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Cool Finds

Columbia librarians prepare the 17th-century medical pop-up book for digitization

Cool Finds

Check Out a Medical Pop-Up Book From the 17th Century

Early movable books were geared towards informing adults not entertaining children

A Chicago rally of the Ku Klux Klan in the early 1920s

Cool Finds

The Ku Klux Klan Didn’t Always Wear Hoods

The white hood and robe is just the most popular of a variety of costumes used by the hate group

A rare English gold pound coin dating to 1594-1596, with a portrait of Queen Elizabeth I.

Cool Finds

Queen Elizabeth I Held England’s First Official Lottery 450 Years Ago

The lucky winner took home a prize that included not just money, but also fancy dishware and tapestries

The Chateau d'Ussé has connections with Sleeping Beauty...and contains a slightly creepy surprise.

Cool Finds

The French Castle That May Have Inspired “Sleeping Beauty” Is Filled With Creepy Mannequins

In honor of Charles Perrault’s birthday, explore the Chateau d’Usse

Cool Finds

Watch 100 Drones Dance Their Way to a World Record

The swarm recently took to the skies to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony

Library patrons will soon be able to check out ukuleles in libraries across Pennsylvania.

Cool Finds

Pennsylvania Libraries Will Let You Check Out a Ukulele

Read, strum, repeat

People view a painting at the Altes Museum in Germany. As populations age and address various health challenges, museums are increasingly tailoring their programming to better serve their patrons.

Cool Finds

How Museums Are Helping People With Memory Loss

Serving the community means changing museum offerings for guests with Alzheimer’s

A blue bead uncovered at the Iron Age village archeological site in Norway.

Cool Finds

There’s a 1,500-Year-Old Farming Village Beneath a Norwegian Airport

An airport expansion gives archaeologists the chance to dig for historical treasures in a pre-Viking settlement

Turns out the discovery of the Palace of Knossos is just the beginning—the ancient city is three times the size archaeologists suspected.

Cool Finds

This Ancient City Was Three Times Bigger Than Archaeologists Suspected

Will Crete’s tourist boom threaten the archaeological treasures of Knossos?

Wrecking balls remain ubiquitous in popular culture today, despite their dwindling use at construction sites.

Cool Finds

The Rise and Fall of the Wrecking Ball

The instrument of destruction was popular in the 1950s and ‘60s but is now a rare creature on the demolition site

A rendering of the MoonArk

Cool Finds

What’s Inside this Artistic Capsule Headed to the Moon?

See how these artists captured a portrait of humanity in just six ounces

A meteorite discovered in the Australian ouback on New Year's Eve.

Cool Finds

4.5 Billion-Year-Old Meteorite Found in the Australian Desert

This 3.7 pound rock could help scientists learn about Earth’s origins

Cool Finds

Instead of Cheesy Pickup Lines, 19th-Century Americans Gave Out Calling Cards

Consider it the Victorian-era version of OKCupid

Crews abandon their ships during the Great Whaling Disaster of 1871.

Cool Finds

Remnants of a Whaling Disaster Have Been Discovered off the Coast of Alaska

A catastrophe wiped out an entire whaling fleet 144 years ago, now researchers have found some of the wrecks’ remains

"Take care of your book — it is the true companion in campaigns and in peaceful work," urges one poster found in the New York Public Library's Russian Civil War poster collection.

Cool Finds

The New York Public Library Just Made More Than 180,000 Items Available Online

Instant gratification for curious minds

A First Folio kept at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, U.K.

Cool Finds

Shakespeare’s First Folio Goes on Tour in the U.S.

Rare copies of the tome, containing 36 of the Bard’s plays, will visit every state for the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death

A gold-painted statue of Chairman Mao has been erected in a remote part of central China.

Cool Finds

Chinese Capitalists Built a Gigantic, Golden Statue of Chairman Mao

Like the Chairman’s legacy, this 121-foot statue is hard to ignore

A nautical-themed hairstyle from the mind of Danny Lewis.

Cool Finds

Create Your Own Delightful, Excessive Version of 18th-Century Women’s Hairstyles

A museum’s interactive tool gives the powdered styles of the French Court of the 1700s some fierce competition

A logarithmic scale captures the whole universe

Cool Finds

This Image of the Universe Captures Its Immensity

Comets, planets, galaxies and the cosmic web crowd together in this portrait of everything known

Vermeer's "Little Street" painting compared to the buildings at the present-day address.

Cool Finds

An Expert Has Figured Out the Real-Life Location of Vermeer’s “Little Street” Painting

The painter probably had a personal connection with the house that figures prominently in the painting.

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