The Ku Klux Klan reappeared in the 1920s, promoted by a pair of public relations...
The 21st century has had rapid progress for members of the LGBTQ community. But in fact, recent advances in gay rights stand on a foundation that was laid by courageous activists and the organizations they created more than 50 years...
Born out of stonemasons’ leagues in the Middle Ages, Freemasons today are the subjects...
This year’s picks for Best Stunning Visuals; War and Military; Science, Tech, and Space; History; and True Crime documentaries are in! Here are the best documentaries streamed this year on MagellanTV.
Aerial photography was a part of war for 150 years. But aerial photos have aided land use studies and transformed archeology. Now aerial cameras find ancient cities once lost in jungles, and help artists make startling images of the...
Galileo was a philosopher, experimental physicist, and astronomer. Did you know he...
Small or large, in liquid or in gas, bubbles are crucial structures of the natural world. The study of how they form and what they do has led to amazing advances across different realms of science, from medicine and oceanography to astrophysics.
Once something you’d find in soapy water, bubble was adapted in the 18th century to represent an oversold capital market. Now it’s used to describe the flow of information in the modern world. How did bubble come to define so much...
From the animal kingdom to the kingdom of God, gifts have been important messages of...
Transcendent experiences are moments where we feel a sense of deep connection with the...
Astrophysicists have laid out ages that define the duration of our universe, from the opening moments of the Big Bang through our current era to the endpoint of everything, when the universe will hit its final state, 10 to the 1000...
For decades, women around the world fought for their right to vote. Many suffragettes...
Nazi data scientists provided Hitler statistics about the “undesirables” in the German Volk. For the Reich, mass murder became a big data problem solved with the help of the then-innovative technology of punched card sorters and...
In 1666, after a two-year drought, a fire consumed London in three days, destroying most...
Édouard Manet was, in key ways, the first “modern” painter. Born in Paris during great social upheaval, he reinvented traditional painting to capture the changing scenes of urban life, scandalously shifting his subjects’ gazes...
When Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon in 49 BCE, the fate of the Roman Republic had...
Recent attacks on boats by orcas recall 19th century encounters where furious sperm whales rammed and sank two whaling ships. In our closely studied natural world, can we still have sea monsters? Here are several candidates competing for the title.
Before his untimely death, Takaya, a rare and curious sea wolf from British Columbia, captivated the imagination of many – and sparked old conflicts about conservation, Indigenous sovereignty, and the fate of life on Earth.
Amazing discoveries about the universe arrive almost daily. But it took centuries of astronomical observation, extensive data collection, and constant repair of faulty models of the cosmos before the true majesty of the universe was...
Fidel Castro transformed his country in Cuba’s 1959 revolution. What early influences...
The day after the fall of Richmond, Abraham Lincoln made an astonishing open-air tour of...
As we look ahead to NASA’s return to the Moon, it’s a good time to consider how far...
Western New York was once young America’s Wild West. Its raucous settlement set in motion changes that swept across the continent. Energizing it all was the new Erie Canal, considered far and wide to be the engineering marvel of the...
For at least the first 200 million years of its existence, the planet Venus thrived, not unlike its nearest neighbor, Earth. But then factors combined to destroy Venus’s chances to support life, turning the planet into an 800-degree...
American bison are staging a remarkable comeback in national parks and on Native American reservations. But opposition to buffalo on public land is voiced by ranching interests that fear disease, and a restored prairie that has no...
The psychopath has been an archetype throughout cinematic history, evolving over time...
Comfort foods offer many (psychological, if not physical) benefits. The dopamine release made possible by these foods confers rewards like pleasure, stress relief, and warm feelings, often accompanied by memories that may include...
Diana Vreeland brought an independent verve to American style starting in 1939 as fashion editor of Harper’s Bazaar. Her magazine work gave women permission to create their own looks, and she’s revered today as fashion’s...
Trains of the future are looking more and more advanced – and speedier – thanks to new technology like maglev, hyperloops, and clean energy solutions.
Trains have changed human history in countless ways, launching events like the Industrial...
