History

Ancient Hydraulic Lift Systems may Have Aided Pyramid Construction

The Step Pyramid of Djoser may have been built using a hydraulic system, according to a new studyCharles J. Sharp/CC BY-SA 3.0The ingenuity of ancient Egyptian engineers might have been even more advanced than previously thought. A new study proposes that an unexplained ancient structure could have been part of a water purification system,...

The First Dive to Titanic since the Titan Tragedy is Scheduled for this Month

Credit: RMS TitanicThe first expedition to the Titanic since last year's Titan submersible disaster, which resulted in the loss of five lives, is currently underway. The mission aims to conduct the most detailed imaging survey yet of the historic wreck to study the impact of the sea environment on the ship.When the RMS Titanic...

Last Woolly Mammoths Reveal New Extinction Clues

Credit: BETH ZAIKENFour thousand years ago, the last woolly mammoth on an island off the coast of modern-day Siberia died. This isolation could have led to fatal inbreeding and population declines, contributing to the species' extinction.However, a new study reveals that while the Wrangel Island mammoths were indeed inbred, this alone did not...

Renowned Explorer’s Last Ship Found Wrecked Off the Coast of Canada

The Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS) has located the wreck of the ship used for Sir Ernest Shackleton's final Antarctic expedition off the coast of Labrador. The vessel, named the Quest, sank in May 1962, the same ship on which Sir Ernest Shackleton passed away in 1922.

Tiny-Brained Ancestor May be History’s First Gravedigger and Artist

Researchers claim that Homo naledi, a small-brained human relative, buried its dead and made art long before our own species did.MARK THIESSEN/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHICThree papers that were presented at a meeting today and put online laid out an astounding situation. It is suggested that approximately 240,000 years ago, a large network of limestone caves in South...

The World’s Oldest Skin Discovered in an Exceptionally Rare Fossil find.

According to the team, the oldest known fossil skin samples resemble the skin of modern crocodiles. DepositphotosScientists have found the oldest skin fossils, which are from a time long before dinosaurs existed. These samples, discovered in a cave in Oklahoma, show that reptile scales have barely changed in 286 million years.Most fossils in museums...

New Discovery Reveals How Ancient Egyptians Built the Pyramids

The Giza pyramids on the outskirts of Cairo have always made people wonder: how were such incredible structures built with nothing but human and animal muscle for power?Credit: PixabayScientists have found that ancient Egyptians might have had help building the pyramids from a long-lost river, not aliens. Evidence of an uncharted branch of the...

The Mysterious Origins of the Word “Avocado”

Credit: CanvasAvocados are those tasty green fruits that give us the joy of guacamole. But did you ever wonder where the word "Avocado" comes from? There's a tweet that claims it has something to do with testicles, which got a lot of attention. But hold on, there's more to this story!Snopes, the fact-checking heroes,...

Rare Gray Whale Spotted After 200 Years

During the period of commercial whaling, this sea creature was nearly brought to extinction by hunting.Scientists have verified that a whale, extinct in the Atlantic Ocean for 200 years, has been sighted off the coast of New England. It's an exciting discovery, but it also highlights the impact of climate change on ocean creatures.Researchers...

Do You Know Who Invented Math?

Credit:Unsplash / Dan Cristian Pădureț.Carl Friedrich Gauss famously declared mathematics the "queen of the sciences." However, as history's renowned mathematician, he might have been slightly biased. Ask a physicist, and she might retort with the provocative analogy that "physics is to mathematics what sex is to masturbation."But regardless of whether mathematics wears the crown, it undoubtedly stands...