‘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.
Lewis and Clark’s mercury-laced poop helped archaeologists trace their expedition
Welcome to a poisonous trail of number two.
The British author who harvested mutant, jumbo peanuts from her atomic garden
Muriel Howorth founded the Atomic Gardening Association in 1959, recruiting hundreds of members.
In 1967, 2 million Swedes started driving on the other side of the road
A propaganda song to get drivers on board even topped Sweden’s hit music chart.
For ancient Romans, pooping was a group activity
Imagine shared sponges, open seating, rats, and the occasional burst of fire.
In 1973, Icelanders fought a volcano—and won
Firefighters, physicists, and volunteers sprayed seawater at the flows, creating 100-foot-tall lava walls.
In 1926, a Russian biologist tried to create a human-chimpanzee hybrid
Luckily, the cruel experiment never happened.
In the 1890s, the U.S. hired a team of globe-trotting plant hunters
Thank these plant explorers for your avocado toast, mango smoothies, and pistachios.
19th century real estate agents used ‘peepshow’ technology to sell glitzy mansions
Cosmoramas were an 1840s version of Zillow—but with paintings.
During WWII, Great Britain poisoned sheep with anthrax on an idyllic Scottish island
Gruinard Island remained toxic for nearly 50 years—until activists started delivering buckets of dirt.
In 1960, movie theaters tried Smell-O-Vision. It stunk.
The short-lived experiment pumped scene-appropriate scents into cinemas.
7 peculiar pets in history: From a beer-drinking elk to the Pope’s elephant
Move aside cats and dogs.
Radiation fruit: How 1950s ‘gamma gardens’ created today’s grapefruit
But don’t worry: Grapefruits can’t hurt you.
Charles Darwin’s daughter had an unusual hobby: Hunting phallic mushrooms
Eccentric “Aunt Etty” also edited several of her father’s most important works.
In 1962 Wisconsin, delivery pizzas were cooked in traffic
Mobile kitchens ensured that pizzas arrived piping hot. Why didn’t it last?
Beef tea was all the rage in the 1800s
A cup a day kept the doctor away—at least according to these 19th century remedies.
After WWII, flying saucer-shaped houses almost filled American suburbs
R. Buckminster Fuller envisioned factories churning out 185,000 Dymaxion Houses each year.
The world’s first ‘hovertrain’ could reach speeds of 270 mph in the 1960s
But the futuristic Aérotrain never saw the light of day.
7 ways toilets have killed people
From a WWII submarine sewage disaster to a deadly medieval pit toilet collapse, doing your business can come with risks.
Fake banknotes mocked a US president. And are now worth thousands.
The rare ‘Great Loco Foco Juggernaut’ is basically an 1837 meme bashing Andrew Jackson.
The sea monster goes ‘bloop’—or does it?
The ultra-loud signal baffled scientists in 1997—and has fueled sea monster rumors ever since.
Inventor Beulah Louise Henry’s unstoppable rise to becoming ‘Lady Edison’
With 49 patents and over 100 inventions, Henry built an empire catering to women and children.