Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.
© DS Pugh, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
Sir Isaac Newton told William Stukeley about the day when an apple fell from a tree and set him thinking about the solar system.
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© Arunankapilan, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.
When a new mother found herself and her kittens on the wrong side of a nasty-looking stream, Twink was there to help.
By Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646-1723), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Sir Isaac’s secretary has left us an engaging portrait of a kindly genius, the absent-minded professor of our fancy.
By Anonymous (1810), via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
When Archimedes discovered the principle of displacement, he was hot on the trail of a clever fraud.
© Marathon, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
French travel writer Pierre-Jean Grosley toured Georgian London just in time to witness a culinary revolution: the sandwich.
© cartese, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
A loyal dog shows his initiative in recovering his master’s property, though his timing might have been better.