Transcript In the late 50s and early 60s, the US space program wasn’t doing great. The Soviets had beaten the US to almost every major first in space, and American rockets kept blowing up on the launchpad. According to declassified CIA documents, one night the American’s did their best to get back, even if it …
Transcript Throughout history, there have been many causes for wars. Surprise attacks, broken marriages, unpaid debts, and even, of course, good old greed. However, an 18th-century war between Great Britain and Spain had perhaps the oddest genesis of all: a severed ear. Learn more about the War of Jenkin’s Ear on this episode of Everything …
Transcript Every four years on January 20th, the United States holds a ceremony for the inauguration of the President of the United States. There are traditions for the inauguration, some of which have been passed down since the very first. Why do we use January 20th as the date, and how did many of these …
Transcript Have you wanted to get away from it all? I mean really, really, really, REALLY get away from it all? Then I have got the place for you. Point Nemo. Point Nemo is literally the most remote place on planet Earth. Learn more about Point Nemo and other poles of inaccessibility on this episode …
Transcript In 1978, a Soviet helicopter pilot flying over the forests of Siberia made an incredible discovery. Not far from the border of Mongolia, up the side of a mountain, he saw a clearing and signs of human habitation. The location was far removed from any other humans. In fact, it was almost 250 kilometers …
Transcript If you visit a different country you might need to get some of the local currency. You might get Ringgit in Malaysia, Pesos in Mexico, Kip in Laos, or Tala in Samoa. However, there is one country where you have to be careful what currency you get because there are different notes produced in …
Podcast Transcript In 2008, researchers searching for fossils in the Denisova cave in Siberia came across something interesting. It appeared to be the bone from an ancient hominid species. Subsequent DNA analysis on this bone has revolutionized everything we know about the origin of humanity. Had this bone been discovered a few decades beforehand, we …
Podcast Transcript The Great Pyramid of Giza, also known as the Great Pyramid of Khufu, is a structure in which superlatives don’t really do justice. It isn’t just old, it’s really old. It isn’t just big, it’s really big. It has served as a sentinel to some of the most important people and events in …
Podcast Transcript On September 13, 1848, a 25-year-old man named Phineas Gage received a horrific brain injury while working on a railroad in Vermont. The odds of anyone surviving such an accident were a million to one. Yet, despite astronomical odds, he survived his injury and he became a case study for neuroscientists ever since. …