Internet Campaign to Preserve Historic Manuscripts Raises $42K

Last year in Timbuktu, an irreplaceable trove of manuscripts at risk of being destroyed by advancing fundamentalist rebels, was secretly evacuated at great personal risk by a team of archivists, librarians, and couriers. The manuscripts were saved from immediate destruction, but today they are still jam packed in footlockers used for their evacuation, while enduring higher humidity than ever before, without protection. Now, an internet campaign launched to fund the purchase of archival bags and boxes to protect these documents has engaged people around the globe and raised $42,500.

By Jeanne Goddard

17 June 64 Views

Aerial Laser Reveals Hidden City in Jungles Near Famed Cambodian Temple

Archaeologists using revolutionary airborne laser technology have discovered a lost mediaeval city that thrived on a mist-shrouded Cambodian mountain 1200 years ago. The stunning discovery of the city, Mahendraparvata, includes temples hidden by jungle for centuries - temples that archaeologists believe have never been looted -- the city that founded the Angkor Empire in 802 AD.

By Jeanne Goddard

19 June 64 Views

Young Historian Sets Out To Do Documentary on Detroit Notable Jamison Handy

Henry Jamison "Jam" Handy; a pioneer of the educational, industrial and documentary film, who contributed immensely to the field of audio/visual communications remains, unfortunately, forgotten. A young documentarian wants to change this.

By Tammy Jones

20 May 59 Views

China Unearths 100 Life-Size Terracotta Warriors

Chinese archaeologists have unearthed 110 new terracotta warriors that laid buried since 210–209 BC, part of the famed army built to guard the tomb of China's first emperor. The life-size figures were excavated by archaeologists near the site where in the 1970's farmers found the first bits of a terracotta army, including chariots with full-size horses.

By Jeanne Goddard

12 June 77 Views

Michael Jackson's Children Imprint Father's Glove in Hollywood Cement (w/ Video)

Late pop star Michael Jackson was immortalized in cement on Thursday when his three children stamped the Thriller singer's glove and shoe prints in the hallowed concrete courtyard of Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood. Jackson's daughter Paris, 13, imprinted her father's iconic silver sequined glove and scrawled his name into the cement, adding a heart in between Michael and Jackson.

By Jeanne Goddard

27 January 69 Views

Time Capsule Buried by Paul Revere and Sam Adams Discovered in Boston

A time capsule buried in the cornerstone of the Massachusetts statehouse by Samuel Adams and Paul Revere, might have remained hidden forever had it not been for water damage in the building that required structural repairs. The small copper box dating back to 1795 was discovered by repair workers and carefully extracted from plaster by museum experts.

By Jeanne Goddard

17 December 61 Views

Andy Murray Finally Ends British Drought, Wins Wimbledon

From the lawns of Wimbledon to the lochs of Scotland, all of Britain can celebrate. Andy Murray made it possible Sunday, winning his country's hallowed tennis tournament to become the first British man in 77 years to win Wimbledon.

By Jeanne Goddard

07 July 59 Views

Early Relic Suggests First Americans Were Stone Age Europeans Who Traveled West 20,000 Years Ago

Archaeologists have long held that North America remained unpopulated until about 15,000 years ago, when Siberian people walked or boated into Alaska and then moved down the West Coast. But a dark, tapered stone blade, found near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, turned out to be 22,000 years old, suggesting that its makers probably paddled from Europe and arrived in America thousands of years ahead of the western migration.

By Jeanne Goddard

02 March 75 Views

Skyrocketing Donations Save the First Spacesuit Worn on the Moon

The Smithsonian launched a crowdfunding campaign to save the spacesuit Neil Armstrong wore on the first moon walk and donations have skyrocketed.

By Jim Stout

05 August 69 Views

Iraqi Man Rescues Artifacts in Looted Antiquities Museum

Namir Ibrahim Jamil, watched looters in Baghdad ransacking the Museum of Antiquities and loaded up two full vans with precious artifacts. He lovingly stored them for 11 days.

By Jeanne Goddard

09 April 65 Views

Civil Rights Giant Becomes Comic Book Hero

Among all the fantastical superhero figures parading at this year's Comic-Con was the elegant and modest Congressman John Lewis, who has earned the moniker hero in real life. His incredible life story is now a graphic autobiography entitled March.Read More

By Jeanne Goddard

15 August 81 Views

Breaking Bard: Shakespeare's Best Villains

In honor of his 450th birthday this month, we present, in order of increasing nastiness, William Shakespeare's best villains, the top 20 bad boys (and girls).

By Jeanne Goddard

23 April 61 Views

German's Son Returns Stolen Treasures to Russia from WWII

Treasures stolen from a Russian museum during WWII have found their way back home. Two crates with hundreds of rare exhibits stolen in 1941 were voluntarily returned to Russia by a Wehrmacht doctor's son.

By Jeanne Goddard

25 May 64 Views

Saved from Dumpster: Amazing Map Collection Makes Librarians Tingle

The occupant of a 90-year-old cottage had stashed a huge collection of maps throughout their Mount Washington, Calif home. The maps, destined for the trash, will now put the Los Angeles Public Library on the map.

By Jeanne Goddard

21 October 68 Views

Queen Invites 10,000 Random British Subjects to Palace Picnic and Concert (w/ Video)

Two of the final events of the 4-day UK celebration marking The Queen's 60-year reign were staged for 10,000 UK citizens chosen in a public lottery. The day began with a picnic in the palace gardens where guests collected hampers of food prepared by palace chefs. It ended with an evening concert spectacular featuring Paul McCartney, Elton John and an amazing lighting and fireworks display using the Palace as a stage prop. (Videos)

By Jeanne Goddard

04 June 70 Views