 King Henry VIII's Horned Helmet
The Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds hold in their possession a peculiar helmet, believed to have belonged to the infamous English King Henry VIII. With spiraling horns, protruding eyes, a toothy grimace and a stubbly chin, it is one of the most grotesque helmets ever forged for a king. Indeed, because of its likeness to a court's fool, for a long time historians debated who the intended wearer was. The horned helmet (actually, it is an armet because it completely enclosed the head) formed pa...
|
|
|
Venera 7, The First Craft to Make Controlled Landing on Another Planet And Send Data From its Surface
By 1961 the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union had been going on for six years. The Soviets had the upper hand, having been the first to launch an artificial satellite into orbit, Sputnik 1, on October 4, 1957. They were also ahead of the curve, launching the first living creature, the puppy Laika aboard Sputnik 2, into orbit on November 3 of the same year. And as everyone knows, the first human being, Yuri Gagarin aboard Vostok 1, on April 12, 1961. Just a couple of mon
|
|
|
The Last Public Execution by Guillotine
On the morning of 17 June 1939, a crowd gathered outside the doors of the Saint-Pierre prison, in the center of Versailles. They had come to watch the execution of Eugen Weidmann, a serial killer who had been convicted of multiple kidnappings and murders. The first spectators began arriving shortly after midnight. Because executions usually took place before sunrise, being early afforded spectators front-row seats and better visibility of the action. By the time the first rays of the sun broke
|
|
|
Toddler's Truce: Why The British Could Not Watch TV at 6PM
At 6 PM every day the television would go blank. The next one hour would be frantic. Parents would scoop their kids off the living room couch, get them to brush their teeth, take a bath, change into pajamas and get into the bed, just in time for the evening programs to begin. This one hour break in BBC's television scheduling was known as "Toddler's Truce". The idea was that with nothing on TV, it would be easier for parents to peel their kids from the screen and put them to bed.
&#...
|
|
|
Ciampate del Diavolo: 350,000 Years Old Fossilized Hominid Footprints
Near the Italian town of Foresta in the province of Caserta, and very close to the extinct volcano Roccamonfina, there is an area called Ciampate del Diavolo (literally devil's footprints). It is so named because of a trail of footprints, divided into three sections, clearly visible on the solidified lava of the volcano fossilized thousands of years ago. The name given by the locals alludes to the belief that only a demon could walk on hot lava to leave such footprints. Ciampate del Diav
|
|
|
Bob Semple's Tank: New Zealand's Homegrown Tractor-Tanks
In 1941, war hysteria gripped New Zealand and its neighboring country of Australia. The Japanese army was advancing rapidly across South East Asia invading Burma, the Dutch East Indies, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Manila, and Kuala Lumpur. After the crushing collapse of British Malaya and the fall of Singapore, the Japanese began making air attacks on northern Australia, beginning with the devastating bombing of the city of Darwin. The Australian Prime Minister John Curtin predicted an inva
|
|
|
The Hayirsizada Dog Massacre
Istanbul has many fascinating sights, from grand mosques to bustling bazaars, but one thing that has most consistently captured the imagination of foreign travelers to the city has been its street dogs. "The dogs sleep in the streets, all over the city," wrote Mark Twain in 1867. "They would not move, through the Sultan himself passed by." Stray dogs on the streets of Istanbul. Photo: Istanbul Research Institute
© Amusing Planet, 2021.
|
|
|
The Case of The Missing Sri Lankan Handball Team
The Sri Lankan sports authority has a problem. Their athletes keep disappearing. They go to foreign countries to take part in sporting events, then promptly run away. Usually, they go to Italy, where they end up spinning pizzazz, or working in departmental stores. In fact, athletics absconding during international tournaments is such a huge problem for the country that they have coined a term: decamping. During a 1993 sporting event in Canada, only one of the Sri Lankan team's 11 members cam...
|
|
|
Johannes Hevelius's Moon Atlas
German astronomer Johannes Hevelius is often regarded as one of the last great astronomers to carry out major observational work without a telescope. With the aid of only a quadrant and an alidade, Hevelius compiled a catalog of more than fifteen hundred stars with unprecedented accuracy. It was the most comprehensive celestial atlas of its time. However, it was through the use of telescopes that Hevelius gained fame as "the founder of lunar topography". He produced the first detailed map of...
|
|
|
What Happens When You Bomb a Volcano
The Cumbre Vieja volcano in the Spanish island of La Palma in the Canary Islands began erupting in September 2021, and has been doing so for the past two months. Lava flow from the eruption has covered nearly a thousand hectares, destroyed more than 2,600 buildings, and displaced some 7,000 people from their homes. With no signs of stopping, Casimiro Curbelo, the president of the municipal council of La Gomera, a neighboring island, has suggested that perhaps the lava flows could be diverted aw
|
|
|
Before Pumpkins People Carved Turnips on Halloween
The yearly Halloween tradition of carving pumpkins into Jack-o-lanterns was originally an Irish ritual, but instead of pumpkins, the folks across the pond took their knives to root vegetables such as the turnip. The friendly grin we see on carved pumpkins today looked far more sinister on the long face of the turnip. The Museum of Country Life in Castlebar, Co Mayo, has one ghoulish example on display. "People do recoil when they see it in the flesh," Tony Candon, the manager keeper of the m...
|
|
|
Bertha Benz's Historic Car Ride
In the early morning hours of August 5, 1888, the 39-year-old Bertha Benz, wife of automobile pioneer Karl Benz, sneaked out of the house, and without the knowledge of her husband took to the road on one of the automobiles her husband had invented. Accompanying her on the 66-mile trip was her two teenage sons, Richard and Eugen, aged thirteen and fifteen respectively. The goal of this historic journey was to prove to her husband that his invention was worthy of travel and to encourage him to mar
|
|
|
Codex Gigas, The Devil's Bible
At the National Library of Sweden in Stockholm, there is on display a gigantic bible, 36 inches long, 20 inches wide and nearly 9 inches thick. Called Codex Gigas, or the "Giant Book", this elaborately decorated and impressively leather bound book weighs an astounding 75 kilograms, and is the largest extant medieval illuminated manuscript in the world. The manuscript is illuminated with colorful illustrations, including a portrait of Josephus, images representing Heaven and Earth, and vari...
