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Extraordinary people, discoveries, and places

PHOTOGRAPH BY AUDUN RIKARDSEN

See what happened when this polar bear found our camera

"The motion sensor reacted to the bear’s movement, triggering the camera to start taking pictures. The bear circled the camera, gently sniffing and even licking it. Then the bear knocked the sensor onto the ice, grabbed the tripod, and tipped it and the camera into the hole. "

SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE

IMAGE COURTESY OF THE OSHER MAP LIBRARY AND SMITH CENTER FOR CARTOGRAPHIC EDUCATION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MAINE

These islands don't really exist. So how did they end up on ancient maps?

The island of Frisland, shown on the map above, was the invention of a wealthy 16th-century Venetian who claimed his ancestor had discovered the New World before Columbus. It appeared on maps for more than a century—but it was hardly the only fake island conjured up by imaginative mapmakers.

SEE MORE BOGUS MAPS

PHOTOGRAPH BY ULLSTEIN PICTURE, GETTY

What can 200-year-old DNA tell us about a murdered French revolutionary?

Jean-Paul Marat was stabbed to death in his bathtub in 1793. Now, blood preserved from his assassination may have helped researchers solve a medical mystery that vexed Marat in his lifetime.

THE GENETIC CLUES

ALAMY/ACI

This Egyptian queen's tomb lay untouched for more than 4,000 years

Shortly after the discovery of King Tut's tomb, another intact royal burial was found—this time in the shadow of the Great Pyramid at Giza. The golden treasures inside belonged to Hetepheres, a queen of Egypt's Old Kingdom.

SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE

PHOTOGRAPH BY JACOB A. RIIS, MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK/GETTY IMAGES

The contentious history of the passport

With their microchips and holograms, biometric photos and barcodes, today’s passports can seem like stunning feats of modern technology, especially when considering their origins can be traced back to the biblical era.

QUOTE

This little lie that an explorer told became entangled in a really important part of history.

Malachy Tallack, author, The Un-Discovered Islands

From: These islands don't really exist. So how did they end up on ancient maps?

PHOTOGRAPH BY JORGE GUERRERO, AFP, GETTY IMAGES

These human-size crystals formed in especially strange ways

Spain's Pulpí Geode, found in an abandoned silver mine in 1999, is one of the world's largest. Because of the impressive dimensions of this temple of transparent spires, scientists have long ached to know how it was forged. Now they think they know.

CLUES IN ANCIENT CLIMATE SHIFTS

GUILLAUME NÉRY

‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ SHORT FILM SHOWCASE‌ ‌ ‌

A freediving couple reveals the world underwater like never before.

How long can you hold your breath? One minute? Two? Five? For freedivers, this calculation is a matter of life and death. In this short film, One Breath Around the World, French freediving champions Guillaume Néry and Julie Gautier bring an artistic edge to the dangerous sport.

MORE GREAT READS

Meet the man who wants to make sitting an extreme sport (Atlas Obscura) ››

The surprising mental and emotional benefits of a whodunit (BBC) ››

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