💡 How Nuclear Explosions Were Used to Save the Environment

The latest from Nautilus, the best things we learned today, and more. [View in Browser]( | [Join Nautilus]( Did a friend forward this? Sign up here Together with Hello there Nautilus readers, and thanks for stopping by. Our own personal realities are built in our minds—but what happens when our minds record fiction as truths? Today we continue our Reality Issue with the answer. Plus, we learn what role 15th-century sailing ships really played in bringing disease to the New World. Also, check out some of the best things we learned—how to collect lava, the temperature of lightning, and more. And, of course, read your free story (on nuclear explosions) below. Enjoy your day! — Liz Greene The latest from Nautilus What Makes a Memory Real? Changing the narrative on false memories might be surprisingly simple. [Continue Reading→]( How Disease Really Spread in the Americas New evidence suggests it was slower than we thought. [Continue Reading→]( Don’t limit your curiosity. Enjoy unlimited ad-free Nautilus stories every month for less than $5/month. [Join now]( Tired of Battling Spam Calls on Your Phone? Here's How to Make Them Disappear. Every day, your personal data, including phone number, is sold to the highest bidder by data brokers. This leads to annoying robocalls from random companies and, worse, makes you vulnerable to scammers. Meet [Incogni](: your solution against robocalls. It actively removes your personal data from the web, fighting data brokers and protecting your privacy. Unlike other services, [Incogni]( targets all data brokers, including those elusive People Search Sites. Put an end to those never-ending robocalls and email spam on your iPhone now. Use the code NAUTILUS55 to get [55% off]( an annual plan. [Buy Now]( *Thank you for supporting our sponsors. The best things we learned today - When scientists study lava, the collection tool of choice is usually the humble gardening shovel. [Read on The New York Times→]( - True memories have more sensory details, like smells and sounds, than false memories do. [Read on Nautilus→]( - A few days with a particular orange fungus can make plain rice custard taste like pineapples. [Read on Science News→]( - Despite being commonplace elsewhere for centuries, smallpox and measles didn’t arrive in California until the early 1800s. [Read on Nautilus→]( - A lightning bolt can reach temperatures three times hotter than the sun’s surface—and climate change is making them occur more frequently. [Read on Wired→]( “Fantasy may play a useful role in illuminating the darkest and most mysterious corners of science.” Thought experiments—like wondering what would occur if we were to hold a cup of tea near a black hole—have been used to help get to the bottom of science’s trickiest problems for years. Philosopher of science Patricia Palacios takes us inside the practice, exploring the magic of wondering what might happen if … [Read on Nautilus→]( Find Out Why Mushrooms are Punk Find out why mushrooms are punk in [Mushroom Punks](, a zine/foraging guide by artist and designer Bella Lalonde. [Get your copy for just $15.]( [Buy now]( Today’s unlocked free story ENVIRONMENT How Nuclear Explosions Were Used to Save the Environment When humans tried to do good with atomic bombs. By AMOS ZEEBERG In the late spring of 2010, the world watched, often in real time, a new kind of environmental disaster unfold: An oil rig operating deep under the seafloor of the Gulf of Mexico exploded, and the well under it began spewing oil copiously into the waters above. [Continue reading]( P.S. The American zoologist Dixy Lee Ray—the first woman to become governor of Washington—was born on this day in 1914. She was a big proponent of nuclear power, and in the 1970s chaired the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission by appointment from Richard Nixon. [But this was when public enthusiasm for nuclear power ran out of steam](. "In the 70s and 80s, nuclear power made a dramatic flip in the public mind, changing from a futuristic miracle to an environmental disaster," wrote Amos Zeeberg. "The U.S. and Soviet Union wound down their programs, which had come to be seen as politically radioactive. This helps explain the visceral resistance to even the peaceful use of nuclear bombs. The invention that once symbolized humanity’s world-beating ingenuity had become an emblem of our abiding hubris." Thanks for reading! What did you think of today's note? Inspire a friend to [sign up for the Nautilus newsletter](. Copyright © 2024 NautilusNext, All rights reserved. You were subscribed to the newsletter from [nautil.us](. Our mailing address is: NautilusNext 3112 Windsor Rd, Ste A-391 Austin, TX, 78703 Don't want to hear from us anymore? [Unsubscribe](