Categoría Oddities

What is the Voynich Manuscript?

It is an illustrated book with 204 pages and full of incomprehensible content. Despite the name, the author is still unknown. “Voynich” is the last name of the bookseller Wilfrid Michael Voynich, who, in 1912, acquired the manuscript in the…

Why is the Dead Sea so named?

»> Because the excess of salt in its waters makes life practically impossible there. With the exception of the bacterium Haloarcula marismortui, which manages to filter out salts and survive in this maritime graveyard, all organisms that reach the Dead…

How is a sword forged?

Heating a steel bar until it becomes malleable and hammering it to shape the metal and form the blade. After being laminated, the sword undergoes a heat treatment to define its hardness and elasticity – the harder it is, the…

What are coprolites?

Reader Question Robson Vilanova Island, Sao Sepe, RSIllustrates Yasmin AyumiEdition Felipe van Deursen They are fossilized feces of people or animals. The word comes from two Greek terms: copros (“faeces”) and lithos (“rocks”). In general, the coprolites form when excrement…