|
|
|
The Village Where Girls Turn Into Boys
Johnny was a brought up a girl. There was no reason not to. He had what appeared to be a vagina. So he wore little red dresses and went to school, and did girly things. But he was never happy being a girl. "I never liked to dress as a girl and when they bought me toys for girls I never bothered playing with them - when I saw a group of boys I would stop to play ball with them," Johnny tells BBC. Once Johnny hit puberty, a penis began to appear mysteriously, and his testicles descended. App...
|
|
|
Henry Howard Holmes's Murder Castle
At the corner of South Lowe Avenue and West 63rd Street in Englewood, Chicago, where now stands a drab, two story building of the United States Postal Service, once stood one of the most sinister buildings ever built. Known as the "Murder Castle", the building was erected in the late 19th century by the American serial killer Henry Howard Holmes to torture and murder an undetermined number of victims.
© Amusing Planet, 2021.
|
|
|
The Lighthouse at The End of The World
The San Juan de Salvamento lighthouse is located at the very end of the island of states, in Patagonia of Argentina, in the province of Tierra del Fuego. It is the oldest lighthouse in Argentina and the first to be built in southern waters. It has been nicknamed The Lighthouse at the End of the World, after the novel by Jules Verne that bears that title. The theme of the novel is survival in extreme circumstances, and the events depicted revolves around this isolated lighthouse. Faro de San J
|
|
|
John Brinkley: The Doctor Who Transplanted Goat Testicles Into Humans
The morning of September 15, 1930, was undeniably warm in Kansas. That summer had been the hottest ever recorded in the state. The heat had turned crops of corn into shriveled stalks and cracked earth stretched in all directions, with nothing growing to speak of but a few thin cottonwood trees. Enduring the heat, a team of delegates from the Kansas State Medical Board along with more than twenty colleagues and reporters, made a long and unpleasant journey from Kansas City to the sketchy little t
|
|
|
Vladimir Komarov: The Cosmonaut Who Fell From Space
The year 1967 held special significance for Soviet Union—it was the 50th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, as well as the 10th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik, the world's first artificial satellite. Leonid Brezhnev, the leader of the Soviet Union, wanted to celebrate this historic triumph by staging another historic accomplishment—a spectacular rendezvous between two Soviet spaceships in space.
© Amusing Planet, 2021.
|
|
|
Vladimir Komarov: The Cosmonaut Who Fell From Space
The year 1967 held special significance for Soviet Union—it was the 50th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, as well as the 10th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik, the world's first artificial satellite. Leonid Brezhnev, the leader of the Soviet Union, wanted to celebrate this historic triumph by staging another historic accomplishment—a spectacular rendezvous between two Soviet spaceships in space.
© Amusing Planet, 2021.
|
|
|
Leonardo da Vinci's Ostrich Egg Globe
If the first map to represent the American continent is that of Juan de la Cosa, made in the year 1500, and the first in which the name America appears to identify it is the so-called Universalis Cosmographia of Martin Waldseemüller, of 1507, the first globe that showed the New World was created by none other than Leonardo da Vinci in 1504. However, that it was Leonardo's work was not known when on June 16, 2012 it was discovered at the London cartographic fair organized by the Royal Geogr...
|
|
|
Leonardo da Vinci's Ostrich Egg Globe
If the first map to represent the American continent is that of Juan de la Cosa, made in the year 1500, and the first in which the name America appears to identify it is the so-called Universalis Cosmographia of Martin Waldseemüller, of 1507, the first globe that showed the New World was created by none other than Leonardo da Vinci in 1504. However, that it was Leonardo's work was not known when on June 16, 2012 it was discovered at the London cartographic fair organized by the Royal Geogr...
|
|
|
How Air Raids in Britain Led to Shortages of Sausages in Germany
"It is far better to face the bullets than to be killed at home by a bomb," proclaimed a British Army recruitment poster publicized during World War 1. The poster was alluding to air attacks that Britain was being subjected to. At the start of World War One, Britain found itself totally ill-prepared to deal with the threat from enemy airships called Zeppelins, which are practically large bags filled with hydrogen gas. Floating at thousands of feet, Zeppelins could turn off their engines, a...
|
|
|
How Air Raids in Britain Led to Shortage of Sausages in Germany
"It is far better to face the bullets than to be killed at home by a bomb," proclaimed a British Army recruitment poster publicized during World War 1. The poster was alluding to air attacks that Britain was being subjected to. At the start of World War One, Britain found itself totally ill-prepared to deal with the threat from enemy airships called Zeppelins, which are practically large bags filled with hydrogen gas. Floating at thousands of feet, Zeppelins could turn off their engines, a...