True crime entertainment is almost as old as printing. The first known play based on a real-life murder appeared in late 16th-century London. There’s good reason to think the anonymous, darkly funny drama was the work of young Will...
An almost forgotten medieval uprising of serfs has directly improved our lives today. In the late 14th century, Wat Tyler led the English peasantry in a revolt against the harsh work life of the feudal manor. His goal: equality for...
Are we in the midst of a new “Space Race”? It certainly seems so from all the international activity in areas such as exploration, proposed industrialization, even militarization. We’re close to having to ask the question:...
The Cannes Film Festival’s origin contains the makings of a great wartime thriller: a...
Andrew Carnegie was the world's richest man, hated by many for his opposition to...
“Whiteness” is a relatively new category, used to describe a race that (some...
Machines that think have long been the goal of artificial intelligence (AI) researchers....
Charlie Chaplin became a movie star thanks to his beloved Tramp character. But his comedy...
The tiny ukulele is both a vessel of Hawaiian culture and a roving ambassador of musical...
Founding Father Alexander Hamilton was opposed to slavery, yet at times of his life he participated in the institution, and even suppressed his personal opinions in order to “form a more perfect Union” by getting the U.S....
Honeybees live strange, miraculous lives, flying hundreds of thousands of miles to produce a single pound of honey and playing vital roles in keeping humans alive. Let’s journey through the life cycle of bees, and maybe learn...
For some astronauts space flight has been just one planet in their orbit of accomplishments. Let’s learn about five women astronauts who set their sights on breaking boundaries and how they accomplished those goals when they...
Libraries have been around for more than 2000 years. And so has the problem of organizing and searching written knowledge. While Google’s search is impressive, it owes much to the ancient Greeks, writer H.G. Wells, and the Dewey...
Cary Grant, among the brightest movie stars of the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s, was also...
Before William, Duke of Normandy conquered England and became its king, cadres of Norman mercenaries headed from their homeland in northern France to the very rich and ruthless Italian south. One family, the Hautvilles, would soon...
Frank Sinatra was a towering figure in the cultural history of the 20th century. But the...
The world of mushrooms and fungi is more complex than most of us know. Fungal networks help plants communicate, heal human diseases, and can fight climate change and environmental destruction. Some people think fungi holds the key to...
Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring sounded the warning that DDT was decimating critical...
Are you looking for a new series to binge-watch during quarantine? MagellanTV’s got you covered. From medical discoveries to paranormal mysteries to the wildest places on Earth, here are our top five picks for your...
The Pentagon just confirmed three UFO sightings, but humans have been reporting UFOs for a long time. From Roswell and beyond, here’s a glimpse into the world of the flying saucer.
Since the beginning of human history, people have been fighting off diseases and epidemics. Our current struggle against COVID-19 is yet another example, and it follows a familiar pattern. Let’s explore four other pandemics that...
The Overview Effect is the feeling of connection that astronauts experience when seeing...
In documentaries exploring disorder in the universe, nothingness, and gravity, scientist...
Climate change is impacting the basic systems of the planet. Shifts in temperatures and weather patterns around the globe are being set off by the rapid disappearance of polar sea ice. Here are five major impacts to the Earth set off...
Overpopulation is a root cause of climate change. Reducing the rate of population growth is crucial to the fight to bring global warming under control. However, governments are reluctant to acknowledge the link, and we are running out...
What are tornadoes, and do they only occur in North America? Let’s look at how and where twisters form, how powerful they can become, and why “Tornado Alley” is where the action is for the scientists and thrill-seekers who...
Coronavirus and climate change are different catastrophes, but plans like the Green New Deal could move the economy away from fossil fuels while also combatting COVID-19.
Although our awareness of the deadly Ebola virus dates back only to about 2014, recorded...
Inspired by H. G. Wells’ World Brain concept, Google once tried to consolidate all the...
Are women less likely to be psychopaths and criminals, or have biases in both medical and...
This year, 2020, marks the 50th anniversary of a milestone in the progress of the...
