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Medieval Nanotechnology in Wootz Steel (Damascus Swords)
How medieval blacksmiths accidentally created carbon nanotubes centuries before modern nanotechnology was invented.
January 15, 2025
6 min read
Interesting Stories
Fascinating tales from the world of materials science, engineering innovations, and the discoveries that shaped human civilization.
Showing 12 stories
Featured
Hunter-Gatherers and the Oldest Pottery
How Ice Age nomads invented ceramic containers 20,000 years ago - 10,000 years before agriculture - as a survival technology.
January 14, 2025
5 min read
Ötzi's Copper Axe and Alpine Trade
The 5,300-year-old Iceman carried a copper axe from 500km away, revealing extensive prehistoric trade networks and ancient social taboos.
January 13, 2025
6 min read
Featured
Roman Concrete's Self-Healing Secret
Why Roman structures have lasted 2,000 years: their concrete contains lime clasts that automatically heal cracks when water enters.
January 12, 2025
7 min read
Napoleon's Spark: Henry Bessemer's Eureka Moment
A dinner conversation with Napoleon III about artillery sparked the steel revolution that transformed the industrial world.
January 11, 2025
6 min read
Maxwell's Tartan Ribbon: Birth of Colour Photography
James Clerk Maxwell proved his color theory by photographing a Scottish tartan ribbon, creating the first durable color photograph in 1861.
January 10, 2025
5 min read
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Moldy Mary and the Cantaloupe that Won World War II
A laboratory technician's moldy cantaloupe from an Illinois market provided the high-yield penicillin strain that saved millions of lives.
January 9, 2025
6 min read
The Transistor Trio's Falling-Out
The invention that launched the digital age was born amid betrayal, as William Shockley tried to steal credit from his colleagues.
January 8, 2025
7 min read
Lonely Lab and the Birth of the Integrated Circuit
Jack Kilby invented the microchip because he was the only engineer who couldn't take summer vacation at Texas Instruments.
January 7, 2025
6 min read
Billiard Balls and the First Commercial Plastic
A $10,000 prize to save elephants from ivory hunters led to the invention of celluloid, the first commercial synthetic plastic.
January 6, 2025
5 min read
Bakelite: Born from Shellac Shortage
The world's first fully synthetic plastic was invented to replace expensive beetle resin, launching the age of synthetic materials.
January 5, 2025
6 min read
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The Haber-Bosch Process: Feeding the World and Fueling War
The invention that prevents global famine also enabled World War I - half the nitrogen in your body comes from this process.
January 4, 2025
8 min read