Dr. James Barry: The Army Surgeon Who Hid a Lifelong Secret
In 1865 a decorated British army surgeon died, leaving strict orders to be buried unexamined in his own bed sheets. A charwoman ignored those instructions and uncovered a reality that shattered half a...
29 Jun 23min
The Pistol Shrimp: A Tiny Creature That Snaps Like a Gun
Meet a creature that rivals the sperm whale for the title of loudest animal in the ocean, generates temperatures near the surface of the sun, and routinely jams advanced naval sonar, all while measuri...
29 Jun 20min
The River That Caught Fire and Launched the EPA: Cuyahoga
Water puts out fire. That is supposed to be rule number one of the physical world. Yet Ohio's Cuyahoga River didn't just fail to extinguish flames, it actively started them, catching fire at least 13 ...
29 Jun 21min
Tycho Brahe: The Astronomer With a Brass Nose and a Pet Elk
How does a man obsessed with rigid rules end up shattering the ultimate rule of the universe? Tycho Brahe wore a prosthetic nose, ruled an island fortress, kept a clairvoyant companion and a beer-drin...
29 Jun 22min
The Dreadnought Hoax: How Pranksters Fooled the Royal Navy
In 1910 the most advanced warship on Earth was infiltrated not by spies or commandos, but by a group of Bohemian artists in stage makeup, so terrified their fake beards would melt that they could not ...
29 Jun 21min
The Mary Rose: Henry VIII's Warship and Sudden Tudor Time Capsule
On a hot July day in 1545, King Henry VIII watched the pride of his fleet, the Mary Rose, fire her guns, begin a hard turn, lean too far, and vanish beneath the waves in minutes, taking over 400 men w...
29 Jun 17min
The Maunsell Forts: Sea Fortresses Turned Pirate Radio Outposts
Rusted concrete towers on spindly stilts rise straight out of the sea off the English coast, looking like an abandoned dystopian film set. These are the Maunsell Forts, and their history swings wildly...
29 Jun 22min
Balloonfest 86: The Charity Stunt That Rained Chaos on Cleveland
In 1986 the city of Cleveland released nearly 1.5 million balloons at once to break a world record and raise money for charity. The result paralyzed traffic, shut an airport runway, and turned a heart...
29 Jun 16min