Calamity Jane is a legendary heroine of the Wild West. The stories of her gender-bending...
Lise Meitner played an instrumental role in the research that led to nuclear fission and, soon after, to the creation of the atomic bomb. But she had deep misgivings about her research being used for destruction, preferring peaceful...
Mary Queen of Scots served as queen of multiple kingdoms before she was dethroned for her faith and the controversies that followed her in life. She was Catholic in the face of Protestantism and made enemies along the way. That is,...
Meet Lady Death – the Ukrainian sniper, Lyudmila Pavlichenko, who shot down as many...
Women are increasingly prominent in the field of astronomy, but haven’t always been. Here are four pioneering women astronomers who cleared a path for others.
Marie Bracquemond, Mary Cassatt, Eva Gonzalès, Berthe Morisot – these painters, all affiliated with the Impressionist art movement, have not received the attention given their male peers. Could it have been institutional sexism...
Popularized by the Disney film, the story of Pocahontas is a crown jewel of American folklore. But was any of it true, or was the tale invented by European colonizers like John Smith to justify their exploitation and domination of the New World?
Necessary or frivolous? In a society where “I’ll sue you” is a common threat, the legal system gets inundated with potential cases. Sometimes these cases are tragic and the pursuit of justice is necessary. Other times, they’re...
The Cathars were anti-materialistic Christians in 12th-century southern France. In the...
The Black Market is known as the go-to spot for all things illegal and dark. In some...
People around the world are concerned about the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, first identified in Wuhan, China. But this is not the first coronavirus in humans, nor is it the most deadly. Coronaviruses in humans run from the annoying...
From science fiction to the reality of robotic wives and therapists, artificial...
Quantum physics is complex and fascinating. It also bears many similarities to certain religious philosophies. Could it help bridge the gap between science and faith?
Body fat is often scrutinized when evaluating health and diet, but what exactly is it? Fat cells provide nutrients, and regulate temperatures and hormonal changes in the body.
Out of 600,000 works of art stolen or looted by the Nazis during WWII, more than 100,000 are still unaccounted for. Nazi collaborators, even in Allied countries, helped the Nazis profit off this crime and were rewarded handsomely for...
During the Cold War, the geopolitical stakes could not have been higher. But no episode combined audacity with deep secrecy and paranoia like the U.S. attempt to raise a sunken Soviet submarine, the K-129 from the depths of the...
The technology of producing newspapers has evolved a lot in the past 300 years, and reading habits have changed, too. But have we lost anything essential as the forms of news delivery have evolved? Let’s investigate the history of reading the news.
Arctic wolves, close relatives of the majestic grey wolf, inhabit territory so far north...
Dr. Hannah Fry is a renowned mathematician whose research offers a window into everything from personal success to love to algorithms. Let’s get to know her.
Catherine the Great’s rise to power was marked by intrigue, betrayals, and other court chicanery. But from these roots arose a leader who reigned over three decades, ruling the vast Russian empire with achievements to rival any of...
Serial killers have always been a subject of both curiosity and fear. Though motives of serial killers are as various as their grisly crimes, we can begin to understand the inner workings of their minds by evaluating the words they...
With the collapse of the Iran Nuclear Deal, will Iran proceed with its nuclear weapons program? If so, is there a way to block it without sparking an all-out war – a conflict that could escalate to World War III? Let’s take a look into the...
January 1 starts the new year in most parts of the world, but why is this so? How did the Western calendar develop, and what are the meanings of the months? We go back to the days of the Roman empire to find out the reasons behind the...
With 2019 coming to an end, the team at MagellanTV reflected back on all of our viewers’ favorite documentaries. History, war, nature, and beyond – you’ve streamed a lot. But which films and series were the most loved? Check out...
Read on for an insider look into new features on the drawing board for MagellanTV, and help guide our 2020 objectives with this month’s Producer Circle update.
The Shroud of Turin was thought to be Jesus’s burial cloth. Scientists called it a hoax – until their studies were critiqued. Now, the Shroud remains an enduring mystery that sheds light on old questions and erodes the line...
