Latest history Stories
Only 1 in 10 classic video games are publicly accessible today
Uranus got its name from a very serious authority
A fresco discovered in Pompeii looks like ancient pizza—but it’s likely focaccia
What we know about Area 51
Workers rely on medieval era tech to reconstruct the Notre Dame
‘Extended reality’ will help preserve some of Afghanistan’s most endangered historical sites
Inventing lager was a huge mistake
Ancient Maya masons had a smart way to make plaster stronger
Happy 50th birthday, cell phones
Ancient DNA confirms Swahilis’ blended African and Asian ancestry
Scientists may have solved an old Puebloan mystery by strapping giant logs to their foreheads
Police brutality is an unaddressed public health crisis in America
This is the best look yet into ancient Egyptians’ mummy-making chemicals
‘Historical’ AI chatbots aren’t just inaccurate—they are dangerous
It took centuries (and vitamins) for doctors to finally stop scurvy
The real reason that familiar Apple Mac chime is off key
10 incredible lunar missions that paved the way for Artemis
Why we still don’t have a vaccine for the common cold
High-speed rail trains are stalled in the US—and that might not change for a while
Cacao was probably loved by all, even 1,000 years ago in Maya culture
A dried-up arm of the Nile provides another clue to how Egyptians built the pyramids
The century-old dream of traveling by hovercraft is still alive
What to know about the new rare polio case in New York
A humble seismograph beneath the Great Smoky Mountains could be one of the best in the world
What it would take for cars to actually fly
Martian beavers, intentional explosions, and other weird facts from 150 years of PopSci
Sex and gender binaries don’t tell the entire story of life
Shapewear has changed a lot over the centuries. How much has it changed us?
Nuclear war inspired peacetime ‘gamma gardens’ for growing mutant plants
Deepfakes may use new technology, but they’re based on an old idea
Ukraine was about to revive its space program. Then Russia invaded.
Research on aphrodisiacs is kind of unsatisfying
Why young orphans were once used as human refrigerators
The 5 phases of COVID’s endgame
We’re still in the dark about a key black hole paradox
Horned helmets came from Bronze Age artists, not Vikings
The weirdest things we learned this week: The first celebrity diet, confused albatrosses, and delusions of death
Yes, Cincinnati has a subway system. No, you can’t use it.
This noxious island is so full of snakes, people can’t even visit
AI turned a Rembrandt masterpiece into 5.6 terabytes of data
This pseudoscience movement wants to wipe germs from existence
Check out the weirdest New Year’s Eve facts we could find
Roman soldiers, booze, and mail trucks shaped the fruitcake’s rich history
Spotted lanternfly goo is surprisingly tasty
Inside the cutthroat world of competitive meat judging
Dead ships find solace under the treacherous surface of the Great Lakes
How the US census inspired the personal computer
Ancient robots were objects of fantasy and fun
These young cities are solving age-old problems
Death ‘by planet’ was surprisingly common in the 1600s
Ancient cities had toxic pollution, too
Imagine traveling to the moon only to realize you’re allergic to it. One astronaut did.
Bill Nye talks killer clowns, mermaids, pigeon poo, and deadly bicycles
These ‘experts’ once said women couldn’t play football. Boy were they wrong.
Deepfakes could help us relive history—or rewrite it
This electric car was cutting edge in 1908. What’s it like to drive it?
The oil and gas industry knew about climate change in the 1950s
How sexy Victorian mediums tricked scientists into believing in ectoplasm
Why beer serving sizes are so weird
The myth of generations, debunked
The war on drugs didn’t work. Oregon’s plan might.
What scientists learned when they tried to raise a chimp with a human baby
The Kinsey Scale Test and 3 other ways to find where you fall on the sexuality spectrum
Eat like an ancient Roman by recreating bread from Pompeii