Writing & research
What we accumulate, what we create, and what we leave behind
I laughed out loud to myself the other day. It was after the second time in the space of a few weeks that I’d backed a crowdfunding campaign and...
The origin of the iconic yellow pencil
I’m a writer, a note taker, a stationery addict, and I love a good pencil! But have you ever wondered where the iconic yellow pencil ✏️ originated?...
Queens Of The Stone Age
Scientists have determined that the spread of culture, technology, and ideas in central Europe during the transition from the Stone Age to the...
They Think, Therefore They Are…?
In 2009, Monica Gagliano had what she now calls a “fish crisis”. After 10 years working as a marine ecologist, focusing on relationships between...
Save Our Scents
When people are asked about their favourite smells, very often the answer is something associated with their childhood. For Cecilia Bembibre, who...
Girl Power
Syd Moore has always felt an affinity for witches. As a child, when her Nan told her fairytales, it wasn’t the princesses Moore aspired to be, “I...
Lasting Impressions
Thomas Edison was a prolific inventor. At the time of his death in 1931, he had more than 1,000 US patents to his name; 2,000+ if you count those...
Reverse Engineered Absinthe
The scientist-turned-detective-turned-distiller who made it his mission to restore the reputation of an infamous spirit and reintroduce it to a new...
The Brains Behind The Band
Science and sound come together to create a post-human music machine with real-world implications for brain training and therapy. If the future is...
When Plants Attack
In the north of England, chemical warfare is being gently encouraged – among the shrubbery, at least. “I've been working here for nearly nine years...
Alpha, Gamma, Aha!
A flash of insight might feel like a spontaneous, instantaneous revelation, but experts say they can see signs that something is brewing several...
Kepler’s Cosmic Cup
There was a time when astrology and astronomy were not so scientifically, diametrically opposed. A time when German astronomer and mathematician,...
How A Taste For Pasta Begat Dudes (≈ Hipsters)
The mid-18th Century was what you might call 'peak Grand Tour', when the trend for young British men visiting the continent's most cosmopolitan...
Bureau Of Memories
Through the largest of Bethlem Hospital’s remaining apple orchards, over badger sets, and past a light pole on which kestrels are often seen...
Who Do You Think You Are?
Australia has an unpleasant history when it comes to national identity, and trying to impose one. A white one. Like in 1901, when descendants of the...