Smart News

Edward Hopper, "Little Boy Looking at the Sea"

New Archival Donations Put Edward Hopper's Life in Sharp Focus

Thousands of drawings, letters and more are coming to the Edward Hopper House and the Whitney Museum

JFK aboard the PT-109 in the South Pacific in 1943

Why JFK Kept a Coconut Shell in the Oval Office

During this week in 1943, a 26-year-old Kennedy and his crew were marooned on a deserted island and then rescued thanks to two daring men

A census enumerator's records from the 1790 census, the first-ever to be conducted in the United States.

The First US Census Only Asked Six Questions

America’s founders agreed that the census was important, but it wasn’t long

This engraving from 1870 shows the cramped conditions when a train ran through the Tower Subway tunnel. Even once the train was removed, there wasn't much more space.

19th-Century Londoners Walked Under the Thames in This Creepy Tunnel

The Tower Subway tunnel was only seven feet in diameter

New Research

New Study Gives Hope to Victims of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Immune system imbalances may lie behind this crippling illness—a discovery that could lead to more effective treatments in the future

Trending Today

Gen Xers and Millennials Out-Voted Older Generations in 2016

It's the first time the younger generations have beat out Baby Boomers, Silent Generation voters and Greatest Generation voters

Built in a World War II-era civilian bunker, the Berlin Story Museum includes a controversial replica of the bunker Adolf Hitler died in

Berlin Exhibit Confronts Hitler's Rise to Power

Asking 'Hitler--how could it happen,' the exhibit warns the dangers of dictatorship

Etmopterus lailae

Cool Finds

This Tiny, Bulbous-Nosed Shark Glows in the Dark

After 17 years of study, scientists finally confirm that the oddball creature is a new species

The actual first logo for the World Wide Web, created by the developer of its first web browser.

The World Wide Web Was Almost Known as “The Mesh”

The inventor of the World Wide Web had a few different name ideas

A thin film of DNA could work even better than sunscreen at protecting our skin

New Research

Why Salmon Sperm DNA Could Revolutionize Sunscreen

A thin layer of the genetic material seems to effectively block the sun's rays and becomes more effective over time

Dachau's gate had a chilling message for its inmates.

Trending Today

This Dachau Survivor's Harrowing Art Is on Display for the First Time

Georg Tauber’s paintings detail medical experiments, beatings and eventual liberation

The main ship's telegraph from the Lusitania

Cool Finds

Telegraph Recovered from the Wreck of the 'Lusitania'

After a botched salvage effort last year, the artifact used to communicate with the engine room has now been brought to the surface

The LEM model missing from the Armstrong Museum

Trending Today

Thieves Steal Solid Gold Lunar Lander Model From Armstrong Museum

The five-inch model was created by Cartier as tribute from French newspaper readers to the Apollo 11 astronaut

The York Gospels

New Research

Medieval Manuscripts Are a DNA Smorgasbord

Researchers are finding animal DNA in the parchment pages as well as genetic fingerprints from humans (like kissing priests)

An illustration shows the satellite Cassini moving near Saturn and its largest moon Titan

Potential Ingredients for Life Found on Saturn's Moon Titan

But that life likely wouldn't look like what we're used to here on Earth

Even the name "Daniel Defoe" was a pseudonym of sorts—born Daniel Foe, Defoe added the first syllable to his last name to sound more aristocratic.

The Author of 'Robinson Crusoe' Used Almost 200 Pseudonyms

Daniel Defoe honed his pen on political writing before he came to the novel

Candles were an important source of after-dark light in the early United States, so it makes sense that one of the first patents would be related to improving them.

The Innovative Spirit fy17

What the First Three Patents Say About Early America

Gunpowder, fertilizer, soap, candles and flour were all important to Americans

This diorama shows a sailor receiving his "daily tot." It was even mixed according to custom: on a "scuttled butt" with an officer overseeing the mixing.

Reasons Why the Royal Navy Bribed Sailors With Booze

The rum ration existed until 1970

American soldiers sift through art looted by the Nazis at Neuschwanstein Castle in 1945

Legal Fight Over Nazi-Looted Painting Ends After 26 Years

The heirs to the Paul Klee masterpiece, which was seized 80 years ago as "degenerate art," have finally reached a settlement with the city of Munich

The Small Magellanic Cloud, where some of your atoms likely originate

New Research

Half of Our Atoms May Come From Other Galaxies

According to computer simulations, large galaxies may grow by sucking in matter smaller star clusters expel

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