|
|
|
Why Matchmaking Was a Dangerous Profession in The 19th Century
Before the invention of matches, making fire was a tedious business, so people often shared fires from already existing flames. Whenever a new fire had to be lit, a variety of different techniques were used, all of which involved rubbing one material with another to create sparks by friction. Flint and steel was a common combination. Later on, chemicals were used to induce fire and the first self-igniting match was born. Invented by Jean Chancel in 1805, it consisted of a match head made of a m
|
|
|
Why Matchmaking Was a Dangerous Profession in The 19th Century
Before the invention of matches, making fire was a tedious business, so people often shared fires from already existing flames. Whenever a new fire had to be lit, a variety of different techniques were used, all of which involved rubbing one material with another to create sparks by friction. Flint and steel was a common combination. Later on, chemicals were used to induce fire and the first self-igniting match was born. Invented by Jean Chancel in 1805, it consisted of a match head made of a m
|
|
|
Why Japan Made Human Sacrifices Before Building Bridges
Until the 16th century in Japan, major constructions like castles and bridges began with human sacrifices, with victims buried alive within the foundation and inside pillars. This practice was known as hitobashira or da sheng zhuang. It was believed that the moving of earth during large scale construction disturbed the fengshui of the land, causing accidents during and after construction. Hence, such sacrifices were necessary to appease the gods so that the building is not destroyed by natural d
|
|
|
Why Japan Made Human Sacrifices Before Building Bridges
Until the 16th century in Japan, major constructions like castles and bridges began with human sacrifices, with victims buried alive within the foundation and inside pillars. This practice was known as hitobashira or da sheng zhuang. It was believed that the moving of earth during large scale construction disturbed the fengshui of the land, causing accidents during and after construction. Hence, such sacrifices were necessary to appease the gods so that the building is not destroyed by natural d
|
|
|
Arkadiko Bridge: The World's Oldest Bridge
One of the oldest arch bridges still in use is the Arkadiko Bridge or Kazarma Bridge, located near the modern road from Tiryns to Epidauros on the Peloponnese, Greece. It is presumed to have been built during the Greek Bronze Age, or around 1,300 BC, which makes it one of the oldest bridges still in existence and use today. The arch bridge was built using Cyclopean masonry, with limestone boulders, smaller stones, and little pieces of tile assembled tightly together without mortar. It is 22 met
|
|
|
Arkadiko Bridge: The World's Oldest Bridge
One of the oldest arch bridges still in use is the Arkadiko Bridge or Kazarma Bridge, located near the modern road from Tiryns to Epidauros on the Peloponnese, Greece. It is presumed to have been built during the Greek Bronze Age, or around 1,300 BC, which makes it one of the oldest bridges still in existence and use today. The arch bridge was built using Cyclopean masonry, with limestone boulders, smaller stones, and little pieces of tile assembled tightly together without mortar. It is 22 met
|
|
|
The 100 Ton TNT Test
By the spring of 1945, the United States had completed building the world's first nuclear device, nicknamed The Gadget. It was an implosion-type plutonium device consisting of a near solid spherical core of plutonium, surrounded by a shell of conventional explosives. When the explosives were setoff, the implosion generated compressed the plutonium core to super criticality, triggering a runaway chain reaction, and the device exploded. The first nuclear test, codenamed Trinity, was scheduled fo...
|
|
|
The 100 Ton TNT Test
By the spring of 1945, the United States had completed building the world's first nuclear device, nicknamed The Gadget. It was an implosion-type plutonium device consisting of a near solid spherical core of plutonium, surrounded by a shell of conventional explosives. When the explosives were setoff, the implosion generated compressed the plutonium core to super criticality, triggering a runaway chain reaction, and the device exploded. The first nuclear test, codenamed Trinity, was scheduled fo...
|
|
|
One-Armed Versus One-Legged Cricket
In 1861, Charles Dickens reported, in his magazine All the Year Round, a rather eccentric cricket match being played at Peckham Rye in the grounds of the Rosemary Branch tavern. The match was being played between two teams, one consisting entirely of one-legged men and another consisting entirely of one-armed players. Dickens wrote: The one-legged men were pretty well with the bat, but they were rather beaten when it came to fielding. There was a horrible Holbeinish fun about the way they st
|
|
|
One-Armed Versus One-Legged Cricket
In 1861, Charles Dickens reported, in his magazine All the Year Round, a rather eccentric cricket match being played at Peckham Rye in the grounds of the Rosemary Branch tavern. The match was being played between two teams, one consisting entirely of one-legged men and another consisting entirely of one-armed players. Dickens wrote: The one-legged men were pretty well with the bat, but they were rather beaten when it came to fielding. There was a horrible Holbeinish fun about the way they st
|
|
|
The Woman Who Was Hit by a Meteorite
At the Alabama Museum of Natural History located in the University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa, there is a small chunk of black space rock that created history on November 30, 1954, when it came crashing through the roof of Ann Hodges's home in Sylacauga, Alabama, and landed on her as she napped under quilts on the sofa. The 8.5 pound, 4.5-billion-year-old space rock, after poking a hole through the roof of her rented house, bounced off a big console radio, and then hit Ann on the left sid...
|
|
| | | |
|
The Woman Who Was Hit by a Meteorite
At the Alabama Museum of Natural History located in the University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa, there is a small chunk of black space rock that created history on November 30, 1954, when it came crashing through the roof of Ann Hodges's home in Sylacauga, Alabama, and landed on her as she napped under quilts on the sofa. The 8.5 pound, 4.5-billion-year-old space rock, after poking a hole through the roof of her rented house, bounced off a big console radio, and then hit Ann on the left sid...
|
|
|
How Two Families Escaped East Germany in a Homemade Hot Air Balloon
At 2:40 a.m. on the morning of 15 September 1979, constables Walter Hamann and Rudolf Golkel of the Bavarian State Police were patrolling the country roads outside the West German town of Naila, about six miles from the East German border in Upper Franconia, when they spotted a faint flickering light moving slowly across the starry sky. Hamann and Golkel couldn't tell what it was, but they estimated that the light was some 5,000 feet high. As they watched, they saw the light descend to the g...
|
|
|
How Two Families Escaped East Germany in a Homemade Hot Air Balloon
At 2:40 a.m. on the morning of 15 September 1979, constables Walter Hamann and Rudolf Golkel of the Bavarian State Police were patrolling the country roads outside the West German town of Naila, about six miles from the East German border in Upper Franconia, when they spotted a faint flickering light moving slowly across the starry sky. Hamann and Golkel couldn't tell what it was, but they estimated that the light was some 5,000 feet high. As they watched, they saw the light descend to the g...