Poppies are the source of many opioid drugs, medications that bind to the areas of the...
Volcanoes are among the most destructive natural forces on Earth. How are volcanoes...
Viewing art can be a solitary, sometimes confounding experience. Waldemar Januszczak is seeking to change that by hosting TV documentaries on art that feature his accessible yet iconoclastic style, making art lively, never stodgy, for...
Christmas is just around the corner, and our in-house Grump has some observations and reminiscences he wants to get off his chest – along with a few recommendations of MagellanTV documentaries to bring the holiday season into your...
The Hellenistic period (323 to 30 BCE) following Alexander the Great saw the decline of...
More than three decades ago, the United States and the U.S.S.R. nearly came to blows over a disabled Soviet space station called Salyut-7. Or did they?
With 2.8 billion users, Facebook is a fact of life. Have you ever wondered exactly how it...
How did the Solar System form, and how did Earth become the only planet where life has...
Gaming has become a large part of society, and billions of hours are being spent on...
One minus one is zero. Simple, right? This wasn’t always the case, as with Roman...
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland has delighted readers since its 1865 publication. But most readers don’t know that author Charles Dodgson, aka Lewis Carroll, was a math professor. That fact allows new interpretations of many of...
From Alice in Wonderland to Harry Potter, portals are everywhere in fiction and could...
A battle of titans named Edison and Westinghouse sparked the invention of the supposedly...
Ghost hunting documentaries have never been more popular. But why do so many of us see ghosts, and why are we so fascinated with them? Science may have some answers
Accounts of drunkenness abound in the Bible, which rewards moderate use of alcohol for social purposes but strongly condemns the overuse and misuse of alcohol. Lot and Noah both suffer the consequences of inebriation, and the...
We love Halloween at MagellanTV! That’s why we’ve compiled a playlist of spooky documentaries to stream, just in time for the season. Ghosts, monsters, witches, and more – we’ve got you covered. These ten chilling...
For Earth to foster life required many processes to happen in the right order and time. Had Earth formed elsewhere in our Solar System, it might not have been the beneficiary of some lucky breaks that made it into the thriving planet...
From new platforms to improved speed and captions, the MagellanTV team has been hard at work improving the member experience and usability of our apps. Here’s what’s been happening behind the scenes, and what to expect in the...
From Sumer to Egypt to India, the world’s most ancient civilizations often worshiped powerful female goddesses and religious leaders – but even they had to fight for equality.
Our great age of technology and scientific advancement is hardly the first. In ancient Alexandria, one great mind of that era, Hero, is responsible for several amazing mechanical and technological inventions involving water, steam,...
While many stories have earned recognition as influential classics, let’s look at three...
Cannabis has changed culture in the U.S. and other areas where laws have shifted. More adults smoke, and the public is more accepting. But with this societal evolution comes scrutiny, and the list of acknowledged risks of marijuana is...
The ancient Egyptian civilization created some of the most miraculous architectural and engineering miracles ever. From the Sphinx to the Pyramid of Giza, from ink to agricultural tools, here’s a look at how (and why) they did it.
Artifacts and relics have always been fascinating to the people who find or buy them....
The events of September 11, 2001, are seared into the memories of all who witnessed it, including the horrific spectacle of the twin towers’ collapse. Engineering allows us now to understand how the towers fell, and how to avoid a...
You might be familiar with the Salem Witch Trials or the witch hunts that overtook Europe in the Middle Ages, but witch hunts have ancient roots. They also share many root causes, including misogyny, economic insecurity, and more.
“Fly-by-Wire” requires extensive use of aviation software, which must be carefully evaluated to meet FAA safety standards. Recent crashes of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft raise the question whether companies and regulators can keep up...
Caligula was Rome’s third emperor, and the first to be assassinated. While the start of...
The Wright Brothers revolutionized early aviation in 1903 with the first flyable...
From Jack the Ripper to the Zodiac Killer, from Black Dahlia to JonBenét Ramsey,...
