Valdivia, Chile. May 22, 1960. Magnitude 9.5. 1,655 killed. Prince William Sound, Alaska. March 26, 1964. Magnitude 9.2. 128 killed. Sumatra, Indonesia. December 26, 2004. Magnitude 9.1. 227,898 killed. Tohoku, Japan, March 11, 2011. Magnitude 9.1. 15,700 killed. These are the four most powerful earthquakes in recorded history. If you keep up with the news,… Read More »
The business of giving birth has long been a dangerous one. For most of human history, an estimated 4% of all women died in pregnancy or childbirth due to infections, haemorrhages, and other complications. Starting in the mid-19th century, improvements in sanitation and new medical techniques steadily began to improve these odds, such that today… Read More »
Most of our nightly dreams are either traumatic conga lines of unresolved anxiety, or a hodgepodge of random, incoherent nonsense that makes perfect sense while we’re asleep but quickly fades into irrelevance once we awake. But for some people, dreams can be far more useful; indeed, they can change the world. Such was the case… Read More »
In one of the more memorable scenes of the 1966 camp masterpiece Batman: the Movie, the Caped Crusader ascends a rope ladder to the Batcopter when a large – and very rubbery – shark clamps its jaws around his leg. Unable to dislodge the fiendish fish, Batman calls up to Robin in the Batcopter and… Read More »
As far as successful film franchises go, few are as balls-to-the-wall insane as The Fast and the Furious. Best described as Mission: Impossible soaked in Axe Body Spray, the series is set in an alternate universe where few problems can’t be solved by driving muscle cars at it. Over its ten installments, the franchise has… Read More »