|
|
|
The First Photograph in History
It doesn't look like much, but this is the world's first photograph, or rather, the oldest surviving photograph, or both. It was taken by French inventor Nicephore Niepce, using a camera obscura focused onto a pewter plate coated with a thin layer of Bitumen of Judea, a naturally occurring asphalt. Niepce exposed this plate through a lens to the buildings and surrounding countryside of his estate, Le Gras, in Saint-Loup-de-Varennes. The exposure is believed to have lasted at least eight...
|
|
|
The First Photograph in History
It doesn't look like much, but this is the world's first photograph, or rather, the oldest surviving photograph, or both. It was taken by French inventor Nicephore Niepce, using a camera obscura focused onto a pewter plate coated with a thin layer of Bitumen of Judea, a naturally occurring asphalt. Niepce exposed this plate through a lens to the buildings and surrounding countryside of his estate, Le Gras, in Saint-Loup-de-Varennes. The exposure is believed to have lasted at least eight...
|
|
|
Agent 355: The Mysterious Female Spy of The American Revolution
Agent 355 sounds like a comic book character or the protagonist of a television series, but in reality it is the nickname of a real figure: a spy who acted during the American Revolution in favor of the rebels and who, therefore, could be considered one of the first people dedicated to that profession in the United States. The fact that her identity is not known for certain only adds to the historical interest of the matter, due to the theories that exist in this regard. The curious thing is th
|
|
|
Agent 355: The Mysterious Female Spy of The American Revolution
Agent 355 sounds like a comic book character or the protagonist of a television series, but in reality it is the nickname of a real figure: a spy who acted during the American Revolution in favor of the rebels and who, therefore, could be considered one of the first people dedicated to that profession in the United States. The fact that her identity is not known for certain only adds to the historical interest of the matter, due to the theories that exist in this regard. The curious thing is th
|
|
|
Post Mortem Photography
In the olden days before photography, people used to hire painters to create portraits of those who had recently died as a way to keep the memories of the deceased alive. The dead were generally laid out in their best clothes with a special headdress, and some sort of token in their hands. The painter worked as fast as possible, for he had to complete the portrait before the body started to stank. Many probably made a pencil sketch of the lying corpse, then went home and completed the painting
|
|
|
Post Mortem Photography
In the olden days before photography, people used to hire painters to create portraits of those who had recently died as a way to keep the memories of the deceased alive. The dead were generally laid out in their best clothes with a special headdress, and some sort of token in their hands. The painter worked as fast as possible, for he had to complete the portrait before the body started to stank. Many probably made a pencil sketch of the lying corpse, then went home and completed the painting
|
|
|
Itacolumite: The Flexible Rock
Ever seen a piece of rock bend? Itacolumite is unique kind of sandstone that does when cut into thin strips. If a foot-long piece, a few centimeters thick, is supported at its ends it will gradually bend by its own weight. If it is then turned over it will straighten and bend in the opposite direction. Flakes a millimeter or two thick can be bent between the fingers and are said to give out a creaking sound. The rock was first discovered in Mt. Itacolumi, hence named Itacolumite, in Minas Gerai
|
|
|
Itacolumite: The Flexible Rock
Ever seen a piece of rock bend? Itacolumite is unique kind of sandstone that does when cut into thin strips. If a foot-long piece, a few centimeters thick, is supported at its ends it will gradually bend by its own weight. If it is then turned over it will straighten and bend in the opposite direction. Flakes a millimeter or two thick can be bent between the fingers and are said to give out a creaking sound. The rock was first discovered in Mt. Itacolumi, hence named Itacolumite, in Minas Gerai
|
|
|
Tripitaka Koreana
The Tripiṭaka Koreana is the oldest surviving version of the Buddhist canon and the most complete collection of Buddhist texts, laws and treaties extant, engraved on approximately 80,000 woodblocks. It was made in the 13th century. The Tripiṭaka Koreana is engraved in Hanja script and contains more than 52 million characters, organized in over 1,496 titles and 6,568 volumes. Each wood block measures 24 centimeters in height and 70 centimeters in length. If they are stacked on top of another,...
|
|
|
Tripitaka Koreana
The Tripiṭaka Koreana is the oldest surviving version of the Buddhist canon and the most complete collection of Buddhist texts, laws and treaties extant, engraved on approximately 80,000 woodblocks. It was made in the 13th century. The Tripiṭaka Koreana is engraved in Hanja script and contains more than 52 million characters, organized in over 1,496 titles and 6,568 volumes. Each wood block measures 24 centimeters in height and 70 centimeters in length. If they are stacked on top of another,...
|
|
|
The Chain Boats of Europe
In his travelogue, A Tramp Abroad, Mark Twain describes an encounter with a curious boat on the River Neckar in Germany. We ran forward to see the vessel. It proved to be a steamboat—for they had begun to run a steamer up the Neckar, for the first time in May. She was a tug, and one of a very peculiar build and aspect. I had often watched her from the hotel, and wondered how she propelled herself, for apparently she had no propeller or paddles. .... As she went grinding and...
|
|
|
The Chain Boats of Europe
In his travelogue, A Tramp Abroad, Mark Twain describes an encounter with a curious boat on the River Neckar in Germany. We ran forward to see the vessel. It proved to be a steamboat—for they had begun to run a steamer up the Neckar, for the first time in May. She was a tug, and one of a very peculiar build and aspect. I had often watched her from the hotel, and wondered how she propelled herself, for apparently she had no propeller or paddles. .... As she went grinding and...
