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Hodge, Samuel Johnson’s Cat With a Taste for Oysters
A cat, a dictionary and a pair of oyster shells share a London monument. The most revealing part of Hodge's story is who went shopping.
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CuriositiesTwo Friends Drove Sheila the Reliant Robin from London to Cape Town
Sheila the three-wheeler crossed 22 countries with Ollie Jenks and Seth Scott. The journey involved breakdowns, outside help,…
CuriositiesPolymarket Weather Bets, Suspicious Paris Readings, and an Unconfirmed Hairdryer
France is investigating suspicious weather data linked to Polymarket bets. The hairdryer story remains unverified; the market’s data…
CuriositiesThe Oldest Living Chicken Is 15, Blind, and Apparently a Bebop Fan
Meet Gertie, a record-holding hen in Maine whose owner says she likes bebop. An unusually long life, a…
CuriositiesA Lincolnshire Runic Ring Still Has Secrets After More Than a Thousand Years
A silver-gilt ring found in Quadring carries sixteen runes and an unresolved inscription. What the discovery suggests, and…
CuriositiesThe Architect Who Counted Letters and Invented Scrabble
Alfred Butts used letter counts and years of experimentation to build Scrabble. The story behind the tiles, the…
CuriositiesThere Is a Skeleton at the Bottom of a Roman Well in Frankfurt. Next to It, a Bronze Goddess.
A Roman sanctuary beneath modern Frankfurt holds gods, ritual deposits, and a human skeleton. Researchers are investigating what…
CuriositiesIce Age Dice Suggest People Were Playing With Chance More Than 12,000 Years Ago
A new study identifies ancient Native American dice in existing collections. What the bone pieces reveal about games,…
CuriositiesScientists Found a Termite That Looks Like a Sperm Whale. They Named It Moby Dick.
Cryptotermes mobydicki has a whale-like profile and a wonderfully appropriate name. A tiny termite with a surprisingly literary…
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