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Cool Finds

Thousands of Secret KGB Espionage Documents Are Now Available to the Public

The papers contain names of spies, descriptions of secret weapons and detailed plots against the West

July 7, 2014

Cool Finds

The National Archives Wants to Put Its Whole Collection on Wikimedia Commons

The National Archives and Records Administration plans to upload everything it can

July 3, 2014

Trending Today

After WWII, Japan Made One of the World’s Strongest Commitments to Military Pacifism—Which It’s Now Going to Soften

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is trying to rejigger Japan’s long-standing commitment to pacificism

July 2, 2014

Washington, D.C.

The Colosseum Was a Housing Complex in Medieval Times

Recent archeological digs have found that people lived in the Colosseum during the medieval era

July 2, 2014

New Research

Archeologists Find Evidence of Torture at 1,200 Year Old Massacre

An archaeological dig in Colorado was the site of a horrific massacre

July 1, 2014

Cool Finds

Small Viking Charms Really Do Represent Thor’s Hammer

Inscription on a small metal charm definitively states ‘This is a hammer’

June 30, 2014

New Research

Mesopotamian Irrigation May Have Helped Out a Parasite That Now Infects 200 Million People

A parasite egg found in a grave in the Middle East gives scientists a window into how disease spread in prehistory

June 27, 2014

Cool Finds

How Did “Mana,” An Austronesian Religious Idea, Become a Gaming Staple?

Anthropologist Alex Golub tracks the path of mana, from ancient Taiwan to fantasy gaming culture

June 27, 2014

New Research

Neanderthals Ate Their Vegetables

Traces of feces found in Spain show that neanderthals ate their vegetables

June 27, 2014

Cool Finds

Taft’s Bathtubs Weighed A Ton

Taft might not have really gotten stuck in a bathtub, but he did seem to have a fondness for them

June 26, 2014

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Are Trying To Figure Out Exactly Where Plymouth Was

A new excavation is looking into the location of the famous colony

June 25, 2014

Cool Finds

Another Amelia Earhart Is Trying to Fly Around the World

Amelia Earhart (no relation to Amelia Earhart) is trying to follow in her namesake’s flight path

June 20, 2014

New Research

Humans Have Been Messing With China’s Yellow River for 3,000 Years

When humans try to tame nature things rarely go according to plan

June 20, 2014

New Research

When Trees Are Cut Down, Angkor’s Temples Begin to Crumble

People usually think of trees’ destructive impacts on Angkor, but they also protect those iconic temples

June 19, 2014

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Find Jobs in Oil Boomtown

The oil boom in North Dakota has lead to a lot of job openings, including jobs for archaeologists

June 19, 2014

Trending Today

When Did We Start Calling ‘Football’ ‘Soccer’?

“Soccer” isn’t an Americanism at all—it’s a British word

June 16, 2014

Cool Finds

New Road To Machu Picchu Discovered

The nearly-mile-long road was built over 500 years ago by the Inca, and appears to be intact

June 13, 2014

New Research

Europe Was Probably Colonized By Island Hoppers

New genetic research shows that people and agriculture likely spread across the Mediterranean by going from island to island

June 12, 2014

Cool Finds

The Snowy, Barren Arctic Actually Contains a Sophisticated Network of Inuit Trails

Compiled from accounts over the past 200 years, a new atlas documents a network of trails stretching across the Arctic

June 11, 2014

Cool Finds

Here’s What Actually Happens During an Execution by Molten Gold

It’s probably not the gold itself that kills you, but rather the steam

June 10, 2014