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Cool Finds

An active basalt lava flow in the wild (from a volcano, not from the lab)

Cool Finds

To Better Understand Lava, an Artist and Scientist Make Their Own

A lab at Syracuse University creates melts basaltic rock in a modified furnace

NASA is starting to brainstorm where humans should land on Mars.

Cool Finds

Where Should Humans Land on Mars? NASA Wants to Hear Your Suggestions

In October, the agency will hear proposals on where to put a Mars base

Cool Finds

In the Future, Grocery Stores May be More Like ATMs

Robots and motion detection expand the idea of what it means to shop

The Jazz pattern that graced paper cups, like this one in the 1990s, remains a source of fascination in pop culture.

Cool Finds

How the Internet Tracked Down the Designer of the Beloved Jazz Paper Cup

Meet Gina, the woman behind the iconic paper cup pattern

A view of Butterfly Valley in Turkey

Cool Finds

This Beautiful Valley in Turkey is Home to 100 Species of Butterflies

The valley’s remote location keeps the butterflies happy and thriving

Cool Finds

Canned Goods and Cucumber Seeds: Food Banks Are Starting to Give Out Garden Starters

Canned goods take a backseat to freshly-grown produce

Screenshot from the "Multi-scale Multi-physics Heart Simulator UT-Heart" video

Cool Finds

Travel Inside a Human Heart With This Video

An informative video shows off a research team’s simulation of the beating heart

The Cassini spacecraft took this image of three of Saturn's moons, Rhea, Mimas and Titan.

Cool Finds

See Three of Saturn’s Moons Pose in a Family Photo

While in orbit, Cassini captures a stunning shot of three crescents

Screenshot from "Toy Figurines / How It’s Made"

Cool Finds

Here’s How Plastic Toy Dinosaurs are Made

A series of molds help the toy creators’ vision pop into 3-D

Cool Finds

Here’s Why Scientists Want to Flood the Grand Canyon

Without sediment flowing through the canyon, it loses sandbars vital to the river ecosystem

A screenshot of Lynn Hill climbing El Capitan in Street View.

Cool Finds

Scale El Capitan From Your Couch Using Google Street View

The latest expansion of the Maps project takes users up Yosemite’s iconic climb

Researchers witnessed this coral slowly slurp up a sea slug back in December of 2014.

Cool Finds

That Time a Mushroom Coral Ate a Sea Slug

Researchers observed the rare event off the coast of Thailand

Redwood tree canopy in California

Cool Finds

Here’s A Map of All the Trees in California

Every meter covered by trees shows up

Pasquino in Rome

Cool Finds

Have Something Rude to Say? Put it on This 2300-Year Old Statue in Rome

A cardinal started the tradition of decorating this statue with snarky poems and insults

Cool Finds

This Mockumentary Explains the Appeal of Skateboarding to Scared Parents

“The Devil’s Toy” looks “an epidemic from which no one was secure”: having fun on skateboards

Cool Finds

People Used to Wear Dunce Caps to Shower

“Extinguisher caps” were nineteenth-century shower caps

A mermaid as depicted in Sea Fables Explained by Henry Lee, published in 1883.

Cool Finds

The Murky Tale of John Smith and the Mermaid

Alexander Dumas probably just made it up

A photograph of Claude Monet in his gardens circa 1917

Cool Finds

An Art Dealer Just Found a Forgotten Monet Pastel Hidden Behind Another Drawing

The pastel depicts a lighthouse and jetty near Monet’s childhood home

Cool Finds

In Sweden the Blood Bank Will Text You When Your Blood is Used

Stockholm’s blood bank uses text messages and Facebook posts to remind donors to give again

According to some scholars Vincent Van Gogh sits third from the left in this photograph. Surrounding him are artist Emile Bernard, politician Félix Jobbé-Duval, actor André Antoine and artist Paul Gauguin.

Cool Finds

Is This a Photograph of Vincent Van Gogh?

Some scholars think the camera shy artist can be spotted in an image taken by an amateur photographer, while others disagree

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