Cool Finds

Methuselah the Judean Date Palm is still going strong even after sprouting from a 2,000-year-old seed.

Tree Grown From 2,000-Year-Old Seed Has Reproduced

Age doesn’t have much on this rare piece of greenery sprouted from a seed discovered in an ancient Israeli site

That Time an Astronaut Smuggled a Corned Beef Sandwich To Space

The sandwich was a joke but its crumbs proved to be too much — for politicians, not for the mission

A close-range view of a landspout tornado in western Kansas, 2008.

Why Forecasters Were Once Banned From Using the Word “Tornado”

Before meteorologists developed reliable prediction techniques, the t-word was off the table

An artist's rendition of Pluto's surface.

Make Your Mark on Pluto by Helping Name Its Features

The New Horizons team is asking the public for help labeling the maps of Pluto and one of its moons

Unsurprisingly, some giant tortoises take issue with humans trying to watch them breed.

Tortoise Defends His Lady in a Super Slow Chase

Here’s what happens when you interrupt two giant reptiles just trying to get in a bit of quality time together

Found: A Secret Nazi Hideaway in the Heart of an Andean Jungle

Hints of a dark Nazi history found in Argentina

The great Charles Dickens may one day come to the aid of the creators of bad password.

Trouble Remembering Passwords? Charles Dickens May Be Able Help

A programmer has devised a creative “password generation scheme” using <i>A Tale of Two Cities</i>

Raptors used in falconry like this peregrine falcon may soon be squaring off with robotic birds.

Drones Are Teaching Falcons How to Hunt

One of the newest training techniques used by falconers could eventually help conservation efforts to save the birds’ prey

An artists conception of NASA's MAVEN spacecraft observing the aurora on Mars

Mars Gets a 'Northern Lights’ Show Too

Earth isn't the only planet that sees auroras

A vineyard in Pomerol, Aquitaine, France

American Bugs Almost Wiped Out France’s Wine Industry

When the Great French Wine Blight hit in the mid 1800s, the culprit turned out to be a pest from the New World that would forever alter wine production

How an Early 19th Century Journalist Took Lincoln to Task for Travel Reimbursement

Lincoln was a congress member at the time but not the only one charging too much for travel

Watch a Drone Explore the World’s Largest Cave

Vietnam’s Son Doong cave is a magnificent not-so-microcosm

Cocoa tree

A Special Facility in England Keeps the World’s Chocolate Safe

The cocoa tree is very sensitive to disease and pests, so someone checks every plant bound for international trade

Palau in Cocos Island National Park, Costa Rica — already claimed

Here’s How to Lay Claim to a Brand New Island

It’s pretty complicated (surprise!)

The Children’s Book That Caused Japan’s Raccoon Problem

When the story of one man’s childhood pet raccoon became a hit in 1970s Japan, it heralded a biological invasion still troubling the country today

Will 2015 Be the Best Mushroom Year Ever?

Canada braces itself for the biggest morel mushroom harvest in world history

Scientists Have Been Studying Two Fake Human Pheromones for Decades

Two chemicals provided by a perfume company appear in a 1991 research paper and side-track years of work on human pheromones

There’s an Invader in the International Space Station

An Invader mosaic has found its way to space

Would You Pass Thomas Edison’s Employment Test?

Probably not.

When Breathtaking Rock Billboards Dominated the Sunset Strip

A new exhibition showcases the Sunset Strip's "rock 'n' roll billboards"

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