The Bavarian city of Ingolstadt was no stranger to secrets. It wasn’t in May 1776, anyway, when it became the birthplace of the Illuminati. Shrouded in shadows, this secret society convened for close to 10 years, circulating its ideas without censure or condemnation. It wasn’t until 1785 that its activities were banned, as an active conspiracy against the state of Bavaria.The Illuminati and other secret societies inspire our imaginations, both for better and for worse. There’s something ab ...read more
Each day, thousands of animals face one of the most deadly predators in America — a road.More than 4 million miles of public roads across the U.S. provide vital links for commerce, services, and travel, but they’re treacherous barriers for wildlife seeking food, water, and mates. Exposed and unsure about the noisy, unfamiliar terrain presented by an open road, an animal that hesitates or misjudges the speed of an approaching vehicle risks fatal consequences.Unfortunately, those encounters ar ...read more
“It’s my feet,” the 50-year-old man said.Medium height, hair tousled, Harold looked as if he had thrown on his sweatpants and loose flannel shirt in a moment of concern. Still, he appeared more intrigued than anything.My low-key shift in the emergency department’s walk-in section had brought the usual array of back pain, ear infections, sore joints, and lacerations. This sounded no different.“Both feet,” he continued. “I woke up this morning, and they were numb and tingly. Here.” ...read more
Lakes, streams and aquifers across North America are crawling with salamanders of all shapes and sizes. For most people, though, finding a 2-foot-long amphibian in the eastern United States might sound like a tall tale. But giant salamanders are more common than you might think. The eastern hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis), which can grow up to 29 inches long, is the largest salamander native to North America, and the fourth largest in the world. And unlike most salamanders, it spends ...read more
When University of Chicago physiologist Nathaniel Kleitman told fellow faculty members he was seeking a locale for a month-long sleep experiment — someplace as isolated from the rhythms of day and night as the Arctic in summer — a colleague in the geology department said he knew just the spot.Between 10 million and 15 million years ago, in what is now south‑central Kentucky, trickles of groundwater began probing the cracks in a fossil seabed. Over the eons, the pockets grew and grew until ...read more
Author Vishay SinghPosted on Categories Discover Magazine