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Smart News / Smart News Travel

Australia's Twelve Apostles were pushed out of the water by tectonic plate movement. 

It Took Millions of Years for Australia’s Famous Twelve Apostles Landmark to Rise Out of the Sea

The iconic tourist destination provides a beautiful view, but also represents a physical record of Earth’s climate history

The MV Hondius, the cruise ship facing a hantavirus outbreak, anchored off the coast of Cape Verde, an archipelagic country near West Africa

A Deadly Outbreak of Hantavirus Has Stranded a Cruise Ship in the Atlantic Ocean. Here’s What to Know About the Rare Contagion

Three people associated with the vessel have died, and health officials have identified a total of two confirmed cases and five suspected cases of the infection. The virus usually spreads via contaminated rodent droppings

A virtual reconstruction of the Berlanga Cup

Cool Finds

This Souvenir Bowl May Have Commemorated an Ancient Roman Soldier’s Service at Hadrian’s Wall. It Was Discovered on a Spanish Farm 1,900 Years Later

The artifact is decorated with an illustration of the defensive fortification in northern England, but it was unearthed some 1,200 miles away. A new study suggests the design reflects a soldier’s achievements at the site

Pomona, Frans Floris de Vriendt, 1565

Renaissance Art Linked Beauty With Virtue and Ugliness With Vice. See How Painters From Leonardo da Vinci to Botticelli Viewed Physical Attractiveness

An exhibition in Brussels spotlights 90-plus artworks featuring golden-haired muses, greedy old men and those deemed unattractive simply because they were different

The Spice Girls performed at the Brit Awards in 1997.

The Spice Girls Changed Pop Forever in 1996. Thirty Years Later, Their Iconic Outfits Are on Display in a New Exhibition in London

The Barbican Music Library is celebrating British pop culture with a show that features Mel B’s leopard catsuit, Emma Bunton’s blue dress and Geri Halliwell’s Union Jack boots

Gustave Eiffel at the Eiffel Tower in 1889

A Dizzying Spiral Staircase With a Single Guardrail Once Led to the Top of the Eiffel Tower. Now, You Can Buy 14 of the Original Steps

The 1,062 steps connecting the tower’s second and third levels were installed in 1889. Fragments from the 137-year-old staircase can be found at several French museums

This fully assembled robot was found inside an unclaimed bag. Staffers aren't sure what its purpose is.

Cool Finds

What’s Inside America’s Lost Luggage? These Travelers Abandoned a Samurai Sword, a Meteorite and a Robot With a Mysterious Purpose

Unclaimed Baggage sells lost belongings at a 50,000-square-foot store in Alabama. An annual report explores how objects packed in 2025 reflect cultural trends

The escalator opened to passengers on February 17, 2026.

The World’s Longest Outdoor Escalator Just Opened in China. Riding the 3,000-Foot-Long System to the Top Takes More Than 20 Minutes

The new “Goddess” escalator in Wushan County features 21 individual escalators and 8 elevators. The modular design carries riders up 800 feet in elevation

Library of Congress conservator Heather Wanser works on the Yosemite drawing created by Thomas Almond Ayres in 1855.

See the Stunning 171-Year-Old Sketch That Helped Put Yosemite on the Map

The Library of Congress has acquired a drawing and accompanying lithograph of Yosemite Falls created by Gold Rush-era artist Thomas Almond Ayres in 1855

Finland snagged the top spot in this year's World Happiness Report, an annual survey of wellbeing in more than 140 countries.

New Research

Finland Is Named the Happiest Country in the World for the Ninth Year in a Row

The World Happiness Report is an annual ranking of wellbeing around the globe. This year’s report spotlighted the consequences of social media use

This year marks the fourth time the waterfalls have flowed in the past 15 years.

Rooted in the American West: Food, History and Culture

These Mesmerizing Waterfalls Flow Only Every Few Years. See the Rare Marvel Now in Southwest Utah

Gunlock Reservoir has exceeded 105 percent of its capacity. As a result, water is spilling onto the red rock boulders below, creating an unusual natural phenomenon just in time for spring break

Outside the Colosseum's southern wall, newly constructed marble slabs indicate where tall columns once supported two arcades.

At the Colosseum, New Marble Slabs Mark Where Towering Columns Stood Thousands of Years Ago

Crowds once mingled below two tall arcades supported by 164-foot-tall columns. But due to earthquakes and unstable foundations, these architectural elements collapsed long ago

The Last Judgment is located behind the Sistine Chapel's altar.

The Sweat of Tourists Has Covered Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel Fresco in a White Film. Now, the ‘Last Judgment’ Is Getting a Much-Needed Cleaning

Patches of calcium lactate have dulled the colors of the famous 16th-century mural, which hasn’t been cleaned since 1994. Experts will carefully restore the artwork to its former glory

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

Archaeologists discovered the bottle while excavating Alta's historic Water Street, which was a bustling thoroughfare during the town's silver mining heyday.

Cool Finds

What Does This 150-Year-Old Bottle of Mystery Booze Taste Like? Fruity, With a Hint of Leather

Experts in Utah recently sipped the murky liquid, which was found during excavations at a historic ski area

When the project is complete, Niagara Falls State Park will feature nearly five miles of continuous shoreline along the Niagara River.

The Oldest State Park in America Is About to Expand

Niagara Falls State Park in western New York is absorbing two neighboring parks, which will add more than 150 acres and new hiking trails to its bounds

Vincent van Gogh's Wheatfield With a Reaper (1889) is one of more than 50 artworks and objects on view in an exhibition at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

Vincent van Gogh Adored the Color Yellow. A New Exhibition in Amsterdam Wants You to Fall In Love With the Hue, Too

The Dutch artist’s paintings showcase plants, landscapes, objects and buildings in bold shades of yellow

Couples kissed beneath the arch for luck, according to local legend.

Couples Have Been Kissing Under the Lovers’ Arch in Italy for Years. On Valentine’s Day, It Collapsed Into the Sea

The iconic rock formation crumbled after days of raging storms. Local officials are calling for new initiatives to help slow coastal erosion in the region

Desert sunflowers blooming in Death Valley National Park in 2016

Will a Dazzling Display of Wildflowers Spread Across California This Spring?

Superblooms are rare events that occur when conditions perfectly align. Officials hope that visitors will be able to see brightly colored landscapes in the weeks ahead

The 244-pound fish was the 27th halibut caught this season.

Ice Fishermen Catch Record-Breaking 244-Pound Atlantic Halibut After Hours-Long Struggle

Six men spent more than two hours tugging the massive flatfish from a frozen fjord in Quebec as part of a research project studying halibut populations in the region

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