The Ancient Chinese Earthquake Detector That’s Puzzling Modern Researchers

Sep 6, 2019

In the year 132 CE, a brilliant Chinese astronomer, mathematician and engineer named Zhang Heng presented to the Han court an impressive inv...

The Wonderful Art of Missing Pet Posters

Sep 5, 2019

“Have you scene [sic] my CAT ?”, pleaded a crude hand-made poster. Underneath it was a sketch of the missing cat, apparently drawn by a chi...

Punkah: The Hand Operated Ceiling Fans of Colonial India

Sep 4, 2019

When the British first came to India, they had to adapt themselves to a lot of unfamiliar things, such as the climate, the blood sucking mos...

Monadnock Building: The Last Brick Skyscraper

Sep 2, 2019

In a city full of high-rises, a sixteen story skyscraper might not seem like much, but the Monadnock Building standing in the south Loop are...

Britain's Last Remaining World War One Memorial Tank

Sep 2, 2019

After the end of the First World War, many British towns received gifts from the National War Savings Committee as recognition for the commu...

Flying Aircraft Carriers

Aug 31, 2019

Germany’s mixed success with Zeppelins during the First World War convinced the British and the Americans to take a closer look at these fly...

The Other Anne Franks: 10 Holocaust Diaries You Haven’t Read

Aug 29, 2019

Anne Frank wasn’t the only teenager who lost her childhood to war. Thousands of children and teenagers across Europe found their freedoms c...

Letters Q, W, And X Were Once Illegal in Turkey

Aug 28, 2019

An alternative spelling for taxi in Istanbul, Turkey. Photo credit: Jürgen Luger/Flickr In 1928, the Turkish government decided to change ...

Jack The Baboon Signalman

Aug 26, 2019

During the later part of the 19th century, travellers entering Uitenhage railway station, near Port Elizabeth, in South Africa, frequently ...

The Citrus Gardens of Pantelleria

Aug 26, 2019

Located halfway between Sicily and Tunisia’s coastline, lies a small speck of an island called Pantelleria. Pantelleria has a typical Medit...