Damn Interesting

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Sometimes a Cigar is Just a Cigar
Shortly after the abortive Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, U.S. President John F. Kennedy summoned his press secretary Pierre Salinger to the presidential ...

Written by Alan Bellows • 26 September 2019 • Read →
Long-Form:

Dead Reckoning

The 18th century misadventures of HMS Wager and her reluctant crew
Written by Alan Bellows • 12 Sep 2019 • Read/Listen →
Long-Form:

The Eponymous Mr. Ponzi

The little known story of an age-old scam.
Written by Michael Durbin • 02 Sep 2019 • Read/Listen →
Long-Form:

The Most Modern of Modern Sports

The secret runaway success of Kenneth Gandar-Dower’s racing cheetahs.
Written by Jennifer Lee Noonan • 15 Apr 2019 • Read/Listen →
Site News:

A Pregnant Pause

In January of 1963, husband and wife George and Charlotte Blonsky submitted a patent application for a revolutionary invention. George, a mining engineer...
Written by Alan Bellows • 29 Mar 2019 • Read →
Nugget:

Every Breath You Take

In June of 1965, a 27-year-old gentleman by the name of Angus Barbieri checked himself into the Maryfield Hospital in Dundee, Scotland. His complaint was...
Written by Alan Bellows • 25 Jan 2019 • Read →
Nugget:

Schumann Resonances

Three times a day, every day--roughly 9am, 2pm, and 8pm Coordinated Universal Time--an extremely low frequency electromagnetic pulse races around the Ear...
Written by Matt Castle • 04 Dec 2018 • Read →
Long-Form:

A Debaculous Fiasco

The most expensive, bizarre, and obscure work ever created by Dr. Seuss.
Written by Jennifer Lee Noonan • 06 Nov 2018 • Read/Listen →
Nugget:

The Original Ghostbuster

In the early 1980s, a certain Mr. Vic Tandy found himself working for a medical device manufacturer in Warwick, in the county of Warwickshire, England. W...
Written by Erin Anderson • 14 Aug 2018 • Read →
Long-Form:

Drawing the Shorter Straw

Visionary Argentine filmmaker Quirino Cristiani created full-length animated films between 1917 and 1931. He has since been all but forgotten.
Written by Marisa Brook • 31 Jul 2018 • Read/Listen →
Nugget:

Involuntary Indefatigability

Only one fictional character has ever been honoured with a front-page obituary in the New York Times: Hercule Poirot, one of Agatha Christie's two recurr...
Written by Marisa Brook • 21 May 2018 • Read →
Long-Form:

The Curse of Konzo

In 1981, an international group of doctors identified the devastating disease behind a perplexing outbreak of paralysis in northern Mozambique.
Written by Matt Castle • 02 May 2018 • Read/Listen →
Long-Form:

A Jarring Revelation

Amanda Theodosia Jones was a 19th-century poet, entrepreneur, and inventor who found inspiration in some unlikely places.
Written by Christine Ro • 30 Mar 2018 • Read/Listen →
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Scraping Bottom

When Germany was divided in two after the Second World War, military leaders recognized the need for liaison between the Soviet-occupied East Germany and...
Written by Alan Bellows • 19 Mar 2018 • Read →
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The Colors of Numbers

Synesthesia is a neurological phenomenon in which certain sensory concepts are strongly linked to each other in seemingly random but persistent ways. Tho...
Written by Jennifer Lee Noonan • 12 Mar 2018 • Read →
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Yankee Swap

One of the more controversial trades in baseball history was announced on 04 March 1973, just before the start of the 1973 baseball season. Mike Kekich a...
Written by Alan Bellows • 04 Mar 2018 • Read →
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The Mystery Lake of the Himalayas

Nestled in a valley high in the Himalayas in northern India is a small lake named Roopkund, known locally as Mystery Lake. The area around Roopkund Lake ...
Written by Erika Nesvold • 19 Feb 2018 • Read →
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Echoes of NASA

On 13 May 1960, a NASA Thor-Delta rocket carried the agency's new Echo 1 satellite into a 1,000 mile orbit around the Earth. It was a 156.995 pound metal...
Written by Alan Bellows • 12 Feb 2018 • Read →
Nugget:

Cracking the Case

A lengthy study of 'crack babies' born to cocaine addicts in Philadelphia in the 1980s and 1990s ended in 2013 with an unexpected result. The average IQ ...
Written by Marisa Brook • 06 Feb 2018 • Read →
Nugget:

Water Proof

In 1936, Russian scientist Vladimir Lukyanov was confronted with the problem of devising a system to improve the quality of Russian concrete and the effi...
Written by Alan Bellows • 22 Jan 2018 • Read →
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The Democratic People’s Republic of Begonias

An iconic sight in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is the Kimjongilia. This hybrid begonia was bred by a Japanese botanist and presented to Sup...
Written by Christine Ro • 15 Jan 2018 • Read →

