mythology
You’ll Probably Never Get to See, Let Alone Touch, Sea Silk
Untangling the mysteries of the world’s rarest thread.
Articles by Natasha Frost
300
Stories
Stories shared by this traveler.
science
When Under Threat From Poaching, Elephants Change Their Travel Habits
An amazing adaptation with a sad cause.
ruins
The Ancient Greeks May Have Deliberately Built Temples on Fault Lines
Then again, they may just have an awful lot of both.
slavery
The 18th-Century Quaker Dwarf Who Challenged Slavery, Meat-Eating, and Racism
Benjamin Lay is not to be overlooked.
science
So-Called Lazy Ants Are Good for Something, After All
Even shirkers have a place in the colony.
medieval
The World's Most Mysterious Medieval Manuscript May No Longer Be a Mystery
But we're not reading the Voynich manuscript quite yet.
immigration
The History of Passport Photos, From 'Anything Goes' to Today's Mugshots
People have always hated how they look in them.
science
African Wild Dogs Vote on Crucial Pack Issues by Sneezing
Democracy is a blessing.
science
Clever Cockatoos' Tool Use Is Off the Hook
And puts young human children to shame.
archaeology
Found: 1,600-Year-Old Mosaic, By Amateur Archaeologists
Experts are calling it the most exciting British mosaic discovery in fifty years.
computers
Can You Solve the Million-Dollar, Unsolvable Chess Problem?
The queen of all puzzles.
animals
The Transcendental Ritual of Mongolian Camel Coaxing May Soon Be Lost Forever
Khuus, khuus, khuus.
islands
Solving the Mysterious Disappearance of Two 18th-Century French Frigates
A lost 1818 newspaper article may be a critical clue.
crime
Thieves Infiltrated the Paris Catacombs to Steal $300,000 of Wine
An underground oenological heist.
poison
The Mysterious Coastal Cloud That Made Dozens Sick
Toxic haze on the British coast may have come from a passing ship.
literature
When Virginia Woolf Dressed Up as an 'African' Prince to Fool the Royal Navy
The irony of a racist prank that sought to show up the British Empire.
news
Why You Can't Always Trademark a Color
The complicated process of legally "shotgunning" a particular shade.
disasters
A 1,000-Year-Old Texas Oak Tree Stands Firm
A natural treasure is weathering the calamitous storm.
monkeys
Rhesus Monkeys See Faces in Objects, Just Like We Do
Yes, that coffee does look a bit like a face.
statues
A New Statue Remembers A Forgotten, Working Class Suffragette
The controversial art of choosing who we do, or do not, commemorate.
military history
Scientists Decode the Wreck of H.L. Hunley
Solving the century-old mystery of what killed the Confederate submarine's crew.
art
The Dying Art of Courtroom Illustration
Why there are no new artists in the gallery.
literature
Why Do We Love to Think of Places as People?
"Paris, I am in you" is just the latest manifestation of a long tradition.
animals
The Unexpected Result When a Cow Faces Down a Pride of Rare Asiatic Lions
Exit, pursued by a heifer.
