Topic

Geography & Places

A collection of 107 issues

Canada's Forgotten Tsunami and the Deep-Sea Mystery It Solved

A 1929 earthquake off Newfoundland triggered Canada's deadliest tsunami, devastating a remote coastline. The disaster also accidentally solved a major scientific mystery when the force of the underwater landslide snapped transatlantic cables, proving a new theory of oceanography.

History Science & Nature Geography & Places

The City Under the Floorboards: How a Home Renovation Uncovered an Ancient Metropolis

A simple home renovation in 1963 led to the discovery of Derinkuyu, a sprawling ancient city hidden 18 levels underground. Carved from volcanic rock, this subterranean marvel was a self-sufficient refuge for 20,000 people fleeing persecution for centuries.

History Geography & Places Oddities & Curiosities

The Airports and Oases Built Entirely on Trash

Faced with a crisis of space, nations like Japan and Singapore are not just burying waste—they are building new land from it. These offshore islands are feats of engineering that turn incinerator ash into some of the world's most valuable real estate.

Technology & Innovation Environment & Climate Geography & Places

The Scientific Showdown Between Kansas and an IHOP Pancake

A whimsical 2003 scientific study set out to test a cliché, pitting the topography of Kansas against an IHOP pancake. The results, which revealed the breakfast food to be far lumpier than the state, challenge our very perception of what it means to be 'flat'.

Geography & Places Science & Nature Oddities & Curiosities

The Bird That Conquered the World, Then Reclaimed It from Our Skyscrapers

Long before humans mapped the globe, the Peregrine Falcon had claimed nearly all of it. Its true story, however, isn't just about geography; it's about a brush with extinction and an astonishing comeback in the most unexpected of habitats: our cityscapes.

Science & Nature Environment & Climate Geography & Places

The Permafrost Proviso: A Town's Uneasy Truce with Death

In the Arctic town of Longyearbyen, dying is effectively forbidden. This isn't morbid bureaucracy, but a chilling necessity born from the permafrost, which preserves buried bodies—and the lethal viruses within them—indefinitely.

Geography & Places Death & Rituals Oddities & Curiosities

Neither Swamp Nor River: The Story of Brazil's Buffalo Police

On Brazil's vast, swampy island of Marajó, where police cars fail, the Búfalo Batalhão patrols on water buffalo. Since the 1990s, this unique unit has used the powerful animals to navigate flooded streets and pursue criminals through difficult terrain.

Law, Crime & Justice Geography & Places Oddities & Curiosities

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