Podcast – Professor Elliot's Bookshelf

Listen to this article: 1896, the medical encyclopedia Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine was published. Within the tome, was a description of one Edward Mordake. He lived in complete seclusion, refusing the visits even of the members of his own family. He was a young man of fine attainments, a profound scholar, and a musician of […]

Listen to this article: It is a shape found in a lot of places. Its influence can be found throughout history and has had an impact on millions, if not billions of humans. The truncated icosahedron has 32 sides; made up of 20 hexagons and 12 pentagons. The first known illustration of this shape was drawn by Leonardo […]

Listen to this article: There have been many points in history in which it was difficult, if not impossible, for a doctor to study human anatomy. During the 18th and 19th centuries, it became common for bodies to be stolen from their graves. In 1752, the Murder Act was passed in the UK allowing for […]

Listen to this article: Some time during the Victorian era, honey bees began appearing painted onto the tops of urinals. Why honey bees? Likely because of a pun from the insect’s Latin family name “apis“. Honey bees are not the only insect to be featured on urinals, and it can be quite common in the modern era. […]

Listen to this article: Victory Boogie-Woogie is the final work of art by the Dutch abstract painter Piet Mondrian. It is a cacophony red, blue, yellow, black, and white parallelograms, on a diamond shaped canvas, remenicent of busy city streets. But the piece remains unfinished because Mondrian died on February 1st, 1944… 2 years into […]

I’m afraid this week there will be no article due to the hard work I (and everyone on the Professor Elliot team) have been putting in to the new YouTube videos. But this means I get to announce our new schedule and I think you’ll like it! Rarities with Professor Elliot Basically the video edition […]

Listen to this article: Paris has an estimated 200 miles or more of underground tunnels. This network is not only the catacombs, but limestone mines. Many remain unmapped, so police do regular searches to map as well as look for illegal activity. On one search, they came across something different… a newly-built, secret clubhouse. Yes, […]

Listen to this article: If you find yourself in a convention hall filled with health inspectors or food safety professionals, bring up the topic of “bathtub cheese” for an entertaining time. It is as bad as it sounds: unpasteurized cheese made in a bathtub (or any other waterproof container at home). Although it is illegal in […]

Listen to this article: Leonardo da Vinci once wrote, “If you cause your ship to stop, and place the head of a long tube in the water, and place the other extremity to your ear you will hear ships at a great distance from you.” His description is quite accurate of sea water’s ability to […]

Listen to this article: You read the title correctly. Flying snakes. Southeast Asia, southernmost China, India, and Sri Lanka are home to a few species of snake that can actually glide from tree to tree. This is the serpentine genus of Chrysopelea. Luckily, they don’t prey on humans, but lizards, frogs, birds, and bats. In order to […]