Cool Finds

Cool Finds

For the Kennedys’ Virginia Home, Jackie Had Ideas About Every Detail, Down to the Guest Room Ashtrays

She drew inspiration from French magazines and colors from Colonial America

February 20, 2015

Cool Finds

Legend Says the Ankerwycke Yew Witnessed the Magna Carta’s Signing

The tree on the bank of the River Thames may be 2,000 years old

February 20, 2015

Cool Finds

Some Ancient Egyptians Had State-Sponsored Healthcare

Craftsmen who built royal tombs enjoyed sick days, designated physicians and rationed medicine—all paid by the state

February 20, 2015

Cool Finds

These Glass Sculptures Were Inspired By the New York City Ballet

The artist wanted to convey that “all of your memories are stuck inside your bone marrow” and make them visible

February 19, 2015

Cool Finds

Divers Discover Graveyard Filled With Giant Lemur Skeletons

A Madagascar cave is packed with the bones of extinct species

February 19, 2015

Cool Finds

LED Skylights Perfectly Mimic Natural Sunlight

The lights fool human brains and camera eyes

February 18, 2015

Cool Finds

An Underwater Field of Weird Metal Balls Is a Key to Both Past And Future

A huge deposit of manganese nodules beneath the Atlantic might be a potential source of highly prized rare earth metals

February 18, 2015

Cool Finds

See the Swoops of Seagulls’ Flight Patterns

Special video effects shows more than an hours worth of seagull flight as curling paths

February 18, 2015

Cool Finds

A Computer Can Tell Real Jackson Pollocks From Fakes

Genuine Pollacks really are distinguishable from random splatters of paint—there’s now software to prove it

February 17, 2015

Cool Finds

The Inventor Who Has Developed a Sweet-Smelling “Fart Pill”

One eccentric French man wants to take the guilt out of gas with a tablet designed to make farts smell like flowers, ginger or chocolate

February 17, 2015

Cool Finds

Get Ready for a Taste of the Byzantine Empire’s Favorite Wine

Scientists hope the discovery of 1,500-year-old grape seeds may help resurrect the historically famous “Wine of the Negev”

February 16, 2015

Cool Finds

19th-Century Sexual Advice: No Sex Before Meals

The rest of the tips are even farther from any sort of modern scientific basis

February 13, 2015

Cool Finds

Men Care More About Having Fancy Kitchens Than Women Do

A survey of prospective homebuyers reverses certain stereotypes about gendered desires

February 13, 2015

Cool Finds

Hypnotize Yourself With a Record-Breaking Traditional Dance

This synchronized dance won a group of 5,211 Indian women a Guinness World Record

February 12, 2015

Cool Finds

A Scientist And a Slime Mold Are Set To Play a Duet

The blob-like creatures’ movements inspired a composer to create a way for slime mold to play the piano

February 11, 2015

Cool Finds

What Makes Some Orca Whales Love a Good Belly Rub?

Some pods have been observed rubbing themselves on rocky beaches; scientists are still working to understand why

February 11, 2015

Cool Finds

Nothing Says ‘I Love You’ Like a Bit of Pocket Change

Victorians seduced their sweeties with “love tokens”

February 11, 2015

Cool Finds

Why 2015 Is Shaping Up to Be Another Good Year for Snowy Owls

Ornithologists are tracking the second major snowy owl southern migration in as many years, indicating that the birds’ numbers are still going strong

February 10, 2015

Cool Finds

Farm Animals Could Soon Carry Wi-Fi

In a few years, shepherds might be monitoring their flocks with networks of wireless sensors

February 10, 2015

Cool Finds

These Bells Play Seismic Shifts

Watch as UC Berkeley’s bells play the earth’s “natural frequencies”

February 10, 2015