Mental Floss

STONES, BONES, AND WRECKS

A. R. Coster, Topical Press Agency/Getty Images

Wreckage of a World War II Nazi 'Flying Bomb' Found in English Forest

It was shot down by a Polish pilot in 1944.

Courtesy of The Black Sea Maritime Archaeology Project

A 2400-Year-Old Ship Seen Only in Ancient Greek Art Was Found at the Bottom of the Black Sea

It's believed to be the world's oldest intact shipwreck.

M. Ebert and T. Nohl

Scientists Find Fossil of 150-Million-Year-Old Flesh-Eating Fish—Plus a Few of Its Prey

It has razor-sharp teeth like a piranha's.

Jenny Romell, et al./Radiology

Advanced CT Scans Reveal Blood Vessels and Skin Layers in a Mummy's Hand

Researchers can look at the inside of a mummy on the cellular level without ever slicing into it.

iStock

A 2.63-Carat Diamond Was Unearthed by a Grandmother at an Arkansas State Park

She thought she had dug up a piece of glass.

Dani Nadel, Wikimedia Commons // CC BY 3.0

Archaeologists Uncover World's Oldest Known Brewery in Israel

The beer probably didn't taste great.

Ilya Bobrovskiy, the Australian National University

Fossilized Fat Shows 550-Million-Year-Old Sea Creature May Have Been the World's First Animal

Organisms called 'Dickinsonia' defied classification for decades.

Wellcome Images, Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 4.0

Endeavour, Captain Cook's Lost Ship, Might Have Been Found—Solving a Centuries-Old Mystery

But only a full excavation will prove its identity for sure.

Prpix.com.au/Getty Images

There Could Be Hundreds of Frozen Corpses Buried Beneath Antarctica's Snow and Ice

Mummified penguins occasionally turn up, too.

Government of Yukon

Ice Age Wolf Pup and Caribou Mummies Discovered in Yukon

Fur and all.

Courtesy of Ardboe Gallery

Fishermen Caught a 10,500-Year-Old Giant Irish Elk Skull—Antlers and All

The species has long been extinct.

iStock

Construction Workers in Italy Uncover a Jar of 5th-Century Gold Coins Potentially Worth Millions

They were found not far from the site of an ancient Roman town.

Antarctic Heritage Trust

11 of the Oldest Foods and Drinks Ever Discovered

A pat of bog butter, anyone?

Archaeologists on site at The Theatre during the 2008 excavation

The Long-Buried 16th-Century Theater Where Shakespeare's Earliest Plays Were Performed Will Reopen

It hasn't been seen by the public in more than 400 years.

Heritage Auctions, HA.com

A Pocket Watch From the Titanic Surfaces and Sells for $57,500

The watch belonged to a Russian immigrant who planned to settle in the Bronx and become a dentist. He didn't make it.

A hunger stone in Dresden, Germany

Hunger Stones Bearing Ominous Messages Have Resurfaced in Drought-Stricken Europe

One contains the eerie inscription: "When you see me, weep."

Shipton et. al,

Homo Erectus Might Have Been Really 'Lazy'

All that stood between them and better stone tools was a little hill. And yet.

iStock

Intriguing New Theory Might Explain the Fate of Easter Island's Civilization

It's calling into question what we thought we knew about the mysterious culture.

The Roman dodecahedron Brian Campbell found in East London

The Mysterious Bronze Objects That Have Baffled Archaeologists for Centuries

They've been discovered at Roman-era sites, but no one knows what they're for.

iStock

German Court Awards Farmer $1 Million for 2000-Year-Old Bronzed Horse Head Found in His Well

He was originally paid $55,946.

iStock

Teen Archaeologist Finds a Tooth That's More Than 500,000 Years Old

It belonged to a human sub-species.

iStock

Snorkeler Discovers Gold Nugget Worth $65,000 in Scottish River

Talk about striking gold.

Z thomas, Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 3.0

After 20 Years, the Largest Dinosaur Foot Ever Discovered Has Been Identified

The foot spans 3 feet across.

Hulton Archive/Getty Images

The Bones of an Early Jamestown Settler May Soon Be Identified

Archaeologists think it's a leading citizen.