You’ve heard it a hundred times: “Please switch your device to airplane mode.” But have you ever wondered what actually happens if you don’t? Airplane mode disables your phone’s ability to send or receive wireless signals — including cel...
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Long before Zoom meetings and TikTok streams, the first webcam in history had a surprisingly humble mission: to monitor a coffee pot. In 1991, researchers at the University of Cambridge g...
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Before the World Wide Web, there was ARPANET — the U.S. government-funded project that laid the foundation for the modern internet. In its early days, the network was small and experimental…...
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If you grew up before flat screens, you probably remember the strange whine or buzz that old TVs made when turned on. That sound wasn’t imaginary — and it came from something called a flybac...
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Long before Steve Jobs took the stage, IBM released the Simon Personal Communicator in 1994 — considered the first real smartphone. It could make calls, send emails, store contacts, manage c...
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In 1993, the U.S. government proposed a small hardware chip called the Clipper Chip, meant to be embedded in phones and computers. The goal? Allow federal agencies to access encrypted commun...
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In 1947, computer scientists working on the Harvard Mark II, one of the earliest electromechanical computers, noticed a malfunction in the system. Upon inspection, they found the cause: a d...
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At Stockholm Arlanda Airport, a retired Boeing 747 has been transformed into one of the world’s most unique hotels: Jumbo Stay. Instead of flying across continents, this jet now hosts travel...
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Rising from a sea of mist in central Italy is Civita di Bagnoregio, a medieval village perched on top of a crumbling volcanic cliff. Often called “The Dying Town,” Civita seems straight out...
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If you think airports are boring, you've never been to Princess Juliana International Airport in Sint Maarten. Just meters from Maho Beach, this is the only place in the world where you can...
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