Lonesome George: The celebrity tortoise
In 2012, Lonesome George, the last tortoise of his species died.George, from Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean, was a global symbol of conservation and brought to the attention of the w...
11 Juni 202510min
The woman born in a prisoner of war camp
After the Sino-Indian war in 1962, around 3,000 men, women and children were incarcerated in a disused World War Two prisoner of war camp. Indians of Chinese descent were sent there having fallen prey...
10 Juni 202510min
World War Two’s Rome escape line
Between September 1943 and June 1944 in World War Two, the Italian capital Rome was occupied by German soldiers.Italy had surrendered and thousands of Allied prisoners of war had escaped from internme...
9 Juni 202510min
Usonia: Frank Lloyd Wright’s ‘utopian’ town
In 1948, the foundation was laid for a “utopian” community of houses designed by a man described as America’s greatest ever architect.Frank Lloyd Wright had been approached by a group who wanted to cr...
6 Juni 202510min
The discovery of the first exoplanets
On 9 January 1992, astronomers Alex Wolszczan and Dale Frail announced they had discovered the first two exoplanets, or planets outside our solar system, while working at the Arecibo Observatory in Pu...
5 Juni 202510min
Favela life: The diary of Carolina Maria de Jesus
Carolina Maria de Jesus was a poor, single mother-of-three who lived in a derelict shack and spent her days scavenging for food.Her diary, written between 1955 and 1960, brought to life the harsh real...
4 Juni 20259min
The world’s largest model train set
In 2000, nightclub owners and twins Frederik and Gerrit Braun went from the neon lights of a Hamburg nightclub to building the world’s largest model trainset. Miniatur Wunderland is now a top tourist ...
3 Juni 202510min
Dolly Rathebe: South Africa’s first international film star
South Africa’s first feature film aimed at black audiences was released in 1949, launching Dolly Rathebe’s career. The actress and jazz musician was discovered by chance by two British film makers and...
2 Juni 202510min
