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Month: August 2020

Dancing plague
By The Generalist Posted on August 31, 2020January 25, 2023

Dancing plagues

Sudden bouts of contagious dancing plagued pre-modern Europe – afflicting up to a thousand people at a time.

Categories: Early modern history, Europe, Health & medicine, History, Medieval history, Places, Religion & belief, Sciences
Kissi pennies
By The Generalist Posted on August 30, 2020April 28, 2021

Iron currency

In the late 19th century CE Sierra Leone and surrounds, high quality iron needles tied into bundles served as currency.

Categories: 19th century history, Africa, Economics & business, History, Places
Propolis
By The Generalist Posted on August 29, 2020April 17, 2021

Bee mummies

Worker bees will eject waste to keep the hive clean. But if the waste is too big to carry out, say a dead mouse, it will instead be mummified.

Categories: Animals, Sciences
Villa Las Estrellas
By The Generalist Posted on August 28, 2020January 25, 2023

The town of no appendices

Before you move into Villa Las Estrellas you must have your appendix removed.

Categories: Health & medicine, Places, Politics & law, Sciences, South America, The poles
Sound icon
By The Generalist Posted on August 27, 2020January 25, 2023

Piano as violin

Hey, let’s turn a grand piano on its side and play it like a violin! Sure, why not?

Categories: Arts & recreation, Music
Charles II of Navarre
By The Generalist Posted on August 26, 2020September 7, 2020

Wine immolation

King Charles II of Navarre died when, wrapped in alcohol-soaked linen, he caught on fire.

Categories: Europe, History, Medieval history, Places, Politics & law
Pi
By The Generalist Posted on August 25, 2020January 25, 2023

Sequences in pi

Within the first thousand digits of pi there are six nines in a row. This should not be a surprise.

Categories: Mathematics & statistics, Sciences
South-pointing chariot
By The Generalist Posted on August 24, 2020January 25, 2023

This chariot always points south

Around 255 CE, a Chinese inventor named Ma Jun created a chariot that could always point south – without using magnets.

Categories: Ancient history, East Asia, History, Places, Sciences, Technology
Mabel Normand
By The Generalist Posted on August 23, 2020January 25, 2023

Tied to the tracks

The first film to feature a woman tied to train tracks starred one of the earliest female directors and producers, Mabel Normand. She may also have been the recipient of the first pie-in-the-face film gag.

Categories: Arts & recreation, Film & television, North & Central America, Places
Langton's Ant
By The Generalist Posted on August 22, 2020April 17, 2021

Automatic ant

The cellular automaton Langton’s Ant follows just two simple commands, and in doing so moves in turn from symmetry to chaos to implacable order.

Categories: Computer science, Mathematics & statistics, Sciences
Nadaam
By The Generalist Posted on August 21, 2020April 28, 2021

Three games of men

The festival Naadam is like the Mongolian equivalent of the Olympics, with just three sports: wrestling, archery, and horse racing.

Categories: East Asia, Games & sport, Places
Flevoland
By The Generalist Posted on August 20, 2020January 25, 2023

Cities at the bottom of the sea

423,000 people live in Flevoland, a province of the Netherlands. Before 1957, the entire area did not exist.

Categories: 20th century history, Earth science, Europe, History, Places, Sciences, Technology
Gegenschein
By The Generalist Posted on August 19, 2020April 17, 2021

The sun after sunset

Where can you see sunlight after the sun has set? In the zodiac or sometimes directly opposite the sun in the night sky.

Categories: Astronomy, Religion & belief, Sciences
Jacques Brel
By The Generalist Posted on August 18, 2020August 16, 2020

Brelian crescendo

Jacques Brel, the famed Belgian singer, began some songs slowly and then sped up. A lot.

Categories: Arts & recreation, Europe, Music, Places
Head
By The Generalist Posted on August 17, 2020August 15, 2020

Sixth to ninth senses

The human senses: sight, hearing, smell, touch, taste. Also balance, pain, proprioception, and interoception.

Categories: Health & medicine, Sciences
Hitchhiking
By The Generalist Posted on August 16, 2020April 17, 2021

Genetic hitchhikers

A mutated gene that improves reproductive success spreads widely – this is one of the principles of evolution. But sometimes other genes come along for the ride.

Categories: Animals, Health & medicine, Plants, Sciences

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