Mental Floss

ARCHAEOLOGY

From this moment on, multiple entities have argued over ownership of the ‘Titanic’

The complicated legal case involving salvage rights to the RMS ‘Titanic’ continues, 40 years after the famous shipwreck was rediscovered.

Jake Rossen

Its value as the key that unlocked the meaning of Egyptian hieroglyphs is world-famous—but the turbulent history surrounding the Rosetta Stone’s discovery and translation is more obscure.

Jeff Wells








The spectacular Incan ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru.

The Inca stronghold of Machu Picchu has astounded and confounded visitors since it was unveiled to the wider world more than 100 years ago by an ambitious Yale professor.

Benjamin Lampkin
The famous Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado was home to Ancient Puebloan people for hundreds of years.

Make sure your passport is current, book your flight, and let yourself imagine the lives of the people who called these ancient cities home.

Jen Pinkowski
The Parthenon sits atop Athens’s Acropolis.

The ancient Acropolis has loomed over the Greek city of Athens for more than 3000 years as a defensive citadel, temple complex, weather station, and even a site of resistance against the Nazis.

Allison C Meier




The Treasury at Petra in Jordan.

Carved from rock in modern-day Jordan, Petra prospered for centuries under Nabataean and Roman rule. This dazzling settlement is now one of the region’s greatest attractions.

Benjamin Lampkin