Optical Telegraphs
18th century wireless telecommunications
Long before the technology existed to make the electrical telegraph a reality, inventors devised numerous optical devices for sending data over long distances.
The Paperclip
The twisted tale of paper’s best friend
The most mundane of office supplies has a storied past. Without this modest invention, paper fastening would never be as easy as it is today. Wireless communication might suffer too.
Pastrami
Cure for the common deli
The world’s first delicatessen came into existence in the late 1800s thanks to a new kind of cured meat known as pastrami. But the exact nature of pastrami is open to interpretation.
Biodegradable Plastic
The quest for impermanence
Plastics are durable, inexpensive, and versatile, but have the annoying tendency not to break down completely in landfills (or oceans, as the case may be). New formulas may solve that problem.
Mantle Convection
Currents under the Earth’s crust
The mantle, the layer of rock beneath the crust of the Earth, is under such pressure that it behaves almost like a liquid. And, like liquid, it's subject to convection currents that keep it slowly in motion.
The Coelacanth
Re-historic fish
An ancient fish, previously known only from fossils more than 65 million years old, turns up alive in 1938, only to become endangered again.
Furlongs Per Fortnight
Mix-and-match units
Engineers with a sense of humor use the expression "furlongs per fortnight" when the correct unit of measurement is unclear. But there may be a practical use for this odd unit of measurement, too.
Zeno’s Paradoxes
Proof that motion unexists
An ancient Greek philosopher attempted to prove that motion is not merely possible, it unexists. Even today, some philosophers find his arguments moving.
The 1715 Spanish Plate Fleet
Disaster on the Treasure Coast
A fleet of ships carrying gold from the New World to Spain in 1715 sank in a hurricane. Some of the ships have never been found, but their treasures have washed up on the Florida shores for centuries.
Sedona’s Energy Vortexes
The world’s most popular invisible tourist attraction
The town of Sedona, Arizona is best known for several so-called energy vortexes that are supposedly sites of increased energy. They may or may not promote health and spiritual development, but they certainly promote tourism.