Category Archives: … the Hell?

The Science Online 2013 official music video is out!

… and, like last year, I make a couple of silly appearances! A little background about the video from its creator, the awesome Dr. Bondar, can be read here.  In short, Science Online is a yearly conference for those science … Continue reading

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Posted in ... the Hell?, General science, Personal | Leave a comment

The mirror that (didn’t really) make it rain! (1713)

In my last post, I talked about the remarkable career of Etienne-Gaspard Robert aka “Robertson”, who became famous in debunking the supernatural by revealing how ghosts and phantoms could be faked.  Remarkably, even today there are still places in the … Continue reading

Posted in ... the Hell?, History of science | Leave a comment

The Resurrection Men: when people would kill to get into cemeteries

Government has always played, and hopefully will continue to play, a necessary role in scientific and medical research.  Many important discoveries have been made through the use of government funding and in government labs, and many of those would never … Continue reading

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Duel in the clouds — the world’s first air combat in 1870?

While I was researching my post on Tissandier’s ill-fated 1875 high-altitude balloon ride, I happened to come across a very curious image, pictured below. Apparently the 1870 Franco-Prussian War not only resulted in the first airmail: it also spawned the … Continue reading

Posted in ... the Hell?, History of science | 5 Comments

More on Franklin and the electrical kite (1752)

The history of science is filled with exaggerated and even untrue stories of scientists and experiments; there are a lot of people about (such as the Renaissance Mathematicus) who endeavor to debunk some of the more egregious myths out there, … Continue reading

Posted in ... the Hell?, History of science | 1 Comment

“Are beech-trees ever struck by lightning?” (1889)

Short answer: yes! It’s easy to forget how relatively little we knew about the natural world even only a hundred years ago.  I came across a rather amusing and macabre example in the July 19, 1889 issue of Science magazine … Continue reading

Posted in ... the Hell?, History of science | 6 Comments

Invaders from Mars! Reports from the 1938 invasion

Note: One of a couple of Halloween-themed posts for the season! While researching a post for my new Tumblr “Science Chamber of Horrors“*, I ended up reading the October 31st, 1938 edition of The Evening Independent newspaper of St. Petersburg, … Continue reading

Posted in ... the Hell?, Entertainment, History of science | 2 Comments

How many uses for a nuclear weapon can YOU think of?

Ah, nuclear weapons!  Having grown up while the Cold War was still going strong, I can almost think about nuclear bombs with a sentimental eye — though the threat of nuclear terrorism is still a possibility, we’re much further away … Continue reading

Posted in ... the Hell?, History of science, Physics | 28 Comments

Wackerbarth whacks Piazzi’s pyramid power! (1867)

One aspect of science that I try and emphasize time and again is that it is a community effort.  Individuals can make discoveries, but individuals are subject to mistakes (such as the recent arsenic life brouhaha), deliberate fraud (as in … Continue reading

Posted in ... the Hell?, History of science | 9 Comments

John Derbyshire: wrong even 176 years ago

Update:  Added a couple sentences to clarify that I’m not attacking psychology or psychometrics, but rather the simple-minded attempts distort these fields to justify racism.  Also revised my statements about Derbyshire’s particular claims, to be more explicit about the flaws … Continue reading

Posted in ... the Hell?, History of science, Politics | 22 Comments