The International Cocoa Quarantine Centre, at the University of Reading, has an important job: stop pests and viruses from …
Tom Scott
The 1933 British penny is one of the most famous coins in the world. I’m not saying this is definitely a heist movie waiting to …
Predicting the future is a fool’s errand, but I tried it: talking about phones, lifelogging, and social changes. And on top of that: what …
Mannequins are generally bought, used once for a project, and then thrown away to landfill. Except here, at Mannakin in …
I invited Rohin from @Medlife Crisis, Sophie from @Soph’s Notes, @Mike Boyd, Sam from @Wendover Productions, and @Mia …
Electrical Network Frequency analysis, ENF analysis, matches background hum against power grid logs. I talked to one of the …
The Thames Barrier is a wonder of engineering. If it fails, then London floods. Here’s how the engineers there make sure it doesn’t …
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At $8.3 million dollars for around 40 milligrams, the British Guiana 1c magenta is the world’s most expensive object by weight: it’s a postage stamp from 1856, the …
Bridgwater Carnival, in Somerset, has a long tradition of squibbing: a huge procession of people holding fireworks right above their heads. This year, I got the …
In most of the world, inhaling radon for pain relief sounds like a bizarre idea. In some places, though, it’s so accepted that it’s prescribed by doctors and covered …
The Lorenbahn, the Lüttmoorsiel-Nordstrandischmoor island railway, is famous for the tiny, private trains that take residents to and from the mainland. But that’s …
In Brienz/Brinzauls, a small village in the east of Switzerland, there’s a village slipping into a valley and a road that’s surprisingly dangerous. Thanks to everyone …
At a pumped storage plant in western Austria, a company called Energy Robotics is testing robot dogs for inspection. All the fancy Boston Dynamics publicity …
In Lübeck, Germany, there’s one of several eHighway test projects: overhead catenary wires, where electric trucks with pantographs can pull power directly from …
The Brünnlisau shooting range in Switzerland has its targets on the other side of a major road. And it’s safe. Here’s how and why. Thanks to everyone at the …
On a little canal off the Elbe river in Germany, sits the McBoat: the world’s only paddle-through McDonalds. It seemed like the sort of thing I should investigate.
An elevator that can go smoothly from horizontal to vertical isn’t possible… right? Turns out that the conventional wisdom is wrong, and the Schmid Peoplemover …