Yaoya Oshichi: The Girl Who Tried to Burn Down Tokyo For Love
Kaushik Patowary
Oct 23, 2025
In the winter of 1682, a massive fire swept through Edo, present-day Tokyo. Known as the “Great Tenna Fire” it raged through the city’s crow...
Showing posts with the label History
John Elwes: The Miser Who Inspired Dickens
Kaushik Patowary
Oct 21, 2025
You may not recognize the name John Elwes, but you almost certainly know his literary and cartoon heirs— Ebenezer Scrooge (the cold-hearted ...
Oyster Shell Houses of Guangdong
Kaushik Patowary
Oct 16, 2025
Along the southern coast of China, particularly in Guangdong’s Pearl River Delta, a curious architectural tradition took shape during the la...
The Befouled Statues Of Yue Fei’s Killers
Kaushik Patowary
Oct 14, 2025
Yue Fei is among the most celebrated generals in Chinese history, remembered for his loyalty and patriotism. His life unfolded during one of...
Fukushima’s ‘Umbilical Cord’ Border
Kaushik Patowary
Oct 10, 2025
This is a very simplified political map of Japan showing various prefectures in the northern end of Honshu, the largest of Japan's fou...
Yoshie Shiratori’s Remarkable Prison Escapes
Kaushik Patowary
Oct 7, 2025
At the foot of Mount Tento in Hokkaido stands the Abashiri Prison Museum, a place where Japan’s harsh penal past is preserved in timber and ...
The Heaven-Shaking Thunder Bomb
Kaushik Patowary
Oct 2, 2025
Gunpowder was invented in China during the Tang dynasty in the early 9th century. Chinese alchemists were said to be experimenting with salt...
The Church of Sainte-Mère-Église
Kaushik Patowary
Sep 24, 2025
The town of Sainte-Mère-Église in Normandy, northwestern France, was the first in Europe to be liberated by the Allies from German occupatio...
Edith Allonby: The Writer Who Courted Death For Her Novel
Kaushik Patowary
Sep 16, 2025
Getting published has never been easy. Even the most celebrated authors once faced rejection after rejection. J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter w...
The Great Tea Race of 1866
Kaushik Patowary
Sep 11, 2025
On a grey morning in late May 1866, the waterfront of Fuzhou buzzed with anticipation. Along the Min River, some of the fastest ships ever b...
John Taylor: The Oculist Who Blinded Bach
Kaushik Patowary
Sep 9, 2025
Legendary German composer and musician Johann Sebastian Bach suffered from weak eyesight for much of his life. His handwriting—beautiful in ...
Flak-Bait: The Most Resilient Aircraft of World War 2
Kaushik Patowary
Sep 4, 2025
The Martin B-26 Marauder was one of the most successful bombers operated by the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. It was also one of...
The Vanishing of SS Vaitarna: The “Titanic of Gujarat”
Kaushik Patowary
Sep 1, 2025
On the morning of November 8, 1888, the passenger steamer SS Vaitarna departed from Mandvi—a busy port in Kutch, in the Indian state of Guj...
Macquarie Island’s Ecological Upheaval
Kaushik Patowary
Aug 26, 2025
Macquarie Island, a windswept outpost in the south-western Pacific Ocean between Tasmania and Antarctica, is a place of staggering natural w...
N1: The Rocket That Failed To Put Soviets On The Moon
Kaushik Patowary
Aug 20, 2025
On May 25, 1961, U.S. President John F. Kennedy stood before a special joint session of Congress and announced the ambitious goal to land an...
The Stegosaurus of Ta Prohm
Kaushik Patowary
Aug 18, 2025
Hidden among the sprawling roots and ruins of Ta Prohm , one of Angkor’s most atmospheric temples, lies a carving that has sparked fascinati...
Nowe Ateny: Poland’s Eccentric First Encyclopedia
Kaushik Patowary
Aug 14, 2025
In 1745, a Polish parish priest named Benedykt Joachim Chmielowski published Nowe Ateny (New Athens), the first encyclopedia ever written...
The Invincible Bramah Lock
Kaushik Patowary
Aug 12, 2025
It is 1790, and you find yourself at 124 Piccadilly, London. As you stroll past the rows of shops, one window in particular catches your eye...
Project Diana: Bouncing Radio Waves Off The Moon
Kaushik Patowary
Aug 8, 2025
Around noon on January 10, 1946, a powerful pulse of radio waves shot skyward from a massive radar installation at Camp Evans in Wall Townsh...
The Phantom of Heilbronn: How Contaminated DNA Sent The German Police On A Wild Goose Chase
Kaushik Patowary
Aug 6, 2025
On the afternoon of April 25, 2007, Michele Kiesewetter , a 22-year-old police officer in the German city of Heilbronn, was shot dead in a p...