|
|
|
Otto von Guericke's Magdeburg Hemisphere Experiment
The Magdeburg Hemispheres is a classic physics experiment that demonstrates the incredible pressure the atmosphere around us exerts on our bodies and everything else. The apparatus of the experiment consist of two brass hemispheres that fit together to form an air-tight seal. One hemisphere has a tube that can be attached to a vacuum pump and a stop cock to seal it off. When the air is sucked out from inside the hemispheres, and the valve is closed, the two halves are held firmly together by t
|
|
|
Otto von Guericke's Magdeburg Hemisphere Experiment
The Magdeburg Hemispheres is a classic physics experiment that demonstrates the incredible pressure the atmosphere around us exerts on our bodies and everything else. The apparatus of the experiment consist of two brass hemispheres that fit together to form an air-tight seal. One hemisphere has a tube that can be attached to a vacuum pump and a stop cock to seal it off. When the air is sucked out from inside the hemispheres, and the valve is closed, the two halves are held firmly together by t
|
|
|
Horatio Phillips's Extreme Multiplanes
British engineer and aviator Sir George Cayley suggested, as early as 1843, that an airplane with multiple wings will generate more uplift and become airborne with less effort. Many aircrafts introduced during the early years of flight adopted this principle. A clear majority of aircrafts taking part in the Great War were biplanes. The Fokker Dr.I, made famous by the German ace fighter Manfred von Richthofen, had three wings and it was a great airplane. The success of the Fokker Dr.I triplane pe
|
|
|
Horatio Phillips's Extreme Multiplanes
British engineer and aviator Sir George Cayley suggested, as early as 1843, that an airplane with multiple wings will generate more uplift and become airborne with less effort. Many aircrafts introduced during the early years of flight adopted this principle. A clear majority of aircrafts taking part in the Great War were biplanes. The Fokker Dr.I, made famous by the German ace fighter Manfred von Richthofen, had three wings and it was a great airplane. The success of the Fokker Dr.I triplane pe
|
|
|
Hackney Borough Disinfection Station
When you came down with an infectious disease in the early 1900s in London, not only were you whisked away in a horse-drawn cart to the hospital, but the city seized your belongings and took them away to disinfect at the newly opened disinfecting station in Millfields Road, in the borough of Hackney. The Hackney Borough Disinfection Station was one of a kind. When it was opened in 1901, Hackney's medical officer of health proudly proclaimed: "With this station and shelter, I have no hesitat...
|
|
|
Hackney Borough Disinfection Station
When you came down with an infectious disease in the early 1900s in London, not only were you whisked away in a horse-drawn cart to the hospital, but the city seized your belongings and took them away to disinfect at the newly opened disinfecting station in Millfields Road, in the borough of Hackney. The Hackney Borough Disinfection Station was one of a kind. When it was opened in 1901, Hackney's medical officer of health proudly proclaimed: "With this station and shelter, I have no hesitat...
|
|
|
The Madaba Mosaic Map
In 1884, an Orthodox Christian community that had recently moved to Madaba, a city in western Jordan, began the construction of a new Church of St. George. Under Ottoman law, a Christian church could only be built on the ruins of an older church, and this was done in this case. As workers cleared the ground over what had been the ancient church, there emerged the remains of a mosaic of a very peculiar kind. At that time it was common to find buried mosaic remains linked to the glorious Byzantine
|
|
|
The Soviet Moon Prank
In December 1968, Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders, became the first men to fly around the moon and return to earth. But they were not the first earthling to do so. Only three months previously, the Soviets sent a Soyuz capsule to circle around the earth's natural satellite carrying a large number of living creatures. Among these were two Steppe tortoises, hundreds of Drosophila eggs, various plants, and different strains of bacteria. This was only the second time that a spacecra...
|
|
|
The Soviet Moon Prank
In December 1968, Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders, became the first men to fly around the moon and return to earth. But they were not the first earthling to do so. Only three months previously, the Soviets sent a Soyuz capsule to circle around the earth's natural satellite carrying a large number of living creatures. Among these were two Steppe tortoises, hundreds of Drosophila eggs, various plants, and different strains of bacteria. This was only the second time that a spacecra...
|
|
|
Viktor Belenko: The Pilot Who Stole a Secret Soviet Aircraft
Lieutenant Viktor Ivanovich Belenko woke up early in the morning as he had done everyday for the past four weeks, to watch the approaching dawn and look out for signs that might reveal how the day would progress. The weather was magnificent, and from the very moment he saw the fiery disk of the rising sun, Belenko was certain that this would be the day. As a pilot with the 513th Fighter Regiment, 11th Air Army, of the Soviet Air Defence Forces, Belenko had flown countless missions and lived on
|
|
|
Viktor Belenko: The Pilot Who Stole a Secret Soviet Aircraft
Lieutenant Viktor Ivanovich Belenko woke up early in the morning as he had done everyday for the past four weeks, to watch the approaching dawn and look out for signs that might reveal how the day would progress. The weather was magnificent, and from the very moment he saw the fiery disk of the rising sun, Belenko was certain that this would be the day. As a pilot with the 513th Fighter Regiment, 11th Air Army, of the Soviet Air Defence Forces, Belenko had flown countless missions and lived on
|
|
|
The World's Largest Log Cabin
At the turn of the 20th century, the city of Portland, in Oregon, United States, was a major economic center, with a flourishing wheat and flour industry, an unparalleled timber industry, and a rapidly growing shipping port. Portland boasted of the largest flour mill on the Pacific coast. Its lumber industry was significant due to Oregon's vast forest of Douglas fir, western hemlock, red cedar, and big leaf maple trees. Portland's location at the Willamette's confluence with the Columbia...
|
|
|
The World's Largest Log Cabin
At the turn of the 20th century, the city of Portland, in Oregon, United States, was a major economic center, with a flourishing wheat and flour industry, an unparalleled timber industry, and a rapidly growing shipping port. Portland boasted of the largest flour mill on the Pacific coast. Its lumber industry was significant due to Oregon's vast forest of Douglas fir, western hemlock, red cedar, and big leaf maple trees. Portland's location at the Willamette's confluence with the Columbia...
