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Gunther von Hagens wearing his signature black fedora

This Man Turned Human Corpses Into Popular Museum Displays. Now, the Creator of These Controversial ‘Body Worlds’ Has Donated His Own Body to Science

Gunther von Hagens, who invented plastination, a method of preserving bodies by replacing their natural fluids with polymers, recently died at age 81

The Watts Towers, a 17-structure architectural landmark, were built between 1921 and 1954. 

The Iconic Watts Towers in Los Angeles Will Get a $22 Million Campus Expansion Ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics

Five acres of green space will surround the 17-structure landmark, a folk art masterpiece that an Italian immigrant built over the course of three decades

Each bird figurine measures less than an inch long.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover Two Thumbnail-Size Bird Sculptures Carved From Mammoth Ivory 40,000 Years Ago

Measuring less than an inch long, the figurines were buried beneath Germany’s Hohle Fels Cave, where some of the world’s oldest known figurative artworks have been found

The new box set includes a book with photographs and historical documents from Ma Rainey’s life. 

Audio Engineers Restored Hidden Notes and Revealed Lost Instruments in This New Treasure Trove of Songs by the Pioneering ‘Mother of the Blues’

The 118-track collection is the most complete set ever compiled of recordings by American blues icon Ma Rainey

Visitors with regular admission tickets are not usually allowed inside the monument.

Want to Spend Some Alone Time With Stonehenge? This August, Lucky Visitors Get the Chance to Enter the Stone Circle Before the Site Opens to Tourists

Almost every day next month, management of the prehistoric landmark in England will draw a winning ticket and offer a unique experience to a visitor before the daily bustle begins

The Solomon Siren by Jason deCaires Taylor honors Kale Island, which was submerged a decade ago due to rising sea levels. 

This Pacific Island Disappeared Under Rising Seas. A New Sculpture Marking the Spot Will Morph Into a Home for Seabirds, Coral and Marine Life

“The Solomon Siren” remembers Kale Island, submerged a decade ago in the Solomon Islands

The museum has already curated a collection of hundreds of artworks.

See the New Frank Gehry Building Rising From the Shore of the Persian Gulf in Abu Dhabi to House a Global Art Collection

Officials just announced a December opening for the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, the long-awaited fourth installment in the Guggenheim Foundation’s lineup of art museums

Students and volunteers have been excavating the Roman mosaic from a field near near Halberton, Devon.

Cool Finds

A Metal Detectorist Discovered Tiny Tiles in a Farmer’s Field. A Spectacular Ancient Roman Mosaic Was Buried Beneath the Surface

The polychrome mosaic once decorated a small room in a lavish villa complex. Researchers, students and volunteers have been working together to excavate the rare site in southwestern England

The Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site this week. 

This Alligator-Rich Swamp in the American South Just Joined the UNESCO World Heritage List, Along With the Home of the Greek Gods

The 25 new locations, determined to bear “outstanding universal value” for the world, also include the D-Day landing site in Normandy, France

A portrait of Chagall taken by Pierre Choumoff 

French Customs Detained This Marc Chagall Etching for Two Decades After an Attempted Border Crossing. Now It’s Headed for Public Display

An acrobat perches on a violin in the absurd scene, which draws on the Russian artist’s favored motifs

Katherine Read’s self-portrait

Cool Finds

Art Sleuths Discovered a Lost and ‘Enormously Important’ Portrait of an Elite Indian Woman by This Pioneering Scottish Painter

Katherine Read was one of the most fashionable portrait creators in London before she moved to India. She found success portraying women and children

This map shows modern languages and their risk of dying out. 

Three Millennia Ago, Humans May Have Spoken Thousands More Languages Than We Have Today, During a Linguistic ‘Golden Age’

A new study suggests linguistic diversity reached its peak between 1000 B.C.E. and 1000 C.E. before declining

One of the design proposals

It’s Nature vs. Culture as Europeans Vote on New Designs for Euro Banknotes That Pit Kingfishers Against Leonardo da Vinci

The European Central Bank released a shortlist of ten potential designs for a new series of printed banknotes, the first complete redesign since the Euro note was issued in 2002.

Closed since 2020, the Cinerama Dome is set to reopen in early 2028. 

Hollywood’s Iconic Cinerama Dome, One of the World’s Most Famous Movie Theaters, Is Set to Reopen in Early 2028

Shuttered since the Covid-19 pandemic, the Los Angeles landmark is being revived as more Americans buy tickets to see movies in theaters

In the Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest, a juvenile Bengal tiger steps from the shadows of mangroves into a tidal creek. This photo was highly commended in the mammals category.

Mangroves Are Key to Coastal Ecosystems. See 20 Breathtaking Photos That Reveal How the Trees Support Wildlife and Face Threats

The Mangrove Photography Awards honor images that show off the beauty—and the fragility—of these valuable intertidal forests

The gallery, where royal crown jewels were once exhibited, reopened to the public this week. 

Months After Burglars Stole Crown Jewels From the Louvre, the Apollo Gallery Reopens, Highlighting Its Origins as a Royal Reception Hall

Museum officials hope visitors will appreciate the gilded hall, conceived by Louis XIV more than 360 years ago, for its history and ornamentation, even without the crown jewels

La Lampe philosophique (The Philosopher’s Lamp), René Magritte, 1936

Wacky, Mysterious Paintings by This Surrealist Still Influence Contemporary Artists. An Exhibition in London Will Explore the Legacy of René Magritte

The Belgian Surrealist was famous for his playful subversion, like when he created a painting of a pipe and then defiantly declared it wasn’t a pipe, after all

Kids learned about historical laundry tasks on the museum’s reopening day.

Kids Can Try Out the ‘Oliver Twist’ Lifestyle at This English Museum Revealing Conditions for Poor People in a Victorian Workhouse

After a restoration, the Ripon Workhouse Museum reopened to the public, showcasing the sights, sounds and rules of England’s 19th-century “solution to poverty”

Opening ceremonies at the 2014 World Eskimo-Indian Olympics included a blanket toss. 

A New World Record in the Greased Pole Walk Brought Extra Excitement to This Year’s World Eskimo-Indian Olympics in Alaska

A 45-year-old record fell at the annual sporting event, which celebrates Indigenous athleticism and culture with events including the knuckle hop and the Alaskan high kick

A pitcher throws at a WPBL Fanfest in Stockton, California.

New Women’s Pro Baseball League Teams Are Named for These Pioneering American Women, Giving Female Players Another League of Their Own

The Firebells, Heights, Queens and Hunters—of San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles and Boston—were inspired by an honorary firefighter, a civil rights activist, a first basewoman and a physician

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