That Time When

‘That Time When’ explores the weirdest and most surprising moments in the history of science and innovation. From radioactive ‘miracle water’ to when the U.S. government censored the weather, these stories reveal the curious, delightful, and often ridiculous side of scientific discovery.

A vintage-style colorized portrait of a middle-aged man with light hair combed back, wearing a blue suit jacket, white shirt, and dark tie. He faces the camera with a neutral expression. The background is a uniform, grainy gray, and the image retains visible texture and noise consistent with an old printed photograph.

The only person to win an Olympic medal and a Nobel Peace Prize

Philip Noel-Baker ran middle-distance races at the Olympics before dedicating his life to disarmament.

By Amy Crawford

A colorful, detailed line illustration depicting a medieval courtroom scene where a pig is standing trial. The pig stands on its hind legs at a wooden witness stand or dock, facing a panel of judges and clerics seated behind a long table. In the foreground, a man in a light blue robe points a finger accusatorially at the pig, while other onlookers in traditional medieval tunics and headwear watch the proceedings with expressions of concern and curiosity. The setting features gothic arched windows and draped backdrops typical of the period.

In medieval France, murderous pigs faced trial and execution

Animal trials helped to restore order when the unspeakable happened.

A vintage photograph of an explosion happening on a baech.

BOOM! That time Oregon blew up a whale with dynamite.

And why we should never do it again.

By Shoshi Parks

A fluffy beavers sits in front of a fallen tree branch with yellow leaves.

Idaho once dropped 76 beavers from airplanes—on purpose

Don’t worry. They had parachutes.

By Jennifer Byrne

A taxidermied squirrel named Tommy Tucker standing upright inside a glass display case. The squirrel is dressed in a miniature pink pleated dress with puffy sleeves and a white ribbon tied around the waist, paired with a small pearl necklace. The display case is secured with a brass knob and a black padlock. In the blurred background, papers and a water bottle are visible on a desk.

During WWII, a dress-wearing squirrel sold war bonds alongside FDR

US bomber crews even carried photos of Tommy Tucker on missions.

By Amy Crawford

An 1886 color illustration depicting a crowd of people, including men, women, and children, gathered around a massive wheel of cheese in the East Room of the White House. A man in a dark coat is carving into the cheese with a knife, while others eagerly reach out with their own knives and hands to take a piece. In the foreground, a small boy sits on the floor eating a piece of the cheese. This event commemorates the distribution of the "Mammoth Cheese" gifted to President Andrew Jackson in 1835.

Andrew Jackson’s White House once hosted a cheese feeding frenzy

The seventh president’s farewell party featured 1,400 pounds of cheddar. Things got messy.

An astronaut in a white spacesuit floats in space above Earth, holding a handmade sign that reads “FOR SALE” in large pink letters. Reflections of space equipment and Earth are visible in the astronaut’s helmet visor, and part of a space shuttle is seen behind them with the blue curve of Earth in the background.

The space billboard that nearly happened

How a 1993 plan to launch ads into space turned into a national freakout.

A colorful vintage poster illustration featuring a large Uncle Sam figure in a stars and stripes outfit, leaning down to adjust the hands of a massive clock with Roman numerals, which has a red center. Below him, a smaller man is running frantically with a small clock showing the time is one hour earlier. The text at the top reads "VICTORY! CONGRESS PASSES DAYLIGHT SAVING BILL." The style is reminiscent of early 20th-century American political or war-time posters.

The U.S. tried permanent daylight saving time—and hated it

In 1974, America set its clocks forward for good in the name of energy savings.

A colorized vintage photo shows a smiling blonde woman in a salmon-colored dress waving her hand while seated at a dark wooden counter or bar. Two men in white staff uniforms and hats are leaning over the counter, laughing with her, one of whom is holding a cigar. The other offers her a drink in a tall glass. Several other men in hats are visible in the background.

The radioactive ‘miracle water’ that killed its believers

In the 1920s, Radithor promised to cure everything from wrinkles to leukemia, but its unintended results were deadly.