The Thin Shield That Stops Space Rocks Going Faster Than Bullets
A spacecraft does not need thick armor to survive a hit from a fleck of rock or scrap metal. The
The Dancing Plague of 1518: What Really Happened in Strasbourg
In the summer of 1518, dozens of people in Strasbourg could not stop dancing. The city’s records tell a stranger, quieter story than the legend.
Farewell, Captain. Make it so.
Sir Patrick Stewart, Captain Jean-Luc Picard of Star Trek: The Next Generation, has died at 86. A celebration of his life, his advocacy and his wit.
The 1960 Valdivia Earthquake: The Strongest Quake Ever Recorded
On May 22, 1960, a magnitude 9.5 earthquake struck southern Chile, the strongest ever recorded. Its tsunami crossed the Pacific, and a landslide lake nearly drowned Valdivia.
Meet the History Globe: Spin the World and Travel Through Time
A new interactive 3D globe puts every Aglena history story on the map. Spin it, slide through time, and tap a pin to read the story.
The Lone Woman of San Nicolas Island: The True Story Behind Island of the Blue Dolphins
Left behind on a remote Channel Island in 1835, a Nicoleño woman lived alone for 18 years. Here are the records, the rescue and the cave behind the novel.
Puzzle of the Day: How Many Cherries Balance the Fruit Scales?
Apples, pears and cherries are sitting on three old-fashioned balance scales. The first two are perfectly level. Every apple weighs
Project Pigeon: How B. F. Skinner Trained Birds to Steer a Guided Bomb
During World War II, B. F. Skinner trained pigeons to steer a glide bomb by pecking at an image of the target. The military said no, but the birds changed psychology.
Best Chef’s Knives (2026): Seven Picks Compared, From $36 to $160
Seven top-rated 8-inch chef’s knives compared, from the $36 Victorinox Fibrox Pro to the $160 Mac MTH-80, with expert test results and specs.
Clipperton Island: The Pacific Colony Mexico Forgot, and the Rescue of 1917
How a Mexican garrison on a remote French-claimed atoll was cut off by revolution, ruled by a murderous lighthouse keeper, and rescued by USS Yorktown in July 1917, and what pigs, boobies, crabs and rats did to Clipperton after.
How Ancient Cultures Saw the Milky Way: Rivers, Roads, Spilled Milk and an Emu Made of Darkness
How Aboriginal Australians, the Chinese, Egyptians, Greeks, Maya, Inca and others pictured the Milky Way, and where the evidence runs out.
Clever Hans: The Counting Horse That Fooled Berlin, and Still Fools AI
In 1904 Clever Hans tapped out sums for Berlin crowds and stumped a panel of experts. Oskar Pfungst found the horse was reading questioners’ tiny head movements, and the Clever Hans effect still shapes dog research and AI.
Best Instant Cameras (2026): Seven Picks Compared, From $84 to $205
Seven instant cameras compared, from the $84 Instax Mini 13 to the $205 Polaroid Flip bundle, with picks for kids, hybrids, wide and square prints, and Polaroid fans.
The Tree Lobster: How the World’s Rarest Insect Survived on a Sea Stack
Rats from a 1918 shipwreck wiped out Lord Howe Island’s giant stick insect. In 2001 climbers found a few survivors on Ball’s Pyramid, and Melbourne Zoo has since hatched more than 14,000. Now the island is rat-free and deciding whether to bring them home.
Forbidden Pacific: The Islands You Really Can’t Visit, Fact-Checked
A viral post called a patch of ocean the Area 51 of the sea. It isn’t. But some Pacific islands really are off-limits, for reasons from unexploded bombs to rare stick insects.
Piltdown Man: The Fake Ancestor That Fooled Science for Four Decades
For four decades, Piltdown Man sat in Britain’s story of human evolution. It was an orangutan jaw and human skull pieces, stained and filed to deceive. Here is how the fake was made, why experts believed it, and how science caught the forger.
Puzzle of the Day: What Does the Night-Sky Equation Equal?
A crescent moon, a gold star and a ringed planet each stand for a whole number. Three equations give you
Sunlight on Demand: The Fight Over Reflect Orbital’s Space Mirrors
On the evening of October 10, people in California’s Owens Valley looked toward Mount Whitney and saw something that did
The Mule Driver Who Measured the Expanding Universe
He quit school at 14, drove mules up Mount Wilson and joined the observatory as its janitor. Then Milton Humason measured the galaxies that showed the universe is expanding.
Best Meat Thermometers (2026): Seven Picks Compared, From $12 to $350
Seven meat thermometers compared for Thanksgiving, from a $12 instant-read to a four-probe wireless set, with tested speed, accuracy and prices.
The Great Emu War: How 20,000 Birds Outran Australia’s Machine Guns
In late 1932, a Western Australian wheat belt facing ruin called in the army against some 20,000 emus. Two Lewis guns, thousands of rounds and one baffled major later, the birds were still winning.
