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Who in history was clever enough to have made these maps?

Call me a quitter. But I never did finish Moby Dick. Herman Melville’s writing is magnetic – in both senses of the word: attractive for its beauty and passion, and […]

To take an idea and put it into Earth’s orbit requires the dedication of an incredible amount of time, energy, and resources to not only the payload itself, but also […]

The Virgo Cluster of galaxies is the richest nearby treasure trove of ellipticals; this is the final one Messier ever found. “We sail within a vast sphere, ever drifting in uncertainty, […]

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court upended nearly four decades of campaign-finance law, removing “aggregate caps” on how much political donors may contribute to federal campaigns. From now on, millionaires seeking […]

Oceans and deserts are on opposite ends of the humidity scale, yet at some weird level, the extremes are interchangeable. Rolling desert dunes are reminiscent of ocean waves, and as […]

Does it reveal the location of the doldrums?

It’s one of nature’s most amazing sights, but how does it work? “I love the sounds and the power of pounding water, whether it is the waves or a waterfall.” –Mike […]

If you were taught it was Christopher Columbus, you aren’t alone. But just how much we knew thousands of years ago may surprise you! “When Columbus lived, people thought that the […]

Am I the only one fascinated by the issue of currency conversion in literature? When a posh fictional nobleman is rumored to have an income of such-and-such, or when a […]

William Butler Yates wrote, “There is no singing school, but studying monuments of its own magnificence.” 

You never would’ve guessed that nuclear physics could be this easy. “Mr. Burns: Smithers, hand me that ice-cream scoop.Smithers: Ice-cream scoop?Mr. Burns: Damn it, Smithers! This isn’t rocket science, it’s brain […]

Gavin Menzies reboots the debate on whether Chinese explorers had detailed knowledge of the Western Hemisphere long before Columbus set sail.

With the multitude of social media sites, it’s hard for businesses to determine where they should be allocating their time and resources. And since many are reporting that they’re not […]

When I was 15, my geography teacher almost ruined maps for me. He stubbornly avoided what fascinated me about cartography: the why and how of those borderlines that cut and […]

Memories triggered by smell are more emotional than those triggered by sounds, pictures or words

Good versus Evil will always be the stock and trade of storytelling, especially in comic books. The skill of separating good guys from bad comes early to readers, with the […]

The “highly unusual” ruling from a Seville judge reflects the times, as the divorcing couple cited various economic issues that prevented them from living separately.

There appears to be a bizarre stigma around people – especially women – who voluntarily decide not to procreate.

Careers. Paychecks. Horrible bosses. If you want a roof over your head, or to make a lasting and meaningful contribution to the world, then work will consume your life. Doesn’t […]

In Three War Stories, David Mamet explores redemption and forgiveness in the context of conflict. In The Redwing, excerpted here, a 19th Century Secret Service naval officer recounts his own transformations during the course of his service and imprisonment.

Many Americans seem to hold on to a romanticized portrait of Columbus even when they are exposed to his dark side.

As soon as we abandon the first intuitions we have, that we’re the ones in control of everything, then we can start sailing into the inner cosmos and discovering all sorts of new planets and life forms and things like that on the inside of our skulls. 

Just our luck… the only part of the UK with tight border controls. The picture on the front page of Private Eye shows a long line of cars queueing to […]

Modern technology has done nothing to make humans more humble. Quite the contrary. So secure are we in our confidence of our superiority to ancient cultures that discoveries like the […]

The world just lost a brilliant and fearless journalist. Michael Hastings did more in his short life than most people do in an entire lifetime. As information continues to come […]

For the most part, your chances of success in life are a function of the circumstances of your birth.

I write this from Yangshuo, China where I am currently based studying Tai Chi and Internal Kungfu. My next journey is to the Wudangshan mountains in Hubei province. This is […]

The ice has already melted to the point where heavily fortified ships can travel around the pole, but eventually even a moderately fortified ship will be able to just sail right on through, according to a new paper.

Where were you when you first learned that there are plastic landfills the size of continents floating in our oceans? What should have been a wake-up call hasn’t slowed the […]