by Aseem Gupta | May 15, 2016 | History, Empires & Civilizations
The Pacific Ocean covers approximately 160 million square kilometres, more than one-third of Earth’s surface. Scattered across this immense expanse are thousands of islands, many separated by hundreds or thousands of kilometres of open water. Some are large...
by Aseem Gupta | May 13, 2016 | History, Empires & Civilizations
Chocolate is one of the world’s most familiar indulgences. It comes in bars, truffles, cakes, drinks, and countless other forms, usually associated with sweetness, pleasure, and celebration. Yet for most of its history, chocolate looked and tasted very different...
by Aseem Gupta | May 11, 2016 | Health, Medicine & Human Biology
The human brain is an extraordinary organ, but it comes with an extraordinary appetite. Despite accounting for only a small fraction of our body weight, it consumes roughly a fifth of the energy used by an adult at rest. Maintaining such an expensive organ requires a...
by Aseem Gupta | May 9, 2016 | Mythology, Religion & Spiritual Traditions
Thor is rarely imagined without Mjölnir, the mighty hammer that makes him one of the most formidable gods in Norse mythology. With it, he battles giants, protects the gods of Asgard, and wields a weapon that returns to his hand whenever he throws it. Yet the story of...
by Aseem Gupta | May 7, 2016 | Mythology, Religion & Spiritual Traditions
More than 2,500 years ago, a religious movement emerged in northern India around a question that remains familiar to almost everyone: why do human beings suffer, even when they seem to have everything they want? Its teachings would eventually spread across Asia,...
