Smart News

The Great Sphinx and the pyramids of Giza (Egypt). Ca. 1845. Lithography by David Roberts.

New Research

A Simple Trick May Have Helped the Egyptians Build the Pyramids

No ancient aliens needed: A little bit of water reduces friction when dragging a sled over sand

Trending Today

50 Years Ago Today, the First BASIC Program Ran in a Dartmouth Basement

The computer language that led the hobbyist computer boom turns 50 today

Activists in Denmark protest outside the American Embassy in Kbenhavn.

Cool Finds

The FISA Court Has Only Denied an NSA Request Once in the Past 5 Years

Only one of 8164 surveillance requests were denied by the court

New Research

For 100 Years, Female Students Have Gotten Better Grades in Every Subject

Yes, that includes math and science

Cool Finds

On These Book Tours, the Author Acts as a Tour Guide

Authors are literally bringing their readers along for the journey, by leading tours of places their books are set

Cool Finds

These Cold War Satellite Images Revealed 10,000 Undiscovered Archaeological Sites

Images of the Middle East from the 1960s showed thousands of archaeological sites—some of which have already been destroyed

Cool Finds

Mosquitoes Kill More Humans Than Human Murderers Do

From a human perspective, this makes them the deadliest animal in the world by far

Testing the jet shoe.

Cool Finds

NASA Made Jet Shoes for Flying Around in Space

Pushing down with your big toe would activate NASA's 1960s jet boot

New Research

Computers Can Tell If You're Really in Pain—Even Better Than People Can

As computers become better at reading people's expressions, their potential as lie detectors and diagnostic aids increases

The remote Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic is just one of the wilderness sites that will soon have wifi.

Cool Finds

Canada's Installing High Speed Wifi at Remote National Parks

Wireless internet will no longer be confined to visitor centers at an assortment of trial National Park wilderness sites

Cool Finds

How to Improve Your Vision Without Glasses, Contacts Or Surgery

Knowing a little about the physics of light can help you focus

Trout River, Newfoundland, Canada

Trending Today

This Dead Whale Could Explode at Any Minute

The 81-foot whale hasn't exploded...yet

Monument to Cervantes in Madrid

Cool Finds

Spain Begins to Search for Cervantes’ Bones

Experts use ground-penetrating radar to search for the author’s bones

Parents of some of the kidnapped girls react during a meeting last Friday.

Trending Today

Reports from Nigeria Say Abducted Girls Are Being Married to Their Captors, Moved Abroad

Reports from local residents say they saw mass marriages, kidnapped girls being moved out of the country

Trending Today

Oklahoma's Botched Execution Revealed the Flaws in States' Reliance on Lethal Injection

Lethal injection has a surprisingly high failure rate

Not the world's fastest mite, but a related species from the same Family.

Cool Finds

This Obscure Species of Mite Is the Fastest Animal on Earth

The mite just defeated the previous record-holder, the Australian tiger beetle

A photo of the Earth taken from lunar orbit in 1966, recovered by the Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project. See the full image here

Cool Finds

Engineers Are Rescuing Some of the First Photos Ever Taken from Lunar Orbit

The Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project is rebuilding the equipment needed to see these stunning photos

New Research

In a More Rational World, 4.1 Percent of People Sentenced to Death Would Be Exonerated

People whose sentences are downgraded to life in prison are less likely to be exonerated than those on death row

Cool Finds

Women Fought in the Civil War Disguised As Men (And So Do Today's Re-enactors)

Some women dressed up as their husbands, or even fought alongside them

Cool Finds

How Fast Can You Print Out a Building?

A company in China says it can print out 10 buildings a day

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