46 BC: The 445-Day Year
Kaushik Patowary
Jul 14, 2021
For the past four hundred years, much of the modern world has been using the Gregorian calendar. As we are all familiar, this calendar has 1...
The Most Beautiful Sewage Plant
Kaushik Patowary
Jul 13, 2021
Situated on the banks of River Thames, about 9 km east of Greenwich, is a two-story brick building housing one of the most beautiful Victori...
The Deepest Hand-Dug Well
Kaushik Patowary
Jul 13, 2021
Sitting outside the Nuffield Hospital in Woodingdean, near Brighton and Hove, is a small, inconspicuous-looking covered well. But despite it...
Zheltuga: The Illegal Russian Gold Mining Town That Sprang Up in China
Kaushik Patowary
Jul 10, 2021
In the spring of 1883, gold was discovered on a branch of the river Albazikha, in northern Heilongjiang province in China near the border wi...
Why 1972 Was The Longest Year in History
Kaushik Patowary
Jul 8, 2021
Some years seem longer than others, especially when you are passing through a bad phase in life such as being stuck at home because a pandem...
The Oldest Orbiting Satellite
Kaushik Patowary
Jul 7, 2021
When a satellite is launched into space it is not expected to last forever. The satellite carries on board a limited amount of fuel which wi...
The Accidental Bombing of Bezuidenhout
Kaushik Patowary
Jul 5, 2021
At eight o’clock in the morning of 3 March 1945, the air-raid sirens were heard for the first time over Hague. A short while later a wave of...
The Tiara of Saitapharnes
Kaushik Patowary
Jul 2, 2021
For the better part of a decade, the widely celebrated and esteemed Louvre Museum of Paris proudly displayed a supposedly ancient tiara made...
Poena Cullei: The Worst Roman Punishment
Kaushik Patowary
Jul 1, 2021
Throughout history Man has shown extraordinary imagination in inventing penalties and sentences for crimes committed by fellow man. The Roma...
The Ksar of Ait Benhaddou
Kaushik Patowary
Jun 30, 2021
A small but vibrant city high up on Atlas Mountains, Ouarzazate, in south-central Morocco, has long been called the “door to the desert”. It...
That Time When The French Divided The Day Into 10 hours
Kaushik Patowary
Jun 28, 2021
For centuries we have used the sexagesimal system of measuring time, where each day is divided into 24 hours, each hour into 60 minutes and ...
The Lartigue Monorail of Listowel
Kaushik Patowary
Jun 25, 2021
A small heritage market town called Listowel in County Kerry, Ireland, is home to one of the strangest monorail system ever built. Instead o...
Gympie-Gympie: The Stinging Plant Which Can Inflict Pain For Months
Kaushik Patowary
Jun 24, 2021
Gympie-Gympie sounds adorable, but if you pay any attention to its scientific name Dendrocnide moroides , you would know its to be avoided. ...
Dog on The Tuckerbox
Kaushik Patowary
Jun 23, 2021
One of Australia’s famous pioneer monuments is located in the small town of Gundagai about half way between Melbourne and Sydney. The monume...
The Anatomical Machines of Raimondo di Sangro
Kaushik Patowary
Jun 22, 2021
Housed in glass cases in the basement of Sansevero Chapel in Naples, Italy, are two extraordinary exhibits. Called “anatomical machines”, th...
The Bell Cemeteries of World War 2
Kaushik Patowary
Jun 21, 2021
Nearly every German family in every German town contributed something to the two World Wars. For many, it was their men. For others, it was ...
One-Million-Liter Test Sphere
Kaushik Patowary
Jun 18, 2021
Tucked away at a corner of Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland, dwarfed by buildings on three, sides stands a relic of Cold War—a humongous ...
How a Solar Storm Set Off Sea Mines During The Vietnam War
Kaushik Patowary
Jun 17, 2021
Buried deep within the archives of the US Navy, lied a mystery that was only recently solved. On August 4, 1972, dozens of naval mines that ...
The Flying Tanks of World War 2
Kaushik Patowary
Jun 16, 2021
Dropping supplies including combat vehicles to troops on the ground was one of the biggest achievements of the military during World War 2. ...
The Bridge Built By Women
Kaushik Patowary
Jun 15, 2021
When the Waterloo Bridge over River Thames opened in the December 1945, Deputy Prime Minister, Herbert Morrison spoke on its inauguration: ...
