Battle of Tsushima: the birth of modern naval warfare
On May 27, 1905, the Russian and Japanese fleets faced off in the Tsushima Strait during the Russo-Japanese War. It is the first modern naval battle - and described as the greatest and the most import...
13 Jul 24min
The Land Lobster: The world's rarest insect
For untold years the tropical paradise of Lord Howe Island was home to the enormous insect called the Lord Howe Island Stick Insect, or Land Lobster - an 8-inch long bug endemic to the island. But the...
10 Jul 19min
Navajo Code Talkers
In World War II the United States took a unique turn in their quest for delivering fast, secret communications in combat situations. This was by using Native American language speakers and translators...
8 Jul 17min
The Paraguayan War: South America's Deadliest War
When Paraguay invaded its much larger neighbors in 1864, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay responded in force. For the next five years these nations waged the deadliest war ever seen on the continent. It...
6 Jul 20min
Jonathan the Tortoise: The world's oldest living land animal
In 1882 a 50-year old tortoise from the Seychelles was brought to the tiny island of St. Helena as a gift to the governor. That tortoise, who was later dubbed Jonathan, is still alive and well today, ...
3 Jul 16min
Alexis St. Martin and the gunshot that changed science
In 1822, a young man, Alexis St. Martin, was accidentally shot in the stomach. Miraculously, he survived, and even more amazing was the hole between his chest and stomach became permanent. This allowe...
1 Jul 16min
Marcus Aurelius: The philosopher emperor
They say absolute power corrupts absolutely. And while that is often true, sometimes you can get someone in power who genuinely wants to help their people. Such was the case with the Roman Emperor Mar...
29 Jun 27min
Project Habakkuk: the iceberg aircraft carrier
In World War II, the allies struggled to fend off U-boat attacks on shipping in the North Atlantic. A major issue was a lack of air support. Planes didn’t have the range to provide protection to the m...
26 Jun 17min