|
|
|
Typhoid Mary: The Most Infamous Typhoid Carrier Who Ever Lived
We have been hearing about "asymptomatic carrier" quite a lot in the past few months. It scares us to death that there are people carrying chronic diseases with no outward symptoms of the microbes within, spreading the deadly disease to unsuspecting, healthy individuals they come into contact with. But back in the early 1900s, the concept of "healthy carriers" of infection was entirely new to scientists, and this brings us to the story of Mary Mallon, the first known asymptomatic carrier...
|
|
|
Typhoid Mary: The Most Infamous Typhoid Carrier Who Ever Lived
We have been hearing about "asymptomatic carrier" quite a lot in the past few months. It scares us to death that there are people carrying chronic diseases with no outward symptoms of the microbes within, spreading the deadly disease to unsuspecting, healthy individuals they come into contact with. But back in the early 1900s, the concept of "healthy carriers" of infection was entirely new to scientists, and this brings us to the story of Mary Mallon, the first known asymptomatic carrier...
|
|
|
The Lighthouse at The End of The World
The San Juan de Salvamento lighthouse is located at the very end of the island of states, in Patagonia of Argentina, in the province of Tierra del Fuego. It is the oldest lighthouse in Argentina and the first to be built in southern waters. It has been nicknamed The Lighthouse at the End of the World, after the novel by Jules Verne that bears that title. The theme of the novel is survival in extreme circumstances, and the events depicted revolves around this isolated lighthouse. Faro de San J
|
|
|
The Pantai Remis Landslide
Tin mining is one of the oldest industries in Malaysia, having been mined for centuries along the river banks. These mines were small and their methods primitive. Then in the early 1800s, large tin deposits were discovered in the Peninsula's west coast states of Perak and Selangor, and the industry developed into one of the major contributor to the Malaysian economy. At one point, Malaysia was the world's largest tin producer and supplied more than half of the world's tin until the mid...
|
|
|
The Great Meteor of 1783
On the night of 18 August 1783, four gentlemen and their two lady companions were on the terrace of the Windsor Castle, enjoying the warm summer night after a fulfilling and sumptuous dinner, when their casual conversation was cut short by a descending light in the horizon. As the spectators turned their attention towards the bluish colored apparition, they saw the light streak across the north western sky, gradually increasing in brightness. And even as they watched, the light broke up into a b
|
|
|
The Great Vine of Hampton Court Palace
The Great Vine of Hampton Court Palace, on the River Thames in London, is the largest and the oldest grave vine in the world, having being planted at the royal palace's conservatory in 1769, at the time when George III was the King of Great Britain and the American colonies were still under the British throne. The vine began as a small cutting that arrived from a mother-vine at Valentine's Mansion in Ilford, Essex. Lancelot 'Capability' Brown, the Chief Gardener, planted the vine in...
|
|
|
Why The Romans Punished Dogs And Honored Geese
On a warm summer day in August in ancient Rome, a brilliantly decorated litter is carried solemnly in the direction of Circus Maximum. Its occupant is neither a senator nor a highborn lady, but upon arrival at his destination he is revealed to be a humble goose, and he had arrived at the venue, now seated on a luxurious purple cushion, to watch the crucifixion of some dogs. This macabre ritual, called supplicia canum (or "punishment of the dogs") is celebrated to commemorate the anniversary...
|
|
|
| | |
|
Ida Lewis: The Bravest Woman in America
In the Newport harbor in Rhode Island, America's smallest state, stands a small, squat lighthouse named after Ida Lewis, the fearless lighthouse keeper who manned this outpost for more than fifty years. During this period Ida Lewis was known to have saved countless lives from drowning. Ida Lewis was born in 1842 in Newport, Rhode Island, the second oldest of four children of Captain Hosea Lewis of the Revenue-Marine. She was first brought to Lime Rock in 1854, when her father was made the lig...
|
|
|
Paper Railway Wheels
Paper has multitude of uses—from the newspaper that we read in the morning to the teabags that infuses our morning cup, from the toilet paper in our bathroom to the decorative wallpaper that brightens our bedroom, this versatile material is used in innumerable number of ways. And for a brief period in the late 19th century, they were also used for making wheels for railways. Conventional wisdom says that all load bearing structural components should be made of sturdy materials such as wood o...
|
|
|
Daniel Lambert: England's Most Famous Fat Man
For most of human history, mankind struggled with food scarcity. The poor and the working class were seldom well fed, and only the wealthy and the prosperous could afford to get their bellies full every time they ate. Obesity reigned only among the upper echelons of society. So when a commoner in 18th century England started to get morbidly fat, not only he became an anomaly but a curious attraction as well. Portrait of Daniel Lambert by Benjamin Marshall.
© Amusing Planet, 2021.
|
|
|
Mansa Musa: The Richest Man in History
In 1324, Mansa Musa, the legendary ruler of the vast West African empire of Mali, set off for a pilgrimage to Mecca. Like many other devout Muslim rulers before him and after, Musa did not travel alone. He brought along with him one of the largest caravans ever to cross the Sahara—a traveling entourage of 60,000 men, including 12,000 servants, 8,000 courtiers and one hundred camels, each loaded with sacks of pure gold, while the slaves carried more gold in the form of bars, nuggets and staffs....
|
|
|
Tzompantli: The Gruesome Skull Racks of The Aztecs
When Spanish explorers first arrived in Mexico in the early 16th century and made contact with the Aztecs, they were taken aback by the culture's grisly rituals and the constant bloodshed. The Aztec people believed in the continual need for regular offering of human blood to keep their deities appeased, and to meet this need, the Aztecs sacrificed thousands of people. To obtain victims for sacrifice, the Aztecs frequently waged war with other tribes, and captured victims alive for use in ritua...
|
|
|
Chicago River: The River That Runs Backward
From the mid to the late-19th century, Chicago was in the midst of a period of rapid growth, and as the city grew it placed enormous strain on the region's natural resources. One of the biggest challenges the city faced was waste management. Like most growing cities of the period, residents viewed rivers as open-air sewers and dumped raw, untreated sewage and other pollutants directly into the river. Human waste and rotting carcasses of dead animals floated downstream into Lake Michigan, which...
