Topic

Technology & Innovation

A collection of 152 issues

Woven from Liquid Gold: The Astonishing Tale of the 1.2 Million Spider Cape

A textile masterpiece, the Golden Spider Silk Cape is the world's largest garment woven from spider silk. It required harnessing the naturally golden thread from over 1.2 million spiders in Madagascar over 8 years, a monumental feat of art, engineering, and nature.

Art, Culture & Design Science & Nature Technology & Innovation

The Reply-All-pocalypse: How One Email Ground the UK's National Health Service to a Halt

In 2016, a simple test email sent to 840,000 NHS staff accidentally triggered a 'reply all' cascade. The resulting storm of over 186 million emails overwhelmed servers, crashing the critical system for hours and becoming a legendary tale of digital chaos.

Technology & Innovation History

Perfect Endings: The Surprising World of Correspondence Chess Where Computers Are Legal Teammates

In the slow-paced world of correspondence chess, players are often allowed to use endgame tablebases. These databases provide perfect moves in the final stages, shifting the game's focus from pure calculation to deep strategic planning and man-machine collaboration.

Sports & Games Technology & Innovation

The Glitch That Trapped Mazda Drivers in an NPR Twilight Zone

A bizarre software bug in 2014-2017 Mazda infotainment systems caused them to permanently freeze when a local radio station, KUOW, broadcast a logo image without a file extension. The glitch bricked the units, trapping drivers on one station and requiring a $1500 hardware replacement.

Technology & Innovation Entertainment & Media Business & Economics

The Lab That Almost Built the Internet: BT Research, Prestel, and a Legacy of 10,000 Patents

BT Research, a pioneer in industrial R&D, held over 10,000 patents by 2000. Its innovations include single-mode optical fiber and Prestel, a revolutionary 1979 viewdata service that was a direct forerunner to the modern internet, offering online services via TV and phone lines.

Technology & Innovation History Business & Economics

The 61-Second Minute: How 27 Leap Seconds Secretly Broke the Internet

Since 1972, 27 leap seconds have been added to our clocks to sync atomic time with the Earth's slowing rotation. While keeping us aligned with the sun, this tiny adjustment has caused major chaos for computer systems, prompting a global decision to abolish them by 2035.

Science & Nature Technology & Innovation

The Secret Mexican History of Area Codes 706 and 905

Did you know the area codes for North Georgia (706) and suburban Toronto (905) weren't always for those places? Until 1991, they were special codes used by Americans and Canadians to dial directly to cities in Mexico. This is the story of how an international dialing change gave them new homes.

Technology & Innovation History Geography & Places

The Siri You Never Knew: The Ambitious AI Apple Acquired, Not Invented

Apple didn't invent Siri. It was acquired in 2010 from a company spun out of a DARPA AI project. The original app had a broader, more integrated vision than the initial iPhone version, a fact that still surprises many and fuels debate about its lost potential.

Technology & Innovation Business & Economics History

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