Search Results

The Jerusalem Post remarks on the scarcity of Nobel laureates in the Muslim and Arab worlds after another Israeli is awarded a Nobel Prize.

Question: would you rather answer to a boss who has his own interests at heart (not yours), or to no boss at all? Would you rather the US switched from […]

n The Turks have Piri Reis, whose 1513 map shows parts of America and Antarctica with astonishing and, in the case of Antarctica, frankly inexplicable accuracy. The Chinese have this […]

n What a great way this map is to present global levels of wine consumption (red wine, 2006). A shame there’s no legend to provide context (by way of litres […]

In its most recent issue, The New Yorker magazine revisits one of its most famous covers ever. Saul Steinberg’s cartoon on the front page of the 29 March 1976 issue […]

n The Pennsylvania-Delaware border is characterised by not one, but two cartographic anomalies. One is the Twelve Mile Circle (see previous post), the other one is the Delaware Wedge, an […]

The White House decries newly proposed settlements in East Jerusalem which Israel says are not covered by its proposed construction moratorium.

A tree in southern California is thought be 13,000 years old making it the oldest living organism on the planet.

Sara Nasserzadeh is no stranger to fielding complicated questions about sex. She hosted a radio program for BBC where she answered queries from callers in Afghanistan and Iran about the […]

Structural barriers to women’s rights in Iraq are loosening as women increasingly populate the national police force.

Where we are determines who we are – and what we drink

Europe shocked as leaked map reveals secret plan for Belgian domination

When it comes to improving overall quality of life, few people pay much attention to the simplest of social graces. Sure, there are plenty of annoying, rude gestures plaguing practically […]

This then is one of the most memorable photographs of the 1960s, or at least here, a depiction of one of the most eponymous pictures of that decade. The original […]

Government Ministers in Britain are fond of reminding people here – and abroad – that this country has made much more progress in limiting CO2 emissions than comparable economies. There […]

The secessionist project hit its stride at exactly the worst time possible

A Palestinian man portrayed as a terrorist in the film “Bruno” is suing Sacha Baron Cohen, David Letterman and others for $110m.

Thanks giving for President Barack Obama was largely about thanking the armed forces giving their lives in Afghanistan.

“For centuries in the past we’ve been in the center of the world.In fact, you know, ‘China’ in Chinese means ‘the middle kingdom,’ that we are in the middle of […]

We’ve discussed the Ancient Greeks’ snowglobe vision of the Universe(#288), tackled the far-out theories of the Hollow Earth (#85), and yet managed to be surprised by the absurdity of the square […]

The rough beauty of the American West seems as far as you can get from the polished corridors of power in Washington DC.

The last of Etna Week here on Eruptions has guest blogger Boris Behncke talking about the volcanic hazards posed by Mt. Etna.

To those who thought Obama would end all war, wipe out global poverty, save the environment, and eradicate terrorism in one fell swoop, they will be sadly disappointed by this […]

The attempted destruction of North West Airlines Flight 253 over Detroit by suicide bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallah has belatedly shone a spotlight on Yemen, the country where the terrorist allegedly […]

Holidaymakers in Dubai were recently arrested for kissing in public and could face jail. It seems totally over the top, but should tourists respect the rules of the countries they’re in?

Stories from major newspapers this week have examined this moment of crisis for American foreign policy in the Middle East. Afghanistan is expected to receive more American troops, while a […]

Over the past months, Big Think has talked to several of the leading experts on the Middle East about the potential political implications of Iran going nuclear:  Iranian insiders, veteran […]

Writing about intelligence is like running a ferry service between two different planets. On one, everyone assumes that g, general intelligence, is a real and important trait, in which heredity […]

The Iranian Revolutionary Guards is getting in on the “smart power” bandwagon. It just announced the launch of a new news agency called Atlas to deliver the day’s news. The […]

There are signs of hope trickling in from Gaza. Some say this rump state may have the world’s fastest growing economy (though its base point was not very high). There […]