Hello, and welcome to this week’s roundup. It was a busy week on Aglena: a newspaper that put people on the Moon, a Cold War bug with no battery, H-bombs on Greenland’s sea ice, and a city that lifted itself out of the mud. Here are the stories we think you’ll enjoy most.
Man-Bats on the Moon: How the Great Moon Hoax of 1835 Fooled New York
In 1835 a New York newspaper told readers that astronomers had spotted bat-winged people on the Moon, and the city believed it. Here’s how the hoax worked, and the telescope optics that rule it out. Read the story.
The Gift That Listened: How a Soviet Bug With No Battery Spied on America’s Ambassador
A carved Great Seal hung in the U.S. ambassador’s Moscow residence for seven years with a passive listening device hidden inside. How Leon Theremin’s “Thing” worked, how it was found, and how it pointed the way to RFID. Read the story.
Four H-Bombs on the Sea Ice: How a B-52 Fire Exposed Greenland’s Nuclear Secret
In 1968 a B-52 caught fire over Greenland and crashed with four hydrogen bombs aboard. What followed was a cleanup in the polar night, a hunt for a missing bomb part, and a political scandal in Denmark. Read the story.
A Record El Niño Is Building in the Pacific. Here’s What It Could Mean for Winter in the U.S.
A record-strength El Niño is taking shape. Here’s what NOAA’s forecasts say it could bring this winter, from stormier weather across the South to a milder North. Read the story.
Why China and the US Are Racing to Shackleton Crater at the Moon’s South Pole
Shackleton crater pairs permanent shadow and likely ice with peaks of near-constant sunlight. Why both countries want to get there first, and where Artemis and Chang’e stand right now. Read the story.
The City That Jacked Itself Up: How Chicago Lifted Its Buildings Out of the Mud
To build America’s first comprehensive sewer system, 1850s Chicago raised its streets several feet, then jacked up hotels, shops and whole blocks to match, sometimes with people still inside. Read the story.
The Demon Core: How a Softball-Sized Sphere of Plutonium Killed Two Scientists
A third atomic bomb core that was never used on Japan went on to kill two Los Alamos physicists in separate accidents. The story of the experiments, the mistakes, and what changed afterward. Read the story.
Puzzles: Six new Puzzles of the Day went up this week, from balancing star scales and a growing honeycomb to a spot-the-difference picnic and a hanging mobile. Try this week’s puzzles.
Thanks for reading, and see you next week with more strange history and science.