Shakespeare sounds a certain way. Why? And why could it only work in English? • Written with Gretchen McCulloch of Lingthusiasm! Her podcast has an episode about how translators approach texts: https://lingthusiasm.com/post/632086691477323776/lingthusiasm-episode-49-how-translators-approach Gretchen’s book BECAUSE INTERNET, all about the evolution of internet language, is available: 🇺🇸 US: https://amzn.to/30tLpjT 🇨🇦 CA: […]
Grey? Blue? Purple? It can look different, depending on the context. Let’s talk about color perception, color temperature, and the history of laundry. Atmospheric opacity image from ESA/Hubble (F. Granato): https://www.eso.org/public/images/atm_opacity/ – image licensed under CC by 4.0 – https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ The optical illusion is original, but based on the work […]
In Knaresborough, in Yorkshire, sits Mother Shipton’s Cave. Folks there have been charging admission for nearly 400 years, and the star of the show is a “petrifying well”. A few folk legends do actually turn out to be true. Mother Shipton’s Cave: https://www.mothershipton.co.uk/ – thanks to all the team there, […]
Perranporth Beach, in Cornwall, is famed for being the “Lego beach”. The truth is more complicated. • Thanks to Tracey Williams! 📸 Lego Lost At Sea: https://instagram.com/legolostatsea or https://twitter.com/legolostatsea 📕 Her photo book ADRIFT: https://amzn.to/3a8glNW [aff. link] Edited by Michelle Martin https://www.youtube.com/@OnTheCrux Sound mix by Graham Haerther 🟥 MORE FROM […]
Decades before NASA’s Apollo program, the British Interplanetary Society wanted to go to the moon: in a spacesuit that looked like a suit of armour. Thanks to all the team at the National Space Centre: https://spacecentre.co.uk/ And to the British Interplanetary Society for their archive images: https://www.bis-space.com/ Drone filming by […]
Gruinard Island, in the north-west of Scotland, was where Britain tested its biological weapons. That story’s been told many times: but I found something in the archives that I don’t think anyone’s ever noticed before. Thanks to the boat crew and voice artists! Location fixer: Vikki McCraw at Locations 365 […]
In Glenelg, on the west coast of Scotland, there’s the Skye Ferry: the last turntable ferry in the world. And the reason for that turntable is a lot more clever than I initially thought. Thanks to all the team at the Skye Ferry! https://skyeferry.co.uk Editor: Michelle Martin https://www.youtube.com/@OnTheCrux Graphics: William […]
Barra Airport, in Na h-Eileanan Siar in the west of Scotland, is unique: it’s the only commercial airport where the runway’s made of sand, and tide covers it up twice a day. Here’s how it works. Thanks to all the team at Barra Airport: https://www.hial.co.uk/barra-airport I chartered with Hebridean Air […]
What do you do with a disused phone box? And can they help save lives? • Thanks to the Community Heartbeat Trust: https://www.communityheartbeat.org.uk/ • and the East of England Ambulance Service: https://www.eastamb.nhs.uk/ Automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, help save lives: but they need to be in an obvious, easy-to-access, public […]
In Claughton, Lancashire, the Forterra brickworks produces 50 million bricks a year, from shale that’s quarried a mile and a half away. To get that shale to the brickworks: the last aerial ropeway in the country. These used to be common: but now, the last one will be gone by […]
