Arts & Entertainment, features and articles | Educational Science

Feb 26, 2019

Charles Dickens Plotted to Send His Sane Wife to an Asylum

Being married to the Victorian author Charles Dickens was definitely not the best of times. Long-hidden letters reveal that Dickens sought to have his wife, Catherine, forcibly consigned to an institution — a scheme that fell apart when doctors found no evidence of mental illness in the woman. At first,...

Feb 27, 2019

What Are Radio Waves?

Radio waves are a type of electromagnetic radiation best-known for their use in communication technologies, such as television, mobile phones and radios. These devices receive radio waves and convert them to mechanical vibrations in the speaker to create sound waves. The radio-frequency spectrum is a relatively small part of the...

Mar 15, 2019

French Painting Stolen by Nazis in 1940 Raid to Be Returned to Owner's Descendants

An artwork by Paul Signac — a painter who helped invent the pointillist style — was stolen from a French home during a Nazi raid in 1940. Signac's painting recently resurfaced in a private collection, and German cultural authorities said it will be returned to the descendants of its original...

Mar 29, 2019

Here's What the Speed of Light Looks Like in Slow Motion

Light travels at 186,000 miles per second (300 million meters per second) and is believed to set the unsurpassable speed limit of the universe. But what does the speed of light actually look like? It might sound like a ridiculous question, but optical researchers at the California Institute of Technology...

Apr 9, 2019

The Old English Verse 'Beowulf' Was Likely Written by a Single Author

Over a thousand years ago, a writer (or writers) penned an epic poem about a warrior named Beowulf who must defeat an evil monster (the story is replete with power struggles, lots of killing and, yes, a fire-breathing dragon). That famous work, Beowulf, is now one of the anchors of...

Apr 9, 2019

Why Giant Tortoise Sex Became the Basis of a Key 'Game of Thrones' Sound Effect

When you hear the signature roars of Drogon, Rhaegal and Viserion — the three key dragon cast members in Game of Thrones — tortoise sex is probably the furthest thing from your mind. And yet, according to series sound designer Paula Fairfield, the mating cries of giant tortoises are among...

Apr 11, 2019

The First Cave Art from the Balkans May Date Back 30,000 Years

Inside of a cave overlooking the blue-green waters of Croatia's northern coast, archaeologists have found wall paintings that date back to the Upper Paleolithic period. While prehistoric cave art is plentiful in western Europe, the discovery marks the first time cave art of this age has been documented in the...

Apr 15, 2019

Leonardo Da Vinci Was Ambidextrous, Handwriting Analysis Shows

Leonardo da Vinci was left-handed, but he was equally adept at writing and painting with his right hand, new evidence from one his earliest known works has revealed. Experts with the Opificio delle Pietre Dure (OPD), an art conservation and research institution in Florence, Italy, conducted diagnostic surveys of a...

May 22, 2019

Hereditary Rule Wreaked Havoc in 'Game of Thrones' — and in Medieval Europe

(Spoiler Alert! This article contains information about the last episode of Game of Thrones.) After eight seasons, the epic Game of Thrones TV series finally resolved the question of who will reign — with an unexpected twist. Bran the Broken Stark rolled into position as the new monarch of the...

May 26, 2019

Why does the letter 'S' look like an 'F' in old manuscripts?

If you've ever had the pleasure of looking at a centuries-old manuscript, like an original handwritten copy of the U.S. Bill of Rights or a first-edition printing of John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost, you may have stumbled over an unfamiliar letter: the long s. To modern readers, the long...

Jun 4, 2019

Godzilla Grew 30 Times Faster Than Any Organism on Earth. Here's Why.

If Godzilla were a real creature, his incredibly rapid growth spurt on the big screen would be off the charts, even setting evolutionary records, a new report finds. When the dinosaur-like monster debuted on the silver screen in 1954, he stood a towering 164 feet (50 meters) tall. Now, 35...

Jun 17, 2019

Did Van Gogh Shoot Himself? Auction of Pistol Reignites Debate.

The auction of a pistol said to have been used by the painter Vincent van Gogh to shoot himself has reignited a debate about who actually pulled the trigger: Did Van Gogh commit suicide, or was he shot by someone else? The gun will be auctioned in France on Wednesday...

Jun 26, 2019

'Lost' Caravaggio Painting Worth $170 Million Bought Before Auction — But Is It Authentic?

A previously unknown Caravaggio painting that was found just a few years ago was expected to fetch up to $170 million at auction this week — but it never made it to the auction block. Instead, an unnamed buyer quietly purchased the painting yesterday (June 25) before the June 27...

Aug 15, 2019

Hidden Painting Under da Vinci Masterpiece Revealed with New Imaging

Researchers have uncovered new details of a hidden image buried within Leonardo da Vinci's painting The Virgin of the Rocks. Back in 2005, imaging revealed the painting — which shows the virgin Mary, baby Jesus and baby Saint John the Baptist — nearly had a different composition, according to The...

Sep 12, 2019

What Was the Enlightenment?

While the Enlightenment of the late 17th and 18th centuries was a time when science blossomed and revolutions in the United States and France occurred, it was also a time when millions of people were enslaved and transported from Africa to the Western Hemisphere. It can be helpful to think...