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THIS MAGICIAN FOUGHT DARK POWERS TO HIS DEATH

Wednesday, October 18, 2023

In today’s newsletter, we discover rare ‘domino’ quakes, show a master magician’s turn against so-called mediums, find out how scientists are taking carbon from the air and burying it ... and look at pneumonia and its hold on Mary Lou Retton and others.

In his 1923 book, Houdini described the mediumistic trick known as "finger-printing a spirit." In this illusion, a plaster mold of a dead person's hand would be carefully prepared then used to make fingerprints of the deceased appear during a seance with the living relatives.

PHOTOGRAPH BY LIBRARY OF CONGRESS/GETTY IMAGES

He was the greatest illusionist of his time. But Harry Houdini spent much of his last decade fighting dark powers; proving in case after case that people who purported to channel the dead were tricksters.

He showed the fakery—the wires connected to bells or flying objects; a medium’s inability to replicate feats if bound; the trick (shown above) behind “fingerprinting a spirit.”

Houdini exposed the deceptions with a heavy heart. If there was one thing he wanted to do, it was to contact his beloved parents from the beyond. After a burst appendix and one final Halloween show, perhaps he did.

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

In Iceland, carbon emissions are used to grow microalgae for food or supplements.

VIDEO BY DAVIDE MONTELEONE

Scientists are racing to remove carbon from the world's atmosphere (above, growing microalgae from emissions in Iceland)

Mary Lou Retton and the stubborn hold of pneumonia

Rare quadruple ‘domino’ quake behind Afghanistan’s deadly shakes. But why?

10 of the world’s quirkiest forms of public transport

What sugar does to your brain

Doctors said exercise would help beat this mystery illness. It made it worse.

What causes long COVID? The answer might be in your gut

The strange history of how trick-or-treating came to be

WHAT IN THE WORLD?

To make “the invisible visible,” the photographer spent hours cleaning these phasmid eggs with distilled water and one paintbrush hair under a microscope. The eggs in this composite grid of images average about 0.12 inch long.

PHOTOGRAPH BY LEVON BISS

Bugs in disguise: The photographer spent hours cleaning these tiny eggs, averaging 0.12 inches long, with a single paintbrush hair under a microscope. Which creatures do they come from?

A. Arachnids
B. Phasmids
C. Dragonflies
D. Mosquitos

CLICK FOR THE ANSWER

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

An infrared view shows the body heat of people compared to the surrounding area at Jubilee Gardens in London.

PHOTOGRAPH BY GILES PRICE, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

Are humans getting colder? Studies are showing declines in average temperatures in recent years (above, the body heat of people in London shown in infrared view.)

WHAT’S GOING ON?

LAST GLIMPSE

An acupuncture needle with clusters of sunflower pollen

PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHN-OLIVER DUM, NIKON SMALL WORLD

Revealing a tiny world: Unseeable with the naked eye are the edges of an acupuncture needle (above) lined with clusters of sunflower pollen. The spiky exterior helps pollen cling to plants. This image is among the winners of Nikon’s Small World photo contest, which offers a fascinating glimpse into the microscopic.

SEE MORE IMAGES

Today’s soundtrack: The Magic Number, De La Soul

Thanks for reading today’s newsletter! It was curated and edited by Jen Tse, Nancy San Martín, and David Beard. Is anyone in your family a little too fascinated with the Roman Empire? Let us know!

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