The Five-Second Rule: The History of Humanity's Most Universal Food Myth
From dubious Genghis Khan legends to a misremembered Julia Child moment, explore how the five-second rule was born and what science actually says about bacteria transfer.
Recent Articles
Latest articles from our blog
History of World Maps Part 1: Mapping the World's Contours
From a Babylonian clay tablet to Ptolemy's errors, medieval maps centered on Jerusalem, al-Idrisi's south-up Islamic cartography, and Magellan's blood-soaked circumnavigation — this is the story of how humanity spent thousands of years learning the shape of the world it stood on.
History of World Maps Part 2: The Lies of Flat Maps
The moment you project a spherical Earth onto a flat surface, something must distort. Explore why Greenland looks as large as Africa on classroom maps, how Mercator's projection became a centuries-long standard, and why the Gall-Peters controversy turned cartography into a political battleground. From the Winkel Tripel to the Dymaxion and AuthaGraph, and the question of why north is up at all, this article examines the choices hidden inside every world map.
The History of Space Debris: From Rocket Stages to a Crowded Orbit
Why does a satellite launched in 1958 still orbit Earth today, along with the rocket that put it there? From the first discarded upper stages to the Kessler syndrome and today's active debris removal missions, this article traces how humanity turned low Earth orbit into a crowded junkyard — and what it's doing about it.
How Nations Honor Their Fallen: From Ancient Athens to Modern State Funerals
Why do nations honor those who die in war with ceremonies and memorials? From ancient Athens' public funerals and Pericles' famous oration to the birth of the Unknown Soldier tradition after WWI, this piece traces how the practice of state commemoration took shape across history.