1969 was a year of signal events in popular culture. From Woodstock to Altamont, from the...
Millions of criminals with mental health issues are incarcerated each year, but...
Our planet’s long-term health depends on moderating natural and human-made processes that lead to global warming and habitat destruction. Deforestation in Africa and elsewhere threatens land conservation and increases the level of...
America’s national parks are disproportionately vulnerable to the effects of climate change, and the political prominence of climate deniers isn’t helping. But the parks could also be essential in helping us fight against...
The art of Living History and historical re-enactors might be the closest we’ll ever...
Shark Week premieres Sunday, July 28. And what can we expect? Plenty of chills and...
While space travel seems out of this world, it comes with a cost. Each mission has...
Who owns the Moon? Technically no one – but several private companies and individuals have had other ideas. As interest in the Moon’s profit potential grows, important questions about the finer details of celestial territory...
NASA is planning a return to crewed missions and it’s starting out with a big bang – landing astronauts on the surface of the Moon by 2024. This effort is supported by an enhanced budget, plus new alliances with corporations and foreign...
In the Space Race between the U.S. and U.S.S.R., America relied on the rocket designs of Wernher von Braun. Sometimes called the “Father of Space Travel,” von Braun was also behind Hitler’s “Vengeance” weapon, the V-2...
The Apollo moon landings were massive achievements for technology and science....
Apollo’s New Moon writer/director David Sky Brody discusses aspects of this MagellanTV original film, and the importance of the Apollo missions in revolutionizing knowledge about the Moon, including its composition and how it was...
Working on the Moon was no walk in the park for the Apollo astronauts. From bulky space suits to toxic space dust, the challenges were many. But the astronauts overcame the obstacles and didn’t let anything stop them from...
Meet Canada’s first trans beauty queen and explore various ways to live outside the “gender binary” of stereotypical male/female distinctions. To mark Pride Month, let’s take a look at some films showing the broad diversity of...
The first known coffee drinkers were Sufi mystics in Yemen, who used coffee to stay awake during their long prayers. Since then, coffee has held a prominent position in Islam, Christianity, paganism, and more.
Coffee is ubiquitous in the U.S. and around the world, but how did this drug-bearing plant enter so fully into our cultural life? The history of coffee reveals both the light and dark sides of coffee production and our caffeinated...
Galileo is recognized as the first man to use a telescope to gaze at the stars and planets. But since then, his hand-constructed telescope and its advances have only made it more clear how much today’s astronomers are indebted to...
Cinder cone volcanoes are the smallest and simplest volcanoes, but they’re also among the most exciting. From sudden eruptions in farmers’ fields to cinder cones on Mars, these volcanoes’ feature fascinating origins and dramatic...
Paratroopers played a critical role in the eventual success of the 3-month-long battle that began on June 6, 1944 – marked in history as D-Day – 75 years ago. But who were they? Let’s learn more about these soldiers and what...
D-Day, June 6, 1944, was the culmination of intensive planning and the use of new...
D-Day was a pivotal moment in world history – but it almost didn’t succeed. From...
It’s a dangerous world for war correspondents, and getting riskier by the day. Reporter Lara Logan was brutally attacked in a 2011 Egypt demonstration yet survived. She is but one example of the many risks undertaken by these...
Narwhals, often referred to as the “unicorns of the sea,” are a strange, single-tusked species of whale. Despite being thought of as mythical or magical, these Arctic natives have had a role not just in Inuit history but also in...
Shield volcanoes are distinct from other volcanoes due to their sheer massiveness and the unique manner in which they erupt: effusively, not explosively. Come on a vicarious ride from beneath the Earth’s crust right up to the...
Composite volcanoes, or stratovolcanoes, are the world’s most common and destructive types of volcanoes. When they erupt, they can change the world. Examples of this type include Vesuvius, St. Helens, and Krakatoa, among others that...
Most of us associate the name Johannes Gutenberg with the invention of the printing...
The Middle East was an active theater of conflict during WWI. Following the war it was treated as spoils of war by the West, despite promises made for Arab self-determination. Arab nationalism arose in reaction, and its effects...
