Life Before Tequila

Before there was Tequila, there was … pulque? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science, and possibly the earliest alcohol of Mesoamerica: Pulque. Like Tequila, pulque is distilled from the sap of agave plants. The Aztecs drank it in the 1400s. And it’s still consumed in

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Nordic Adventure

Vikings! Grab your helmets! And your, MAGIC CRYSTALS? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Centuries ago, Vikings ruled the North Atlantic without compasses. Instead of following north, legends say they chased the sun using CRYSTALS, known as sunstones! These chunks of pure calcite split light

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Grecian Formula

Was the first Grecian formula actually Roman? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. When it came to coloring hair, Ancient Rome was startlingly advanced. Its recipe for hair dye combines lead sulphide and lime. These create nanocrystals, which grow not just inside hair strands but

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Oh, the Humanities!

The humanities! Not so HUMAN? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Long ago, homo sapiens weren’t the only people on the block. Before modern humans arrived from Africa, Europe was home to Neanderthals. We usually think of this sister species as brutish and uncultured. And

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String Theory

Think filing your taxes is a pain? Imagine doing it in macramé! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. It may sound far-fetched but that’s exactly how the ancient Incas kept records. With colored, knotted strings called khipu. Colonial documents verify that khipu were used in

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Curse You, Cloak Stealer!

Archaeologists dig deep and find jawbones, soup spoons, a curse??? This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Yes, that is exactly what archaeologist Richard Buckley of the University of Leicester in England found, after excavating an important Roman settlement from about three hundred AD. In addition

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Travelin’ Cows

Where did the mysterious, pre-Roman Etruscan people come from? Ask the cows! This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science. Thanks to a wealth of Etruscan artifacts, archaeologists know this: The civilization flourished in the first millennium BC in what is now Tuscany. But nobody ever figured

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