Damn Interesting

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Science, history, psychology, and technology since 2005.

Made by humans.

Original 1948 patent for

A Possible Future

An attempt to secure the future of the site, with an unfortunate quantity of moist metaphors.

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Twenty

The authors, editors, illustrators, and podcasters of Damn Interesting mark the 20th year (so far) of making interesting stuff.

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Aerial photograph of Bellewstown racecourse.

There Once Was a Man Called Curley

A would-be priest's audacious plan to win his money back from the bookmakers.

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Omiword, a Word Game

Introducing Omiword, a free daily word puzzle from the makers of Damn Interesting.

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P.S. 110, ca. 1903.

Much Ado About Adenoids

The largest and strangest riot in New York City’s history.

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A Trail Gone Cold

Against the odds, a tiny Icelandic town speaks of a local Black ancestor. Geneticists and historians combine forces to uncover the man’s eventful life.

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Breaking a Bit

After a rough August, we're taking a much needed break. In the meantime here is a word game we made.

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Giving the Bird the Bird

A Brief Note From an Ex-X User.

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Journey to the Invisible Planet

The tangled history of humanity’s search for the solar system’s uncharted planets.

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A portrait of Chief Joseph.

From Where the Sun Now Stands

When the U.S. Army came for their land in 1877, the Nez Perce tribe complied. But tensions boiled over, and Chief Joseph led as they ran for their lives.

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A view of Bali

The Ancient Order of Bali

In 1970s Bali, a sudden rice crisis prompted an unexpectedly far-reaching scientific discovery.

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This is Dang Interesting

To whom it may concern, we now have a (mostly) profanity-free mirror site.

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Young Maurice Wilson in uniform.

Lofty Ambitions

In 1933, British WWI vet Maurice Wilson hatched an unorthodox plan to reach the still-untouched summit of Everest.

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Men in straw boaters.

The Rube’s Dilemma

A great pitcher’s great temptation.

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Artur Alves Reis.

Devouring the Heart of Portugal

In 1924 a bankrupt businessman in Portugal launched an audacious international scheme to become one of the wealthiest men in the world.

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Mount St. Helens ca. 1979.

The Mount St. Helens Trespasser

Robert Rogers, a man obsessed with trespassing, sets his sights on Mount St. Helens in the spring of 1980.

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Simon Wiesenthal ca. 1963.

Hunting For Kobyla

The true story of a runaway Nazi, a determined sleuth, and a chase around the world.

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Artist

The Unceasing Cessna Hacienda

In 1958, one heavily modified airplane flew out of Las Vegas with a single objective: Don’t land.

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Du Yuesheng.

The Kingpin of Shanghai

From the depths of poverty, Du Yuesheng rose through Shanghai’s underworld to become one of the most influential, and overlooked, figures in modern China.

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To Hell With Facebook

The earliest known version of the idiom "the straw that broke the camel's back" was written by the English philosophe...

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Posted by Alan Bellows

Because messages on the radio can be heard by anybody—strangers, neighbors, friends, family members—they are often composed in ways that blur the line between private and public.

A person listening to a radio.
In Argentina, Rural Residents Send Messages Over the Radio
🌎️ newyorker.com
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Posted by Alan Bellows
Gramophone in a lake
Some People Hear Music That Isn’t There—and Scientists Think They Know Why
We’ve all had a song stuck in our head at some time or another, but what if that song became indistinguishable from actual music?
🌎️ popularmechanics.com
(see also) • (see also)
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Posted by Alan Bellows • Curated by J. A. Macfarlane
A man in khaki shirt and trousers standing in the jungle next to two chimpanzees.
‘I didn’t want to write about this’: the man who first saw chimps waging civil war
John Mitani spent years studying a huge community of chimpanzees in Uganda. But then things took a dark turn – and his findings stunned the scientific world
🌎️ theguardian.com
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We're attempting our first-ever annual fundraiser so we can improve our publication rate. We only need $18,804 more! Click for more info.
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Posted by Alan Bellows

The attack — which has reportedly seen units set to continuously defrost at 50 degrees Celsius — is also apparently affecting deliveries and in-store pricing powered by electronic shelf labels

