Historical

Why some bike shares work and others don't
set of iconic photos from 2017 show brightly coloured fields which, at first glance, look like meadows filled with flowers in full bloom. It takes a while to register that the images aren't of verdant fields, but ones filled with bicycles: hundreds and thousands of two-wheelers, stacked end-to-end in what came to be called China's bicycle graveyards.
By Gu Wei Di Qi3 years ago in FYI
Why is the king's position as secure as a mountain when Thailand is prone to coups?
Thailand is an "alternative" country in the South Central Peninsula, and an "alternative" country in the world. Thailand's uniqueness lies in the fact that in the 21st century when most countries in the world have a democratic republican system of government and a few have a constitutional monarchy (a false monarchy in which the prime minister and parliament hold the power), Thailand is one of the few monarchies in the world in which the king has real power to make decisions on military and state affairs.
By Olmash Haiji3 years ago in FYI
The development of British history
If there is one country that has had the most profound impact on the world since human civilization entered the modern era, it is Britain. The political system, economic changes, and legal norms born in this country, which once established the Sunset system, have had a profound impact on Europe and the world, and have changed the geopolitical landscape.
By Lavezzi3 years ago in FYI
Why did Portugal build a maritime empire in such a short period?
Portugal was the first country in European history to expand abroad. According to the popular narrative, the Portuguese discovered a direct route to Asia around the southern tip of Africa in 1498, and it took them less than 20 years to establish a worldwide maritime empire, which has even been cited as a model for the rise of great powers.
By Bula Wali3 years ago in FYI
The city of sustainable skyscrapers
Looking out over Hong Kong's iconic skyline from the viewing deck of its tallest skyscraper, the 118-storey International Commerce Centre (ICC), it's clear why Hong Kong is known as the world's most vertical city. In every direction you look, countless high-rise buildings are stacked side by side, clustered together, like a real-world version of the game Tetris.
By Gu Wei Di Qi3 years ago in FYI
The battery invented 120 years before its time
raveling down a gravelly road in West Orange, New Jersey, an electric car sped by pedestrians, some clearly surprised by the vehicle's roomy interior. It travelled at twice the speed of the more conventional vehicles it overtook, stirring up dust that perhaps tickled the noses of the horses pulling carriages steadily along the street.
By Lonetoft3 years ago in FYI
Italy, slowly waking up from its nightmare, is experiencing a strange and sluggish summer
Italy, a country whose economy relies heavily on tourism and pleasure-seeking, has had a very strange, down summer in 2020.
By Cindy Dory3 years ago in FYI
The device that reverses CO2 emissions
he year is 2050. Walk out of the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum in Midland, Texas, and drive north across the sun-baked scrub where a few remaining oil pumpjacks nod lazily in the heat, and then you'll see it: a glittering palace rising out of the pancake-flat ground. The land here is mirrored: the choppy silver-blue waves of an immense solar array stretch out in all directions. In the distance, they lap at a colossal grey wall five storeys high and almost a kilometre long. Behind the wall, you glimpse the snaking pipes and gantries of a chemical plant.
By Gu Wei Di Qi3 years ago in FYI
The world's first 'infinite' plastic
here is one man-made material that you can find in the earth, the air and in the deepest ocean trenches. It is so durable that the majority of what has been created is still present in our ecosystem. Having made its way into the food chain, it permeates our bodies, flowing from our blood into our organs, even finding its way into the human placenta.
By Lonetoft3 years ago in FYI
The beavers returning to the desert
As we head towards the end of another extraordinary year, BBC Future is taking a look back at some of our favourite stories for our "Best of 2021" collection. Discover more of our picks here.
By Gu Wei Di Qi3 years ago in FYI
The unlikely protector against Bangladesh's rising seas
Nothing could have prepared Mohammed Shah Nawaz Chowdhury for the sobering reality of Kutubdia Island. The island, off the coast of southern Bangladesh, was rapidly eroding into the sea, causing both land and life to retreat. Many packed up and moved. Those who couldn't, stayed – inching back, as the island they had called home for generations changed around them. "These were families I had gotten to know, trust and respect," he says. "It regularly moved me to tears."
By Lonetoft3 years ago in FYI
7 Really Deadly Experiments
As with any field, there are plenty of misconceptions when it comes to science. Many people have a warped view of what scientists do, believing them to be mad scientists locked away in dark labs putting themselves and others at risk on a daily basis. While there may be some truth behind the caricatures, science is actually a fairly safe occupation with strict regulation surrounding experiments and testing procedures. However, that doesn’t mean that all experiments conducted by scientists are entirely risk-free. From the first documented experiment (on dropping objects from tall buildings) to more recent examples, there have been numerous experiments that could have gone horribly wrong – fortunately for us all, they didn’t, for the most part. Here are 7 really deadly experiments that were conducted by people who should have known better…
By PP3 years ago in FYI