In his 1979 book Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams tells of an alien race that builds a computer to answer the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything. The computer took 7.5 million years to come up with the answer. They could have saved a lot of time and money if they …
Podcast Transcript If aliens were to look at the Earth through a telescope from far away and analyze our atmosphere, they would find that the dominant element is nitrogen. Nitrogen makes up 78% of our atmosphere, and it’s all around us. However, it behaves very differently than the other common elements around us. Nitrogen is …
Podcast Transcript In the year 490 BC, one of the most pivotal battles in world history took place. Just north of the City of Athens, Persian and Greek forces clashed in what was to be the first Persian attempt to invade Greece. Despite being seriously outnumbered, the Greeks managed to win a decisive victory that …
One of the biggest innovations in computing over the last several years has been the blockchain. There have been a host of companies that have hyped products using a blockchain. Blockchains are the basis of all cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens. Despite all the talk about blockchains, most people still aren’t totally sure what a blockchain …
Podcast Transcript Under your feet and all around you are rocks and minerals. Many times in your life, you have probably picked up a rock and looked at it. You might have climbed over rocks and mountains and never given a single thought as to what they consist of or what they even are. Rocks …
Podcast Transcript In 1864, Elizabeth Jane Cochran was born in Cochran Mills, Pennsylvania. At the age of 18, she began a career as a journalist writing under a pen name. During her career, she became a pioneer in both investigative journalism and travel writing. She later became a novelist, ran an industrial factory, and was …
Podcast Transcript In 1864, Maximilian, the son of Archduke Franz Karl of Austria and a member of the Hapsburg dynasty, arrived in Mexico. He had never been to Mexico before, but it was a good first trip, considering that when he arrived, within days, he was crowned the emperor of Mexico. Unfortunately, his rule over …
Podcast Transcript After the Allied landing in Normandy in World War II, the Allies made progress pushing back the Germans. However, by September, things had slowed down. One allied commander devised a plan that he thought would end the war in one fell swoop. The plan was bold, audacious, and highly risky, and in the …
Podcast Transcript Every country has a national dish, and Spain is no exception. The dish that most people associate with Spain is the rice dish known as paella. Paella is, on the one hand, very simple, and on the other hand, very complex and confusing. It also has a surprising history touching on almost every …