|
|
|
Ascension Island's Remarkable Ecological Transformation
In the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean, thousands of miles from practically anywhere, lies an isolated volcanic island called Ascension. Two hundreds years ago, Ascension was a desert island with little appeal for passing ships except to collect giant green turtles and birds to eat as they sailed on to other regions. Today, its peaks are covered by lush green forests. This amazing transformation is the result of a remarkable ecological experiment conducted by noted British botanist Joseph Hoo
|
|
|
Mount Tambora And The Year Without a Summer
Volcanic eruptions can change the planet's climate. During major eruptions, huge amount of volcanic ash are released into the upper atmosphere which form a veil-like covering preventing sun's rays and heat from reaching earth. Additionally, volcanic gases like sulphur dioxide has a cooling effect, opposite to that of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide. When Mount Tambora erupted in 1815 on the island of Sumbawa in present-day Indonesia, it ejected an estimated 120 million tons of sulphur...
|
|
|
The World's Largest Sailing Ship
On December 14, 1907, a large sailing ship wrecked off the coast of Annet, in the Isles of Scilly, killing all but two of her eighteen crew and causing the world's first large marine oil spill. The ship involved in the accident, Thomas W. Lawson, was an incredible ship. Thomas W. Lawson was the world's largest pure sailing ship, i.e. without an auxiliary engine, and the only seven-masted schooner. She was built by the eponymous copper baron Thomas W. Lawson for the sole purpose of showing t...
|
|
|
The World's First Automatic Machine Gun
In an article in Nature in 1885, the renowned science journal published a description of a new type of gun developed by the well-known American inventor Hiram Stevens Maxim. "This gun is a completely new departure," the article states. "It takes the cartridges out of the box in which they were originally packed, puts them into the barrel, fires them, and expels the empty cartridges, using, for this purpose, energy derived from the recoil of the barrel. Of course it is necessary to put the...
|
|
|
Afghanistan's War Rugs
Turkmen weavers in northern Afghanistan have been weaving rugs for thousands of years. This heavy textile, made for a wide variety of utilitarian and symbolic purposes, is traditionally decorated with classical folk motifs, but in recent times many modern designs have found their way into the traditional medium, such as replicas of Picasso paintings or stylized American flags. But the most curious influence on Afghan rug design has been violence.
© Amusing Planet, 2021.
|
|
|
Whiffling: The Art of Flying Upside Down
This image of a goose flying upside down captured by photographer Vincent Cornelissen has created a buzz online. In the viral photo, the goose is seen with its body upside down, with its neck twisted so that the head is the right way up. Many people are wondering if such a thing is even possible.
© Amusing Planet, 2021.
|
|
|
The Fabled Diamonds of Golconda
Before the discovery of the diamond mines in Brazil and South Africa in the early 18th century, India was the sole supplier of the world's diamonds, and much of its diamonds were mined in a small geographic area called Golconda in the present-day states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Located not far from Hyderabad, Golconda with its elaborate fort was the early capital city of the Qutb Shahi dynasty established in the early 16th century. Because of the presence of diamonds in the area, Gol...
|
|
|
Bobbie, The Wonder Dog Who Walked 2,500 Miles to Home
In August 1923, Bobbie—an average-looking collie puppy—accompanied his owners, the Braizer family, on a cross-country summer road trip from their home in Silverton, Oregon, to Wolcott, Indiana, where they were visiting some relatives. While filling up gas at a station in Wolcott, Bobbie was chased away by some street dogs. The family waited for Bobbie to return, but he did not. They placed ads on newspapers and after a week of intense searching, the Brazier family gave up hope. Heartbroken, ...
|
|
|
The Arrow Stork
Many birds fly extraordinarily great distances in search of warmer climate, food and favorable breeding grounds, a seasonal phenomenon we now know as migration. But to early scholars such a notion was inconceivable—how can a bird weighing only a couple of hundred grams survive the hardships of intercontinental travel over lofty mountains and vast oceans to distant lands with no apparent means of navigation, and then fly all the way back? Yet, scholars struggled to explain why some species of b...
|
|
|
Moving a Courthouse by Rail
Perhaps the strangest thing to be ever moved by rail was a house—more precisely, the courthouse at Hemingford, which was at the time the county seat of Box Butte County, Nebraska. The courthouse was relocated to Alliance which had seized the position of the county seat from Hemingford.
© Amusing Planet, 2021.
|
|
|
The World's Oldest Operating Company is 1,400 Years Old
Kongō Gumi Co., Ltd., a Japanese company that was then acquired by Takamatsu Construction Group, for which it continued to operate as a subsidiary, went bankrupt in 2006. This would be of little consequence, beyond the peculiar activity to which it is dedicated (construction and maintenance of Buddhist temples), were it not for the fact that Kongō Gumi is-or was-the oldest company in operation: at the time of its liquidation it was one thousand four hundred and twenty-eight years old. Kong...
|
|
|
Fire Grenades: Victorian Fire Extinguishers
An early form of fire extinguisher popular in the late 1800s was the fire grenade. The grenade resembled a regular glass bottle or a modern electric bulb, but larger, and filled with salt water. They were kept in wall-mounted metal brackets in Victorian homes, or any place handy, from where they could be quickly grabbed and thrown at the base of the fire. The glass bulb shattered on contact and the water contained inside helped to extinguish the flames. Salt water was chosen instead of plain wat
|
|
|
The Blowing Up Of Hell Gate
As ships from across the Atlantic sail up East River and into Manhattan, they pass through a narrow tidal strait called Hell Gate situated between Queens and Ward's Island. Tides from the Long Island Sound, New York Harbor and the Harlem River meet here, making this mile-long stretch of water very treacherous to navigation with giant whirlpools and hidden underwater reef. Historians estimate that about one in 50 ships trying to run the gauntlet of Hell Gate was either damaged or sunk in the 18...
