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Extraordinary people, discoveries, and places

ILLUSTRATION BY GABRIEL UGUETO

Rainbow feathers. River monsters. See how dinosaurs are getting a modern reboot.

Scientists have learned more about the ancient animals in the last 25 years than in the previous 250—from the color of their skin and feathers to how they lived and evolved.

SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE

PHOTOGRAPH BY BETTMANN ARCHIVE, GETTY

Remembering the night two atomic bombs fell—on North Carolina

Sixty years ago, at the height of the Cold War, a B-52 bomber disintegrated over a small Southern town. An eyewitness recalls what happened next.

"WHAT IN THE WORLD?"

PHOTOGRAPH BY NASA

The Mediterranean nearly dried up. A cataclysmic flood revived it.

A layer of salt up to two miles thick is one of the few traces of an ancient Mediterranean Sea that vanished millions of years ago. The details surrounding its vanishing act—and the torrents of water that refilled the basin—remain an enduring mystery.

BIGGEST FLOOD EVER?

PHOTOGRAPH BY FRANK LYKO, BKFZ

How one female crayfish turned into a new species

Fished from the Everglades in 1995, the lone female crayfish began cloning itself. Decades later, all of its descendants—billions of them—are female.

QUOTE

The grass was burning. Big Daddy's Road over there was melting. My mother was praying. She thought it was the End of Times.

Billy Reeves, witness

From:Remembering the night two atomic bombs fell—on North Carolina

BRIDGEMAN/ACI

Kublai Khan did what Genghis could not: Conquer China

Leading the Mongols to defeat China, Kublai Khan fulfilled his grandfather's ambitions to rule one of history’s largest empires.

SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE

PHOTOGRAPH BY FINE ART IMAGES, HERITAGE IMAGES/GETTY

The Vandals sacked Rome. But do they deserve their reputation?

Their name is synonymous with destruction. But it turns out the Germanic tribe that managed to take over Rome may not deserve such a harsh legacy.

MORE GREAT READS

The secret life of a Viking warrior woman (Atlas Obscura) ››

The highs and lows of the 'cheer mom' (New York Times) ››

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