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The Aboriginal people of Western Australia have a long history with the vegetation gaps of the region's inland deserts.
insects

In Australia, Aboriginal Knowledge and the Mystery of Fairy Circles

Building connections between tradition and science.
Line Sidonie Talla Mafotsing June 6, 2023
After the destruction caused along the Miami beaches by Hurricane Andrew, in 1992, five new lifeguard stations were created, striking colorful, geometric figures on the waterfront. Another wave of these buildings appeared in 2015.
forests

Kick Off Summer With 7 Unique Beach Reads About the Beach

Surprising stories from where land meets sea.
April White June 1, 2023
On Tuckernuck Island, the American giant millipede is in danger of losing its head. Scientists don't know what is responsible for the unprecedented number of decapitations.
science

The Mystery of the Headless Millipedes

Every summer, hundreds of millipedes are murdered on one small Massachusetts island.
William von Herff May 26, 2023
Juan de Pareja, as painted in 1650 by Spanish artist Diego Velázquez, the man who enslaved him.
paintings

This Was One of the Most Famous Faces of the 17th Century

But we're only starting to learn the facts of artist Juan de Pareja's life.
Amy Crawford May 18, 2023
rare books

Podcast: Voynich Manuscript

A strange medieval document, housed in a stunning modern library.
The Podcast Team May 16, 2023
This ancient dodecahedron found in Avenches, Switzerland, once the Roman city of Aventicum.
objects of intrigue

The Mysterious Dodecahedrons of the Roman Empire

The first of many of these puzzling objects was unearthed almost three centuries ago, and we still don't know what they were for.
Frank Jacobs, Big Think May 12, 2023
SS <em>Warrimoo</em> plied a trans-Pacific route from Canada to Australia, which means it crossed both the equator and the international date line on every trip.
maps

The Strange Tale of SS Warrimoo, the Ship That Existed in Two Centuries at Once

On New Year's Eve 1899, the captain of this Pacific liner steamed into history. Or did he?
Frank Jacobs, Big Think April 28, 2023
One of the 2.000 mummified ram heads found in the Temple of Ramses II, in the historical city of Abydos, Egypt.
cemeteries

Wonder Is Everywhere: 2,000 Ram Skulls, a Cold War Mystery, and More From Around the Web

Get a peek into what we’re obsessed with right now.
April White April 14, 2023
statues

Podcast: Lady Liberty’s Little Sister

A pranks, a scaled-down landmark, a local legend, in the middle of the river.
The Podcast Team April 6, 2023
For decades, the nonprofit Diving With a Purpose has trained young Black men, women and teenagers in maritime archaeology methods.
ships

The Hunt for an Elusive Florida Shipwreck That Killed 41 Enslaved People

Searching for the slave ship Guerrero, the nonprofit Diving With a Purpose has also trained scores of young Black men and women to find and tell stories once lost to the waves.
Karuna Eberl February 27, 2023
William Selig's 1898 short film <em>Something Good-Negro Kiss</em> is considered one of the earliest black films depicting black intimacy on screen.
murals

7 Unforgettable Stories for Black History Month

Meet some of the artists, archivists, students, and descendants rediscovering and preserving the past.
April White February 22, 2023
For decades, few knew the origins of the mysterious Kay's Cross in Kaysville, Utah, so all manner of ghost stories grew up around it.
mystery

2022 Was a Great Year for Mysteries

Our favorite head-scratchers, from a frightening stone to a curious cow's tooth to maybe, just maybe, buried treasure.
April White December 21, 2022
View of the ship from the side
Robertsport, Liberia

Robertsport Ghost Ship

After several weeks of radio silence, this abandoned oil tanker washed up on a remote beach in Liberia.
British pop singer/songwriter Maisie Peters's favorite book, Donna Tartt's <em>The Secret History</em>, inspired an obsession with New England winters.
haunted

How 'The Secret History' Conjures Haunting New England Winters

For me as a singer-songwriter, there’s just something alluring about that frigid, seasonal darkness.
Maisie Peters December 1, 2022
When James Dunsdon discovered the now-rare Higgins boat on the shores of Shasta Lake, it sat above the water line, almost as if it had just made a beach landing during a World War II invasion.
military history

How Did a World War II Boat End Up at the Bottom of a California Lake?

The discovery, retrieval, and mysterious history of a ‘ghost boat.’
April White November 23, 2022
The cottage where Michael Cleary murdered his wife, Bridget, still stands in Ballyvadlea in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is shown here in an 1895 photograph.
murder

The Haunting True Story of Bridget Cleary’s “Changeling” Murder

There's more to this 19th-century crime than the dark side of fairy lore.
Sarah Durn October 21, 2022
Few knew the origins of the mysterious Kay's Cross in Kaysville, Utah, and ghost stories grew up around it.
haunted

The Strange, Awful Truth Behind Utah's Eerie Stone Cross

It's more bizarre than the urban legends.
Greg Christensen October 20, 2022
Denver, Colorado

Meow Wolf Convergence Station

A multiversal transit station located right below a highway interchange.