The Korean Exam That Brings The Nation to a Halt
Kaushik Patowary
Nov 17, 2018
Every year in November, more than half a million high school students across South Korea sit for the examination of their life—the infamous ...
A Modern Mosque That’s Angering Iranian Muslims
Kaushik Patowary
Nov 15, 2018
The fate of a beautiful, avant-garde mosque in the Iranian capital Tehran hangs in balance as the city decides what to do with the partially...
The Homeless Jesus Sculpture
Kaushik Patowary
Nov 15, 2018
Since 2013, Canadian sculptor Timothy Schmalz has been placing a particular sculpture depicting a homeless man sleeping on a bench in citie...
Tiny Fairy Houses of Isle of Man
Kaushik Patowary
Nov 15, 2018
Tiny adorable “fairy houses” are popping all over Isle of Man, a small island sandwiched between Great Britain and Ireland, in the past few ...
The Tay Bridge Disaster And The World’s Worst Poem
Kaushik Patowary
Nov 14, 2018
On the night of 28 December 1879, a violent storm lashed across Scotland collapsing an iron bridge that straddled the Firth of Tay and plung...
Drvengrad: A Traditional Serbian Village That’s Actually A Movie Set
Kaushik Patowary
Nov 14, 2018
Two hundred kilometers southwest of Serbia's capital, Belgrade, on Mokra Gora mountain only a few miles from the border with Bosnia and ...
How Solitary Confinement Saved Ludger Sylbaris From The Deadliest Volcanic Eruption
Kaushik Patowary
Nov 13, 2018
At the northern end of Martinique, a French overseas island in the eastern Caribbean sea, stands Mount Pelée, a volcano that famously erupte...
The Paradox of Prince Rupert's Drop
Kaushik Patowary
Nov 12, 2018
Prince Rupert's drop is a glass artifact that exhibits two properties that are the exact opposite of each other—they are extremely tough...
The Mystery of Lady Dai’s Preserved Mummy
Kaushik Patowary
Nov 10, 2018
Believe it or not, this grotesque figure is considered to be one of the world’s best preserved mummies. While her face looks swollen and de...
Dhanushkodi: The Ghost Town Ravaged By Cyclone
Kaushik Patowary
Nov 9, 2018
In the middle of Palk Strait between India and Sri Lanka is a small elongated island called Pamban, and it's connected to the Indian pen...
Dutch Prisons Are Being Converted Into Hotels And Apartments Because of Lack of Prisoners
Kaushik Patowary
Nov 8, 2018
The Netherlands has a problem with prisons and prisoners, just like any other country. But while the rest of the world is struggling with ov...
ATLAS-I: The Cold War-Era Facility That Tested The Effects of EMP on Military Aircraft
Kaushik Patowary
Nov 7, 2018
Flying in and out of Albuquerque, in New Mexico, the United States, one can catch a glimpse of a gigantic wooden trestle standing in the mid...
The Buried Village of Al Madam
Kaushik Patowary
Nov 7, 2018
About two kilometers south-west of Al Madam, a small town along the old Dubai-Hatta road, is a spooky little abandoned settlement. It was on...
Brine Pools: The Underwater Lakes of Despair
Kaushik Patowary
Nov 5, 2018
Just like there are waterfalls underneath oceans , there can be lakes on seabed too. One is kept separate from the surrounding body of wate...
Letters of Utrecht: The Endless Poem
Kaushik Patowary
Nov 3, 2018
In the Dutch city of Utrecht, a poem is growing—one letter at a time, every week, for the past six years. Every Saturday, at around one in...
Killer Wasps And Zombie Cockroaches
Kaushik Patowary
Nov 2, 2018
The emerald jewel wasp is a deadly and venomous insect, like all wasps are. Their sting can be excruciatingly painful for humans. Neverthele...
Beijing’s Underground City
Kaushik Patowary
Nov 1, 2018
One of the entrance to the Underground City in Beijing. Photo credit: Scott Sherrill-Mix/Flickr In the late 1950s, relation between the tw...
India Unveils World’s Tallest Statue
Kaushik Patowary
Oct 31, 2018
The controversial Statue of Unity dedicated to India’s first deputy prime minister, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, was unveiled today at a remo...
Foucault Pendulum And The Pantheon
Kaushik Patowary
Oct 31, 2018
In the old Latin quarter in Paris, stands a magnificent 18th century building—the temple to all the gods, the Pantheon. Originally construct...
The Disgusting Food Museum
Kaushik Patowary
Oct 30, 2018
A new museum aimed to assault the olfactory senses of visitors and churn their stomach opened yesterday in Sweden’s third largest city, Mal...
