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Smart News / Smart News History & Archaeology

A Liberty Head nickel from 1883

1913 Nickel Could Sell for More Than $2 Million

The coin is one of only five 1913 Liberty Head nickels known to exist, though this one has an illicit, serendipitous back story

“No. 2256. Copyist: Musa b. Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-Kansusi from the area of Takrakar. Copied in 1144 H / 1731 G in Takrakar (Gao, Mali).”

Library Full of Precious Manuscripts Burned in Timbuktu

Two men reenact Roman military life in Split, Croatia.

In Ancient Rome, Children’s Shoes Were a Status Symbol

From a trove of ancient Roman footwear, a rethinking of military life

In Europe, These People Wouldn’t Be Allowed To Drive

A recent study found that drivers with blind spots were more likely to hit pedestrians and less able to respond to hazardous situations

Did ancient Australians witness a similar scene?

Indians Made It to Australia More Than 4,000 Years Before the British

Give your future and your coin to Anubis, and you’ll be spared the rigors of hard labor.

In Ancient Egypt, People Paid to Become Temple Servants

Rather than face forced labor, some ancient Egyptians gave up their futures and their coin to become temple servants

Hungover? There’s a Cure for That No Matter Where You Live

There are some things that are universal—trade, money, shelter, hangovers

Hankie Coated in Beheaded Louis XVI’s Blood Found in Dried Squash

Two centuries after King Louis XVI’s execution, researchers think they’ve found a revolutionary souvenir from that fateful day

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Letter From Chinese Labor Camp Prisoner Found in Kmart Decorations

The letter’s author described 15 hour work days, no days off and pay of around $1.61 per day after receiving sentencing without a trial

All of Zeus’s Affairs, Visualized

‘In Cold Blood’ Killers Exhumed

Richard Hickock and Perry Smith’s bodies were exhumed yesterday, as part of an investigation into four murders committed in Florida in 1959

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Native American Woman May Have Made It to Europe 500 Years Before Columbus Was Born

Before the Civil War, There Were 8,000 Different Kinds of Money in the U.S.

It wasn’t until after the war that the U.S. started to really use the dollar

Drinking Tea Was Once Considered an Irresponsible, Reckless Pursuit for Women

Poor Irish women who drank tea in the 19th century might as well have been chugging a bottle of whiskey

Blame Napoleon for Our Addiction to Sugar

Prior to 1850, sugar was a hot commodity that only society’s most wealthy could afford

Archeologists Uncover Utah’s First Mormon Baptistry

Archeologists uncovered the remains of the first Latter-day Saints baptistry in Utah County, build around 1875

Scanned pages from the Oculists’ coded text.

Cracking a German Secret Society’s Centuries-Old Encrypted Code

A secret society with ties to the Freemason’s coded text has been cracked

The IDF’s Flickr page is full of images of their generals and tanks.

Israel and Gaza Are Now at War Both Online and in Reality

On the ground and online, the battle between Israel and Gaza are escalating quickly

Is Your Syndrome Named After a Nazi?

Many are probably unaware that their condition has a Nazi’s name attached to it

Killer robots storm the Winter Palace.

Australian Students Accidentally Taught That Robots Led the Russian Revolution

Nearly 6,000 Australian students were inadvertently taught this week that giant robots led the Russian Revolution thanks to a sloppy exam staff Google job

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