Modern Historic Eras
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How Much Damage Could North Korea’s New Nuke Do?
North Korea's new nuke could take out a big chunk of Lower Manhattan
February 12, 2013 |
By Colin Schultz
This Computer Program Uses Old Headlines to Predict the Future
By analyzing old news, this artificial intelligence program can predict the future
February 04, 2013 |
By Colin Schultz
China’s Air Pollution Is So Bad That One Entrepreneur Is Selling Fresh Air in Cans
It’s a bleak state of affairs indeed when a Mel Brooks schtickfest from the '80s actually predicts the future
January 31, 2013 |
By Lauren Kirchner
Library Full of Precious Manuscripts Burned in Timbuktu
The main library in Timbuktu is full of cultural relics, manuscripts that have survived since the 1200's hidden in wooden trunks, buried in the sand, and finally housed in the small library. But recent reports from the country say that rebels might have burned that history to the ground
January 28, 2013 |
By Rose Eveleth
For 40 Years, This Russian Family Was Cut Off From All Human Contact, Unaware of World War II
In 1978, Soviet geologists prospecting in the wilds of Siberia discovered a family of six, lost in the taiga
January 28, 2013 |
By Mike Dash
Antigua’s Disputed Slave Conspiracy of 1736
Does the evidence against these 44 slaves really stack up?
January 02, 2013 |
By Mike Dash
A World of New Year’s Resolutions, Mapped by Google
What do people all around the world want to change this year?
January 02, 2013 |
By Colin Schultz
Santa Could Totally Deliver All Those Presents Using Worm Holes Or Relativity Clouds
Have you ever wondered just how Santa delivers presents to every nice kid on Earth in just one night
December 24, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
Was Yasser Arafat Poisoned by Polonium?
In November, the body of Yasser Arafat was exhumed from beneath several feet of concrete to determine whether or not the leader had been poisoned by polonium 210
December 24, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
Russia Just Voted To Stop Letting Americans Adopt Russian Kids
The Duma - Russia's power house of Parliament - voted in support of a bill that would ban American citizens from adopting Russian orphans
December 20, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
White Gold: How Salt Made and Unmade the Turks and Caicos Islands
Turks and Caicos had one of the world's first, and largest, salt industries—which led, indirectly, to their becoming the only tropical jurisdiction to have a pair of igloos on their flag.
December 14, 2012 |
By Mike Dash
North Korea’s Failing Satellite Could Ruin Space for Everyone
North Korea's new satellite is out of control, and it could wipe out human's access to space
December 13, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
More Than One Person Has Built an Ark To Prepare for the Mayan Apocalypse
How exactly does one prepare for the end of the world?
December 12, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
It’s the Final Day of the Doha Climate Talks, And, Uh, Did Anything Actually Happen?
Reports from Doha don't provide much hope that any progress has been made on the increasingly urgent issue of global climate change
December 07, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
The Day Henry Clay Refused to Compromise
The Great Pacificator was adept at getting congressmen to reach agreements over slavery. But he was less accommodating when one of his own slaves sued him
December 06, 2012 |
By Gilbert King
World’s Greatest Extinction May Have Actually Been Two Extinctions in One
The Permian-Triassic extinction nearly wiped out life on Earth
December 04, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
The Pope’s Tweets Are Official Church Doctrine
The pope is officially Tweeting now, under the handle @pontifex, and his Tweets are officially "part of the church's magisterium." Which means that anything he Tweets is the teaching authority of the Catholic Church
December 03, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
Here’s the Reality We’re Signing Up For By Letting Climate Change Happen
Say goodbye to winter, New Orleans, olive oil, rivers and world peace if climate change plays out as predicted
November 21, 2012 |
By Rachel Nuwer
Israel and Gaza Are Now at War Both Online and in Reality
On the ground and online, the battle between Israel and Gaza are escalating quickly
November 16, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
Are We Headed for Another Dust Bowl?
The devastating drought of the 1930s forever changed American agriculture. Could those conditions return?
November 16, 2012 |
By Sarah Zielinski
