The Fearful Sound of Phobos
Scientists have recorded the sounds made by the Martian moon Phobos as it orbits the sun. It's disturbing, which is fitting, as Phobos is...
Try a Verse or Two
This week's Write the Book prompt was suggested by Jacqueline Woodson, who won a National Book Award for her memoir, Brown Girl Dreaming, which...
Take a Letter, Maria
In 1676, Sister Maria Crocifissa della Concezione entered a delirium in which she believed she conversations with the Devil. When she awoke, she discovered...
Is Your Hero a Stupid Driver?
Lee Lofland shares some of the worst stupid drivers he came across while serving as a police officer. "I’ve long thought that Driving While Stupid...
More Magnificent MacGuffins
Here's another in our series of magnificent MacGuffins that you can use in your writing. Are your characters searching for Queen Isabella's prayer book?...
Who Made Dighton Rock?
In Berkeley, Massachusetts, by the Taunton River, construction workers found a giant rock covered in mysterious drawings and sigils. Named for the town that...
Is There Life on Europa?
A new study published in Nature Communications suggests that the 15 mile-thick icy shelf on the Jupiter moon of Europa is more porous than...
No News is Good News. Or is it?
On April 18, 1930, the BBC announced it had no news. For its 8:45 p.m. bulletin, the announcer simply stated, "There is no news,"...
Who Was London’s Pig-Faced Woman?
An urban legend about a pig-faced women sent 19th-century London into a tizzy. Although the hoax was debunked by the newspapers, that didn't stop...
The Secret Meaning of the Beauty Mark
A post on Messy Nessy's Cabinet of Chic Curiosities shares the history of fashionable beauty marks, both natural and artificial. Once considered the mark...
