Invention Ideas Throughout the Ages — March 4, 2014

Invention Ideas Throughout the Ages

How different would the world be today if flexible glass was not banned by Caesar? The idea for flexible glass was mentioned in many sources dating back to the 1st century of ancient Rome.

See what other “dangerous” inventions throughout the ages are reported in this fascinating video from Hybrid Librarian.

Subscribe for counterintuitive, surprising, and impactful stories delivered to your inbox every Thursday

Image credit: Ko: (char*) hook/Flickr

The Past

The oldest relative of living animals is a jellyfish

The 557-million-year-old specimen challenges the theory that animal body plans were laid out in the Cambrian explosion.

The Past

Meet Qikiqtania, a fossil fish who stayed in the water while others ventured onto land

Human beings are descendants of these early tetrapods – at least those who made a new life on land.

Strange Maps

Turns out most famous people aren’t that famous at all

An interactive “globe of notability” shows the curious correspondences and the strange landscape of global fame.

Starts With A Bang

Yes, the Universe really is 100% reductionist in nature

The whole isn’t greater than the sum of its parts; that’s a flaw in our thinking. Non-reductionism requires magic, not merely science.

The Present

Why regulating “bad speech” online is one of society’s biggest conundrums

It is through speaking and listening that human beings become who they are.

Up Next

Starts With A Bang

The Rise and Fall of Supersymmetry

Image credit: KEK collaboration (Japan), original via http://legacy.kek.jp/intra-e/collaboration/.It was the most promising idea for where new physics might lie. Now that the LHC data is in, is it dead?“The revolution is […]