Topic

Technology & Innovation

A collection of 152 issues

The Cosmic Puddle: Unlocking the Secrets of Tsunamis with NOAA's Hypnotic Simulations

NOAA's YouTube playlist reveals the terrifying science of tsunamis through detailed simulations. These animations show how seismic events send waves across oceans, demonstrating their incredible speed and global reach, turning abstract data into a stark visual reality of nature's power.

Science & Nature Technology & Innovation

Wait, YouTube Subtitles Can Shake? Uncovering a Hidden World of Custom Captions

Did you know YouTube subtitles can do more than display text? An old, rarely-used caption format allows for hidden effects like shaking text and custom on-screen movement, a surprising piece of platform history demonstrated in a viral video by Tom Scott.

Technology & Innovation Entertainment & Media

5,000 Meters Deep: The Cold War's Lost Thermonuclear Bomb in the Philippine Sea

In 1965, a US Navy A-4E Skyhawk carrying a B43 thermonuclear bomb rolled off the USS Ticonderoga and sank in the Philippine Sea. The pilot, plane, and bomb were never recovered and now rest 16,000 feet deep, a secret held from the public until 1989.

History Wars, Conflict & Heroes Technology & Innovation

Beyond Conquest: The Surprising Bilingual First Book Printed in the New World

The first book printed in the Americas (1539) wasn't just in Spanish. "Breve y...doctrina Christiana" was a bilingual catechism in Spanish and Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, revealing a complex story of cultural interaction, not just simple conquest, at the dawn of New World printing.

History Literature & Books Technology & Innovation

ThrustSSC: The Jet-Powered Car That Made the Desert Roar and Broke the Sound Barrier

The ThrustSSC is the only land vehicle to officially break the sound barrier. Piloted by Andy Green in 1997, it used two jet engines to achieve a still-unbeaten record of 1,227.986 km/h (763.035 mph) in the Black Rock Desert, a monumental feat of engineering.

Technology & Innovation Sports & Games History

The Day the Sky Fell: When China's Air Force Bombed the Forbidden City

In July 1917, the fledgling Chinese Air Force bombed the Forbidden City to crush a coup restoring 11-year-old Emperor Puyi. The raid, using a Caudron biplane, caused minimal damage but effectively ended the last attempt to reinstate the Qing Dynasty.

History Wars, Conflict & Heroes Technology & Innovation

The Guano Empires: How 17th-Century Persia Built Palaces for Pigeons

In 17th-century Persia, thousands of massive, ornate mud-brick towers were built around Isfahan. Their sole purpose: to house wild pigeons and harvest their nitrogen-rich droppings, creating an enormous and highly valuable supply of fertilizer for the region's prized melon crops.

History Technology & Innovation Animals in Culture

Rethinking the Void: Could Gravastars Replace the Black Hole?

Gravastars are theoretical objects proposed as an alternative to black holes. They avoid a singularity by having a core of 'dark energy' spacetime, contained by a thin, ultra-dense shell of matter, making them observationally distinct yet incredibly difficult to prove.

Science & Nature Technology & Innovation

The Secret Fortress of Knowledge: Uncovering the Massive Library Hidden Beneath Bryant Park

Beneath NYC's bustling Bryant Park lies the Milstein Research Stacks, a massive, two-level underground facility. This climate-controlled "bunker" holds over 4 million books on 84 miles of shelving, delivered to readers above by a sophisticated conveyor system known as the "book train."

Literature & Books Technology & Innovation Geography & Places

Riding the Waves: The Glorious, Doomed Story of Brighton's Seagoing 'Daddy Long Legs' Railway

In 1896, Victorian inventor Magnus Volk launched the 'Daddy Long Legs,' a remarkable electric train on 23-foot stilts that traveled through the sea off Brighton's coast. This audacious feat of engineering was a popular attraction but was ultimately defeated by storms and coastal defenses.

History Technology & Innovation Geography & Places

Loading more posts...