Hannah Fry✓ Add us as a preferred source on Google

Just in case you weren't brought up Catholic (like me) some extra info: Jesus was supposed to be born in the year 0 and crucified in spring time when he was 33 years old. In 2009 NASA published the complete data set of all the eclipses over 5000 years, from 2000BCE - 3000CE. You can go and look at it yourself (https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/solar.html ) They were made by Fred Espenak and Jean Meeus. Fred Espenak is lovingly referred to on that site as "Mr. Eclipse". Neither of them set out to

Some people like to go to beaches. Others like to go geek out over big metal boxes. Whatever floats your boat! 🚢 (Especially if that boat is a massive container ship) The one to read: Estimating the effects of the container revolution on world trade, by D Bernhofen, Z El-Sahli, and R Kneller (2016)

Turns out you can catfish a midge with a 275 Hz tone As expertly demonstrated by @calpiano4him (on insta) The loudspeaker experiment 🦟🔊: Intrinsic Fluctuations and Driven Response of Insect Swarms by R Ni, J Puckett, E Dufresne, and N Ouellette (2015)

I know the struggle all too well - don't have your glasses, but can't find your glasses without your glasses. Give this trick a try. Game changer.

Maybe slightly less useful than the hot car suggestion... but desperate times call for desperate measures!

I first shared this a year ago today - but thought it worth posting again if it helps in this scorchio!

n a 2018 interview for the Guardian he explained that many of the stings were accidentally received due to the nature of his work. But what wasn't accidental was his dedication to recording and capturing the unique data: "I know some people think me crazy, but I am no masochist, and only occasionally am stung on purpose. When it does happen, I initially react as anyone else would – cursing, more than I should admit. Then I get out my notebook and stopwatch, sit down and make notes." The full lis

Stamp duty is back in the news again (along with the echoing demands to reform it) so I thought I would take the opportunity to explain just why it is so problematic. The thing is, it generates about £10 billion a year, so politicians are too scared to mess with it. But it is, itself, a MESS. Data comes from the Office for National Statistics release, Housing affordability in England and Wales: 2025 and Transfer taxes and household mobility by Hilber and Lyytikainen, (2017)

You can feel it on other people's skin too! If they hold a charging phone or tablet while sitting on a bed or somewhere with their feet off the ground (so they aren't themselves grounded) and you keep your feet on the ground and gently stroke their skin with your finger - you will feel them "buzzing" (as long as you're both sweaty enough of course...)

As a further warning for the horrors of what bleach can do if left on too long ⚠️ have a look at: Alkalis and Skin by J Greenwood, JL Tan, JC Ming, and A Abell (2016) And for a great exploration into how soap was potentially first discovered 🧼 slip and slide your way to: An Experimental Exploration of the Earliest Soapmaking, by S Pointer (2024)