Smart News

Cool Finds

George Washington Liked Ice Cream So Much He Bought Ice Cream-Making Equipment for the Capital

Washington used to serve ice cream to guests at the capital

March 28, 2014

Cool Finds

You Can Watch the First Ever Operation to Transplant a 3D-Printed Skull Into a Person’s Head

The operation, which took place on a 22-year-old Dutch woman, was a success

March 28, 2014

Cool Finds

It Once Took Tens of Thousands of Men to Recover an Astronaut from Landing

Splashdown support teams were absolutely massive

March 28, 2014

New Research

Kids Get Confused by Anthropomorphized Animals in Storybooks

This doesn’t mean we should stop reading them those books, however

March 28, 2014

Cool Finds

There Are Hundreds of Examples of Mind-Controlling Parasites

Parasites that hijack other creatures’ minds are not at all rare

March 28, 2014

Cool Finds

The Golden Gate Bridge Will Soon Get a Suicide Net Add-On

After record suicide numbers last year, the city will vote in May whether or not to install the net

March 28, 2014

Cool Finds

This Firefly Time-Lapse Video Is Beautiful

A visit to a serene lake in Missouri kicked off an obsession with creating time-lapse images of fireflies

March 28, 2014

Cool Finds

“Sell By” And “Best By” Dates on Food Are Basically Made Up—But Hard to Get Rid Of

Where do these dates even come from, and why do we have them?

March 28, 2014

New Research

Booking Your Vacation At Work? Bad Idea

Study finds that booking a vacation at work tends to lead to purchasing more expensive hotels and being less satisfied with your trip

March 27, 2014

Cool Finds

Scholars Translate Ancient Guilt Trip in Letter From Soldier to Family

A new translation of an 1,800-year-old letter illustrates the hardships suffered by soldiers on the Roman frontier

March 27, 2014

New Research

Chimpanzees Have Bromances, Too

Male chimps can forge long-lasting friendships

March 27, 2014

Trending Today

Detroit’s Art Might Be Safe, But Delaware’s Isn’t

Detroit (for now) has prevented a massive sale of artwork, but Delaware’s art museum hasn’t been so lucky

March 27, 2014

New Research

Astronomers Just Discovered an Asteroid With Rings

They aren’t supposed to be there, but…there they are.

March 27, 2014

Cool Finds

Qatar Gives $135 Million to Sudan for Archaeological Projects

The war-torn region has some of the most incredible, unexplored antiquities sites in Africa.

March 27, 2014

Life in the Cosmos

There’s Another Dwarf Planet Out Past Pluto, And Maybe a Giant, Rocky One Too

2012 VP113 expands what we know about the odd region of the solar system known as the inner Oort cloud

March 27, 2014

New Research

New Rule: Just Drink When You’re Thirsty

Don’t worry about hitting some arbitrary X-cups-of-water-a-day target

March 27, 2014

Cool Finds

Here’s What It Was Like to Discover Laughing Gas

This is basically the 1799 version of that YouTube clip “David After Dentist”

March 27, 2014

New Research

Why Dark-Colored Pigeons Are More Common in Cities

Melanin seems to help the birds get rid of potentially toxic compounds from the environment

March 27, 2014

Cool Finds

Berlin Just Bought This Abandoned Theme Park

Spreepark, a theme park outside of Berlin has been abandoned for 13 years, but it may get a new lease on life

March 27, 2014

New Research

There’s an Actual Scientific Reason Not to Pee in the Pool

When urine mixes with chlorine, potentially harmful substances can result

March 27, 2014