AI Steers Fusion Plasma in 20 Milliseconds: Princeton’s PACMAN Framework
Fusion machines need split-second course corrections that no human can make in time. Inside a doughnut-shaped magnetic bottle called a
Puzzle of the Day: Who Finished Third in the Bike Race?
Five riders in red, blue, green, yellow and purple jerseys just finished a sprint to the line. There were no
Best Cordless Vacuums (2026): Six Picks Compared, From $140 to $650
Six cordless stick vacuums compared, from a $140 Levoit to the Dyson V15 Detect, with expert test results, runtimes and current Amazon prices.
Hōkūleʻa’s 1976 Voyage: How Mau Piailug Found Tahiti by the Stars
Fifty years ago a Hawaiian voyaging canoe sailed about 2,500 miles to Tahiti with no compass, charts or radio, steered by a Micronesian master navigator reading stars, swells and birds. How Mau Piailug did it, what it proved about the first Polynesian voyagers, and the revival it started.
Fu-Go: Japan’s Paper Balloon Bombs and the Picnic in Bly, Oregon
Japan built thousands of hydrogen balloons from paper and potato-root paste and set them loose on the jet stream toward America. How the Fu-Go balloon bombs worked, how the US kept them secret, and the picnic near Bly, Oregon, that ended in the only mainland deaths from enemy action in World War II.
Karl Jansky and the Merry-Go-Round That Heard the Milky Way
A Bell Labs engineer hunting static on transatlantic phone calls built a rotating antenna on Model T wheels and found a faint hiss that kept time with the stars. How Karl Jansky traced it to the center of the Milky Way and started radio astronomy.
Best Carry-On Luggage (2026): Seven Picks Compared, From $130 to $729
Seven carry-on suitcases compared, from the $129.99 Samsonite Freeform to the $729 Briggs & Riley Baseline Essential, with expert test results, specs and Amazon prices.
The Pig War: How One Dead Pig Nearly Started a War Between Britain and the US in 1859
In June 1859 an American settler on San Juan Island shot a pig that kept raiding his potatoes. Within weeks, US troops and British warships faced off over a vague line in a treaty. How the Pig War nearly began, and why nobody fired.
Surtsey: The Island That Rose From the Sea in 1963 and Is Still Off-Limits
On November 14, 1963, a fishing crew off Iceland watched a volcano rise out of the sea. The island it built, Surtsey, was closed to all but scientists before the eruption ended, and it has been showing how life colonizes new land ever since.
The 1904 Olympic Marathon: Strychnine, Brandy and the Strangest Race in Olympic History
In St. Louis in 1904, the Olympic marathon was won by a man kept going with strychnine, egg whites and brandy, after the first finisher was caught having ridden in a car. The race official’s own report tells the story.
Puzzle of the Day: Spot 8 Differences at the Farmers’ Market
Fresh apples, bundles of carrots, the last sunflowers of the season and jars of local honey: this market stall has
Neuralink’s Seventh Patient Is Now Driving His Wheelchair With His Mind
Jake Schneider has ALS and Neuralink’s seventh brain implant. He now steers a power wheelchair with his thoughts.
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This Week on Aglena: Oct. 26–Nov. 1, 2026
Hello, and welcome to this week’s roundup. This week on Aglena: a horse that seemed to do math, a 5,300-year-old
Best Portable Projectors (2026): Seven Picks Compared, From $399 to $900
A portable projector turns any blank wall, bedroom ceiling or backyard sheet into a 100-inch screen, and it packs away
The Niihau Incident: The Zero Pilot Who Crash-Landed on Hawaii’s Forbidden Island
On December 7, 1941, a damaged Japanese fighter came down on Niihau, an island that had not heard about Pearl Harbor. Six days later two men were dead, and the island’s Hawaiians had ended it themselves.
The Centralia Mine Fire: The Pennsylvania Town That Has Been Burning Since 1962
In May 1962 a fire at a borough dump crept into the old coal mines under Centralia, Pennsylvania. It defeated every attempt to stop it, emptied the town, and is still burning.
The Nebra Sky Disc: The 3,600-Year-Old Star Map Rescued in a Police Sting
Dug up by looters in 1999 and seized in a Swiss hotel bar in 2002, the Nebra sky disc may be the oldest known picture of the night sky.
Puzzle of the Day: Which Way Will the Compass Arrow Point Next?
An arrow is spinning on a row of compass tiles. It starts pointing North, and it always turns clockwise from
The Balloon That Flew Toward the North Pole and Vanished for 33 Years
In July 1897 three Swedes lifted off from Svalbard in a leaking hydrogen balloon, bound for the North Pole. Their fate stayed a mystery for 33 years.
Best Hair Dryers (2026): Seven Picks Compared, From $40 to $372
A great hair dryer is one of those gifts people use every single day and rarely buy for themselves. The
Lascaux: The Cave You Can’t Visit, and the Four Boys Who Found It
In 1940 four teenagers slid into a hole above Montignac and found Ice Age paintings. Within 23 years the crowds had nearly ruined them, and Lascaux was shut.
