The Inventions of Thomas Jefferson
The statesman and founding father was also a maker and gadget lover
Thomas Jefferson was many things: a president, a slave owner, a philosopher, a linguist, and an inventor, for starts. Unfortunately, the list of things he invented has been overstated, and yours truly was one of the culprits.
Houtong Cat Village
How cats and residents of a dying Taiwan community saved each other
A former coal-mining village in Taiwan was on the verge of dying out, but then hundreds of stray cats saved the day.
The Truth About Bananas
Fingering the world’s most popular tropical fruit
America's favorite fruit comes from an herb, not a tree. The life cycle of this plant, and the working conditions of the people who harvest its fruit, are among the little-known facts about bananas.
Palacio Barolo
The divine office building
A 22-story office building in Buenos Aires, Argentina, may not look like much at first glance. But a closer inspection shows it to be a tribute to Dante's masterpiece The Divine Comedy.
Pope Benedict IX
The worst pope in history?
Whatever your opinions of the Catholic church, there's no getting around the fact that 11th-century Pope Benedict IX set such a high bar for corruption that politicians are still trying to match him to this day.
Space Pens
What to use when your writing lacks gravity
They write upside-down, underwater, on grease, in zero gravity, and in a vacuum. But did Space Pens really cost NASA $1 million to develop?
Nuts, and Reasonable Facsimiles Thereof
The surprisingly difficult task of defining and categorizing nuts
Trick question: what exactly is a nut, anyway? Whatever your answer is, it's probably wrong (at least according to someone).
The Golomyanka
A strange fish from Lake Baikal in Siberia
You might think that a dead fish left out in the sun too long would start to rot, and you'd generally be right. But if the stories are true, the Baikal oilfish essentially melts into a puddle of slime.
The Manchineel Tree
Some people call it the beach apple, but “Tree of Death” is more apt
Don't touch it, eat its fruit, or even breathe near it. Better yet, don't even look at the world's deadliest tree.
Raclette
The cheese that eats like a meal
In the great tradition of Swiss cheeses that require special serving rituals, raclette is a cheese prepared by melting it on a special grill and scraping it onto potatoes.