Mystery

The beavers returning to the desert
As we head towards the end of another extraordinary year, BBC Future is taking a look back at some of our favourite stories for our "Best of 2021" collection. Discover more of our picks here.
By Gu Wei Di Qi3 years ago in FYI
The medieval Dutch solution to flooding
This July, gorged by days of rain, the Meuse River broke its banks, and the Belgian town of Liège was its victim. Waters the colour of old gravy raced through town, leaving residents floating in canoes as their homes vanished about them. In the city and its province, over 20 died, one man drowning in his basement.
By Holy horse3 years ago in FYI
The animals that detect disasters
n 2004, a tsunami triggered by a 9.1 magnitude undersea quake off Indonesia decimated coastal communities around the Indian Ocean, killing at least 225,000 people across a dozen countries. The huge death toll was in part caused by the fact that many communities received no warning.
By Udley3 years ago in FYI
The kites seeking the world's surest winds
Look up over the white sand beaches of Mauritius and you may see a gigantic sail. It's much like the kind used by paragliders or kite surfers but the size of a three-bedroom apartment, looping figures-of-eight overhead. The sail isn't a tourist attraction – it's creating electricity for the power grid of this island nation off the east coast of Africa.
By Holy horse3 years ago in FYI
The Illinois town that got up and left
In the summer of 1993, the southwestern Illinois town of Valmeyer took the brunt of a massive flood when, not once but twice in a month, the swollen Mississippi River topped its levee system. The village was engulfed in up to 16ft (5m) of floodwater that lingered for months, damaging some 90% of buildings.
By Udley3 years ago in FYI
The Caribbean mangrove forest that defied destruction
On a sweltering summer day in 1994, an ancient mangrove forest on Union Island was ripped apart. A foreign investor had started the foundation work for a hotel, marina and golf course in Ashton lagoon on Union Island, one of the 32 Grenadine islands which dot the clear, blue waters of the southern Caribbean Sea.
By Baru Ku3 years ago in FYI
The world's most polluted capital city
The onset of spring brings relief in more ways than one to Delhi. The air is cool and crisp, and with the milder weather come light showers that make the vegetation more lush. Around April, south-westerly winds sweep through the region, and the blanket of acrid smog that covers the city in the autumn and winter months begins to disperse. But it never really goes away.
By Fra Tusha3 years ago in FYI
The Moorish invention that tamed Spain's mountains
In the warm air of an early-June morning, Jose Antonio Peña walks along a channel of gushing water in the Sierra Nevada of southern Spain. Traversing the rocky terrain and ducking beneath boughs of pine, he eventually reaches a grassy meadow on his left. The ancient artificial channel, known as an acequia, empties into the meadow, where its water branches into meandering streams that soak into the mountainside.
By Udley3 years ago in FYI
The quest that discovered thousands of new species
It was once a private house, but now the imposing stone structure on Boswall Road, on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth in Edinburgh, is part of a palliative care hospice.
By Holy horse3 years ago in FYI
If Planet Nine exists, why has no one seen it?
As we head towards the end of another extraordinary year, BBC Future is taking a look back at some of our favourite stories for our "Best of 2021" collection. Discover more of our picks here.
By Baru Ku3 years ago in FYI
The ancient fabric that no one knows how to make
In late 18th-Century Europe, a new fashion led to an international scandal. In fact, an entire social class was accused of appearing in public naked.
By Fra Tusha3 years ago in FYI
Does The Right Office Furniture In Melbourne Make A Difference?
Having the right office furniture in Melbourne can really enhance the working environment for your team. Creating an enticing space with modern furniture in Melbourne can attract key staff to your office and retain existing ones. Choosing items that fit with your company culture can strengthen the brand for those that work there and also the clients that visit. Opting for a particular style, theme, colour or texture which links back to your business helps reinforce a professional and slick image.
By Kevin Lashley3 years ago in FYI