Dig Finds Washington's Home (No Cherry Tree)

Archaeologists have found the childhood home of George Washington, the New York Times reports—and despite the popular legend, there's no cherry tree anywhere on the premises. Researchers describe the founding father's Virginia digs as “a very nice gentry house” sporting eight rooms—not the simple cottage pictured in popular imagination.

“What we see at this site is the best available window into the setting that nurtured the father of our country,” said archaeologist Philip Levy. The researchers found several artifacts confirming the house’s identity; among them are wine bottles, cutlery, wig curlers, bone toothbrushes, and a pipe bearing a Masonic crest that might have actually been smoked by George. (More George Washington stories.)