12 November 2019

NASA's Mars 2020 Will Hunt for Microscopic Fossils NASA's Mars 2020 Will Hunt for Microscopic Fossils
jpl.nasa.gov
Plane stowaway: Who was Kenyan man who fell into London garden? Plane stowaway: Who was Kenyan man who fell into London garden?
news.sky.com
Sea silk: the world's most exclusive textile is being auctioned this week Sea silk: the world's most exclusive textile is being auctioned this week
theguardian.com
The Accidental Invention of Play-Doh The Accidental Invention of Play-Doh • (see also)
smithsonianmag.com
The new dot com bubble is here: it’s called online advertising The new dot com bubble is here: it’s called online advertising
thecorrespondent.com
How the Nile River Has Stayed In One Place for 30 Million Years How the Nile River Has Stayed In One Place for 30 Million Years
blogs.discovermagazine.com
The Woman Who Can Smell Parkinson's The Woman Who Can Smell Parkinson's
spiegel.de
Fifty years ago, a passionate scientist’s keen eye led to the first pinpoint landing on the Moon Fifty years ago, a passionate scientist’s keen eye led to the first pinpoint landing on the Moon
theconversation.com
Into the abyss: The story of the MV Lyubov Orlova Into the abyss: The story of the MV Lyubov Orlova
newsinteractives.cbc.ca
Eventually, Everyone Needs to Urinate Eventually, Everyone Needs to Urinate • (see also)
laphamsquarterly.org
The Last Victim of Smallpox The Last Victim of Smallpox
amusingplanet.com
Spanking, Signing, Reading: On the Medieval Use of Hands Spanking, Signing, Reading: On the Medieval Use of Hands
lithub.com
Google reportedly collects health data on millions of Americans without informing patients Google reportedly collects health data on millions of Americans without informing patients
cnet.com
Video: This 1967 educational film predicts the technology we’d be using in the future [1:09] Video: This 1967 educational film predicts the technology we’d be using in the future [1:09] • (see also)
youtube.com
DNA Just One of More Than 1 Million Possible 'Genetic Molecules,' Scientists Find DNA Just One of More Than 1 Million Possible 'Genetic Molecules,' Scientists Find
livescience.com
History as a giant data set: how analysing the past could help save the future History as a giant data set: how analysing the past could help save the future
theguardian.com
This 7,000-year-old woman was among Sweden's last hunter-gatherers This 7,000-year-old woman was among Sweden's last hunter-gatherers
nationalgeographic.com

11 November 2019

Living tree bridges in India stand strong for hundreds of years Living tree bridges in India stand strong for hundreds of years
nationalgeographic.com
What It’s Really Like to Fight a War What It’s Really Like to Fight a War
nytimes.com
Why Are People Left- (or Right-) Handed? Why Are People Left- (or Right-) Handed?
livescience.com
A Nile Journey Into the Past A Nile Journey Into the Past
nytimes.com
The Adventures of Eugene Bullard: History's First African-American Fighter Pilot The Adventures of Eugene Bullard: History's First African-American Fighter Pilot
crimereads.com
Researchers use CRISPR to eliminate HIV in mice, DNA and all Researchers use CRISPR to eliminate HIV in mice, DNA and all
massivesci.com
Why explosives detectors still can’t beat a dog’s nose Why explosives detectors still can’t beat a dog’s nose
technologyreview.com
How the U.S. betrayed the Marshall Islands, kindling the next nuclear disaster How the U.S. betrayed the Marshall Islands, kindling the next nuclear disaster
latimes.com
Clean energy technologies threaten to overwhelm the grid. Here's how it can adapt. Clean energy technologies threaten to overwhelm the grid. Here's how it can adapt.
vox.com
The Case Against Boeing The Case Against Boeing • (see also)
newyorker.com
9 Ingenious Smuggling Machines That Beat the Berlin Wall 9 Ingenious Smuggling Machines That Beat the Berlin Wall • (see also)
popularmechanics.com
The Origins of the Police The Origins of the Police
daily.jstor.org
Sesame Street turns 50 and celebrates children’s right to make mistakes Sesame Street turns 50 and celebrates children’s right to make mistakes
qz.com
Rabbit-sized deer relative, lost to science, found alive in Vietnam Rabbit-sized deer relative, lost to science, found alive in Vietnam
newatlas.com
A will to survive might take AI to the next level A will to survive might take AI to the next level
sciencenews.org
Video: 'I modified my microscope to be able to use polarized light to illuminate my samples' [5:52] Video: 'I modified my microscope to be able to use polarized light to illuminate my samples' [5:52]
youtube.com
Ebola vaccine approved in Europe in landmark moment in fight against a deadly disease Ebola vaccine approved in Europe in landmark moment in fight against a deadly disease
statnews.com
NASA Scientists Detect Huge Thermonuclear Blast Deep in Space NASA Scientists Detect Huge Thermonuclear Blast Deep in Space
sciencealert.com
In this age of never-ending technology upgrades and improvements, the “Original Swiss Army knife” is still a best-seller In this age of never-ending technology upgrades and improvements, the “Original Swiss Army knife” is still a best-seller
qz.com
Bleach Death of Restaurant Manager Can Be Explained By The Simplest Chemical Reaction Bleach Death of Restaurant Manager Can Be Explained By The Simplest Chemical Reaction
acsh.org
The switch that saved a Moon mission from disaster The switch that saved a Moon mission from disaster
bbc.com
The Curious Flesh Eating Enzymes in Pineapple and Papaya The Curious Flesh Eating Enzymes in Pineapple and Papaya
thespruceeats.com
There’s No Such Thing as Millennials or Boomers There’s No Such Thing as Millennials or Boomers
bloomberg.com
How to Watch Mercury Transit the Sun Today How to Watch Mercury Transit the Sun Today
nytimes.com
If alien life exists in our solar system, it may look like this If alien life exists in our solar system, it may look like this
nationalgeographic.com
How Elephant Poop Becomes Fancy Paper in Sri Lanka How Elephant Poop Becomes Fancy Paper in Sri Lanka
atlasobscura.com
The 1985 race to get cherry cola onto store shelves first The 1985 race to get cherry cola onto store shelves first • (see also)
cbc.ca

10 November 2019

Kongo Gumi: The 1,400-Year-Old Company Kongo Gumi: The 1,400-Year-Old Company
amusingplanet.com


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