5 Most Incredible Discoveries of the Week

From a sea creature that looks deadly, to a toxin that is deadly, this week saw some wild discoveries:

1. Crazy Ocean Discovery: 18-Foot Serpent-Like Fish: A marine science instructor snorkeling off the Southern California coast spotted something out of a fantasy novel: the silvery carcass of an 18-foot-long, serpent-like oarfish. It took more than 15 helpers to drag the giant sea creature to shore.
2. Deadliest Known Toxin Found—but No Antidote: It sounds like a sci-fi thriller plot, except this is very much fact instead of fiction: Scientists in California have found a new strain of botulinum toxin—the deadliest toxin known to man. An injection of 2 billionths of a gram would kill an adult ... and that's not the scariest part.

3. Man Thinks He's Found NYC's Oldest Building: In 1783, after the British soldiers left New York City, George Washington is believed to have stopped for a celebratory drink at the Bull's Head tavern. Now a preservationist thinks he's found the historic site—and if he's right, it could be the oldest building in Manhattan.
4. Scientist 'Solves' Yeti Mystery: Whether you call it the Abominable Snowman or yeti, the mythical creature may have just jumped from the pages of fiction to the world of fact. After testing two hair samples tied to alleged sightings, an Oxford geneticist now believes that the yeti is a cross between a polar bear and brown bear—and "may still be there."
5. 1.8M-Year-Old Skull Alters Tale of Human History: Many scientists have argued that several different species of human ancestors spread from Africa—but a 1.8-million-year-old skull and the fossilized remains of four other creatures seem to tell a different story.

Click for more incredible discoveries, including one involving movie popcorn. (More discoveries stories.)