Everything you think you know about spiders is wrong

Learn how history can feed folklore, see stunning photos of glass, and learn what happened to the largest primate ever.

Are spiders really attracted to your body cream?

The answer is no. In fact, spiders (pictured above, a jumping spider from the family Salticidae) want nothing to do with us. It's just one of many misconceptions—including that they come into our houses through drains, or crawl into our mouths while sleeping—that make so many people fearful. Here's everything you need to know.

Adapting glass for the future

Some of the world’s purest optical glass (at left) is being cut using a century-old process for a giant space telescope. A modern polarizing lens (at right) is inspecting the glass for imperfections. Nat Geo looks at the next phase for one of our earliest tools.

This 10-foot ape was the largest primate ever. What happened to it?

Standing about 10-feet tall, Gigantopithicus blacki (pictured above, an illustration) was the largest primate to ever live, inhabiting the forests of ancient China during the Ice Age. The reason for its extinction has stumped paleontologists—until now. A new analysis suggests the primate's unique lifestyle is what left it vulnerable.

How history feeds folklore

Tohoku, the northernmost region of an island in Japan, is characterized by an isolated geography, harsh climate, and disaster that bred a colorful oral tradition of folktales. From spirit children to namahage dieties (pictured above), the folktales of Tohoku represent lived experiences of the region's inhabitants.

Stories we're following

• An intact Viking ship burial held riches—and a surprising mystery
• These lifelike mummy faces are thousands of years old
• Was he a seer or a demon? Could he defeat death? Here's how Rasputin finally perished.
• The strange and surprising history of Claddagh rings
• Seeing the cosmos from Chile's renowned observatory
• How being organized actually improves your state of mind
• See the U.S. fertility rate shift lower—and parents become older
• Why climate change is real—even when the temperatures turn frigid