Smart News / Smart News History & Archaeology

Cool Finds

Mostly the Old And Ill Ate Breakfast Until the Rise of the Working Man

Romans disdained the meal, few ate it in the Middle Ages, but most eat breakfast now

January 27, 2015

New Research

The 61 Tattoos of Ötzi, the 5,300-Year-Old “Iceman”

Scientists have mapped the body art of one of archeology’s biggest super stars in hopes to better understand the role tattoos played in early civilization

January 27, 2015

New Research

Australian Stories Capture 10,000-Year-Old Climate History

Aboriginal groups from coast to coast describe walking to places that are now islands

January 26, 2015

Cool Finds

Mystery Solved: Footage From a Long-Lost Silent Sherlock Holmes Is Found

William Gillette is responsible for how we see Sherlock Holmes—but the loss of his single silent film was an unsolved mystery

January 26, 2015

Cool Finds

Evidence of a Seating Plan Discovered at the Colosseum

Restoration efforts reveal the red-painted numbers that would help ancient Romans find their status-dictated seats

January 26, 2015

New Research

Ancient Assyrian Soldiers Were Haunted by War, Too

A new study finds evidence of trauma experienced by soldiers returning home from combat over 3,000 years ago

January 26, 2015

Cool Finds

Darwin May Have Experienced Extreme Anxiety

Many attempts have been made to diagnose Darwin’s illness, here’s a well-argued possibility

January 23, 2015

Cool Finds

How to Mind Your Manners at Silent Movies

Vintage slides give an etiquette lesson to obnoxious silent movie audiences

January 23, 2015

Cool Finds

Turing’s Secret Notebook Is Up for Auction

The notebooks offer a glimpse into the mind of a codebreaker

January 22, 2015

Trending Today

King Tut’s Beard Fell Off…And Was Glued Back on With Epoxy

Clumsy curators won’t admit who’s behind the irreparable repair

January 22, 2015

Trending Today

Papyrus Found in a Mummy Mask May Be the Oldest Known Copy of a Gospel

Questions surround the reported discovery of an ancient scrap of the Gospel of Mark

January 21, 2015

Trending Today

The First State of the Union Address: Way Shorter, Way Less Clapping

In his First Annual Message to Congress, George Washington outlined the country’s most pressing issues and kicked off a flexible annual tradition

January 20, 2015

Cool Finds

This 3,500-Year-Old Dagger Made a Really Great Doorstop

One man’s doorstop is another man’s rare, ancient artifact

January 19, 2015

Cool Finds

Tighty-Whities First Hit the Market More Than 80 Years Ago

Even a blizzard couldn’t dampen the excitement from the release of the first pair of men’s briefs in 1935

January 19, 2015

Cool Finds

Beavers Once Parachuted into Idaho’s Backcountry

Strange things can happen when you combine WWII military surplus, innovative thinking and a bunch of beavers in need of a new home

January 16, 2015

Cool Finds

Read Through Early Drafts of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Speeches

One website gives you a peek into the mind of one of America’s most powerful orators

January 16, 2015

Cool Finds

Mummy Feces Solve the Mystery of How Verona’s Most Powerful Man Died

Digging deep for the secret behind a medieval warlord’s mysterious death

January 13, 2015

Cool Finds

Two Men Tried To Cure Schizophrenia by Removing Their Patients’ Intestines

Bayard Holmes and Henry Cotton were separated by a generation, but both thought that mental illness arose from toxins produced within the body

January 12, 2015

Cool Finds

How a Single Penny Became Worth More Than $2 Million

Fifteen years ago, few would pay $1 million for a coin—no matter how rare. That’s changing.

January 12, 2015

Cool Finds

On This Day in 1932, America Elected Its First Female Senator

This year, a record number of women are serving in Congress; Hattie Wyatt Caraway was the first ever in the Senate

January 12, 2015