Ancient Greece had several famous mathematicians like Archimedes, Pythagoras and Euclid. But the Roman world hardly had any famous mathematicians, says Thomas Frey.

Marilyn Monroe personified Hollywood glamour with an unparalleled glow and energy that captured the world’s attention. An alluring beauty with voluptuous curves and a generous pout, Marilyn was the ultimate ’50s sex goddess and dominated the screen to become a 20th century icon.

Archaeologists have found an eight-million-year old forest of cypresses, well preserved and not fossilized, in northeastern Hungary.

In China, a special pesticide mix is used to kill locusts plaguing a bamboo forest in Chongqing. The pesticide used is actually a mixture of urine and Dylox. Five forest protection stations were issued with buckets to collect more urine for the mix.

Oklahoma already has a state fruit, so legislation given final approval by the state Senate on Tuesday declares the watermelon as the official state vegetable. The measure was introduced in the state House by Democratic Representative Joe Dorman of Rush Springs, site of an annual watermelon festival in August.

 A British company says it has an eco-friendly alternative to cremation: boiling bodies into dust.

The enormous difference between male and female sexual behaviour may be explained, in animals at least, by a tiny organ in the nose rather than by any gender difference in brain circuitry.

A Swiss company is competing with another in Australia to be the first to commercially develop a geothermal power plant.

Watches made from what must be one of the rarest materials on Earth – metal from the hull of the Titanic – are going on sale for up to £75,000. ($150,000)

The recent passage of a smoking ban throughout Britain has created a new problem for pub-goers, the stale and foul smells the smoke once covered up.