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Scotland

The true story of the gin and tonic is less about a singular invention and more about the convergence of science, medicine, commerce and empire over several centuries.

The Gin and Tonic Is a Cocktail With a Storied History. Don’t Overlook Scotland’s Connection to the Classic

The country’s scientists, doctors, merchants and distillers all played significant roles in transforming the simple combination that packs a complicated mythology

Brendan Fraser (left) as Dwight D. Eisenhower and Andrew Scott (right) as James Stagg in Pressure, a new WWII drama about the weather forecast for D-Day

Based on a True Story

One Weather Forecast Changed the Course of WWII. Here’s the Real Story Behind ‘Pressure,’ a Drama About the Meteorologist Who Convinced the Allies to Delay D-Day

A new movie starring Andrew Scott and Brendan Fraser dramatizes the tense 72 hours before the Allied invasion of Normandy, revealing how meteorology helped determine Operation Overlord’s success

Archaeologists and volunteers excavate the site in the Ben Lawers National Nature Reserve.  

Cool Finds

Researchers Discovered the Remnants of a Secret, Illegal Whisky Distillery in a Stunning Scottish Park

The copper still, likely used to make whisky, would have been hidden away from the oversight of tax collectors after Scotland outlawed unlicensed distilling centuries ago

The 20-karat gold wire was installed some time before the man died.

New Research

Why Did This Wealthy Scotsman Pay a Jeweler to Wrap His Teeth in Gold Wire Hundreds of Years Ago?

What an early example of a dental bridge reveals about health, wealth and social values in the late medieval and early modern world

An example of a crannog, in the Loch of Wasdale

This Island in Scotland Is Actually a Man-Made Mini Landmass Resting on a Wooden Platform, New Discovery Shows

Scientists made significant advances in underwater archaeology techniques and photogrammetry while investigating the crannog site

Caitríona Balfe as Claire Fraser (left) and Sam Heughan as Jamie Fraser (right) in season one of "Outlander"

Based on a True Story

The Final Season of ‘Outlander’ Is Here. See the Most Iconic Kilts, Gowns and Other Costumes From the Time Travel Drama

An exhibition at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown showcases 26 ensembles from the Starz series’ first four seasons

Researchers think some of the footprints were made by barefoot humans roughly 2,000 years ago.

Cool Finds

A Couple Walking Their Dogs Noticed 2,000-Year-Old Footprints on the Beach. They Were Visible for Just Days Before Waves Erased Them Forever

Archaeologists raced to document the semi-fossilized tracks in eastern Scotland. They were likely made by humans, deer and other animals during the late Iron Age

Remember I'm Still Here by Emilia Evans-Munton has been confirmed as the world's largest sock monkey sculpture.

This Nearly 50-Foot-Long Sock Monkey Sculpture Is the Largest on Earth, Guinness World Records Confirms

Created by 22-year-old art student Emilia Evans-Munton, the sculpture is made of nearly 200 feet of corduroy fabric and 40 bales of straw

Bird flu devastated a colony of northern gannets, seabirds almost the size of albatrosses, on Bass Rock in Scotland. Researchers working with the birds are holding onto hope that the breeding population will slowly build the colony back.

After a Devastating Bird Flu Outbreak, Scotland’s Seabirds Are Slowly Recovering—and So Are the Scientists Who Witnessed Their Decline

The world’s largest colony of northern gannets was decimated by bird flu in 2022. Now, as their numbers climb again, researchers are collecting data to understand the virus’ lasting effects

An illustration of a four-eyed myllokunmingid, a jawless fish that lived more than 500 million years ago

Cool Finds

The Earliest Known Vertebrates Had Four Eyes—and They Worked a Lot Like Ours Do, New Research Suggests

Two of those eyes may have evolved into a part of the brain called the pineal gland

William Zachs stands before the Henry Raeburn and Alexander Nasmyth portraits, now on display together at the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh.

Cool Finds

The Mystery of the Missing Robert Burns Painting Has Finally Been Solved—After 200 Years of Searches and Seances

The portrait of the renowned Scottish poet vanished without a trace in 1840. Since then, scholars and sleuths alike have been strategizing about how to get it back

An illustration of a member of the Prototaxites genus, which lived between 420 million and 375 million years ago

This Mysterious 407-Million-Year-Old Fossil May Represent a Previously Unknown Branch of Life

Earth’s first large land organisms—tree trunk-like beings that stood up to 26 feet tall—weren’t early fungi but, rather, something else entirely, a study suggests

The silver penny dates to the late 1130s.

Cool Finds

A Metal Detectorist Discovered the Earliest Known Coin Ever Produced in a Scottish Mint

Experts previously thought the first Scottish coins were minted in England, but this penny came from Edinburgh. National Museums Scotland has now acquired the historic piece of silver

Aerial view of Vardo, Norway, the fishing town at the center of the 17th-century Finnmark witch trials

How a Sudden Winter Storm in 1617 Sparked the Deadliest Witchcraft Trials in Norwegian History

During the 17th-century Finnmark witch trials, 91 people were executed in Norway’s northernmost region, mainly by burning at the stake

Mary wrote the letter in French around 2 a.m. on the day of her execution.

Mary, Queen of Scots, Wrote This Letter Hours Before She Was Executed. Her Words Are Going on Display for the First Time in Years

The deposed Scottish queen wrote the four-page missive to her brother-in-law just a few hours before her execution in 1587

A gray seal mother feeding a pup

The Mammal With the Most Complex Milk Might Not Be Humans, After All. The Atlantic Gray Seal Could Take That Title

A new study found 332 types of complex sugar molecules in the seals’ milk, some of which help protect young from harmful bacteria. The discovery might one day help improve human health by boosting babies’ immune systems

For more than four decades, the Athabascan Fiddle Festival has filled community halls in Fairbanks with a sound that is both global and distinctly Native.

How Old-Time Fiddle Music Took Root in Indigenous Alaska

In Fairbanks, fiddling thrives—bridging cultures, sustaining traditions and filling the dance floor with life

Archaeologists and volunteers found lead musket balls and cannon shot at an area that was situated between Jacobite and British government lines during the battle.

Archaeologists Unearth More Than 100 Projectiles From an Iconic Battlefield in Scotland

The Battle of Culloden marked the end of the Jacobite rising of 1745 and was the last pitched battle fought on British soil

The piece was carved from local red deer antler.

Cool Finds

A Rare Medieval Hair-Styling Tool Was Found at Scotland’s Eilean Donan Castle

The artifact is part of a large assemblage of excavated artifacts recently acquired by National Museums Scotland

Visualization of the castle that stood at Finlaggan during the 12th and 13th centuries

Three Decades of Research Reveal a Forgotten Medieval Castle on a Scottish Island

Archaeologists say Finlaggan was the seat of power for the Lordship of the Isles. Before that, a previously unknown castle stood at the site during the 12th and 13th centuries

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