The doubters and the oracle bones
The Doubting Antiquity School were sceptics of ancient Chinese texts’ historical veracity… until the oracle bones were deciphered.
Transylvanian school of witchcraft and wizardry
The 19th century Scottish author Emily Gerard collected local legends about a school of black magic high in the mountains of Transylvania.
Little Women and the mummy’s curse
At the same time she was writing the novel Little Women, Louisa May Alcott also wrote one of the first stories to feature an Egyptian mummy’s curse.
Uncombable hair
People suffering from Uncombable Hair Syndrome have silvery hair that resists all attempts to comb, brush, or otherwise groom it.
The shadow of the volcano
What do the bicycle, Marmite, Mormonism, and Frankenstein have in common? A volcano in Indonesia.
The mysterious letters of the Quran
Twenty-nine chapters of the Quran begin with short sequences of Arabic letters. We’re not actually certain what these “mysterious letters” mean.
The Floating Admiral and the Detection Club
In 1931 fourteen members of writers’ collective the Detection Club – including Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, G. K. Chesterton, and Ronald Knox – wrote a mystery novel together… one chapter each.
The ten commandments of whodunits
In 1929 Ronald Knox codified the ten rules that all detective fiction should follow.
Biblical and Shakespeare gardens
Some gardens grow only the plants mentioned in either the Bible or the works of Shakespeare.
Asterix and the Alexandrine
The Asterix comics are notorious for obscure puns, but the most obscure may be the one used in Asterix and Cleopatra.
Chess of love
The earliest fully recorded game of modern chess – from the 15th century CE – is a poem about love.
All-pawn chess
Lord Dunsany was an early 20th century fantasist whose writing inspired Tolkien, H. P. Lovecraft, and many others. He also invented a chess variant where one side has 32 pawns and no other pieces.
Scissorman and the fingers
The 1845 German children’s book Der Struwwelpeter features cruel consequences for bad behaviour, including a terrifying tailor who does not care for thumb-suckers.
The Library Cave
On June 25, 1900, tens of thousands of important historical manuscripts were found in a secret room within the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas in Dunhuang, China, where they had been hidden for nearly a millennium.
Losing letters
The 2001 novel Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn depicts a town in which a totalitarian government begins banning letters – from the town and from the novel itself.
Chinese rhyme
We know how Chinese was pronounced 1400 years ago thanks to the world’s oldest surviving rhyming dictionary.