A short history of the Inca Empire — The Inca Empire was a rich and sophisticated civilisation that ruled Peru during the Middle Ages — between about 1400 and 1532 to be precise. How did these Incas, as their inhabitants were called, come to power? What were the politics, economy, religion and culture of the Inca Empire, which…

Exotic dancer (and spy) — The Dutch exotic dancer Mata Hari, whose real name was Margaretha Geertruida Zelle, was killed in the First World War. She was convicted of espionage and executed in France. Mata Hari was born in Leeuwarden on 7 August 1876, the eldest daughter of a milliner. At first, the family is…

Astronomers have long been searching for this — Astronomers have discovered a unique black hole. With a mass one hundred thousand times that of the Sun, it is smaller than the black holes found in the centre of galaxies but larger than the black holes created when stars implode. …

What is it & why is it so popular? — The Internet is under the spell of Wordle, a new language game that in no time at all has attracted more than 2 million people. Green, yellow, grey boxes and a new five-letter word every day — that is the simple but successful formula of the online game. But is…

Two teams of astronomers, one from Caltech and one from the University of Toronto, have discovered that a supermassive black hole swallowed a star decades ago. This had gone unnoticed until now. …

A short history of the Six-Day War — The Six-Day War lasted briefly, from 5 to 10 June 1967, but had long-lasting consequences for world politics. In short, the war went as follows: Israel defeated its Arab neighbours Egypt, Jordan and Syria and quadrupled its territory. …

The extraordinary life of Philippe Pétain — Marshal of France Philippe Pétain (1856–1951) was one of the few figures to play an important role in both world wars. In the First World War, he was one of the most important military leaders, which brought him much fame and popularity. …

And the problem of child kidnappings in China — A Chinese man, who was abducted as a child, was reunited with his parents on New Year’s Day after more than 30 years. And this is thanks to his exceptionally good memory and the power of social media. The man was abducted from his native village as a toddler but…

One of the most important biotechnological innovations of the last century — The PCR test has been a household name since the beginning of the pandemic. Much less known is the strange story behind the creation of that test. The PCR was invented by Kary Mullis, who was — to put it mildly — an eccentric scientist. May 1983. Kary Mullis, an…