As usual in this month’s collection of links, we’ll start with the hardest stuff …
Science, Technology, Natural World
Quite a lot of years ago, mathematicians worked out why waiting for a lift (elevator, for those in America) always takes forever. [££££]
How likely are you to be killed by a primordial black hole? [££££]
Whether you believe in astrology or not, your star sign is likely wrong, but you can find the correct one. [££££]
The Chernobyl exclusion zone has become a most unusual ecological experiments on Earth, leading to some unexpected results. [LONG READ]
So why do cats get the Zoomies, especially late at night?
Health, Medicine
If you had cardiac arrest in public, would a stranger give you CPR?
Most men have two balls, but are three balls better?
Sexuality & Relationships
The Kamasutra is more than a sex manual, with consent as an underlying principle.
A 300+ year old sex manual that got pretty much all of it wrong.
Well who would have guessed? Human sperm get lost in space. [££££]
As if boob jobs weren’t enough, labiaplasty is a growing fashion. Why? Just why? [LONG READ]
Environment & Ecology
Jaguar (below) are becoming increasingly rare, so researchers were pleased to see one in a wildlife corridor in the Honduran mountains. [££££]
History, Archaeology, Anthropology
Archaeologists have discovered a variety of 12,000‑year‑old dice, and they illuminate ancient play.
The oldest known recipe for toothpaste comes from … Ancient Egypt.
So how many of the purported priest holes are actually what they’re said to be? [LONG READ]
Samuel Pepys was, in many ways, a very naughty man – even to the extent of concealing letters about being offered an enslaved boy as a bribe.
London
Matt Brown of Londonist has taken a look at the origins of some of the City of London’s street names.
Matt Brown is also creating a coloured version of John Rocque’s 1746 map of London. Here’s the latest section covering Chelsea and the King’s Road (above).
Meanwhile a researcher has been able to unravel the mysterious location of Shakespeare’s house in Blackfriars.
London Historians visits Benjamin Franklin’s London house.
Food, Drink
Here’s a quick look at some of the factors which produce the myriad types of tea.
Lifestyle, Personal Development, Beliefs
Humans have been documenting their appreciation of the nude body for thousands of years, and photography has made it much easier and more accessible.
The New Testament letters of Paul are not what they seem; many weren’t even written by him. [LONG READ]
Shock, Horror, Ha ha ha!
Finally, New Scientist considers the size of a “shedload“. [££££]