Nationalism has changed dramatically since its formation during the Enlightenment era. In the 1830s, Polish composer Frédéric Chopin made his musical mark as a defender of freedom. Today, neo-nationalism has a much different spin in...
The human brain is extraordinary, and the skills we learn as humans seem limitless. But...
Lowering the birth rate may be the “magic bullet” for addressing current and future climate and population emergencies. But governments are not always in alignment with scientific recommendations. How can we proceed for the health...
Though it’s sometimes written off as New-Agey magic, sound healing is being used to...
Women in the Bible play many roles, and while few actually make it into the spotlight, the ones who do leave their mark. But who are some of the more famous - and infamous - ones? Learn who these women are, and what it is that makes...
Endangered and threatened species face possible extinction. Leading the effort to save...
Alexander entered Egypt in 332 BCE, liberating it from the Persians and advancing his ultimate goal of conquering the entire Persian Empire. In the process, he transformed Egypt, and that land also elevated him to the status of a...
Humans appear to be on the verge of setting out in large numbers into space on commercial flights. Space visionaries are promoting these journeys as essential next steps for the human race, but other scientific minds express caution....
Ted Bundy is one of history’s most notorious serial killers, and fascination surrounds...
New scientific discoveries unlock the secrets of hummingbird behavior and shine a light...
The Homestead Act conjures images of the dusty plains and old west, but this couldn't be farther from the truth. The Homestead Act was a groundbreaking piece of progressive legislation with a legacy of technology innovation still felt...
During the Cold War, accidents and other incidents involving nuclear weapons were more common than many people know, but the bombs didn’t go off. How close have we come to nuclear war, and how was it averted? Is nuclear catastrophe...
At MagellanTV we love documentaries, but does the American public share our passion? To find out we asked 1,027 Americans men and women about their documentary consumption patterns.
Researchers into plant life are continually discovering amazing facts concerning plant adaptations and their ability to “sense” their surroundings. However, some botanists resist identifying plants as “intelligent.”...
Research into homosexuality has led to interesting and sometimes surprising discoveries, as well as to previously unconsidered questions about the balance between nature and nurture in a person’s sexual orientation.
Have you met Jim al-Khalili? (You’re about to.) He is a UK-based theoretical physicist and also a talented interpreter of technical science for people like us – sort of a British version of Neil DeGrasse Tyson or Bill Nye, the...
Effects of cyberbullying are pernicious, serious, and long-lasting. Half of all teens with Internet access report to researchers that they’ve been cyberbullied, but 90 percent of those say they never reported it to parents or...
Black markets have been created across the world for illegal organ transplants. Mostly in severely poor, developing nations with incompetent or corrupt oversight, this trade is allowed to thrive despite its risk of lasting damage,...
Tsunamis are among the most destructive natural disasters on Earth. What are these enormous waves that roll in from the ocean? How do they form? Why do tsunamis cause so much damage? And where are we most vulnerable to their...
2018 is coming to a close. Before it ends, let’s remember some of the highlights. You watched a lot of documentaries, but which stood out from the rest? Here are the top 10 most watched documentaries of 2018 – a list created by...
Think you know bananas? Meet Sam “the Banana Man” – the immigrant who founded his own banana empire, manipulated Central American governments, and took control of one of the largest banana distributors in the world – the...
In our digital age, artwork and other creative content can travel rapidly from author to user. But sometimes those users exploit digital content in ways unauthorized by copyright owners. Let’s explore examples of this new kind of...
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a psychological condition that affects around 3% of the population – across all ages, races, and genders. But what is OCD, who is at risk, and why does it develop? Here’s what it means to live a life obsessed.
Psychopath or sociopath? While some use the terms interchangeably, there are clear differences between them that have been debated among psychologists. Let’s take a look at what defines the two. You may be surprised by what you...
Superstitions have been common throughout history all around the world. But how much do they influence our everyday life? Let’s take a look at five of the most popular superstitions in America. Maybe you even practice some of these,...
