February 10

From Gnomon Chronicles
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Better Than News

Beyond Plausible

In Other Words

Are You Sure

• ... that mathematician Sofia Kovalevskaya showed talent at a young age; that physicist Nikolai Nikanorovich Tyrtov noted her unusual aptitude when she managed to understand his textbook by discovering for herself an approximate construction of trigonometric functions which she had not yet encountered in her studies; and that Tyrtov called her a "new Pascal" and suggested she be given a chance to pursue further studies?

• ... that The Man From K.E.S.S.E.L. is an international smuggling ring?

• ... that surgeon Joseph Lister promoted the idea of sterile surgery while working at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary, successfully introducing carbolic acid (now known as phenol) to sterilize surgical instruments and to clean wounds, and that Lister's work led to a reduction in post-operative infections and made surgery safer for patients, distinguishing him as the "father of modern surgery"?

Topic of the Day

Boris Johnson