In 1906, a famed explorer saw something on the horizon that would lead an expedition of men to search for a magnificent land they hoped would be full of new and undiscovered treasures for science.

One famous dolphin lived near the shores of New Zealand in the late 1800s, and swam alongside hundreds of ships, becoming a beloved figure to locals and foreigners alike, and described as ”the best known fish in the world.”

It was relatively common in the middle ages for Kings, royals, and various other titled men to die in combat, and they were at least usually expected to fight personally. Despite the dangers of medieval combat and the expectations of nobility, however, many at the highest levels of aristocracy died in less than noble mundane accidents, and even in embarrassing circumstances.

In the early morning hours of May 9, 1837 the steamboat Ben Sherrod, traveling from New Orleans to Louisville, caught fire. The public was shocked as details of the tragedy emerged,. The tragedy of the burning, sinking, and explosion of the Ben Sherrod should never have happened.

On the seventh of May, 1798, In a little remembered battle, a vastly outnumbered force of British sailors and marines faced down a substantial French invasion fleet in what might be described as a dress rehearsal for an invasion of the British isles. The Battle of the Îles Saint-Marcouf represents one of those brave stands where the few stood against the many.

The Cold War was not just a time of heightened tensions and global competition, but a period of rapid technological growth and scientific advancement. In laboratories all over the world, scientists were working on other breakthroughs, including in a new and largely untouched section of science: discovering new elements. Thankfully the transfermium wars did not go nuclear, even though they were fought over nuclei.