The World’s Largest Brick Bridge

Jun 10, 2020

Before the age of steel and concrete, bricks and stones were the only two materials available to architects and bridge designers hoping to s...

A 16th Century Math Book With Pop-Up Models

Jun 9, 2020

Euclid’s Elements , first published in 300 BC, was one of the most important and influential textbooks ever written in the history of scie...

Alexis St. Martin: The Man With A Hole In His Stomach

Jun 8, 2020

By the early 19th century, physicians had a clear understanding of the human anatomy (from dissecting cadavers) but knowledge about the role...

Vladimir Petrovich Demikhov’s Two-Headed Dog

Jun 5, 2020

In 1955, at a meeting of the Moscow Surgical Society, a sensational exhibit was presented to the assembled guests. On the platform close t...

Llívia: A Curious Spanish Enclave in France

Jun 3, 2020

A welcome sign on the road to Llívia, a landlock state of Spain inside France. Photo: LMspencer/Shutterstock.com Deep in the Pyrenees, s...

The War Rubble of Crosby Beach

Jun 2, 2020

Photo: pshab/Flickr Just beyond the coastguard station at the end of the promenade at Crosby Beach, in Liverpool, is a flat stretch of s...

The Unknown Martyrs Who Became Catacomb Saints

Jun 1, 2020

Relics of saint and holy people have always been an integral part of Christianity. There was a time when bones, skins, fingernails, severe...

Clever Hans: The Horse Who Could Do Math

May 29, 2020

In a paved courtyard surrounded by high apartment houses in the northern part of Berlin, a small crowd had gathered to watch an old high s...

Stanley Kubrick’s Rejected Monolith

May 27, 2020

The iconic Monolith from Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey was originally not a mysterious black slab. The director wanted it t...

Waterloopbos: Where Dutch Engineers Learned to Play With The Sea

May 27, 2020

A quarter of Netherlands lie below the sea level. Most of these low-lying areas are land reclaimed from the sea. The region was originally o...