Johannes Hevelius’s Moon Atlas

Nov 22, 2021

German astronomer Johannes Hevelius is often regarded as one of the last great astronomers to carry out major observational work without a t...

What Happens When You Bomb a Volcano

Nov 19, 2021

The Cumbre Vieja volcano in the Spanish island of La Palma in the Canary Islands began erupting in September 2021, and has been doing so for...

Before Pumpkins People Carved Turnips on Halloween

Nov 18, 2021

The yearly Halloween tradition of carving pumpkins into Jack-o-lanterns was originally an Irish ritual, but instead of pumpkins, the folks a...

Bertha Benz’s Historic Car Ride

Nov 17, 2021

In the early morning hours of August 5, 1888, the 39-year-old Bertha Benz, wife of automobile pioneer Karl Benz, sneaked out of the house, a...

Codex Gigas, The Devil's Bible

Nov 15, 2021

At the National Library of Sweden in Stockholm, there is on display a gigantic bible, 36 inches long, 20 inches wide and nearly 9 inches thi...

The Village Where Girls Turn Into Boys

Nov 15, 2021

Johnny was a brought up a girl. There was no reason not to. He had what appeared to be a vagina. So he wore little red dresses and went to s...

Henry Howard Holmes’s Murder Castle

Nov 13, 2021

At the corner of South Lowe Avenue and West 63rd Street in Englewood, Chicago, where now stands a drab, two story building of the United Sta...

John Brinkley: The Doctor Who Transplanted Goat Testicles Into Humans

Nov 11, 2021

The morning of September 15, 1930, was undeniably warm in Kansas. That summer had been the hottest ever recorded in the state. The heat had ...

Vladimir Komarov: The Cosmonaut Who Fell From Space

Nov 9, 2021

The year 1967 held special significance for Soviet Union—it was the 50th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, as well as the 10th annivers...

Leonardo da Vinci’s Ostrich Egg Globe

Nov 8, 2021

If the first map to represent the American continent is that of Juan de la Cosa, made in the year 1500, and the first in which the name Amer...