Long-Hidden Ring: 5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

A mug that fooled the Nazis and an intriguing find from a Florida sinkhole were among the notable discoveries of the week:

• Ring Was Hidden at Auschwitz for 70 Years: The owner of a gold ring and necklace found at Auschwitz was almost certainly murdered by the Nazis, but she hid her valuables so well that they weren't found by her killers—or by anybody else for another 70 years. That changed when the Auschwitz Museum discovered a secret compartment in her enamel mug.
• Magic Mushrooms May Help Depression: People who find themselves battling depression and anxiety might consider munching on magic mushrooms, and that's not coming from a snake oil salesman. Scientists at Johns Hopkins say a single dose of psilocybin appears to have a protective effect. Maybe more surprising is how long it lasted in this study.

• Florida Divers Bring Up Signs of People 14K Years Ago: What divers found in a Florida sinkhole may help overturn a long-held theory—that people first colonized the Americas by crossing the Bering Strait. The bones and other evidence dug up suggest that people were in what is now Florida 14,500 years ago, too early for the Bering theory to make sense. Now a now idea is taking shape on how the very first settlers arrived.
• Science Creates Cheap Dom Pérignon—Without the Grapes: Wine lovers may scoff, but a San Francisco start-up claims it can reproduce classic vintages without grapes or fermentation. All it takes is ethanol, tannin powder, flavor compounds, and an open mind. The result is easy on the wallet anyway: Ava Winery's synthetic Dom Pérignon goes for $50, about a quarter of the price for the real thing.
• Roman-Era Relics Preserved in Shipwreck: Divers off the coast of Israel discovered a Roman-era merchant ship that went down about 1,600 years ago. It was doubly fortunate: The statues and other relics aboard would have been melted down for scrap had they survived their original journey.

Click to read about more discoveries, including one about how marriage affects drinking. (More discoveries stories.)