Tagged

history

A collection of 55 posts

Art

Buttersworthless?

A quick brush through art fraud.

technology

Mouse with a Human Ear

Fixing machines is easy; fixing living creatures is hard. Or is it the other way round?

food

Milk Unspoiled

How do you know your food is fresh? It started with Al Capone.

Roads

Kerb Appeal

A road is made, but a route is found: here’s how the threshold’s cousin steps up the roadside game.

technology

A Mummy's Voice

How is modern science helping us reconnect with the past?

food

Cornflakes of the Church

Coffee and mustard were considered sinful. So Kellogg made cereal instead.

Money Decrypted

Shelling Out

Before cryptocurrency, people had other ways of making payments.

Folklore

A Knightly Tale

The legend of King Arthur has various versions. Here’s the story behind one of them.

communication

Tablets, Then and Now

Of course we love the Internet. Our DNA made it so.

history

The Lion Tower

A gift of three lions, a polar bear in the Thames: the wild origins of the London Zoo.

Activism

Eager Beaver

The journey of an animal from near extinction to rehabilitaton.

cosmetics

Chemical Makeup

When it comes to beauty and makeup, Queen Cleopatra takes the lead.

gardening

To Sprinkle

From volcanic eruptions to dusty floors: the perforative history of the watering can.

culture

Earl Grey

Does the iconic tea have anything to do with Grey, the Earl?

biology

Eel at Home

One thousand leagues into the sea: a marine biologist’s quest for the birthplace of the freshwater eel.

culture

Out of Hand

When we waved goodbye to our life pre-COVID, did we also say goodbye to the handshake?

food

Reverse Engineering

We combine ingredients to get the final product. Now, food scientists are doing it backwards.

philosophy

Paleontology and Philosophy

Are they really that different? It’s all about context.

stories

Words in Progress

Oftentimes, when a popular series is finished, the real stories have only just begun.

food

Feel the Churn

The science and history behind the making of butter

culture

Happy New Years!

A brief history of how humans have tracked time

nature

City Birds

Pigeons know how to find their way home. And, they’re pretty good at making new homes too.

culture

Romantic Chess

Battle simulation, allegory, romantic pursue, and ‘the Immortal Game of 1851’.

history

Counterfactuals

The royal couple, the wandering peasant, and the son with a gene mutation that changed history.

coronavirus

Pandemic

Humanity is going through a pandemic. Does it sound familiar?