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Together, these two brilliant people forever changed how we understand the world we live in. They did so at a huge cost, with incredible levels of radiation exposure, that would in the end claim Marie's life. But by tackling some of the deadliest forces known to man with their bare hands, they earned life unending in the scientific community.
It tells the story of a disappointed Babylonian customer who was shipped low-quality copper ore. The letter, written in cuneiform on a clay tablet, is nuanced with very detailed accounts of the trade, but also threats of ceasing business relations. Not all that different from the complaint e-mails we send nowadays when we're serviced badly.
Music etched in clay tablets more than 3,400 years ago in Syria marks oldest song thus far.
The Tudor period started in 1485 and ended in 1603. Many people idealize Tudor England, but life in those Medieval times was rough — and oftentimes brutal. In fact, in some regards, it seems almost impossible to believe how people lived at the time. Here are just some of these strange facets of the medieval […]
“High dwellings are the peace and harmony of our descendants,” the rock slab says. “Remember the calamity of the great tsunamis. Do not build any homes below this point.” Stones with messages like this one are surprisingly common on Japan’s coast; they tell a long forgotten story, a story of danger, tragedy and tsunamis. They […]
One day in 1885, the twenty-three-year old apprentice machinist Henry Ford came into contact for the first time in his life with the gas-powered internal combustion engine. It was love at first sight. Instantly, a wave of excitement overcame him for he envisioned even at that tender age and during those uncertain times that horseless carriages will forever revolutionize transportation. This was to be his life's work.
The black and white cat was originally named Oscar but then became known as Unsinkable Sam. He started his “career” in the fleet of the Nazi regime, the Kriegsmarine, and ended it in the Royal Navy. He was onboard Bismarck, the HMS Cossack, and the HMS Ark Royal, but here comes the cool part: while […]
If the project can find $280 million in funding.
Mary Kenneth Keller of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary was a pioneer in computer science. In 1965, she, along with Irving Tang at Washington University, was the first in the United States to earn a doctorate in that field; and yes, she was not only a woman, but also a nun.
Possibly the greatest demographic challenge China is facing has due to do with a hugely discrepant gender imbalance.
What drives us to create these intricate systems of tales, beliefs and myths, who starts them and why do they propagate? Is it just the need to explain the unexplainable? Is there a deeper need for order nestled in our brain that makes us pin rain and drought, life and death on some higher, but purposeful, being? I don't know. But what i can show you is what we know about how religion appeared, spread, and thought us up till today.
WWII was the largest conflict known to mankind, responsible for 50 to 80 million fatalities, involving most of the countries in the world. Historians are still fascinated by this tragic event to this day, and while we here at ZME Science are not big gun fans nor do we support technology that’s built to kill, we […]
“A world of languages” is a fascinating infographic created by Alberto Lucas Lopéz for the South China Morning Post. It highlights the most spoken languages in the world, and what countries actually speak them. The results may surprise you, so have a look: Lopez explains: “There are at least 7,102 known languages alive in the […]
Widely considered one of the most brilliant scientists in history, Louis Pasteur basically revolutionized the world as we know it.
Homo is the genus of hominids that includes modern humans, as well as other species closely related to them… I mean us. The genus is estimated to be about 2.3 to 2.4 million years old and it features several species (though it’s still not clear how many). Here are the modern (<0.6 million years) Homo species […]
In December 1994, three explorers made a surprising discovery in southern France - a rumble of stones blocking the entrance to a spectacular cave, over 400 meters long and covered with archaeological and palaeontological remains, including the skulls and bones of cave bears, which hibernated there, along with the skulls of an ibex and two wolves. But it was the human traces that were most interesting...
National Geographic chose this as the best picture of 1987, and for good reason.
If I find 10,000 ways something won’t work, I haven’t failed. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward. – Thomas Edison Edison is a very controversial character. Although during his life he patented over 1,000 inventions, he often receives credit for inventions he didn’t necessarily create from scratch but rather […]
There’s no wonder that Thales of Miletus has been named the first of the Seven Sages of Greece. Throughout his life, he managed to impose a scientific way of thinking in many areas, from mathematics to philosophy. An undisputed scholar, he lived between from 624 to 546 B.C., and made a colossal contribution to mankind’s knowledge. In many ways, […]
The Sylacauga meteorite fell on November 30, 1954, at 14:46 local time (18:46 UT) in Oak Grove, Alabama, near Sylacauga. However, the meteorite is often called the Hodges meteorite - because it struck Ann Hodges, who became the first person confirmed to be hit by a meteorite.
This is a series of articles about Christmas we here at ZME Science will be doing all December. Our goal is to present interesting, little-known facts about the origins and history of Christmas. Curious to read more? Here’s something about the dreaded Yule Cat or the Catalonian tradition of the pooping nativity man. Christmas – […]
The impact of the first World War is felt everywhere – on a social level, an economic level, and even on the landscape (and don’t even get me started on WWII). The Smithsonian recently published a collection of some pictures depicting this damage, which we will be sharing here. You can see the full exhibition in […]
The genocide had major consequences for the entire planet.
Writing on walls is one of the oldest things humans did – people drew on walls in the stone age, and they still do so now (well, some do, anyway). But I’d dare say that no one has taken the art of writing on walls to the same level as romans – sometimes poetic, sometimes […]
A while ago, we were telling you about the Iranian man who lives alone in the desert and hasn’t washed in 60 years; today’s story is similar, but very different. New footage has revealed insight into the life of Daniel Suelo – the man who has chosen to live without money for the past 12 years […]
Throughout history, Chinese culture has rivaled and many times surpassed other, more famous empires — but many of their achievements are less known, at least in “the West”. You may very well be familiar with some of their achievements (for example papermaking, compass, gunpowder, printing, and many others) but these unusual artifacts will definitely change […]
The Sword of Goujian is a masterpiece of craftsmanship.
A job can be as hard or easy as you make it to be, depending on how much you enjoy or are passionate about your work. However, it’s pretty hard to imagine how some people working particularly bizarre jobs through out history thought or felt. Listed below are a couple of odd jobs that caught […]
This is possibly one of the earliest sex toys in human history.
First of all, it has to be said that this once common burial practice in Tibet is pretty hard to ‘digest’ for our ‘civilized’ world, and there’s a big chance you’ll find the pictures shocking. As adepts of Buddhism, Tibetans believe the single most important part of a person is its spirit, and after death, […]
Physiologically speaking, Brooke Greenberg is an infant with the mind of toddler. Only thing is that she turned 16 just this Janary. It’s hard to estimate the parents opinion, especially as I wasn’t able to find almost any constructive data. “Why doesn’t she age?” Howard Greenberg, 52, asked of his daughter. “Is she the fountain […]
A while ago I wrote a post about what I believe the most spectacular waterfalls in the world are, but you guys gave me some excellent feedback and I fould out about more amazing waterfalls, so thanks a whole lot!! I’ve kept researching waterfalls and I found something that really totally took me by surprise: […]
We’ve all heard stories about soviet scientists, and Hollywood played quite an important role in that. Really few of those stories are actually true, but here’s one that will probably baffle you; it did this to Russian physicists and doctors. First of all, it has to be said that by the time the USSR divided, […]
The Aztecs were the dominant civilization in Mexico for several hundred years, when their “reign” was stopped by the Spanish in the early 1500s. An astonishing thing about them (among others) is the fact that they left behind really extensive mathematical writings, intriguing scholars ’til this day. Two manuscripts in particular have been object to […]
