Albert Einstein had his own romance with an alleged Soviet spy named Margarita Konenkova, who was reportedly after inside information on the Manhattan Project. While there are conflicting accounts of the specifics, Einstein met Konenkova a year before his wife Elsa passed away in 1936. She was married to the Russian sculptor Sergei Konenkov, who was crafting a bust of the renowned physicist. In the years that followed his wife’s death, Einstein struck up a relationship with her. The affair didn’t come to light until half a century later when letters he penned from 1944 to 1946 documenting their tryst came to light. In them, Einstein appears to be deeply in love, sending a sketch of the “nest” (a cozy study) where the two enjoyed romantic liaisons. The smitten physicist even came up with a portmanteau couple name to refer to themselves: “Almar.” Of course, as with all Cold War spycraft, whether or not this was a bona fide honeypot operation is somewhat hazy. (via Nautilus)
He thinks Malaysia’s Flight 370 was teleported and thousands of people believe him
On March 8, 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 was en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing when it disappeared from radar over the Indian Ocean, sparking the most expensive search in aviation history, wall-to-wall global news coverage, and even rare public protests within China. The mystery captured the hearts and minds of millions of people across the world, but there was no closure or catharsis for the families of those missing. In an age of seemingly ubiquitous satellite coverage, the plane’s final resting place — and that of the 239 people onboard — remains an open question. But a man named Ashton Forbes believes he has the answer: The U.S. military teleported the passenger jet in a show of might against China. Armed with a pair of dramatic videos that appear to show the aircraft vanishing, Forbes has spent the past three years posting relentlessly on X and YouTube, trying to convince everyone that the military used orb-like vessels to instantaneously teleport MH370 out of the sky. On its face, his theory appears impossible. So why do so many people believe him? (via Rolling Stone)
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Meeting the last true Knight of the Sovereign Order of St John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta
At 21:00 one Sunday evening this past October, I telephoned Fra John Critien and he was none too pleased. A gentleman does not, he told me, cold call a knight at such an unreasonable hour. The conversation ended there. Click. But when I promptly sent him a follow-up email to explain that I had come to Malta to learn how to behave in a manner befitting of the storied knights of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta, also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, he responded more willingly the next morning. “Well, I suppose being a gentleman also means trying to accommodate others even after being taken by surprise on Sunday evening,” he wrote. And so I met him that Tuesday afternoon at Fort St Angelo, across the Grand Harbour from Valletta, where he has been the sole inhabitant of the stronghold’s secluded upper part since 1998. (via the BBC)
Hi everyone! Mathew Ingram here. I am able to continue writing this newsletter in part because of your financial help and support, which you can do either through my Patreon or by upgrading your subscription to a monthly contribution. I enjoy gathering all of these links and sharing them with you, but it does take time, and your support makes it possible for me to do that. I also write a weekly newsletter of technology analysis called The Torment Nexus.
Scientists find deadly virus DNA hidden in 1,000-year-old manuscripts
Some of Europe’s most famous medieval manuscripts, including the York Gospels, have revealed an extraordinary secret hidden in their pages. Scientists have discovered ancient viral DNA preserved in the animal skins used to make parchment, opening a new window into the 3,500-year history of sheeppox virus. The discovery was made by an international research team led by University College Dublin (UCD). By analyzing parchment from centuries-old documents, the researchers uncovered the first genetic evidence that this destructive disease was spreading through European sheep flocks long before modern times. Sheeppox is highly contagious and can spread through a flock with alarming speed. It can kill large numbers of infected animals, particularly young sheep, while also causing major economic losses by reducing wool, meat, and milk production. Published in Science Advances, the new study reconstructs more than 3,500 years of sheeppox virus evolution. (via Science Daily)
This Spanish member of the royal family held the Guinness record for the most names at 88
A great-great-grandson of Carlos III, he is remembered less for his royal lineage than for the 88 names in his baptismal record. His full name is Alfonso María Isabel Francisco Eugenio Gabriel Pedro Sebastián Pelayo Fernando Francisco de Paula Pío Miguel Rafael Juan José Joaquín Ana Zacarias Elisabeth Simeón Tereso Pedro Pablo Tadeo Santiago Simón Lucas Juan Mateo Andrés Bartolomé Ambrosio Gerónimo Agustín Bernardo Cándido Gerardo Luis-Gonzaga Filomeno Camilo Cayetano Andrés-Avelino Bruno Joaquín-Picolimini Felipe Luis-Rey-de-Francia Ricardo Esteban-Protomártir Genaro Nicolás Estanislao-de-Koska Lorenzo Vicente Crisostomo Cristano Darío Ignacio Francisco-Javier Francisco-de-Borja Higona Clemente Esteban-de-Hungría Ladislado Enrique Ildefonso Hermenegildo Carlos-Borromeo Eduardo Francisco-Régis Vicente-Ferrer Pascual Miguel-de-los-Santos Adriano Venancio Valentín Benito José-Oriol Domingo Florencio Alfacio Benére Domingo-de-Silos Ramón Isidro Manuel Antonio Todos-los-Santos de Borbón y Borbón. (via La Brujula Verde)
New Olympic sport: Legolas archery sliding
Acknowledgements: I find a lot of these links myself, but I also get some from other places that I rely on as “serendipity engines,” such as The Morning News from Rosecrans Baldwin and Andrew Womack, Jodi Ettenberg’s Curious About Everything, Dan Lewis’s Now I Know, Robert Cottrell and Caroline Crampton’s The Browser, Clive Thompson’s Linkfest and Why Is This Interesting by Noah Brier and Colin Nagy. If you come across something you think should be included here, feel free to email me at mathew @ mathewingram dot com