Largest kitchen
Jagannath, the deity from whom we get the word juggernaut, receives offerings of food from the world’s largest kitchen.
Category: Society
Ultimate technobabble
In 1944 a graduate student wrote a parody of technical writing that has entered engineering folklore: the turboencabulator.
International alphabet
In the late 19th century, a linguist and some language teachers concocted a writing system that could represent every meaningful sound in every spoken language in the world. It is still in use today.
Spacedust buster
The portable vacuum cleaner Dustbuster was built on the back of technology for the moon landings.
Hobo news
From 1913 to 1929, the hobos had their own newspaper.
Harem conspiracy
The Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses III was murdered in a conspiracy formed by one of his harem wives that included magicians, physicians, and butlers.
Werewolf witches
Within the witch panic of Medieval Europe was a strange subset of trials that accused people of being both witches and werewolves.
Military skateboarding
Sometimes the image says it all; in the 1990s the United States military experimented with skateboards for urban warfare.
Surprising eponyms
An eponym is a word named after a person. Some, like algebra, are well-known. But these words are also eponyms: boysenberry, cardigan, diesel, guy, Kiribati, neanderthal, orrery, and pamphlet.
Double time
Almost all of China uses only one time zone. In the extreme west of China, the Xinjiang region uses two time zones at the same time. This is very confusing.
Art in the trenches
In World War I millions of troops sat in trenches for more than three and a half years. It was by turns terrifying and boring. To ignore one feeling and allay the other, they made art.
From the Arctic to the Equator
In 1959, a block of glacier ice was carried – without refrigeration – from the Arctic Circle, through Europe, across the Sahara, and all the way to the Equator. It was perhaps the greatest publicity stunt in history.
Castle licence
If you wanted to build a castle in medieval England, you needed permission from the king. They’re supposed to be for the defence of the realm, but sometimes you just want to fake out the neighbours.
Proof by intimidation
Mathematical proofs can be established by various means, including induction, contradiction, construction, and exhaustion. My favourite is proof by intimidation.
100 million pound banknote
Deep in the vaults of the Bank of England are banknotes, legal tender, for 100 million pounds each. These may be the most valuable banknotes in the world.
Encyclopedia vs. volcano
The eruption of Mount Vesuvius, which destroyed the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, also killed the famous author of one of the earliest encyclopedias.
The Generalist Academy 