Technology · The Strange Case
The Missile Guided by Pigeons
During the Second World War, the psychologist B. F. Skinner trained pigeons to steer bombs by pecking at a target on a screen. It worked surprisingly well. Nobody took it seriously.
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Technology · The Strange Case
The Missile Guided by Pigeons
During the Second World War, the psychologist B. F. Skinner trained pigeons to steer bombs by pecking at a target on a screen. It worked surprisingly well. Nobody took it seriously.
Economics · The Deep Dive
The Island Where Money Sat at the Bottom of the Sea
On the Pacific island of Yap, money came in the form of giant stone wheels, some taller than a person. One of them was lost at sea — and kept being spent anyway.
Mysteries · The Theory
The Book Nobody Can Read
Six centuries old, written in an unknown script, illustrated with plants that don't exist. The Voynich Manuscript has defeated wartime codebreakers, linguists and computers. Here is what we actually know.
Space · The Story
The Day the Sun Set Telegraphs on Fire
In 1859, the biggest solar storm on record lit up skies with auroras as far south as the Caribbean and made telegraph wires spark. If it happened today, it would be a very different story.
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