Memorial Day
Every year, on the last Monday in May, the United States honors its war dead. It is often celebrated with parades, cookouts, and ceremonies at military cemeteries. While many people just think of it a...
31 Maj 20218min
Why Does Liechtenstein Even Exist?
If I was to ask you what the wealthiest royal family in Europe was, your first guess would probably be the British Royal Family. But it isn’t. It also isn’t the royal families in Spain, the Netherland...
30 Maj 202111min
Where Did Mathematical Symbols Come From?
One of the simplest mathematical statements possible is 2+2=4. While the concept is very easy to understand, when you write it down you have to use mathematical symbols which are, historically speakin...
29 Maj 202110min
The Battle of Alesia
In the year 52 BC, the Roman General Julius Caesar fought the last major battle in the conquest of Gaul. The implications of the battle have reverberated throughout history and can still be felt in th...
28 Maj 202112min
Potemkin Villages
In 1787, Russian Empress Catherine the Great took a six-month trip to visit her newly acquired territories in the Crimean. Along the way, she sailed down the Dnieper River and saw many of the shiny vi...
27 Maj 20218min
Bell Labs
What do lasers, photovoltaic cells, the transistor, digital cameras, cell phone technology, the communication satellite, computer networking, radio astronomy, and the UNIX operating system have in com...
26 Maj 20219min
The 17-Year Cicada
Every 17 years one of the grandest spectacles in nature takes place. Billions of insects in a seemingly coordinated fashion will emerge from the ground and cover the skies and the trees. This is all p...
25 Maj 20218min
Tarrare: The Hungriest Man in History
Have you ever been really full after a meal? Like really really full? Could you imagine eating and never feeling full? Like going to an all you can eat fish restaurant and then getting kicked out for ...
24 Maj 202113min