Refrigerated section of a grocery store
‘Unprecedented’ Cyberattack cripples supermarket fridges across Europe as hackers activate automatic defrosting
France, Belgium, and the Netherlands are reportedly affected.
🌎️ tomshardware.com
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Posted by Alan Bellows
Illustration of hands lockpicking a door
‘How I Became a Lock Picker’
For those who appreciate “locksport,” a well-crafted lock may be more interesting than whatever it locks up.
🌎️ newyorker.com
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Posted by Alan Bellows
An early reconstruction of La Chapelle-aux-Saints 1, a Neanderthal sksleton, based on the theories of Marcellin Boule
Justice for Neanderthals!
Once formally proposed as Homo stupidus and portrayed as knuckle-dragging ape-men, Neanderthals are finally receiving their due from scientists.
🌎️ nationalgeographic.com
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Posted by Alan Bellows • Via Hacker News
Map of North Korea
Cartographers of North Korea
An analysis of the OpenStreetMap data in North Korea: Who are the contributors?
🌎️ cartographers-nk.wonyoung.so
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Posted by Alan Bellows
Image of an MRI tube in a room with blue lighting.
One with the world? A new look at brains transformed by psychedelics.
Participants meditated inside an MRI tube, with and without psilocybin.
🌎️ arstechnica.com
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Posted by Alan Bellows

Normally, these dyes are completely invisible to the human eye. But when you shine an ultraviolet light on them, they change color in a matter of seconds—turning a vibrant blue, magenta or yellow.

Invisible tattoos that appear with light
Light-responsive inks could make tattoos visible on demand, but safety remains unproven
🌎️ phys.org
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Posted by Alan Bellows
A brown bear in water surrounds a school of red fish.
Take a Closer Look at Bears, Birds, and Blooms From Nat Geo’s Photo Editors
🌎️ nationalgeographic.com
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Posted by Alan Bellows
Video: Why the Universe Forbids Perfect Balance [9:51]
🌎️ youtube.com
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Posted by Alan Bellows • Curated by J. A. Macfarlane
Rachael Stirling stands before a painted portrait of her mother, Diana Rigg
‘I didn’t expect to be portrayed as a cannibal’: Rachael Stirling on eating her mother Diana Rigg’s ashes
When the actor confessed to ingesting a few flakes of her mother’s ashes on opening nights, reactions ranged from recognition to disgust. But, she says, grief makes animals of us all
🌎️ theguardian.com
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Posted by Alan Bellows
ink-and-watercolor illustration of black-and-white lizard with mouth open and tail raised
Black Tegu Lizard (Tupinambis teguixin), Maria Sibylla Merian, circa 1705–15
🌎️ theatlantic.com
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Posted by Alan Bellows • Curated by J. A. Macfarlane

Giant waterlilies, which can measure up to three metres across and carry the weight of a small child, are one of the oldest flowering plants in the world still alive today.

A man floats among giant waterlilies, his eyes closed and smiling
How a plant selfie in Colombian jungle led to ‘jaw dropping’ giant waterlily find
🌎️ theguardian.com
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Posted by Alan Bellows • Curated by Marisa Brook
Video: Explore the Burgess Shale with a Paleontologist [3:18]
🌎️ youtube.com
(see also)
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Posted by Alan Bellows
Here’s What Sets The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Apart From The James Webb
🌎️ jalopnik.com
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Posted by Alan Bellows

Researchers aren’t completely sure why terminal lucidity occurs, either. A possible explanation is oxygen deprivation.

hands reaching into light
The Dying Utter Eerily Similar Final Words. Knowing Why May Rewrite Our Understanding of Death.
🌎️ popularmechanics.com
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Posted by Alan Bellows

The first rule of robo-fight-club is: 404 Robo Fight Club Not Found.

A shirtless man in protective gear fights a tall humanoid robot in a cage match as spectators watch.
Man vs. ‘Terminator’-Like Robot in a Cage. California Called It Illegal.
🌎️ nytimes.com
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Posted by Alan Bellows

More than half of people worldwide say that AI products and services make them nervous, according to a report from Stanford University. […] Yet the number of people using AI is still skyrocketing.

The couple from the distracted boyfriend meme. She is labelled
People really hate AI, so why can’t they get enough?
🌎️ technologyreview.com
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Posted by Alan Bellows

Nikon said the use of generative AI in the composition of the video broke the rules of its Small World In Motion contest, which accepts photos and video taken using powerful microscopes.

Prize-winning image which sparked backlash was AI-generated, Nikon rules
🌎️ bbc.com
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