Carbon Dating Reveals the History of Zero Is Older Than Previously Thought

An ancient text called the Bakhshali manuscript has bumped zero’s origin story back by 500 years

One of the Roman cavalry swords recovered from Vindolanda

Cool Finds

Rare Roman Cavalry Swords And Toys Unearthed Along Hadrian’s Wall

The newly discovered artifacts are the latest discovery at Vindolanda, once a remote outpost of the Roman empire

A 1905 artist's rendering of the assassination.

How President William McKinley’s Assassination Led to the Modern Secret Service

Before McKinley’s death, the president didn’t have one united protective squad

An unknown woman spinning, circa 1900.

‘Spinster’ and ‘Bachelor’ Were, Until 2005, Official Terms for Single People

Being single is hard enough without these pejoratives.

Christopher Columbus Monument Defaced in Central Park

Vandals covered the statue’s hands in red paint and wrote “Hate will not be tolerated” on its base

An Electric Vehicle Company cab.

Henry Bliss, America’s First Pedestrian Fatality, Was Hit By an Electric Taxi

The driver was arrested but released after hitting Bliss

Chocolate was in North America as early as 900-1200 A.D.

A Brief History of Chocolate in the United States

Eating chocolate is a relatively new innovation

While tame by today's standards, the graphic violence in Mortal Kombat shocked parents in the 1990s.

How ‘Mortal Kombat’ Changed Video Games

According to one of its creators, the infamously gory game got caught up in a transitional moment in video gaming

A friendly Nauga.

How the Nauga and its Fictional Friends Helped Make Synthetic Fabric Cuddly

What started out as an advertising ploy turned into a low-key cultural phenomenon

This 1846 map of the solar system includes Vulcan as the planet closest to the sun.

Why Everyone Went on a Wild Goose Chase Looking for the Planet Vulcan

The idea of a ninth planet in the Solar System would resolve a mathematical conundrum about Mercury–only problem is, it wasn’t there

Here’s What You Need to Know About the Mysterious Voynich Manuscript

The book has been confounding scholars, cryptologists and sleuths for centuries

Cool Finds

New Kingdom Goldsmith’s Tomb Discovered in Egypt

The tomb of Amenemhat and his wife Amenhotep includes a statue of the couple, mummies, statues and funerary masks

Jenny Lind was massively popular in Europe and England, but she was a virtual unknown in America before 1849.

Why 30,000 People Came Out to See a Swedish Singer Arrive in New York

Most of them had never even heard Jenny Lind sing

This reconstruction of the grave site shows how the woman may have originally looked.

New Research

This High-Ranking Viking Warrior Was a Woman

DNA analysis shows that the elaborate grave of what appears to be a Viking officer was a real-life shieldmaiden

The surprising find was unearthed as part of a community project that invites amateur archeologists to help dig up local history.

Cool Finds

Amateur Archaeologists Find ‘Most Exciting’ Roman Mosaic in Britain

The mosaic tells the story of Bellerophon, a mythical hero who defeats the fearsome Chimera

This is what a touring car looked like in 1915.

Before She Was an Etiquette Authority, Emily Post Was a Road Warrior

Post didn’t drive herself, but she laid claim to her own authority on the road in other ways

Unlike Samuel Morse's one-key telegraph, Baudot's used five keys.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

The Roots of Computer Code Lie in Telegraph Code

Émile Baudot, born a year after the first long-distance telegraph message was sent, helped advance the technology

Workers inspect a statue of Robert E. Lee in a public park in Dallas, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017.

Dallas Gets Go-Ahead to Remove Robert E. Lee Statue

A federal judge has lifted a restraining order that briefly halted the planned removal

Cool Finds

Now You Can Read the Earliest-Known Latin Commentary on the Gospels in English

The commentary of Italian bishop Fortunatianus of Aquileia was lost for 1,500 years before it was rediscovered in 2012

A relief party works to find bodies after the hurricane's destruction.

More Than a Century Later, This Texas Hurricane Remains America’s Deadliest Natural Disaster

The Great Galveston Hurricane helped the city of Houston to rise to prominence

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