Spot the Difference

Peach baskets were used for the first basketball nets. When fans watching from the balcony started reaching out and interfering with players’ shots, backboards made of chicken wire were created. Suddenly, rebounds became a big part of the game. And more importantly, fans stopped interfering!

Even if you’re not allergic to peanuts, the tasty legumes can cause you trouble. There’s a medical condition called archibutyrophobia – the oddly specific fear of getting peanut butter stuck to your palate. It’s rather uncommon, though, judging from the fact that US Americans spend $800 million annually on the creamy delight...

The 13th century Franciscan friar Roger Bacon predicted the invention of the automobile, aircraft, and the submarine. He wrote, “cars can be made so that without animals they will move with unbelievable rapidity” and “flying machines can be constructed so that a man sits in the midst of the machine revolving some engine by which artificial wings are made to beat the air…like a flying bird.”