Incentives. We love them. Without our parents’ offer of a cash bonus for good grades, we probably would have totally blown off Mrs. Smethels’ Home Economics class in 8th grade. The incentive […]
Beware the Unintended Consequences of the Cobra Effect
Warhol’s 8-Hour Movie of the Empire State Building
Hello, faithful reader. How was your weekend? Did you see any good movies? Let us tell you about the movie we watched. We’ll try not to give away any spoilers. Admittedly, the […]
A High-Flying Prediction, Off By a Million Years
Humans have tried to emulate birds’ ability to fly since before recorded history. Despite centuries of effort, heavier-than-air flight remained out of reach. No one knows how many people lost their lives […]
How a Medical Legend Maneuvered Celebrities into Treating AIDS Patients With Malaria
Each year 1-3 million people die from malaria. Another 1 million annually succumb to AIDS. You don’t need to be a physician to realize both of these diseases are pretty bad. Anyone […]
The Great Panjamdrum — the Hilarious and Horrible Failed Weapon of WWII
Necessity is the mother of invention. Few things create greater necessity than war. Consequently, some of the greatest innovations in technology have arisen out of military conflict. World War II generated great […]
What Could Go Wrong When Using Dynamite to Move a Whale?
November 12, 1970, was a whale of a day at Florence, Oregon. The sun was bright, and the skies were clear. Only the presence of a decomposing whale carcass marred the beautiful […]
Making Nuclear Reactors Safe From Butt-Pinching
Harnessing the power of the atom provides humanity with virtually unlimited power. It also poses devastating consequences if things go poorly. The nuclear disasters at Chernobyl, Fukushima, and Three Mile Island happened […]
The Horrifying Hanging of Mary, the Circus Elephant Who Was Executed for Murder
When the sentence of death is carried out, it is always noteworthy. Mary’s execution was no exception. This particular use of capital punishment attracted even more attention than usual. People gathered from […]
Luxembourg Cars Must Have Windshield Wipers But Windshields Are Optional
Governments can be famous for making regulations that put more emphasis on form than substance. No better example can be found than the highly-bureaucratic Vogons in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: […]
Deliver Us From Weevils — The Time a Town Put a Bunch of Insects on Trial
Something was bugging the people of St. Julien. The “something” was a bug. A bunch of them, actually. Weevils were threatening the peace and prosperity of the French town. Criminal trespass to […]
How a Brilliant Military Maneuver Conquered the Wrong City
You may not hear a lot about him today, but in the 9th century, Hastein was a rising star in the Viking community. The chieftain made his name with raids in the […]
How the Baby Ruth Candy Bar Influenced the Bombing of Hiroshima
This morning’s headlines are filled with reports of war, pandemic, political turmoil, and — perhaps most distressingly — further chronicles in the lives of a couple of people named Harry and Meghan. […]
How a 20th-Century Doctor Treated Patients By Sticking an Ice Pick Into Their Brains Through Their Eyes
“It isn’t brain surgery.” We use the phrase to describe simple tasks that anyone should be able to do. The unstated assumption behind this is that brain surgery is far from simple […]
What Could Go Wrong With Putting Wings on a Ford Pinto?
As much as we enjoy the comforts provided by the 21st century, our biggest disappointment is the lack of flying cars. Every traffic jam brings daydreams of being able to push the […]
The Scandalous Saga of the Ugly Man Who Was Executed for Fathering a One-Eyed Pig
Most people want their lives to be significant. We want to be remembered after we leave this world. It is downright depressing to consider the possibility of making so little of an […]
Commonplace Fun Facts 