Toyohiro Akiyama: Japan’s First Man in Space Was a Journalist
Kaushik Patowary
Nov 18, 2024
Toyohiro Akiyama pressed his face against the glass of the small, round window on his space module and gazed down at Earth from 350 kilomete...
Showing posts with the label History
Henry Trigg And The Coffin in The Roof
Kaushik Patowary
Nov 1, 2024
For centuries, physicians and scientists have dissected human bodies to understand human anatomy, with a steady supply of cadavers often sou...
Enemies Making Deal: The First World War Glass–Rubber Exchange
Kaushik Patowary
Oct 24, 2024
In the midst of war, when nations are locked in bitter conflict, cooperation seems unimaginable. Yet, history offers surprising instances wh...
Santorio Santori And Insensible Perspiration
Kaushik Patowary
Oct 18, 2024
Some people become obsessed with tracking their weight, carefully counting every calorie they eat and burn through exercise. They even weigh...
The Delft Tower Experiment
Kaushik Patowary
Oct 7, 2024
In 1654, twelve years after the death of the brilliant Italian astronomer and scientist Galileo Galilei, Prince Leopold de' Medici, brot...
Le Pétomane: The Man Who Could Fart Melodies
Kaushik Patowary
Oct 1, 2024
In the vibrant world of Parisian cabaret, where extravagant performances captivated audiences every night, few acts were as peculiar or as u...
The Battle of Palmdale: How a Pilotless Drone Embarrassed The US Air Force
Kaushik Patowary
Sep 25, 2024
On the afternoon of August 16, 1956, 17-year-old Larry Kempton of Leona Valley was driving with his mother, Bernice, along Palmdale Boulevar...
Ernest Duchesne: The Forgotten Discoverer of Penicillin
Kaushik Patowary
Sep 19, 2024
In 1897, a young French medical student named Ernest Duchesne submitted a ground-breaking doctoral thesis titled Contribution to the Study o...
Paris Gun: World War One’s Greatest Weapon
Kaushik Patowary
Sep 11, 2024
At quarter past seven on the morning of March 23, 1918, the people of Paris were jolted by a powerful explosion near the Quai de la Seine. F...
José Meiffret’s 200km/h Bike Ride
Kaushik Patowary
Sep 6, 2024
This strange looking bike with an enormous chain wheel was designed for speed, and speed it did achieve. On July 19, 1962, French cyclist ...
Makaiko Kheti: Why a Book on Maize Cultivation Provoked The Nepalese Govt.
Kaushik Patowary
Sep 2, 2024
Nobody knows the true motive behind Krishna Lal Adhikari's writing of Makaiko Kheti ("The Cultivation of Maize"). Was it mere...
The Nuclear Flask Train Crash Test
Kaushik Patowary
Aug 21, 2024
Nuclear reactors in power stations use fissile radioactive isotopes to produce heat, which powers turbines to generate electricity. When the...
4 Odd Events That Appeared At The Olympics
Kaushik Patowary
Aug 19, 2024
Since the inception of the modern Olympic Games in 1896, this global sporting event has continuously evolved, introducing fresh and dynamic ...
5 Airline Crashes Resulting from Tomfoolery
Kaushik Patowary
Aug 12, 2024
Aviation is an industry that thrives on precision, discipline, and adherence to strict protocols. However, there have been tragic instances ...
Inês de Castro: Portugal’s Posthumous Queen
Kaushik Patowary
Aug 6, 2024
In European history, few love stories are as poignant and politically charged as that of Inês de Castro and King Pedro I of Portugal. Their ...
Prokop Diviš And The Lightning Rod
Kaushik Patowary
Jul 30, 2024
In 1754, Prokop Diviš, a Czech priest, attempted to control the weather but ended up inventing the lightning rod instead. Diviš was a past...
A Short History of Supernova Observations
Kaushik Patowary
Jul 25, 2024
The Betelgeuse in the constellation of Orion is a fascinating star. It’s a red supergiant more than six hundred times the diameter of the Su...
The Largest Man-Made, Non-Nuclear Explosion in History
Kaushik Patowary
Jul 16, 2024
After the end of World War II in 1945, until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, there was intense geopolitical tension between the...
Narcisse Pelletier: The French Boy Who Lived 17 Years With The Aboriginals
Kaushik Patowary
Jul 9, 2024
On April 11, 1875, a pearling schooner named John Bell anchored off the coast of Queensland, Australia. The captain, Joseph Frazer, sent so...
Panjandrum: A Wacky WW2-Era Failed Weapon
Kaushik Patowary
Jul 5, 2024
In 1941, the Government of the United Kingdom established a temporary wartime body called the Department of Miscellaneous Weapons Developmen...