Uncovering Hawai‘i’s history reveals an unexpected tale of 19th century American empire-building and a tradition of native resistance that runs counter to Hawai‘i’s status as America’s 50th state. Let’s examine the roots...
Certain animals evoke revulsion and fear in billions of people, from Sakhalin Island to Timbuktu, Sydney to Sarasota. What fierce creatures would you least like to encounter up close and personal? Our timid but cantankerous...
Has anything important changed since Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un first met? Kim still has his nukes, and the U.S. wants him to give them up. World War III is not the solution. Maybe the better move is just to get used to a...
“Propaganda” and “war” generally go hand in hand. After World War I, however, propaganda became a marketing tool no longer reserved for posters of the enemy and national spirit. It evolved to become the calculated manipulation...
Mozart’s resistance to authority led to one of his less recognized impacts: a lasting change in composing as an occupation and music as an industry.
With China ascendant, the era of the United States as the world’s lone superpower may be ending. Where is a flashpoint that could draw the two nations into a military conflict that might escalate into a global conflagration?
Fifty years ago, Stanley Kubrick released his film 2001: A Space Odyssey, a classic tale of an epic journey to Jupiter. Let’s take a look back at Kubrick’s masterpiece. From today’s perspective, what was prescient – and what...
The world wars of the 20th century were fought by soldiers, sailors, and airmen in clashes of steel across defined geographical battlefields. World War III, however, could well be fought in the realm of cyberspace.
Find out how Apollo 11 and the manned moon missions that followed shaped the ongoing debate over moon formation theories, and how the first man to step on the moon played a part in what we know today.
No less a thinker than the late Stephen Hawking sought to warn us that our time is running out on planet Earth. Humankind’s continued existence requires us to prepare for mass space travel.
Is the human population growing? Yes. Will overpopulation eventually threaten our species? Some leading experts say, “No.” There are many worries about overpopulation, but modern demographers have deflated several of them.
The BMI, or “body mass index,” is a common method to assess body composition. But how...
Greece is one in a constellation of ancient cultures that formed the foundations of Western civilization. In this timeline, we’ll mark the rise of Greece from its preliterate beginnings to its decline and eventual fall to Rome’s...
If you live in Florida, you probably already know from first-hand experience what I’m about to tell you. There are a lot of unusual fauna all across Florida, but the most concentrated area for large, bizarre, crawly things is the...
The Neolithic Era was the final stage of technological development for prehistoric humans. Read more about Neolithic tools from this study of Neolithic history.
A Caltech team is on the hunt for hidden planets. Building on research first published in 2016, they amassed enough unsexy but compelling evidence to book time at the Subaru Telescope on Hawaii’s Mauna Kea and initiate a search for...
The Juno probe has revealed Jupiter's majestic weather patterns in amazing detail. But are Jupiter's colors really that dynamic? It turns out, no. But just because these images utilize "false color" doesn't mean they're "fake news."
What happened when an earthquake, a tsunami, and nuclear reactor meltdowns combined to devastate a populated region of Japan? Though lessons have been learned save lives in the future, much is still unknown and solutions are still...
Ludwig van Beethoven’s music includes some of the most memorable, profound, and beautiful compositions of all time. But for much of his career he was unable to listen to what he had written.
Ludwig van Beethoven was among the greatest composers in history, yet is often seen as a moody, dark genius. What does his childhood tell us about him?
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart came to fame during the Age of Enlightenment, and his compositions were informed by this spirit. But in fact, whether we would even have some of his most beloved operas without the guiding principles of the...
In a life of only 35 years, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart created an extraordinary volume of memorable work that will be performed for as long as we appreciate the genius of timeless music. But who was Mozart really? What path did he walk...
Conservationists are alarmed by masses of floating plastic garbage that endanger our oceans, including one they have dubbed the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch.” Finding new strategies for mitigating the threat posed by these patches...
Will space-age technology help save the largest fish on Earth – the whale shark? Despite their size, whale sharks are threatened by overfishing and the appalling practice of “finning.” Organizations now exist to educate...