A look at what is being sent to the front lines — After a weeklong public diplomatic logjam, it appears that the west has finally decided to ship third-generation main battle tanks to Ukraine. This has been something long requested by the beleaguered Ukrainian officials. Early reports indicate that Germany is readying to send 14 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. The news…

Geography, history, and energy — As Russia continues to double down on its aggressive war in Ukraine, it has become increasingly isolated on the world stage. Western Europe has turned its back on the energy giant, NATO is committed to supplying weapons to Ukraine, and the rest of the world is keeping a wary eye…

The unknown start of history’s bloodiest war — In August of 1939, in the sticky summer days before the outbreak of World War II, the aging battleship SMS Schleswig-Holstein steamed into Danzig harbor. The ship had been converted to a training vessel in 1935 after a storied military history and was not seen as a legitimate military threat…

How light gets in the way of exploring the current universe — There is an ongoing debate about whether or not people think that the universe is filled with life or completely devoid of life. Roughly 65% of American adults believe that there is likely intelligent life on other planets just waiting to be discovered. The problem is, we have never found…

Don’t pretend like we have it all figured out — Science is the study of the observable universe. At one point, it was called natural philosophy. The goal has always been to understand the world around us and how it works. Today, this is primarily done via empirical evidence, well-vetted theories, and peer reviewed research. But despite thousands of years…

Do you recognize any of these original names? — Names are a part of our everyday life. They hold a lot of meaning and make places instantly recognizable. Places like New York City and Tokyo are massive metropolises with rich histories and are known by people all over the world. However, these places were not always named what they…

A type of genuine torture — For centuries, mock execution was a strategy employed by captors to torture and extract information from their victims. Mock execution is a tactic by which a person is made to believe that they, or someone close to them, is about to be executed. Mock execution goes beyond a simple threat…

How this historic region got its name — The Mosquito Coast is a stretch of land along the Gulf of Mexico in present-day Nicaragua and Honduras. Most modern people know the region as a destination for various cruise ships, but the area has centuries of history and strategic posturing attached to it. Whenever people hear the name Mosquito…

Featuring all of the new technology and casualty rates — In 1911, three years before the outbreak of the Great War, the Sick Man of Europe was coughing up a lung. The Ottoman Empire had slowly been declining since the start of the 20th century to the point where they could hardly control the borders of their core territories. The…