Located in the northern Sinai Desert, the site is shedding new light on defensive structures built to protect Egypt’s eastern borders

Leo XIV made his first appearance as pope on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica on May 8.

The New Pope Is Calling Himself Leo—Just Like 13 Other Pontiffs Who Came Before Him. Who Are They?

When Robert Prevost was elected pope this week, he chose one of the most popular papal names. The lives of the Pope Leos who preceded him may offer insight into his approach to the papacy

The king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is the world's longest venomous snake, and it's one of the species that can be neutralized with a new antivenom.

200 Snakebites Later, One Man’s Blood May Hold the Key to a Universal Antivenom

Over two decades, Tim Friede has injected himself with snake venom hundreds of times, and subjected himself to more than 200 bites. Now, scientists are working on an antivenom derived from his antibodies

A Brood XIV cicada in 2008, the last time this group of the insects emerged

Watch for Cicadas: Billions From Brood XIV Will Soon Emerge After 17 Years Underground

The insects from this group were last seen in 2008 and will appear across the eastern U.S. for a brief, dramatic frenzy of mating and dying

Pueblo Bonito is one of the largest "great houses" constructed by the Chacoan people at Chaco Canyon.

New Research

DNA Links Modern Picuris Pueblo Tribe to Ancestors Who Lived in Chaco Canyon Hundreds of Years Ago

Tribal leaders partnered with scientists to confirm their connection to the archaeological site in New Mexico

Marine archeologist Andreas Kallmeyer Bloch documents the shipwreck.

Cool Finds

Locals Thought These Shipwrecks Had Belonged to Pirates. They Turned Out to Be 300-Year-Old Danish Slave Ships

The two vessels had been trafficking hundreds of enslaved Africans when a navigational error led them astray. They sank off the coast of Costa Rica in the 18th century

Before the eruption, scientists saw a wide variety of ocean life around the Tica hydrothermal vent.

Scientists Stumbled Upon an Active Volcanic Eruption in a Mid-Ocean Ridge for the First Time Ever

From a research submersible, scientists saw hardened lava, dead tube worms and orange flashes from an eruption in the East Pacific Rise

The Virgin and Child with Saints Louis and Margaret, circa 1510

Who Created This Peculiar Painting of a Drooling Dragon? Nobody Knows—but a Museum Just Bought It for $20 Million

Painted around 1510, the mysterious altarpiece by an unknown artist features unusual details, including a slobbering dragon and an angel playing the mouth harp

The papier-mâché decoys have been placed in a 100-acre field south of the Jackson Hole Airport runway in a bid to attract greater sage-grouse.

Rooted in the American West: Food, History and Culture

Threatened Birds Are Trying to Mate Near a Hazardous Airport in Wyoming. Can Papier-Mâché Decoys Lure Them to Safety?

At Grand Teton National Park, officials have placed handmade look-alikes in a field south of the runway to encourage greater sage-grouse to relocate

An artistic rendering of a magnetar—or highly magnetized neutron star—losing material into space. The magnetic field lines, shown in green, direct the movement of charged material.

Astrophysicists Track Down the Mysterious Cosmic Origins of Gold and Other Heavy Metals in Our Galaxy

Researchers suggest powerful bursts from magnetars—collapsed stars with strong magnetic fields—may have contributed up to 10 percent of all elements heavier than iron in the Milky Way

Both the sword and the sheath are made from some of the most valuable materials from Napoleon's era.

The Ornate Sword That Napoleon Commissioned During His Rise to Power Is Heading to Auction

Prior to his final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, the French ruler gave the saber to one of his most trusted generals, whose family kept it for generations

E.H. Shepard illustrated a map of the Hundred Acre Wood for A.A. Milne's The World of Pooh (1957).

See the Imaginative Illustrations on the Endpapers of Children’s Books Like ‘The World of Pooh’ and ‘Blueberries for Sal’

A new exhibition celebrates the often-overlooked endpapers of more than 50 works of children’s literature ranging from the mid-20th century to the present day

Scientists analyzed more than 20 years of data on 164 wild mountain gorillas living in Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda.

For Mountain Gorillas, Being Social Comes With Both Benefits and Drawbacks, Study Suggests

A new analysis of wild gorillas in Rwanda indicates the effects of different social styles are dependent on context

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