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 Mount Fuji from Lake Shōji

On This Day in History

It’s Been More Than 300 Years Since Japan’s Breathtaking Mount Fuji Last Erupted

Mount Fuji’s last eruption, which happened on this day in 1707, was also its largest, spewing ash and debris over cities and farms, causing famines, respiratory problems and untold death

A circa 1883 photograph of Lakota leader Sitting Bull

On This Day in History

Why Sitting Bull Was Killed by Indian Agency Police at His Cabin on the Standing Rock Reservation

Because of his alleged involvement with the Ghost Dance movement, the Lakota leader, who died on this day in 1890, was seen as a threat to the U.S. government's efforts to subdue Indigenous Americans

Suffragettes protest along a London street wearing sandwich boards in 1912.

On This Day in History

What Happened When British Women Voted in a General Election for the First Time

The enfranchisement of property-owning women over 30 on this day in 1918 came at a time of great strife within political parties in post-World War I Britain

DNA on Earth is built from sugars with a property known as right-handedness. Though left-handed sugars aren't used by any known life, scientists can create them—but now, researchers say they shouldn't.

Scientists Warn of an 'Unprecedented Risk' From Synthetic 'Mirror Life,' Built With a Reverse Version of Natural Proteins and Sugars

So-called mirror cells could rampage through our ecosystems, food supply and immune systems, experts say, potentially without existing barriers to protect against them

A mantel clock designed by André-Charles Boulle with a movement by Claude Martinot (circa 1726)

See These Ornately Decorated 18th-Century Clocks Before Time Runs Out

An exhibition in London is highlighting a collection of Baroque timepieces designed by the renowned Parisian craftsman André-Charles Boulle

A representation of the evolution of the universe over 13.77 billion years.

James Webb Telescope Confirms the Universe Is Expanding Faster Than We Thought—and Scientists Still Don’t Know Why

The findings suggest that astronomers’ widely accepted cosmology models might be missing something—meaning the longstanding mystery known as the “Hubble tension” continues

Charles de Gaulle talking to reporters in 1945

Cool Finds

A Forgotten Collection of Charles de Gaulle's Personal Letters, Speeches and Manuscripts Has Been Discovered in a Safe

Most of the documents are heading to the auction block, where they could fetch more than $1 million. They were found in a bank vault owned by the French statesman's son

A Nile crocodile.

Scientists Unlock the Secrets of Crocodile Skin and Its Irregular, Mystifying Patterns

The scales on crocodiles’ heads are very different from the skin appendages of other animals and even distinct from the scales on the rest of their bodies

Artist Jean Charles Blais and his contractor discovered the engraving behind a layer of plaster on his studio wall.

Cool Finds

An Artist Noticed a Leak in His Studio. The Repairs Revealed a Mysterious Ancient Engraving Hidden Inside the Walls

Jean Charles Blais had no idea that his studio in southern France was hiding a Roman funerary inscription dating to the first or second century C.E.

Siberian tigers Boris and Svetlaya lounge together in the wild. Boris walked 120 miles to reunite with her after their release from a rehabilitation program.

Two Orphaned Siberian Tigers Reunite as Mates After a 120-Mile Trek Through Russian Wilderness

Conservationists hope the love story between Boris and Svetlaya might indicate a new, successful chapter in tiger repopulation efforts

A 1583 portrait of Sir Francis Drake

On This Day in History

In 1577, an English Explorer Set Out to Circumnavigate the World. Here's What His Groundbreaking Journey Accomplished

Francis Drake's successful voyage included British sailors' arrival in California and the plundering of a glut of Spanish riches that sustained Elizabeth I's empire

Studies of Male Heads, Helmets for Soldiers and Facial Features, Michelangelo, circa 1504

See How Michelangelo, Leonardo and Raphael Entered and Exited Each Other's Worlds

A new exhibition in London examines the relationship between the three Italian Renaissance artists, who came together in Florence in 1504

An artist's illustration shows the James Webb Space Telescope peering out into the solar system toward the asteroid belt.

Astronomers Detect the Smallest Main Belt Asteroids Ever Found by Repurposing a Technique for Exoplanet Discovery

An unusual approach to spotting tiny asteroids uses James Webb Space Telescope data in a boost for planetary defense research

This gold aureus featuring an image of Brutus was minted shortly after Caesar's death.

A Rare Coin Depicting Brutus, Caesar's Infamous Assassin, Sells for $2 Million

Following the murder in 44 B.C.E., Brutus minted the gold aureus to promote his own image and celebrate his military victories

Lightning strikes over the countryside near Potsdam, Germany, on July 10, 2024, following a period of high temperatures.

Google Reveals New A.I. Model That Predicts Weather Better Than the Best Traditional Forecasts

Instead of crunching mathematical calculations, GenCast was trained on four decades of historical weather data to produce an array of 15-day forecasts

The tail, or fluke, of a humpback whale is identifiable, like a fingerprint is for a human.

Humpback Whale Makes Record-Breaking 8,000-Mile Migration Across Three Oceans, but the Reason Is Still a Mystery

Biologists say mating, climate change or simply being confused might have driven the creature to swim great distances, between Colombia and Zanzibar

The exhibition showcases political cartoons dating from 1909 to 2003.

See Winston Churchill Through the Eyes of the Political Cartoonists He Inspired

A new exhibition at London’s Imperial War Museum brings together political cartoons from around the world that celebrate and satirize the wartime prime minister

The Scream by Edvard Munch

On This Day in History

Meet the Mysterious and Brooding Norwegian Painter Responsible for 'The Scream'

Born on this day in 1863, Edvard Munch lived a life marked by mental health struggles and sought to brush themes of anxiety and dread into his art

Monarch butterflies are well-known and beloved migratory pollinators in North America.

Monarch Butterflies Might Soon Be Listed as Threatened Under the Endangered Species Act

If a new proposal is adopted, the insects would become the most commonly seen species to be the subject of federal protection under this law

The five women—Marie-Jose Loshi, Monique Bitu Bingi, Lea Tavares Mujinga, Simone Ngalula and Noëlle Verbeken—took legal action against the Belgian state for the suffering they endured as children.

Belgium Has Been Found Guilty of 'Crimes Against Humanity' for Kidnapping Thousands of Children in Congo

A Brussels court has ordered Belgium to pay damages to five women, now in their 70s and 80s, who were abducted from their parents when they were young children

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