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Books

Cool Finds

The Library for Magicians Is Taking Appointments

The Conjuring Arts Research Center in New York City houses some of the world’s rarest books on the art of deception

From left: Princess Tiger Lily, Indian Chief and Peter Pan as depicted in the 1953 film.

The Racist History of Peter Pan’s Indian Tribe

Even in the early 20th century, though, critics saw Tiger Lily and her fellow “Picaninnies” as caricatures

Vice President Al Gore, with President George Bush and Vice President Richard Cheney

How the Office of the Vice Presidency Evolved from Nothing to Something

Vice President John Adams once said “In this I am nothing, But I may be everything.” A new book tells how the office has moved from irrelevance to power

Smaug now resides at the Wellington airport.

Cool Finds

Smaug the Dragon And Other Unexpected Airport Surprises

There’s more to the world’s airports than newsstands and food courts

Bill Nye enthusiastically greets students and faculty at Cal State Fullerton in California earlier this year.

Bill Nye on the Risks of Not Debating With Creationists

Bill Nye the Science Guy has a book out on evolution. Here’s what he has to say

J.K. Rowling isn't the only author who can't seem to get away from their most famous characters.

Authors Who Couldn’t Quit the Characters That Made Them Famous

Here is a list of famous writers, including J.K. Rowling, who couldn’t resist reconnecting with their creations.

The King receives members of Scott's expedition at Buckingham Palace in England here. Shown are Lt. Bennie, Paymaster Drake, Paymaster Drake, Commander Campbell, Commander Evans, Commander Bruce, and Sir Levick, 1913.

Cool Finds

Antarctic Explorer’s Journal Found In Melting Ice

George Murray Levick served as a photographer, zoologist and surgeon with the North Party

2014 Ingenuity Awards

The Amazing Results When You Give a Prison Inmate a Liberal Arts Education

Prison reform activist Max Kenner champions the transformative power of a college degree for inmates nationwide

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Cool Finds

This Photographer Set Out on a Quest to Rediscover the World’s Lost Species of Frogs

Some of the subjects are new to science, others haven’t been seen in 15 to 160 years

Cool Finds

Libraries Are Great at Lending All Sorts of Things—Not Just Books

Lending libraries are now lending more than books

Cool Finds

Every Year for the Next 100 Years, Authors Will Write Books That Won’t Be Read Until 2114

Author Margaret Atwood’s new book became the first to go into the century-long time capsule project

Trending Today

Case Solved on Jack the Ripper? Not So Fast

An author and a scientist claim to have proven the identity of the notorious 19th century killer, but others say the evidence is lacking

Cool Finds

500 Years’ Worth of Book Illustrations Have Just Been Liberated From Print

The internet’s about to get a wealth of illustrations from more than two million books

A Lost Chapter From Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” Was Just Released

The chapter was removed after being deemed “too wild” and subversive

Cool Finds

You Can Now Riffle Through the Same Library Charles Darwin Used Aboard the Beagle

The digital library includes 195,000 pages of text and 5,000 illustrations

Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong (L) and Buzz Aldrin prepare for an EVA training session, watched by Deke Slayton (R) in this undated handout photo courtesy of NASA.

Cool Finds

What Does It Feel Like to Be Told You’ll Be the First Man on the Moon?

A new book describes the conversation when NASA boss Deke Slayton told Neil Armstrong he would lead Apollo 11

William Powell and John Barrymore in the Silent Film Sherlock Holmes, 1922

Trending Today

“Sherlock Holmes” Is Now Officially Off Copyright and Open for Business

What amazing Holmes fan fiction will you create?

New Research

Kids Trust Written Words More Than Spoken Ones

Learning to read seems to make information conveyed in written form seem more authoritative

Cool Finds

How to Actually Remember What You Read: Print a Newspaper of Internet Articles

Now instead of just saving online articles to read later, you can create your own newspaper

New Research

Kids And Young Adults Don’t Read Books for Fun — They’ve Got Smartphones

Three times as many kids as in the 1980s just don’t read books

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