|
|
|
Disposing Sodium in Lake Lenore
At the end of World War 2, the United States Army had an excess of metallic sodium left over from the war, which was used in the manufacture of incendiary bombs. The original plan was to sell off the surplus quantity, and when the material was advertised for sale it aroused the interest of several companies. But when the metal drums where the sodium was stored was inspected, it was found that the containers had deteriorated to such an extent that handling and shipping was extremely hazardous. So
|
|
|
The First Mars Rover
In May 1971, the Soviet Union sent to Mars two robotic space probes launched within nine days of each other—Mars 2 and Mars 3. Neither space probes completed its mission. Mars 2 crash-landed on the planet and Mars 3 ceased transmissions less than two minutes after landing. Despite the failed mission, Mars 3 did achieve its one primary objective: it became the first space craft to make soft landing on Mars, carrying what would have been the first ever Mars rover. A 1972 Soviet stamp commemor...
|
|
|
Micrarium: The Museum of Microscopic Animals
It is said that more than 95 percent of animal species are smaller than your thumb, yet the vast majority of the creatures that are displayed in museums across the world are vertebrates—dinosaur skeletons, dioramas of African savannah with lions, zebras and buffaloes, and taxidermied monkeys and birds. Big animals are impressive to look at, and their anatomy is easy to relate with that of our own—skeletons, eyes, and limbs. But focusing only on the invertebrates does not accurately represent...
|
|
|
Horse-Powered Locomotives
Before steam locomotives became mainstream, railways were driven solely by muscle power, usually horses. These beasts of burden pulled wagons full of coal and ores from mines to the docks over fixed rails made of wood or iron. At one point, these so called wagonways had become the principal means of transporting coal from major collieries across Europe. In 1827, shortly after the South Carolina Canal and Railroad Company was founded, the company ran a competition for horse-powered locomotives,
|
|
|
World's First 3D-Printed Steel Bridge
A 12-meter long steel pedestrian bridge opened last week in Amsterdam. Unlike other steel bridges around the world, this was not forged in a furnace. It was 3D-printed. The first of its kind, the bridge was fabricated using stainless steel rods that was welded by robotic arms at the workshop of the Dutch technology company called MX3D, in collaboration with engineering firm Arup. It was designed by Dutch studio Joris Laarman Lab. The structure weighs 6 tons and needed six months to be 3D-printe
|
|
|
The Colors of Hormuz Island
Off the Iranian coast in the Persian Gulf, about 8 km from the mainland, lies Hormuz Island, a small, teardrop shaped mound of rock salt, gypsum, and anhydrite. Its location in the middle of the strait of the same name as it pinches against the mainland allowed Hormuz Island to grow into a major trading port, which it remained for several centuries. But its heydays as a strategic outpost is long gone. Today, the island's biggest draw are not merchants but tourists. Photo: Lukas Bischoff | D...
|
|
|
Mercury 13: The Women Who Almost Became Astronauts
If everything goes as planned, a few hours from now, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos would blast off into space aboard the suborbital space vehicle New Shepard developed by the billionaire's own spaceflight company Blue Origin. Accompanying Bezos will be aviator Wally Funk, who at the age of 82 years, would be the oldest person to ever fly to space. Funk had been waiting for this opportunity for six decades. Wally Funk was one of thirteen women who took part in a privately funded effort to test whe...
|
|
|
Japan's Acrobatic Noodle Delivery Cyclists
These photographs taken in the middle of the 20th century on the streets of Tokyo show how food delivery looked like before the onslaught of modern services like Swiggy and Zomato. Riding on bicycles with one hand griping the bike's handlebar, these noodle delivery boys balanced towers of soba noodle bowls on their shoulders as they weaved in and out of traffic carrying dinners and breakfasts to their frequent customers. This service is called demae, which literally means "to go in front of...
|
|
|
The Wenlock Olympian Games That Inspired Modern Olympics
The first modern Olympic Games was held in Athens in 1896, but it was the small British town of Much Wenlock in Shropshire where the Olympic flame was rekindled first. In 1850, a local doctor named William Penny Brookes, inspired by the Ancient Olympic Games, founded the Olympian Class "for the promotion of the moral, physical and intellectual improvement of the inhabitants of the town and neighbourhood of Wenlock and especially of the working classes." Brookes hoped to achieve that through...
|
|
|
Bharat Mata Temple: A Shrine Dedicated to Mother India
The ancient city of Varanasi, in central India, draws pilgrims from all around the world. One of the most important religious hubs and the holiest among all Hindu cities, Varanasi has a wealth of sacred sites ranging from temples to forts to river banks, but one that often gets overlooked is a shrine dedicated to the country itself. The Bharat Mata Mandir (literally, Mother India Temple) located in Varanasi's Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith campus, was built by the university's founder a
|
|
|
46 BC: The 445-Day Year
For the past four hundred years, much of the modern world has been using the Gregorian calendar. As we are all familiar, this calendar has 12 months, 365 days in a year and an extra day every leap year. Leap years occur every four years except for years that are exactly divisible by 100, unless they are also exactly divisible by 400. Introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 as a reform of the Julian calendar, the Gregorian calendar is universally accepted because it is regular and easy way to und
|
|
|
The Most Beautiful Sewage Plant
Situated on the banks of River Thames, about 9 km east of Greenwich, is a two-story brick building housing one of the most beautiful Victorian-era sewage pumping station. Nicknamed "cathedral of the marshes" after the adjacent Erith Marshes, this magnificent building features spectacular ornamental cast ironwork. The exterior originally had a giant humbug-striped chimney, and its doorways were modeled after Norman cathedrals. The ornate interior of Crossness Pumping Station in London. Ph...
|
|
|
|
:origin()/pre00/6b9e/th/pre/f/2016/337/9/d/tsareena_by_r_no71-daqg0vv.png)
