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These Snakes Cartwheel Out of Dangerous Situations

To escape predators, dwarf reed snakes trade slithering for rolling to safety.

NYT Science · EN

These Patients Struggle With Runaway Bones. Finally There’s Hope.

F.O.P., a rare genetic condition, causes uncontrolled explosions of bone. New drugs may slow or halt the process.

NYT Science · EN

Can Scientists Make Football Safer?

Researchers are exploring novel ways to treat, even prevent, the brain disease C.T.E. One of the most surprising: near-infrared light.

NYT Science · EN

Why Did Snakes Lose Their Legs? And 9 More Animal Mysteries

There are more than 1.5 million known zoological species on Earth, with at least as many enigmas. Here are our top 10.

NYT Science · EN

Do Animals Grieve?

The feeling of existential loss was long thought to be uniquely human. But studies of coyotes, cockatoos and other creatures are prompting some scientists to reconsider.

NYT Science · EN

Amelia Island Museum of History in Fernandina Beach, Florida

The Amelia Island Museum of History invites guests to step back in time and experience 4,000 years of rich regional history. From the Indigenous Timucua people to Spanish and French explorers to Victorian aristocrats, the museum takes great care to show the unique phases of this area’s past and highlight the different groups that have called it home. The museum is based in the old Nassau County Jail — built in 1938 in the Art Moderne style — so even the building itself is steeped in period details. The idea for a museum first arose in the mid-1970s with the formation of the Duncan Lamont Clinc

Atlas Obscura · EN

Amelia Island Welcome Center in Fernandina Beach, Florida

In the mid-19th century, Downtown Fernandina Beach became the eastern terminus of Florida’s newly built rail network connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. This small brick depot, built in 1899, served passengers going from Fernandina Beach down to Cedar Key, replacing the previous depot (which was closer to the coastline and less centrally located). It operated until the early 1930s, at which point the Florida Railroad Company deeded it to the local historical society, which then deeded it to the City of Fernandina Beach. The former depot housed the Amelia Island/Fernandina Beac

Atlas Obscura · EN

Amelia Schoolhouse Inn in Fernandina Beach, Florida

Built in 1886, this charming brick property was the very first school on Amelia Island , with locals calling it “Schoolhouse No. 1.” The original four-room structure was designed by architect Robert Sands Schuyler, whose distinct style can be found throughout Downtown Fernandina Beach, from St. Peter’s Episcopal Church to the Tabby House to the Fairbanks House . As the population of Amelia Island grew, the schoolhouse was expanded multiple times; however, it ultimately ceased functioning as a school in the 1930s due to overcrowding. Since then, the schoolhouse has led many lives, from a librar

Atlas Obscura · EN

Amelia Island Pirate Voyages in Fernandina Beach, Florida

Through an unassuming gray shack in the Fernandina Harbor Marina, visitors board a 53-foot-long ship, The Flying Dutchman, for a high seas adventure like no other. The 90-minute to 2-hour voyage offers guests an immersive, family-friendly tour of Amelia Island’s nautical history and natural wonders. The boat itself is decked out with pirate fanfare, from “Wanted” posters to tattered flags atop the mast to a skeleton or two. With a ragtag crew of boisterous pirates, you’ll sail past such landmarks as Fort Clinch, the famous 19th-century coastal fortification; Cumberland Island, where wild horse

Atlas Obscura · EN

Red Barrels Historical Memorial in Lam Sin, Thailand

Near this site, and throughout southern Thailand in the early 1970s, there occurred an extremely horrific series of events which few persons outside of Thailand are aware of, and often falls upon deaf ears within. It was here that suspected members of the Communist Party of Thailand (CPT), were executed by being burnt in 200-liter red petroleum barrels (drums). In Thailand, the years from 1971 to 1973 were characterized by the violent suppression of the communist movement in areas deemed as strongholds of the “Red Insurgency”. The Lamsin community in the southern province of Phatthalung was on

Atlas Obscura · EN

Tugendamt und Pizzarand (Virtue Office and Pizza Crust) in Kleinmachnow, Germany

It is not a pretty place, and most drivers speed right past it without a second thought. Hurrying down the AVUS, onto the urban highway, and finally reaching the destination after a long drive—who actually bothers to obey the 60 km/h speed limit around the Checkpoint Bravo area? And yet, the former Dreilinden rest stop is a sight worth seeing, resembling an architectural lava lamp in both shape and color scheme. Built between 1968 and 1972 based on designs by architects Rainer Rümmler and Hans Joachim Schröder, the complex—featuring clearance buildings, a rest stop, two gas stations, and a bri

