Forum - A World of ideas

The Sun: myths and magnetism

The sun might not shape the pattern of our daily lives to the extent it did in the past. But...

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A forgotten founder of climate science: Eunice Newton Foote

Eunice Newton Foote was the first person to suggest that an atmosphere rich in carbon dioxide...

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Dreams: Prophecy, propaganda and psychoanalysis

The images, sensations and emotions we experience during sleep were once seen as the gateway to...

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Yves Saint Laurent: Fashion revolutionary

Since his death in 2008, the impact of designer Yves Saint Laurent on women’s fashion remains...

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Brazil's Palmares: A beacon of freedom

As Brazil celebrates 200 years of independence from Portugal, we look at the 17th-century...

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Bluegrass: Virtuoso music of Appalachia

It is rare in music history that scholars can point to the beginning of a particular style, but...

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The Art of War: Ancient Chinese guide to victory

The Art of War is one of the most important military strategy texts ever written, and it has...

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Gandhi: Architect of Indian independence

Mohandas K Gandhi’s decades-long campaign against British rule was the driving force behind...

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Making Scents: The Story of Perfume

Throughout history, fragrance has been used to scent both the body and our surroundings. With...

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Eleonora Duse: the first great modern actress

Eleonora Duse was an actress ahead of her time. As a performer in the late 19th century when...

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La Malinche: Mexico's great 'traitor'

In Mexico the name La Malinche has become synonymous with treachery and betrayal - it even forms...

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Taras Shevchenko: The slave who became a symbol of Ukrainian independence

There are hundreds of monuments to the poet and painter Taras Shevchenko not just in Ukraine but...

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The unstoppable orange

Oranges have long represented love, wealth and status - since they originated in South East Asia,...

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Radio waves and plants: the life of JC Bose

Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose was a polymath: a physicist, biologist and early writer of science...

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Samurai: Japan’s elite warrior class

The reality behind the stereotypical image of Japan’s fearsome elite warriors is more nuanced...

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Ice cream: A cool history

There are almost as many ice cream origin stories as there are flavours, but where did the frozen...

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The Popol Vuh: Central American epic that survived Spanish conquest

Mythological sagas are often fantastical and push the imagination to the limit but the Popol Vuh,...

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The Koryo Kingdom: Medieval dynasty that united Korea

Today Korea is divided between North and South, but the founding of the Koryo Kingdom in the 10th...

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Insulin: the discovery that transformed diabetic care

The story of the discovery and development of insulin is a tale full of twists and turns, Nobel...

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Eunuchs and empires

Since ancient times the practice of castrating pre-pubescent boys, and sometimes men, was thought...

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