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Month: June 2020

Tree of Ténéré
By The Generalist Posted on June 30, 2020April 17, 2021

Loneliest trees

The loneliest tree in the world was knocked over by a drunk driver in 1978. The new loneliest tree in the world is very close to the southernmost point of New Zealand.

Categories: Africa, Oceania, Places, Plants, Sciences
Lake Nyos
By The Generalist Posted on June 29, 2020April 28, 2021

Exploding lake

On August 21, 1986, seventeen hundred people who lived around Lake Nyos in Cameroon suffocated overnight – victims of an extremely rare and silent natural disaster.

Categories: 20th century history, Africa, Earth science, History, Places, Sciences
Kama Sutra
By The Generalist Posted on June 28, 2020January 25, 2023

Kāma Sūtra cryptography

The Kāma Sūtra suggests that lovers learn cryptography.

Categories: Arts & recreation, Literature, Places, Religion & belief, South Asia
Hershey's chocolates
By The Generalist Posted on June 27, 2020June 22, 2020

Vomit chocolate

Mass-produced American chocolate has a distinct flavour that non-Americans describe as tasting a bit like vomit. It’s Milton Snavely Hershey’s fault.

Categories: Food & agriculture, North & Central America, Places, Sciences
Hunt-Lenox Globe
By The Generalist Posted on June 26, 2020April 28, 2021

There be dragons

The phrase “Here Be Dragons” actually appears only once on a historical map, on the early 16th century Hunt-Lenox Globe. And actual dragons live there.

Categories: Early modern history, History, Language, Places, Southeast Asia
Printer dots
By The Generalist Posted on June 25, 2020May 14, 2021

Secret printer dots

Since the 1980s most colour printers and photocopiers add a set of secret near-invisible dots to every page they print. The dots uniquely identify the origin and timestamp of that printout.

Categories: Computer science, Economics & business, Politics & law, Sciences, Technology
Tube radio
By The Generalist Posted on June 24, 2020January 25, 2023

Fascist jazz

Between 1941 and 1943 Germany broadcast propaganda jazz music with altered lyrics into Britain.

Categories: 20th century history, Arts & recreation, Europe, History, Military, Music, Places, Politics & law
Locusts
By The Generalist Posted on June 23, 2020April 28, 2021

Locust extinction

In 1875, trillions (yes, trillions) of Rocky Mountain locusts swarmed over the western United States. Thirty years later, they were extinct.

Categories: 19th century history, Animals, Food & agriculture, History, North & Central America, Places, Sciences
Firefighting helicopter
By The Generalist Posted on June 22, 2020June 16, 2020

Redividing words

The word helicopter doesn’t come from heli- and -copter; it was actually formed from helico- and -pter. That hasn’t stopped us making new words from the wrong history.

Categories: Language
Abandoned car
By The Generalist Posted on June 21, 2020June 16, 2020

Apocalypse fuel

Ever see a post-apocalyptic film where people are driving cars years after the fall of civilisation? Sorry, car fuel doesn’t work like that.

Categories: Sciences, Technology
Bloodbow
By The Generalist Posted on June 20, 2020January 25, 2023

Blood rainbow

At dusk or dawn, you might someday see an all-red rainbow.

Categories: Earth science, Sciences
Qullqa
By The Generalist Posted on June 19, 2020January 25, 2023

Walking the Imperial Andes

The 40,000km-long Incan road system connected 12 million people, but it also supplied the Incan army with food from thousands of storage depots spread across the whole network.

Categories: Architecture, History, Medieval history, Places, South America
Giparu
By The Generalist Posted on June 18, 2020June 13, 2020

First author

The first author whose name we know was Enheduanna. Daughter of Sargon the Great, she wrote religious hymns, so she can also lay claim to being the first named poet in history.

Categories: Ancient history, Arts & recreation, History, Literature, Middle East, Places, Religion & belief
Atlantic
By The Generalist Posted on June 17, 2020April 17, 2021

Tunnelling through the Atlantic

Bridges go over water. Tunnels go under water. How about the Archimedes bridge, a hypothetical tunnel design that goes through water instead?

Categories: Places, Sciences, Technology, The oceans
Bossaball
By The Generalist Posted on June 16, 2020January 25, 2023

Samba volleyball with a trampoline

Okay, here’s a hybrid sport for you: combine volleyball, football, and gymnastics. And (why not) throw in a trampoline and make the referee double as the DJ.

Categories: Arts & recreation, Games & sport, Music
Wall Street
By The Generalist Posted on June 15, 2020April 28, 2021

Wall Street’s wall

Wall Street in New York City is named after one of two things: the Walloons, early Dutch settlers… or a literal wall to defend against the Algonquian peoples angry over the slaughter of 120 local Weckquaesgeek.

Categories: Architecture, Early modern history, Economics & business, History, North & Central America, Places

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