Atlas Obscura · EN

Leadenhall Wunderkammer in London, England

Translated from German, Wunderkammer means “room of wonder”, and the tiny shops tucked inside No. 27¼ at Leadenhall Market certainly live up to the name. Hidden among the grand Victorian architecture and bustling passages of the market, this whimsical installation is a miniature world of its own. Inspired by the cabinets of curiosities that once brought together strange, beautiful, and intriguing objects for the delight of their owners, this Wunderkammer invites visitors to stop, peer through its tiny windows, and discover the stories concealed in Leadenhall’s history. Inside are three miniatu

Atlas Obscura · EN

Tomba Dei Gigante S’Ena e Thimes in Dorgali, Italy

This huge and impressive Bronze Age tomb is about 5 minutes walk from the SP 38 road. There are directional arrows on the ground, consisting of stones arranged into arrow shapes, each of which is unique. The front face of the tomb is several very large stones placed upright, the central stone has an opening at the bottom, that you can look through, into the tomb itself. You can get to the back of the tomb by slipping between 2 of the smaller stones a couple of metres to the right of the biggest stone.

Atlas Obscura · EN

The States With the Most—And Least—Animal Collisions, Mapped

A 2026 data analysis from State Farm reveals that drivers in certain states have much higher odds of running into animals. See where your state falls.

Mental Floss · EN

The Trendiest Food the Year You Were Born

From mid-century tuna casseroles to 2000s smoothies, find out which iconic food trend or craze ruled the year you were born.

Mental Floss · EN

75 Terribly Tricky Tongue Twisters to Test Your Talking

Can you say these totally tricky tongue twisters without stumbling, stuttering, or twisting your words?

Mental Floss · EN

20 Things Every '70s Kid Remembers That Have Completely Disappeared

Before smartphones, streaming, and the internet took over, everyday life was filled with simple pleasures and technologies that have all but gone extinct.

Mental Floss · EN

25 Iconic Movie Roles That Almost Went to Different Actors

Every casting rumor comes with a “what if,” but these near misses come from the people who were actually there.

Mental Floss · EN

The Biggest Song From Every Year in the 2000s

From Mariah Carey and Faith Hill ballads to songs by Lifehouse and Beyoncé, these were the top hits of the 2000s.

Mental Floss · EN

2026's Safest—And Least Safe—Cities in America

WalletHub ranked the safest—and least safe—cities in America based on crime rates, natural disaster risks, and financial security. See where your city landed.

Mental Floss · EN

50 November Trivia Questions to Warm Up Your Brain on Chilly Fall Days

Keep your mind sharp with these November-themed trivia questions with answers, which traverse history, pop culture, and more.

Mental Floss · EN

The UK’s legal cannabis market is booming – so why can’t this talented artist get any to treat his epilepsy? | Kojo Koram

Companies have rushed to supply the drug as a wellness treatment, but patients with serious illnesses aren’t able to get NHS prescriptions In 2022, a prodigiously talented young artist named Louis Petit was preparing to return to the UK, having been effectively exiled in the Netherlands as a teenager so he could access the medical cannabis he needed to control his epilepsy. Six years earlier, Louis, then 12, had been diagnosed with a rare form of the neurological disease when medical cannabis was still illegal in the UK. But in Rotterdam, where it was legal, doctors helped him discover that a

Guardian Science · EN

The Guardian view on listening to people with learning disabilities: a matter of life and death | Editorial

The Covid pandemic shed an unforgiving light on health and social care inequalities. The lessons have yet to be absorbed The fear that so many felt as the death toll rose during the Covid pandemic was magnified for Fiona Walker. “I know from experience they wouldn’t have valued my life,” she says, in a new report on the treatment of people with learning disabilities during the crisis. The 1.5 million people in the UK with learning disabilities, and their families, had reason for concern. Death rates in England were four to six times higher than average for people with learning disabilities. As

Guardian Science · EN

Tributes paid to ‘inspiring’ Cambridge scientist who died in Spain train crash

Dr Marta Shahbazi was travelling to a conference to receive award for scientific excellence in developmental biology An “inspiring” Cambridge scientist died in the Spanish train collision on Wednesday that killed at least 69 people. Dr Marta Shahbazi , 41, an affiliate associate professor at the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute and a group leader at the city’s Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB), was travelling on one of the trains involved in the crash near Urda in Toledo province. Continue reading...

Guardian Science · EN