Smart News

Henri IV depicted as Hercules vanquishing a hydra. All in a day's work.

The Second Life of Henri IV’s Severed Head

Whether it's lying in the grave or sitting in a Paris bank vault, the monarch's cranium has been the subject of much debate since his untimely demise

The Klencke Atlas

Cool Finds

Massive Royal Atlas Gets Digitized

The magnificent Klencke Atlas is now available online courtesy of the British Library

Funerary garden discovered by CSIC’s research team.

First Evidence of Ancient Egyptian Funerary Garden Found in Luxor

Researchers have theorized that lettuce and palm trees were once planted there to honor the dead

Sidney Bechet, one of the early jazz greats, made his name on the clarinet, not the cornet or trumpet.

Listen to This First 1920s Recording By One of the Kings of Jazz

Sidney Bechet was one of the first big jazz soloists, and brought the soprano saxophone into the jazz fold

Learn why fudge like this is sold at every tourist attraction in the country

Why Does Every Tourist Attraction Sell Fudge?

One thing that places as different as Niagara Falls, Disneyland and Ellis Island have in common? Fudge

This law set the forced removal of Native Americans in the American Southeast into motion.

Trending Today

Witness the Document that Set the Trail of Tears in Motion

The Indian Removal Act is on display at the National Archives through June 14

JFK as a Harvard student in 1939

Trending Today

Hear a 20-Year-Old John F. Kennedy Speak

Archivist have recently digitized a clip from a 1937 public speaking course, believed to be the oldest recording of the president

During World War II, the Associated Press brokered a photo exchange deal with the Third Reich.

Trending Today

American Journalists Used Nazi-Provided Photos During World War II

A new report reveals more details about the Associated Press’ secret deal with the Third Reich

Ornate Tiara, Once Worn by a Grand Duchess, Stolen From German Museum

The headpiece is adorned with 367 diamonds and has been valued at $1.31 million

The ammonite that left the mark

New Research

Ancient Creature Left a 28-Foot Drag Mark After It Died

An ammonite found in a German quarry left its mark on its lagoon home

Irving Berlin and Ellin Mackay Berlin.

Songwriter Irving Berlin's Interfaith Marriage Caused 1920s Gossip

The songwriter made headlines when he and writer Ellin Mackay got married against her millionaire father's wishes

Savannah, Georgia during the Civil War. The southern landscape is often a key element of southern gothic fiction.

Why People Love Southern Gothic

From the 19th century to S-Town, it’s a compelling genre that’s as flawed as its most grotesque characters

What Baby Louie's parents may have looked like

New Research

Infant Dinosaur Found Still Encased in Its Egg Identified as New Species

Research suggests that the embryo belongs to the cassowary-like oviraptorosaurs

The practical advice in the handbook was intended to help married couples from having too many children.

This Infamous 19th-Century Birth Control Pamphlet Got Its Writer Imprisoned

Charles Knowlton did three months hard labor and was fined $50

The samples of the unspecified species of flower belonged to the Lagenophora genus.

Historical Pressed Flowers Accidentally Destroyed in Australia

The flowers are “literally irreplaceable”

Botanists might see fruit, but to a tariff collector, there's nothing but vegetables here.

Tomatoes Have Legally Been Vegetables Since 1893

Okay, so it's technically a fruit. But we don't eat it like one

“Lost” 18th-Century Garden Found at Scottish Castle

Archaeologists believed that the garden had been demolished and buried during renovations of the sprawling estate

Is this violin the best in all the land? A new study says no.

New Research

Study Challenges the Supremacy of Stradivarius Violins

A French researcher set out to solve a long-standing fiddle riddle: do these infamous violins project sound better than new ones?

The skull of Neo, one of the bodies found in the Lesedi Chamber

New Research

Ancient Human Cousin May Have Lived Alongside Early Homo Sapiens

<i>Homo naledi</i> may have been much younger—and more advanced—than previously thought

Ukraine's Jamala (right) at the press conference after she won Eurovision 2016 with "1944."

The Eurovision Song Contest Rocks Europe This Week. Here’s How It All Got Started

It was the idea of the European Broadcasting Union, who wanted to put the relatively new technology of television through its paces

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