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Tools

A 19th-century ranch house was the last place National Park Service workers expected to find a cache of Native American tools.

Cool Finds

Prehistoric Native American Site Discovered Off the California Coast

Sophisticated stone tools date back thousands of years

Smithsonian researchers found that otters that use tools aren't closely related.

New Research

Unlike Dolphins, Sea Otters That Use Tools Are Not Closely Related

Rock-bashing in otters is a very old behavior

Astrolabes were astronomical calculating devices that did everything from tell the time to map the stars. This 16th century planispherical astrolabe stems from Morocco.

Think Big

The Story of the Astrolabe, the Original Smartphone

Prosperous times likely paved the way for this multifunctional device, conceptual ancestor to the iPhone 7

New Research

Europe’s Oldest Polished Axe Found in Ireland

The 9,000-year-old tool shows that Mesolithic people had sophisticated burial rituals and even cremated their dead

Wild capuchins make stone tools, but don't know how to use them.

Wild Monkeys Unintentionally Make Stone Age Tools, But Don’t See the Point

Scientists observe a “unique” human behavior in wild animals

Neil Puckett, a Texas A&M University graduate student, surfaces with the limb bone of a juvenile mastodon.

Underwater Finds Reveal Humans’ Long Presence in North America

Stone tools and mastodon remains help show that the Americas were peopled more than 14,000 years ago

An example of the type of axe head the newly described fragment would have come from.

New Research

50,000-Year-Old Axe Shows Australians Were at The Cutting Edge of Technology

A polished stone chip is the earliest-known example of a ground-edge axe yet

Wrecking balls remain ubiquitous in popular culture today, despite their dwindling use at construction sites.

Cool Finds

The Rise and Fall of the Wrecking Ball

The instrument of destruction was popular in the 1950s and ‘60s but is now a rare creature on the demolition site

New Research

These Parrots Use Pebbles as Tools to Grind up Seashells

Polly want a mineral supplement?

Tradition holds that this plow, held in the Smithsonian collections, is one of the first three plows that John Deere personally forged.

Age of Humans

Did John Deere’s Best Invention Spark a Revolution or an Environmental Disaster?

When Deere created his now-famous steel plow, he created America’s breadbasket and set the stage for many of modern farming’s environmental problems

Snail shells found in Lebanon indicate humans were using modern tools before they reached Europe

New Research

Tools Weren’t Invented in Europe, They Were Carried There 50,000 Years Ago

Analysis of shells and human bones from a site in Lebanon suggests modern tools were in use

Cool Finds

Female Chimps More Likely Than Males to Hunt With Tools

A new study investigates the social and hunting behaviors of Fongoli chimpanzees

People's Design Award collage

The People’s Design Award Promises a Very Cyborg Future

This year’s nominees focus on wearable technology

New Research

Cockatoos Learn to Use Tools by Watching Each Other

With a teacher, Goffin cockatoo learn to use new tools more quickly

The hand-axe, reimagined.

Designers Remake Our Oldest Tool Using Our Newest Tool

More than a million years old, the hand axe is over due for an update

New Research

Like Humans, Dolphins’ Genetics Are Shaped by Their Culture

Dolphins that use sponges as tools have a different haplotype than those that do not

A mugger crocodile balances twigs on its nose to tempt birds

Crocodiles Balance Twigs on Their Heads to Lure Nest-Building Birds

While crocodiles and alligators are stereotyped as “lethargic, stupid and boring,” researchers say the reptiles are more cunning than they seem

None

7 Epic Fails Brought to You By the Genius Mind of Thomas Edison

Despite popular belief, the inventor wasn’t the “Wiz” of everything

None

Power Tools

10 Gadgets Halsey Burgund Can’t Live Without

From the software he uses to compose to the podcasts that inspire him, these tools help the Boston-based sound artist make music from everyday noises

The Nest Learning Thermostat takes an active role in saving energy around the house.

Energy Innovation

A Smart, Sleek, Money-Saving Thermostat

The father of the iPod talks about his next-generation thermostat

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