Due to a glitch of unknown origin which resulted in some data loss, there will be a slight delay before the next Damn Interesting article appears. We uttered more vulgarities than you can swing a dead cat at, but it was a fruitless effort. Well, very little fruit.

Sorry for the delay… but in the interim you can always consume a random, cryogenically-stored article from the archives.

Male Passenger PigeonPassenger Pigeons (Ectopistes Migratorius) were once so numerous that by some estimates they outnumbered all the rest of the birds in North America combined. The swift birds were capable of flying in excess of 60 miles per hour, and frequently migrated hundreds of miles in search of suitable grounds for nesting and feeding. Yet their speed and mobility were no match for the advancing settlers of 19th-century America. In less than a century, the most numerous bird on the planet was completely eliminated from the wild by a ruthless campaign of eradication.

The story of the extinction of the Passenger Pigeon is a dark one. It is a tale, like that of the American Bison, of the dangers of uncontrolled hunting and wanton extermination. It also chronicles the expansion of a new nation, the limitless vision of the Victorian Age, and the conquering of the American wilderness. But sadly, it mostly details what happens when a species that is uniquely and exquisitely adapted to its environment meets a predator equally well adapted to slaughter.

Read the rest of this article »

X-ray of a deformed frogFor decades we’ve heard of the plight of our environment. After years of chemicals toxins making their way to rivers, and seeping into groundwater there is no doubt some unusual and bad things are arising from human interference in nature, but there is some dispute on just how much human affairs have impacted the eons-old ecology.

In a quest to show the ill effects of humanity’s ill-advised pollution, some environmentalists began trying to show specific problems that these uninvited chemicals were causing. In the late 1970’s, one such example began to gain notoriety: deformed frogs. Because of their thin, permeable skin and the amount of time they spend in still water, the frog is a creature highly influenced by small traces of toxic items in their ecosystem. Pictures of frogs with excessive legs, cysts, or other unusual growths have been used to show the masses what our pollution is costing other occupants of Earth. But are these bizarre deformities the result of the intervention of people, or old Mother Nature pulling one of her sneaky tricks making the frog into easy prey?

Read the rest of this article »

Immediately following the American Civil War, some Confederate southerners were unwilling to live under the rule of the triumphant Union. Reconstruction had gone badly for many of these former Confederates as their pre-war lifestyle was gone and replaced with economic impoverishment. Emperor Dom Pedro II of Brazil seized upon this opportunity by offering an alternative. He sent recruiters into Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia, South Carolina and Texas in search of experienced cotton farmers for his country. Many southerners saw this as their only option for happiness; to build a community with southern values in the jungle of Brazil. They would become known as the Confederados.

Dom Pedro offered the disgruntled Southerners a package of tax breaks and grants if they would immigrate to Brazil. General Robert E. Lee asked Southerners not to accept, but about 10,000 Confederates did take the Emperor up on his offer. Eventually about sixty percent of the Confederados trickled back into the United States, but of those who stayed permanently, most became part of a Confederate-values colony northwest of Sao Paulo that was named Americana.

Read the rest of this article »

So far, life had been very good for Sarah Winchester. Born in the late 1830s in New Haven, Connecticut, she had been raised by a well-off family and was always much-liked by the townspeople throughout her upbringing. She was charming, attractive, musical, and spoke several languages. In 1862, she married the only heir of the Winchester Repeating Arms Co., the company responsible for the Winchester rifle. In 1866 Sarah gave birth to a baby girl, Annie.

But a series of tragedies was to befall her. Her daughter died in infancy; she had no other children; and Sarah was devastated and driven almost to insanity by the loss. Then, in 1881–only a few years later–William succumbed to tuberculosis. Sarah received about 50% ownership of the company, and was awarded $20-million, an amazing amount of money for the 1880s. But it was little consolation. Very much distraught, the widow began to believe that her family was cursed. She went to Boston to seek help from an old friend, one believed to be a medium.

This friend confirmed her suspicions by telling her that yes, she was being haunted–by the spirits of all those killed by the Winchester rifle over the years. The medium suggested that she move far away and build a house. The key, the medium added, would be to have the house in a perpetual state of construction. If Sarah were ever to complete the house, it would leave her vulnerable to the curses of the vengeful spirits.

Read the rest of this article »

In northeast Georgia (USA), just off the Hartwell Highway there is a monument situated on a small rise. It is made of six granite slabs; there is a capstone, one slab stands in the center, and around it four vertical slabs stand just over sixteen feet high. The north/south pair of vertical granite is aligned to the poles. The central hollow of the structure is designed to be lit by light from the sun at noontime no matter the time of year. The entire monument weighs in at an appreciable 118 tons, and is fitted with a small hole that will allow one to stand at the base and observe the North Star. It’s an interesting feat of architecture, but since it was erected in 1980, it’s not fabulous for the era nor is it of surprising craftsmanship (it even bears a misspelling on the explanatory tablet which is set into the ground a few feet away).

The interesting part is the message which is etched into every one of the structure’s faces: a self-professed guide into the age of reason. In our day of political strife, and various religions trying to rule the world, such a guidepost should be welcome. Astonishingly, in our era of polarized views there are factions calling for the demolition and dismantling of the guide stones— though no one wants to personally foot the bill.

Read the rest of this article »

Cochlear Implant ElectrodeCybernetic senses have been the subject of science fiction for decades. The idea of using sophisticated technology to repair damaged bodies, or even to enhance normal ones, has a tremendous appeal – but how far have we progressed towards that goal?

In some ways, we’ve gotten amazingly far. Cochlear implants are now a normal – if controversial – treatment for deafness. They substitute for damaged or missing portions of the inner ear, gathering and processing sound. The first generation of cochlear implants provided only a distant approximation of sound, making them of limited usefulness, particularly for understanding speech sounds. Even the more sophisticated models of today have yet to approach the functionality of a normal ear, though they are far more useful than their predecessors.

While those dealing with cybernetic hearing seem to have decided upon their basic approach, dealing with lost vision is a different ball game. Several different research groups, using various methods, are attempting to produce cybernetic vision. Some, like cochlear implants, seek to replace a malfunctioning part. Others are attempting to produce something entirely new that will nonetheless function as vision. One of the projects that is furthest along is using exactly that kind of substitution. Rather than attempting to somehow re-engineer the eye, the vOICe system (Oh, I see) is using sound to bypass the eyes altogether and substituting the ears in their stead.

Read the rest of this article »

This is a classic Damn Interesting article which originally appeared on 7 December 2005. We apologize for the re-run.

On December 17, 1944, the Japanese army sent a twenty-three year old soldier named Hiroo Onoda to the Philippines to join the Sugi Brigade. He was stationed on the small island of Lubang, approximately seventy-five miles southwest of Manila in the Philippines, and his orders were to lead the Lubang Garrison in guerrilla warfare.

As Onoda was departing to begin his mission, his division commander told him, “You are absolutely forbidden to die by your own hand. It may take three years, it may take five, but whatever happens, we’ll come back for you. Until then, so long as you have one soldier, you are to continue to lead him. You may have to live on coconuts. If that’s the case, live on coconuts! Under no circumstances are you to give up your life voluntarily.” It turns out that Onoda was exceptionally good at following orders, and it would be 29 years before he finally laid down his arms and surrendered.

Read the rest of this article »