Death

The 1892 People's Grocery murders are “what opened my eyes to what lynching really was,” Ida B. Wells later wrote.

How the Murder of a Black Grocery Store Owner and His Colleagues Galvanized Ida B. Wells' Anti-Lynching Crusade

The saga of People's Grocery stands as a powerful reminder of the centrality of Black radicalism to the food justice movement

On May 21, 1924, Nathan Leopold Jr. (left) and Richard Loeb (right) murdered 14-year-old Bobby Franks. Leopold later described the pair's motive as “a sort of pure love of excitement, or the imaginary love of thrills, doing something different.”

Why Leopold and Loeb Committed Cold-Blooded Murder in the 'Crime of the Century'

A century ago, two Chicago teenagers killed an acquaintance named Bobby Franks for the thrill of it. The case captivated the nation and continues to fascinate the public today

A tuna crab on the sand in San Diego in 2002, a year when large numbers of the creatures washed up on shore.

Why Are Tuna Crabs Swarming Off the Coast of San Diego?

Scientists are perplexed by the massive group of crustaceans, but they suspect the animals were pushed north by strong ocean currents originating near Mexico

A romanticized 1920 depiction of the capture of Blackbeard, one of history's most notorious pirates

Who Were the Real Pirates of the Caribbean?

During the Golden Age of Piracy, thousands of sea dogs sought fame and fortune. But the reality of a pirate's life was less enticing than movies and television shows suggest

This artistic reconstruction shows how the two women and the horse may have originally been placed.

These Ancient Skeletons Are Not Entwined Lovers, But a Daughter Embracing Her Mother

New research found that the two women, who were buried in Austria atop a horse, were first-degree relatives who died some 1,800 years ago

The mummified head, reconstructed by a forensic sculptor, belonged to a woman who lived in Egypt during the region's Greco-Roman period, between 332 B.C.E. and 395 C.E.

See the Reconstructed Face of a Mummy Stored in a High School Library Since 1915

A forensic artist hopes the sculpture will help humanize the mummy, which appeared at Australia's Grafton High School under mysterious circumstances

A portrait of Ludwig Van Beethoven by Joseph Karl Stieler, painted in 1820.

Locks of Beethoven's Hair Are Unraveling the Mysteries of His Deafness and Illnesses

Researchers found high levels of lead, mercury and arsenic in the German composer's hair, which may help explain some of his many ailments

Dice snakes feigned their own deaths with a variety of mechanisms, including filling their mouths with blood (shown right).

Dice Snakes Fake Their Own Deaths With Gory, Poop-Filled Theatrics

When attacked by a predator, the reptiles can play dead with convincing detail, employing blood and feces for the show

That Mary consigned some 280 Protestants to the flames is both indisputable and indefensible. But as historians have increasingly argued, this number is just one element of a much larger story that warrants contextualization.

The Myth of 'Bloody Mary,' England's First Queen

History remembers Mary I as a murderous monster who burned hundreds of her subjects at the stake, but the real story of the Tudor monarch is far more nuanced

The helmet could date to as far back as the sixth century B.C.E.

Why Did the Ancient Illyrians Place Helmets in Their Burial Mounds?

A 2,500-year-old helmet found in Croatia may have been a funerary offering. It offers insights into the rituals of a lesser-known culture that once occupied the Balkan Peninsula

An 1890 portrait of Lizzie Borden

How Lizzie Borden Got Away With Murder

Class, nativism and gender stereotypes all played a role in Borden's acquittal for the 1892 killings of her father and stepmother

The Chau Chak Wing Museum at the University of Sydney is home to Australia's largest collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts.

Australian Museum Removes Mummified Body Parts From Display

"We have become so accustomed to seeing them on show that we often forget they once belonged to living people," says Melanie Pitkin, a senior curator at the Chau Chak Wing Museum at the University of Sydney

An aerial view of the structure, which resembles a wonky, incomplete bow tie.

This Neolithic Monument Found in France Has No Equal

A trio of interlocking enclosures, the structure may date to the time of the Bell Beaker culture, but experts are unsure of its exact age and purpose

The glass bottles buried in the graves were unearthed in good condition.

In This Ancient Cemetery, Romans Left Fine Glass Vessels, Platforms for Feasting and Phallic Pendants

Archaeologists in Narbonne, France, have been studying the necropolis since 2017

160 pilot whales, mainly adult females with several young calves, stranded themsleves in shallow waters on Thursday morning in Western Australia.

Rescuers Save 130 Beached Pilot Whales in Western Australia After Mass Stranding

An additional 29 whales died, officials reported last week, while the reason behind the stranding remains unknown

This rendering shows what the wildlife crossing will look like when completed.

The 'World's Largest Wildlife Crossing' Will Help Animals Walk Safely Over Eight Lanes of California Traffic

The 210-foot-long bridge across a busy freeway in Los Angeles County is expected to be finished in 2025

Ötzi the Iceman has 61 tattoos across his abdomen, lower back, lower legs and left wrist.

How Did Ötzi the Iceman Get His Tattoos? Archaeologists and Tattoo Artists Unravel the Mystery

Ötzi's 61 markings were likely hand-poked with a sharp tool, such as a piece of animal bone or copper, a new study finds

Climbers collect garbage from Mount Everest in 2020. In recent years, officials have implemented new regulations to help reduce trash on the mountain.

The Nepali Army Is Removing Trash and Bodies From Mount Everest

They expect to haul off ten metric tons of garbage and up to five bodies from the world's tallest peak

French author Arsène Houssaye wrote the book in 1879, then gave a copy to French physician Ludovic Bouland.

A Book Bound With Human Skin Spent 90 Years in Harvard's Library. Now, the Binding Has Been Removed

In the late 19th century, a French physician took the skin, without consent, from a female psychiatric patient who had died

The nearly complete skeleton has been identified as a member of an extinct fox species, Dusicyon avus, which once roamed Patagonia’s grasslands.

Did Ancient South Americans Keep Foxes as Pets?

At a cemetery in Argentina, a 1,500-year-old fox buried alongside humans suggests a "close relationship" between the species, researchers say

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