Damn Interesting

LATEST LONG-FORM:

Private Wojtek’s Right to Bear Arms
One of Poland’s most beloved and honored World War II veterans was not Polish at all: he was a 500-pound brown bear named Wojtek.

Written by Erika Nesvold • 12 December 2019 • Read/Listen →
Site News:

Permission to Grow

Beards have been banned in a number of military forces in history, from Qing Dynasty China to the modern-day Indian Army (apart from Sikhs). However cert...
Written by Alan Bellows • 22 Nov 2019 • Read →
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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 Sep 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 →
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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 →
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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 →
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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 →
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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 →
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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 →

21 February 2020

Was this iconic World War II photo staged? Here's the heroic true story. Was this iconic World War II photo staged? Here's the heroic true story.
nationalgeographic.com
Why do people believe con artists? Why do people believe con artists?
theconversation.com
Want to Look Inside a Brain? With Transparent Organs, You Can Want to Look Inside a Brain? With Transparent Organs, You Can
wired.com
African killifish may hold key to stopping ageing in humans African killifish may hold key to stopping ageing in humans
theguardian.com
The first black U.S. senator lived an extraordinary life The first black U.S. senator lived an extraordinary life
nationalgeographic.com
Photos: The Great Sphinx of Giza Through the Years Photos: The Great Sphinx of Giza Through the Years
theatlantic.com
Antarctica’s Ice, the One War That the Human Species Can’t Lose Antarctica’s Ice, the One War That the Human Species Can’t Lose
newyorker.com
If your cash gets damaged, this Treasury team will make sure it’s not a lost cause If your cash gets damaged, this Treasury team will make sure it’s not a lost cause
washingtonpost.com
Radical hydrogen-boron reactor leapfrogs current nuclear fusion tech Radical hydrogen-boron reactor leapfrogs current nuclear fusion tech
newatlas.com
Video: Amazon Empire: The Rise and Reign of Jeff Bezos [1:53:16] Video: Amazon Empire: The Rise and Reign of Jeff Bezos [1:53:16]
youtube.com
Our latest episode of Damn Interesting Week is out now!: The Marshmallow Test Our latest episode of Damn Interesting Week is out now!: The Marshmallow Test
damninteresting.com
‘Radical Change’ Needed After Latest Neutron Star Collision ‘Radical Change’ Needed After Latest Neutron Star Collision
quantamagazine.org
Physicists grab individual atoms in groundbreaking experiment Physicists grab individual atoms in groundbreaking experiment
phys.org
Inside X, Google's top-secret moonshot factory Inside X, Google's top-secret moonshot factory
wired.co.uk

20 February 2020

Blame It on The Tape: A Behind-the-Scenes Oral History of the Rise and Fall of Milli Vanilli Blame It on The Tape: A Behind-the-Scenes Oral History of the Rise and Fall of Milli Vanilli
billboard.com
If you Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V'd today, you have this guy to thank If you Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V'd today, you have this guy to thank
cbc.ca
What combing through Weird Al's catalog reveals about 40 years of pop What combing through Weird Al's catalog reveals about 40 years of pop
fastcompany.com
Powerful antibiotic discovered using machine learning for first time Powerful antibiotic discovered using machine learning for first time
theguardian.com
The Strange Case of the Stanford LSD Stabbing The Strange Case of the Stanford LSD Stabbing
melmagazine.com
What Exoplanet Is Closest to Earth? What Exoplanet Is Closest to Earth?
discovermagazine.com
Japan’s space agency moving ahead with Phobos lander mission Japan’s space agency moving ahead with Phobos lander mission
arstechnica.com
Photos: Homeless in Siberia—Surviving the Winter Photos: Homeless in Siberia—Surviving the Winter
theatlantic.com
Auto Executive Carlos Ghosn on His Risky Escape from Japan Auto Executive Carlos Ghosn on His Risky Escape from Japan
spiegel.de
One of the Pentagon’s First Hypersonic Weapons Will Ride on Submarines One of the Pentagon’s First Hypersonic Weapons Will Ride on Submarines
popularmechanics.com
What makes something ironic? What makes something ironic?
theconversation.com
The World’s Largest Bottle of Wine Just Spilled in Austria The World’s Largest Bottle of Wine Just Spilled in Austria • (see also)
atlasobscura.com
Natural gas is a much ‘dirtier’ energy source than we thought Natural gas is a much ‘dirtier’ energy source than we thought
nationalgeographic.com
A Huge Discovery in the World of Viruses A Huge Discovery in the World of Viruses
theatlantic.com
These scientists want to make real cheese without the cow These scientists want to make real cheese without the cow
expmag.com
18-hour year planet on edge of destruction 18-hour year planet on edge of destruction
warwick.ac.uk
The fight to preserve a 44,000-year-old painting The fight to preserve a 44,000-year-old painting
1843magazine.com
When Transplant Organs Go Missing in Transit When Transplant Organs Go Missing in Transit
undark.org
The conversation about American torture is 400 years old The conversation about American torture is 400 years old
aeon.co
The 19th-Century Nurse Who Was Secretly a Serial Killer The 19th-Century Nurse Who Was Secretly a Serial Killer
narratively.com
Is this Nefertiti’s tomb? Radar clues reignite debate over hidden chambers Is this Nefertiti’s tomb? Radar clues reignite debate over hidden chambers
nature.com
Reducing noise below the sound of silence Reducing noise below the sound of silence
cosmosmagazine.com
There could be meteors traveling at close to the speed of light when they hit the atmosphere There could be meteors traveling at close to the speed of light when they hit the atmosphere
phys.org
Two Black Holes Are Merging at the Center of a Distant Galaxy Two Black Holes Are Merging at the Center of a Distant Galaxy
popularmechanics.com
The Great Buenos Aires Bank Heist The Great Buenos Aires Bank Heist
gq.com
Aging Is a Communication Breakdown Aging Is a Communication Breakdown
cshl.nautil.us

19 February 2020

Want to Be Taller? Radical Surgery Permanently Extends Your Legs. Want to Be Taller? Radical Surgery Permanently Extends Your Legs.
futurism.com
How 1500 bytes became the MTU of the internet How 1500 bytes became the MTU of the internet
blog.benjojo.co.uk
The City of Nashville Built a Full-Scale Replica of the Parthenon in 1897, and It's Still Standing Today The City of Nashville Built a Full-Scale Replica of the Parthenon in 1897, and It's Still Standing Today
openculture.com
Extreme weather threatens one of Earth's most awe-inspiring waterfalls Extreme weather threatens one of Earth's most awe-inspiring waterfalls
nationalgeographic.com
Searching for Dark Matter With Quantum Computers, One Blip of Light at a Time Searching for Dark Matter With Quantum Computers, One Blip of Light at a Time
gizmodo.com


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