Tim Brinkhof

The popular nursery rhyme may have emerged in the 14th century—and it didn’t have anything to do with bathing.

In a galaxy far, far, far away, astronomers have found the oldest black hole in the universe, thought to have formed less than 500 million years after the Big Bang. 

Tens of thousands of fallout shelter signs, with three yellow triangles in a black circle, are visible on building façades today. They serve as grim reminders of the hottest flashes of the Cold War. So why are they still around?

They’re not just for folks attempting the Appalachian Trail. Here’s how trekking poles can improve any hiker’s performance and fitness.

The coating protected items like boots and carriage parts from wear and tear—and looked luxurious while doing so. But who invented patent leather? And does that person actually hold a patent for it?

Inside the complicated compromise that created the District of Columbia and the City of Washington—which are kind of the same thing.

The answer lies in the way our brains and taste buds respond to vanilla.

The microscopic worms are one of only a few species known to assemble into “superorganisms” that act and move collectively.