In 1946, Harvard purchased what they believed to be a cheap copy of Magna Carta for $25.70. It turned out to be a screaming deal, because the document is actually a rare early 14th-century edition estimated to be worth millions. The document was buried in the Harvard Law School Library’s archives until 2023, when David Carpenter, […]
Trump Says New Tech Will Make Reagan’s Star Wars a Reality
President Donald Trump wants to make Ronald Reagan’s long-ridiculed Star Wars missile defense program from the 1980s a reality. And he insists new tech can finally make it happen. Trump gave a rambling speech to Congress Tuesday night that included the kinds of dishonest nonsense the fascist president has long been known for. But as […]
Preserved in Glass: How Mount Vesuvius Locked This Roman’s Brain in Time
Nearly 2,000 years ago, Mount Vesuvius erupted, swallowing the nearby Roman towns of Herculaneum and Pompeii in a superheated cloud of ash, dust, and volcanic material. The environment was so hot that a team of researchers say it turned at least one resident’s brain into glass. Not only did the individual’s once-squishy, pinkish-white organ get […]
Droughts, Locusts, and Plague: 16th-Century Transylvanian Diaries Expose Climate Chaos
Meteorology has never been as precise as it is today—but how can scientists learn about past weather events? In addition to environmental evidence such as ice cores and sediments, historical records provide unique insights into forgotten climate events and how they shaped society, as new research attests. Researchers in Romania have analyzed historical records to […]