The machine features a ceramic countertop and two parallel rollers—one that's covered with small nubs.

Cool Finds

Historians Say They’ve Solved the Mystery of a Curious 100-Year-Old Contraption Discovered in Storage

Staffers at the Dorchester County Historical Society in Maryland were baffled by the unusual machine, so they asked the public for help in determining its purpose

Walfang nach neuster Fangmethode (1885) by Jean Bungartz

On This Day in History

Herman Melville’s Great American Novel, ‘Moby-Dick,’ Only Got Mixed Reviews When It First Hit Bookstores

The now-beloved book, which centers on a sailor seeking revenge against a sperm whale, was initially met with lukewarm sales, only achieving iconic status after the author’s death

The decorative coffin of Lady Chenet-aa, a high-status woman who died some 3,000 years ago

New Research

Scientists Are Using CT Scanners to Reveal the Secrets of More Than Two Dozen Ancient Egyptian Mummies

For the first time, researchers were able to see inside the mummies in the Chicago Field Museum’s collections. Their findings paint a more comprehensive picture of ancient Egyptian life

Three new bells arrived for installation at Notre-Dame on November 7. One of the bells had been used for the Summer Olympics in Paris.

Hear the Bells of Paris’ Notre-Dame Cathedral Ring Out for the First Time in More Than Five Years

The cathedral has been under renovation since 2019, when it was badly damaged in a fire. Crews are testing the bells before the historic structure reopens on December 8

Harriet Tubman served in several roles in the Union Army, becoming the first American woman to oversee military action in a time of war.

Women Who Shaped History

Harriet Tubman Just Became a One-Star General, More Than 150 Years After Serving With the Union Army

The celebrated Underground Railroad conductor received posthumous recognition for her service as a spy, scout, nurse and cook during the Civil War

A depiction of the 1833 Leonids, based on a first-person account of the 1833 storm by a minister, Joseph Harvey Waggoner, on his way from Florida to New Orleans.

On This Day in History

Americans Fell in Love With Science When the Breathtaking Leonid Meteor Shower Lit Up the Skies Across the Nation

In 1833, hundreds of thousands of shooting stars inspired songs, prophecies and a crowdsourced research paper on the origins of meteors

Father-and-son duo Sławomir and Szymon Milewski discovered the coins while searching for an ancient road.

Cool Finds

Father and Son Discover Rare Trove of 16th- and 17th-Century Silver Coins While Metal Detecting in a Polish Forest

Sławomir and Szymon Milewski were searching for an ancient road when they stumbled upon the cache of coins, which is worth more than $120,000

Four plaster casts from the House of the Golden Bracelet were made in 1974.

New Research

DNA Evidence Is Rewriting the Stories of Victims Who Perished in Pompeii Nearly 2,000 Years Ago

A new study has shattered historians’ long-held assumptions about some of the people who died in Mount Vesuvius’ eruption in 79 C.E.

Robert Falcon Scott (far left) and his crew at the South Pole in January 1912

On This Day in History

When a Search Party Discovered the Frozen Body of a British Explorer Who Raced to the South Pole—and Lost

On this day in 1912, a team found the remains of Robert Falcon Scott and the crew of the “Terra Nova” expedition. A would-be rescuer said he was forever haunted by the “horrible nightmare”

Lake Como has become a popular vacation destination in Italy's northern Lombardy region.

Trending Today

Travelers Can Now Buy a Can of ‘100 Percent Authentic Air’ From Italy’s Lake Como

It’s not the first time savvy entrepreneurs have marketed canned air to tourists. Similar products have been sold at vacation destinations for decades

The universe will die before chimpanzees have a chance to type the complete works of Shakespeare, researchers found.

Chimpanzees Could Never Randomly Type the Complete Works of Shakespeare, Study Finds

While testing the “infinite monkey theorem,” mathematicians found that the odds of a chimpanzee typing even a short phrase like “I chimp, therefore I am” before the death of the universe are 1 in 10 million billion billion

Researchers performed DNA testing on the bones highlighted in this image.

New Research

Archaeologists Are Bewildered by a Skeleton Made From the Bones of at Least Eight People Who Died Thousands of Years Apart

Found in a cremation cemetery in Belgium, the skeleton includes bones dating to the Neolithic period and a Roman-era skull, according to a new study

Shilo Shiv Suleman's Padma/Lotus is the first piece from an Indian artist to appear at the pyramids of Giza.

To See a Spellbinding Contemporary Art Exhibition, Head to the Ancient Egyptian Pyramids

The 4,500-year-old pyramids of Giza are the backdrop for “Forever Is Now,” which features sculptures, installations and immersive artworks that explore the relationship between the past and present

An engraved mirror and beaded jewelry discovered at the ancient family tomb near Luxor

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover Ancient Egyptian Family Tomb Full of Necklaces, Bracelets and Rings

The 3,800-year-old site near the city of Luxor holds the remains of 11 individuals, who may have been members of the same family. Researchers think the tomb was used for several generations

Allied soldiers rescued the portrait and other works from Germany's Neuschwanstein Castle in 1945.

A Nazi-Looted Painting Recovered by the Monuments Men During World War II Is Going on Sale

When the war ended, Allied soldiers tracked down Nicolas de Largillierre’s “Portrait de femme à mi-corps” with the help of a savvy French curator who had been working for the resistance

A cylinder seal (left) engraved with symbols that was used to press markings into wet clay (right)

New Research

The World’s Earliest Writing System May Have Been Influenced by Older Symbols Found on Stone ‘Cylinder Seals’

Thousands of years ago, our ancestors used symbols to track the sale of textile and agricultural products. New research suggests that these markings informed the development of writing

The Princeton University Art Museum is one of the many prominent institutions tied to Almagià, who graduated from the university in 1973.

A Prominent Italian Dealer Has Been Charged With Trafficking Thousands of Looted Artifacts

The Manhattan district attorney’s office has obtained an arrest warrant for Edoardo Almagià, who has been accused of working with looters and dealing stolen artifacts for years

Sugar exposure during the first 1,000 days after conception is linked with type 2 diabetes and hypertension later in life, according to a new study.

How Sugar Rationing During World War II Fended Off Diabetes and High Blood Pressure Later in Life

Babies who were conceived and born during the period of rationing in the United Kingdom were less likely to develop certain diseases as adults, a new study finds

The gold votive plaque features a Greek inscription dedicated to Jupiter Dolichenus.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Discover Engraved Gold Offering to Jupiter Dolichenu, a War God Revered by Roman Soldiers

The votive plaque was found amid the ruins of an ancient Roman fortress. Researchers think a temple dedicated to the mysterious deity may have stood nearby

Teaching in Oxford, England, began no later than 1096. Tenochtitlán, the capital of the Aztec Empire, was founded in 1325.

The University of Oxford Is Older Than the Aztec Empire and Other Facts That Will Change Your Perspective on History

The historical timeline you keep in your head might not be as accurate as you think

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