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Where is the real St. Nicholas buried? It's a mystery.

The story of how St. Nicholas became the red-suited chimney hopper we know as Santa is fascinating in its own right. But the final chapter of the 4th-century holy man's own story is equally intriguing—and controversial.

THE ORIGIN STORY: How St. Nicholas became Santa Claus +

PHOTOGRAPH BY STEEVE IUNCKER

Shrouded in ice and fog, this city is the coldest in the world

In Yakutsk, Siberia—a city of 280,000 people—every outing must be carefully planned: No unnecessary detours. No meanderings or window-shopping. "Here the cold dictates everything."

SEE MORE PHOTOS

PHOTOGRAPH BY PETER REESE

How mistletoe became everyone's favorite parasite

This holiday favorite inspires smooches, feeds birds, and may even help treat cancer. But what if we told you this symbol of love is also a vicious parasite that survives by sucking the nutrients from its host trees?

PHOTOGRAPH BY VELIMIR POPOV AND EMIL IVANOV AT THE IRIDA OBSERVATORY

The 'small wonders' unlocking secrets of the solar system

Modern astronomy is giving us unprecedented views of the asteroids, comets, and other small bodies that litter our cosmic home. These planetary leftovers offer clues to our creation—and potential destruction.

SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE

QUOTE

By tracking, visiting, and sampling these primordial worlds, we're finally getting a chance to see where we came from—and to hopefully stop these objects from destroying who we've become.

Michael Greshko, writer

From: The 'small wonders' unlocking secrets of the solar system

PHOTOGRAPH BY MARINA PISSAROVA/ALAMY/ACI

Shamans, sun gods, and warriors fill Kazakhstan's 'marked place'

Sun deities with rays shining from their heads, dancing shamans, herds of animals: These extraordinary petroglyphs, created over millennia, tell of the different peoples that lived here from the Bronze Age through the Iron Age to the medieval period, and even to the Soviet era.

SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE

PHOTOGRAPH BY ANDREA ARTZ, LAIF/REDUX

The secrets of London's oldest Roman road

This road’s story begins almost 2,000 years ago, when the Romans marked their arrival in Londinium with a wooden bridge over a narrow stretch of the Thames River.

THE STORY OF A ROAD

MORE GREAT READS

Birds aren't real, or are they? Inside a Gen Z conspiracy theory. (NY Times) ››

Finally, experts crack the secret to the last letter of Mary, Queen of Scots (NPR) ››

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