Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Cool Finds

Cool Finds

It’s True: Ancient Gauls Embalmed the Severed Heads of Their Enemies

Chemical analysis shows that ancient accounts of the warriors preserving heads using pine resin are accurate

New Research

Gravity Map Reveals Tectonic Secrets Beneath Antartica’s Ice

Satellite data shows East and West Antarctica have very different geologic histories

Cool Finds

Listen to the Moment the Guns Fell Silent, Ending World War I

A new exhibit at the Imperial War Museum uses seismic data collected during the war to recreate the moment the Armistice went into effect

New Research

Ancient Ape Was Just the Size of a House Cat

12.5 million-year-old teeth found in Kenya belonged to a species that ate leaves, but was likely outcompeted by an explosion of monkeys

Cool Finds

This Remote Control Vest Trains Rescue Dogs Using Flashlights

By aiming little spots of light, handlers can direct their fearless doggos through disaster areas

Ganymedes and the heron.

Cool Finds

Recently Unearthed Roman Latrine Was Full of Dirty Jokes

Mosaics uncovered in a Roman bathroom in modern-day Turkey reminds us that bathroom humor has ancient roots

A fin whale picked out from satellite imagery

New Research

Researchers Can Now Monitor Whales Via Satellite

The latest high resolution satellites can pick out whales surfacing in huge swaths of ocean, which will aid in conservation

A Human Chain Helped a U.K. Bookshop Move to Its New Location

Some 250 volunteers transported more than 2,000 books

Cool Finds

Never-Before-Seen Colony of 1,000 Brooding Octopuses Found Off California Coast

The deep sea creatures are raising their eggs on the Davidson Seamount in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary

Look inside, if you dare. Or if you have a forensics degree.

Cool Finds

Is This the Bag That Held Sir Walter Raleigh’s Mummified Head?

Legend has it his wife retained his embalmed head. But while the sack dates to the correct era and was found in his son’s home, scholars are not convinced

Cool Finds

See L.A.’s Strangest Sculpture Shine Bright Once Again

Built in the 1970s, the Triforium was designed to sync light and music but the costly venture was ahead of its time

Cool Finds

Oldest Intact Shipwreck Discovered in the Black Sea

The Greek merchant vessel similar to those found on ancient pottery was carbon dated to 400 B.C.

New Research

This Little Fish Was Nomming on Flesh 150 Million Years Ago

The Jurassic-era species found in southern Germany had jaws and teeth like a piranha and likely nipped off the fins of other fish

New Research

A Case of Mistaken Sea Monster Identity

Re-analysis of Kansas fossils show they come from a newborn Tylosaurus, which were born without their tell-tale toothy snouts

Cool Finds

To Mourn Beloved, 17-Year-Old Cat, Artist Made Genre-Spanning, Star-Studded Tribute Album

Pharrell, Bono, Laurie Anderson, Michael Stipe, The National and others penned songs for Souris, artist Sophie Calle’s animal companion

Radar data pinpoints the remains of the Viking ship

Cool Finds

Rare Viking Ship Burial Found in Norway

Ground-penetrating radar detected the remains of a 66-foot long boat along with the traces other burial mounds and five longhouses

New Research

This Humongous Fungus Is as Massive as Three Blue Whales

A new estimate suggests this mushroom is 2,500 Years Old and Weighs 440 tons

Cool Finds

You Thought Modern Life Was Bad. This Neanderthal Child Was Eaten By a Giant Bird

It’s not known if the bird killed the child or scavenged its remains, but finger bones found in Poland show they went through a bird’s digestive tract

Agglutinated walls in Palaeopascichnus linearis from the khatyspyt formation

Oldest Known Macroscopic Skeletal Organism Was Masquerading as Fossilized Feces

Some researchers initially dismissed the remains of Palaeopascichnus lineari as teeny turds from a bygone era

Cool Finds

How Fish Farms Can Use Facial Recognition to Survey Sick Salmon

A Norwegian aquaculture company plans to combat sea lice and other problems by monitoring individual salmon in a high-tech fish farms

Page 82 of 281