Author: Ed Hatchet

On the one hand, extending life to the point of practical immortality (longevity escape velocity, or LEV) is an absurdly bad idea, the epitome of human hubris, fraught with all manner of social, economic, and philosophical problems—many of which we probably can’t foresee. On the other hand, if aging is a disease like any other…

Paranoia is more or less mainstream these days, and not without justification. Thankfully, though, a great many fears remain baseless. Paranoid delusions like “someone has stolen my face,” or “everyone knows what I’m doing” are for the most part demonstrably false. They exist at the margins of clinical psychology, affecting only a small handful of…

It’s easier than ever to become a celebrity nowadays (as clichéd as that is to point out). You don’t even need to exist. Amid a new profusion of virtual influencers, CGI it-girls, holographic pop stars, and AI personalities, we’re seeing a brand new wave of digital stardom coalescing before our eyes. Still, despite being fake,…

When Christopher Columbus arrived at Hispaniola (the island now split down the middle between Haiti and the Dominican Republic), he could hardly believe his eyes. With its extraordinary lushness and biodiversity, mighty rivers flowing with gold, and abundance of honey and spices, it was the embodiment of Heaven on Earth, Paradise, the Garden of Eden—especially…

During their heyday (roughly from the 16th to 19th centuries), highwaymen were considered a special type of criminal, known for their good manners, noble bearing, and, in some cases at least, their scrupulous moral values. Some of the best known operated in Britain, France, and other European countries, as well as their overseas territories. And,…

Temples, churches, mosques, shrines, synagogues, and so on are meant to protect us from evil, or at least serve as temporary refuges. Even the demonic gargoyles and grotesques on Gothic Christian cathedrals, as well as their cross-cultural counterparts, are only supposed to remind us of the forces of darkness—never to invite them inside. And that…

One of the most immediately surprising facts about fungi may be how to pronounce the word: fun-jai, not fun-guy. But the fun(gi) doesn’t stop there. From fungal intelligence to saving the world, fungi are full of surprises. 10. They’re the Most Populous Kingdom on the Planet We don’t know how many species (of any kind,…

Once upon a time the creatures on this list were more or less common knowledge. Throughout the British Isles, they (or their variants) were feared or revered by adults and children alike. And while some on this list aren’t exclusive to England, they’re all squarely enshrined in its folklore. Here are 10 you might not…

Secret police forces have existed since time immemorial, from the Frumentarii of Ancient Rome to the mass digital surveillance of today. And while they’re more commonly associated with some of the most nefarious dictatorships on the planet, these unaccountable, state-funded heavies with a license to snoop have become increasingly and unnervingly banal—perhaps even cynically expected—all…

Jinn are basically the bogeymen of the Muslim world, haunting the Middle East, Asia, and parts of Africa today just as they have done for centuries. The term actually derives from an Arabic root meaning “to conceal,” since these are beings that for the most part are said to elude human perception. It may also…

For the first time since Roswell, coverage of UFOs has entered serious, mainstream news—featuring even on the front page of the New York Times in December 2017. And while that story was more about tax dollars than extraterrestrials themselves, it illuminated some of the otherworldly beliefs (and perhaps even knowledge) that exist at high levels…

Comets and asteroids come and go, but few make as much of a stir as ‘Oumuamua. Toward the end of last year, its virtually unprecedented appearance from interstellar space made urgent headlines around the world. And, in various ways, it left an indelible footprint. While numerous mysteries remain about this curious galactic traveller, astronomers managed…

Born Joseph Carey Merrick on August 5, 1862, the Elephant Man is far better known by his freak name. His life was brief and tragic, marred by loss, rejection, and an ever worsening disfigurement. Needless to say, there are dozens of sad facts about the man and his life to choose from, but here are…

There are many dubious claims about what might lie hidden in the Vatican Secret Archives – from alien remains and time travel devices to prophecies of impending Apocalypse – all of which position the Holy See as an implausibly powerful agent in the history and fate of mankind. But a handful of historical documents made…

While Europeans were playing with rocks, the Chinese were discussing philosophy. Long before the rest of the world, ancient China mastered papermaking, printing, navigation, and the complex administrative challenge of governing such a vast territory. Arguably, the Middle Kingdom has epitomized order and stability for millennia. So it doesn’t immediately spring to mind as a…

Founded in 1611 by Pope Paul V, the Vatican Secret Archives are an ultra-secure repository for the Church’s oldest, most valuable documents. Access has always been limited; even today, only Vatican officials and qualified academics are allowed inside, and only then with a letter of recommendation. And since browsing isn’t permitted, they also need to…

As far as the universe can be said to exist at all, it probably has 10 dimensions. That’s the only way string theory makes sense. And physicists want string theory to make sense because it could be the Theory of Everything, uniting the otherwise incompatible theories of general relativity (for very big things) and quantum…

It’s always interesting to find out what people are searching for on Google. Often, they’ll ask questions they deem too silly to ask anywhere else – such as whether it’s possible to stop thinking entirely or to age backwards to get younger. A lot of the time, though, the sillier the question, the more interesting…

Once you get past the potatoes and the other humdrum members of the family, nightshades can be fascinating plants—often frighteningly so. Whether strikingly beautiful or modestly mediocre, many belie deadly poisons, potent psychoactive effects, and grisly albeit spellbinding histories. According to one theory, they might even have wiped out the dinosaurs. So it’s no surprise…

Vampires have long been seen as a threat to society. For hundreds, if not thousands of years, they’ve had us humans transfixed. As for how they came about, theories range from the anthropological to the otherworldly, but one thing’s for sure: they’re here to stay. And for better or worse—as these 10 ghastly tales go…

Skeptics may feel pretty justified in their denial of paranormal powers. By definition, the supernatural flouts natural laws. From clairvoyance to telekinesis, these abilities have no place in the established order of what we know. But nevertheless, there have been times when supernatural abilities have survived the scrutiny of the scientific method. While they still…

It’s easy, even comforting, to think of history’s tyrants as one-dimensional bad guys. That they may have had emotions and frailties as complex as our own threatens to muddy the narrative. But humanizing the inhuman can really drive home the terrifying reality of their despotic regimes, not to mention their sociopathic capacity for compartmentalization. To…