Clik here to view.
The Strange Tale of JFK's Goat-Out-the-Vote Campaign
The man, and goat, in question, along with campaign aid Sylvester Colbert and Grand Knight Warren McCully. (Image: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum/Public Domain)As this turbulent...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Is There a Place in America Where People Speak Without Accents?
Where in the U.S. is the accent most featureless? (Photo: Nadezda Murmakova/shutterstock.com)If you want to anger a linguist, try bringing up a speech pattern called General American. “General American...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Joining the Caterpillar Club is as Easy as Escaping a Fiery Plane
One of the pins issued to members of the Caterpillar Club. (Photos: Jacek Halicki/CC BY-SA 3.0)If you ever see someone sporting a golden caterpillar on their lapel, you’ll know they’re a member of a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Italian Government is Giving Every Eighteen-Year-Old a €500 'Culture Bonus'
A couple of teens enjoying some culture. (Photo: SCA Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget/CC BY 2.0)It's a great time to turn 18 in Italy. Thanks to a government initiative, all teen residents who reach that...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How a Mathematician Turned an Obscure Number Into a Scary Story
Math can even baffle demons. (Photo: alessio/CC BY 2.0)For the most part, numbers are simply cold indicators, unable of expressing menace or guile, but then there’s Belphegor’s Prime, a supposedly...
View ArticleClik here to view.
FOUND: The World's Largest Pearl
Not all pearls are lovely beads. (Photo: tanakawho/CC BY 2.0)The world’s largest pearl may have been discovered in an improbable setting: beneath a fisherman’s bed in the Philippines. For the last 10...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Why Do Hackers Love Beards So Much?
A representative beard from August's DefCon hacker convention. (Photo: Big Monocle) In 1969, a Bell Labs scientist by the name of Ken Thompson had a problem: he was having trouble finding a computer he...
View ArticleWatch These Sprightly Frogs Compete in a 1965 Jumping Jubilee
For four days in May, the small population of about 4,000 in Angels Camp, California grows more than tenfold. Tens of thousands flock to the tiny former mining town to witness and participate in the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Plot a Pinball-Themed Roadtrip With This Handy Map of America's Best Parlors
Interactive map at the bottom of the article. [Photo: Google Maps 2016]The flashing lights, the sounds of the steel ball bouncing off the bumpers, the infuriating, frustrating, intensely addictive...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Did You Catch Bill Clinton in a Hot Tub in This '90s Arcade Game?
The White House in Nintendo 64's Cruis'n USA. (Photo: rusha/YouTube)Have you ever completed the Nintendo 64 version of Cruis’n USA? If you have, or if you saw a friend beat it sometime in the late...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Striking Visual Compendium of All of Berlin’s Subway Stations
The platform at Potsdamer Platz, which was one of the "ghost stations" during the Berlin Wall era. (All Photos: Claudio Galamini/berlin_memories)Berlin’s metro system, the U-Bahn, is a vast...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Smokey the Bear Has Nothing on These Forgotten Forest Mascots
You know Smokey the Bear—but have you met Woody the Smiling, Animated Log? (Image: Forest History Society)Earlier this month, as wildfires blazed up and down the West Coast of the United States, Smokey...
View ArticleClik here to view.
San Francisco BART Tackles Urine Problem With Bacteria-Eating Mist
The Civic Center BART station is working on its pee problem. (Photo: Franco Folini/CC BY-SA 2.0)Taking an elevator is a distinct sensory experience. There's the gleam of the metal, the "ding" of the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
FOUND: The World's Oldest Sewing Needle
Not a new invention. (Photo: Dmeranda/CC BY-SA 3.0)The world’s oldest sewing needle has been discovered in Siberia’s Denisova Cave, and it doesn’t look like it was made by Homo sapiens. According to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Why Doctors Once Treated Fevers and Hysteria With Mashed-Up Bedbugs
A bed bug at different stages, as depicted in the 1902 book The Bedbug. (Photo: Internet Archive/Public Domain)Getting sick in the first century was only tolerable if you were not a picky eater. The...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Macaroni in 'Yankee Doodle' is Not What You Think
An engraving of a "macaroni's dressing room," from 1772. (Photo: Wellcome Images, London/CC BY 4.0)Generations of American kids forced to sing “Yankee Doodle” have grown up justifiably puzzled by its...
View ArticleWatch the Great British Sport of Wellie Wanging
The sausages are nicely burnt, there's a fly drowning in a cup of tea and it's clouding over. How could this vision of the British summertime get any better? Simple: with a game of Wellie...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Meet One of the World's Few Female Clock Whisperers
Lili von Baeyer carefully examines an old timepiece. (Photo: Lili von Baeyer)The making, restoring, and repairing of clocks is an endangered trade, still held somewhat captive by an old boy’s club. But...
View ArticleClik here to view.
FOUND: A Nearby Exoplanet That Could be Habitable
Scientists have discovered an exoplanet that may be habitable. (Photo: NASA Ames/JPL-Caltech/Public domain)Astronomers from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) have made a stunning discovery 20...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Temples Inside Caves Are What Remains of an Ancient Buddhist Society
The entrance to the Bhaja caves in Maharashtra state, India. (All Photos Courtesy of David Efurd)Two thousand years ago, merchants traversed the monumental Western Ghats to reach India’s busiest ports....
View Article
