Hello, and welcome to this week’s roundup. This week on Aglena: paper balloon bombs over Oregon, a war over a pig, a canoe that found Tahiti by the stars, and mirages that put ships in the sky. We also added new Sphere seating guides for Metallica, the Eagles, Backstreet Boys, John Mayer and Rush. Here are the stories we think you’ll enjoy most.
Fu-Go: Japan’s Paper Balloon Bombs and the Picnic in Bly, Oregon
Japan sent thousands of paper balloons carrying bombs across the Pacific on the jet stream. The US kept them secret, until a church picnic near Bly, Oregon, in 1945. Read the story.
The Pig War: How One Dead Pig Nearly Started a War Between Britain and the US in 1859
A settler on San Juan Island shot a pig that kept raiding his potatoes, and within weeks US troops and British warships were facing off. Here is how it nearly became a war, and why nobody fired. Read the story.
Karl Jansky and the Merry-Go-Round That Heard the Milky Way
A Bell Labs engineer hunting static on phone calls built a rotating antenna on Model T wheels and found a faint hiss that kept time with the stars. That hiss started radio astronomy. Read the story.
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 master navigator reading stars, swells and birds. Read the story.
Northern Lights Colors Explained: Why Auroras Glow Green, Red, Pink and Purple
Each aurora color comes from a particular gas at a particular height. Here is the color code, why your phone sees more than your eyes do, and how to catch the next display. Read the story.
Fata Morgana Explained: Why Ships Float in the Sky and Phantom Lands Appear
Ships that hover above the horizon and Arctic islands that never existed: a Fata Morgana is light trapped in layers of warm and cold air. Here is the physics, and how to see one yourself. Read the story.
Helion’s Polaris Fusion Machine: Electricity From Fusion in 2026?
Helion’s Polaris prototype reached 150 million °C plasmas this year. What that means for getting electricity out of fusion, and for the plant it has promised Microsoft. Read the story.
Puzzles: New Puzzles of the Day went up this week, from working out who finished third in the bike race to cracking the weather-icon equations and balancing emeralds on the gem scales. Try this week’s puzzles.
Thanks for reading, and see you next week with more strange history and science.
