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HOW DID THEY GET OUT ALIVE?

Friday, February 23, 2024

In today’s newsletter, we ask whether people escaped the deadly volcanic eruption in Pompeii, see the first private spacecraft on the moon, learn about Einstein’s role in building a deadly weapon ... and find the “Dial of Destiny.”

A brownish-grey plaster of a human body, frozen in time, looking as though they are getting up from the floor.

PHOTOGRAPH BY DAVID HISER, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION

The tremors came first. Then, a giant pine tree-shaped plume from Mount Vesuvius—and a barrage of pumice stones, ash, and toxic gas.

How could anyone escape the ancient world’s most documented volcanic eruption? But thousands did, hours before Pompeii was buried in A.D. 79. (Pictured above, a plaster cast of a victim.) Recent findings show us how survivors managed to get away in time.

THE GREAT ESCAPE

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

The Nova-C lunar lander is seen on display at Intuitive Machines in Houston prior to the February 15 launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

PHOTOGRAPH BY NASA/INTUITIVE MACHINES

U.S. returns to the moon as NASA's Odysseus lunar lander (above) successfully touches down

How the calendar got an extra day

What’s a Leap Second? And are we going to just quit doing it?

Suffer from migraines? Science may be able to predict when they will happen.

Are ice facials actually worth it? Ask the experts

Demand for death doulas has soared. Here's how they help patients go with grace.

What are the signs of dementia—and why is it so hard to diagnose?

Want to keep your memory sharp? Here’s what science recommends.

The menstrual cycle can reshape your brain

How Julius Caesar started a big war by crossing a small stream

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

A mushroom cloud towers over Nagasaki after the detonation of an atomic bomb in 1945.

PHOTOGRAPH BY U.S ARMY AIR FORCE VIA LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Not just Oppenheimer … Albert Einstein played a key role in spurring the development of the atomic bomb (pictured above, the mushroom cloud created by the detonation of an atomic bomb in Nagasaki). How did the legendary physicist contribute? And why did he spend the rest of his life advocating against nukes?

THE LETTER THAT LED TO THE ATOMIC BOMB

Related:
— Who was J. Robert Oppenheimer?
— The secrets that followed the creator of the atomic bomb

WHAT IN THE WORLD?

Fragments of the Antikythera Mechanism on a black background

BRIDGEMAN/ALAMY

The Dial of Destiny: While Indiana Jones may not have found it, the “Dial of Destiny” did lie in a shipwreck at the bottom of the Mediterranean for more than 2,000 years. How was the real Antikythera Mechanism (pictured above, in fragments) found?

PHOTO OF THE DAY

The golden effigy of King Tutankhamun in a black and white photograph

PHOTOGRAPH BY JOE ROSENTHAL, AP

79 years ago today … U.S. Marines raised the American flag atop Iwo Jima’s highest point. Photographed by Joe Rosenthal, the image was on the front page of Sunday papers across the U.S. and won a Pulitzer Prize that same year. Here’s the story behind the photo.

AN IMAGE WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS

Today’s soundtrack: Prologue to Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, John Williams

Happy weekend! This newsletter has been curated and edited by Nancy San Martín, Jen Tse, Nishita Naga, and David Beard. Know someone who might want our newsletter in their inbox? Here’s the signup.

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