Meet Methuselah: The nearly 5,000-year-old tree that’s been alive since before the pyramids were built. Still standing strong in California’s mountains
Imagine standing before a living thing that has seen more human history unfold than we can possibly comprehend. Meet Methuselah—a bristlecone pine that’s been quietly defying time for nearly 5,000 years in the mountains of California. That means this tree was already centuries old when the first stones of the Egyptian pyramids were being stacked under the scorching desert sun. It was growing, inch by patient inch, while Babylon rose and fell, while Rome stretched its dominion across the known world, and while countless empires—each thinking themselves eternal—were reduced to dust.
Think about that.
This isn’t just old—it’s ancient on a scale that makes even our longest-lived civilizations look like mere blips in time. While entire dynasties have crumbled into history, Methuselah has remained rooted in its windswept home, weathering storms, droughts, and everything nature could throw at it. No monuments, no palaces, no great cities from its birth era still stand—only this tree.
A women’s glove from 1850s London, modified for self defense
The Evolution of Ancient Greek Statues
Contrapposto was one of the most important breakthroughs in art history. Instead of a stiff, symmetrical stance, the weight shift to one leg creates an organic distribution of balance—one hip rises, the other falls; one shoulder drops, the other lifts. This slight twist in the torso gives sculptures a relaxed yet powerful presence, making them appear more lifelike. It was a defining characteristic of Greek sculpture and laid the foundation for the naturalistic approach of Renaissance artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.
This progression—from rigid symmetry to expressive naturalism—demonstrates how Greek sculptors gradually unlocked the secrets of human anatomy, movement, and emotion, forever changing the way we depict the human form.
A list of American Amendments that were never approved
Ted Bundy (second from right) stands in a lineup at the Murray, Utah, Police Department, on October 2nd, 1975, where he is identified by Carol DaRonch as her abductor (courtesy King County Archives).
"My Grandfather Elray James Dow (third from left) was an officer at the time. My Grandpa told me that Ted was nervous and sweating before walking into the lineup room. However, as soon as he walked in, he was “as cool as a cucumber” and that it was very eerie how quickly he switched. "
In Afghanistan, some families choose a daughter to turn into “Bacha Posh”. They assume the identity of a boy in order to go to school, escort sisters, and help out the father.
The bacha posh tradition in Afghanistan is a longstanding but little-discussed practice where families, particularly those without sons, raise a daughter as a boy to navigate the strict limitations placed on women in Afghan society.
In a country where sons are often seen as essential for economic and social security, bacha posh serves as a pragmatic, albeit temporary, solution. These girls, dressed in boys’ clothing and given male names, experience freedoms that would otherwise be denied to them—attending school, playing outside, running errands, and even working to support their families.
The practice reflects both the deep-rooted patriarchy and the resilience of Afghan families finding ways to adapt within its constraints. However, the transition back to life as a woman, which is expected at puberty, can be deeply challenging. After years of independence, many bacha posh struggle with the sudden loss of freedom, facing social pressure to marry and conform to traditional female roles.
While it grants temporary privilege, bacha posh ultimately highlights the stark gender inequalities in Afghanistan, where a girl’s opportunities are often contingent on whether she can pass as a boy.
There’s a metal band from Saudi Arabia called Al-Namrood who have maintained anonymity since 2008, as their identification could lead to the death penalty.
Al-Namrood is a Saudi Arabian black metal band that has maintained complete anonymity since its formation in 2008, a necessity given the country’s strict laws against blasphemy and anti-religious expression.
Named after Nimrod, the ancient Mesopotamian king often associated with defiance against God, the band’s music is a bold act of resistance against authoritarianism and religious oppression. Their lyrics, which critique dogma and totalitarian control, could put them at serious risk of persecution in Saudi Arabia, where apostasy and blasphemy are punishable by death.
To protect their identities, the members operate in secrecy, avoiding live performances and concealing their faces in all public appearances. Despite these risks, Al-Namrood has gained international recognition, becoming one of the most prominent underground metal acts from the Middle East, known for their fusion of traditional Arabic melodies with the raw intensity of black metal.
Just 9,000 years ago Britain was connected to continental Europe by an area of land called Doggerland, which is now submerged beneath the southern North Sea.
Saturn taken by the James Webb Space Telescope.
U.S. Space Force quietly released the first ever in-orbit photo from its highly secretive Boeing’s X-37 space plane
In a rare disclosure, the U.S. Space Force has released the first-ever in-orbit photograph taken by its secretive X-37B space plane. Captured during its seventh mission, which commenced on December 28, 2023, the image offers a view of Earth from the spacecraft’s perspective in a highly elliptical orbit.
The X-37B, an unmanned and reusable space vehicle developed by Boeing, has been conducting classified missions since 2010, primarily focusing on testing new space technologies and operational concepts.
During this mission, the space plane executed pioneering aerobraking maneuvers, utilizing atmospheric drag to adjust its orbit with minimal fuel consumption.
German police routinely wear chainmail garments when confronting knife-wielding attackers, minimizing exposure whilst securing suspects unharmed.
Charles Osborne hiccuped for 68 years, totaling around 430 million hiccups, starting in 1922. His condition ended naturally in 1990, without any medical intervention.
Photograph from inside a Particle Accelerator
A particle accelerator is a window into the very fabric of reality, a grand instrument that allows us to peel back the layers of the cosmos and glimpse the subatomic ballet that underlies existence. Here, within vast tunnels and magnetic fields, particles—tiny echoes of the Big Bang—are propelled to near-light speeds, colliding with an energy that briefly recreates the conditions of the early universe. In these ephemeral flashes of force and motion, we decode the language of the cosmos itself, searching for the fundamental rules that govern matter, energy, and the invisible symphony of forces that bind us to the stars.
