They wore bells, told jokes, and made kings laugh — but the true history of jesters is full of surprises. From ancient Egypt to medieval Europe, this episode explores the serious side of these so-called fools: their talents, their struggles, and the unique place they held in royal courts. A fascinating and family-friendly look at the wit, courage, and complexity behind the jester’s smile. This episode was prepared with the help of AI, and the content is written by OYLA authors. For a subscription, go to: oyla.us, oyla.uk, oyla.au, oyla.eu or oyla.co.in to check it out!
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Paper Worlds
Have you ever heard of a town that started as a copyright trap and ended up on real maps? Welcome to the curious world of “paper towns”—fake streets, towns, and even mountain peaks added to maps to catch copycats. In this episode, we’ll tell the true story of Agloe, a fictional hamlet in New York that became real (if only briefly), and explore other oddities like Argleton in England and Mount Richard in Colorado. But it’s not just maps—dictionaries, encyclopedias, and even scientific papers hide invented entries too! Why would anyone do this? To protect their work—and sometimes, just for fun. This episode was prepared with the help of AI, and the content is written by OYLA authors. For a subscription, go to: oyla.us, oyla.uk, oyla.au, or oyla.co.in to check it out!
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Hieroglyphs from the Sky
What are snowflakes? Is it true that no two are alike? On the 28th of January, 1887, the town of Fort Keogh in Montana was experiencing unusually heavy snowfall. A ranch owner named Matt Coleman became a witness to this unique natural phenomenon. Amidst the falling snowflakes, one attracted his attention above all the rest: it was nearly 16 inches wide and 8 inches thick! Even today, it still holds the status of the largest snowflake ever recorded. Such large flakes appear during warm winter weather. It is much colder up in the atmosphere, where snowflakes form. As they fall, they melt a little and stick together. If you catch one on your mitten, you can see that it actually consists of several different flakes. And each one is unique. But how do we know that? Has someone examined every snowflake in the world and proved once and for all that no two of them are alike? Of course not! But that doesn’t stop scientists from confidently stating there could never be two identical snowflakes. To understand why, we have to figure out what snowflakes are and how they appear. Story told by Garrett Tucker. You can discover even more about science and the world around us in our magazine, so head over to oyla.us to check it out!
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Why Every City Has Its Own Climate
Living in a city is very different from living in a rural area. But did you know that even climate and weather can drastically change as you enter a big city? Temperature, wind, and humidity in an urban environment are not the same as outside of it. Why is that? Story told by Garrett Tucker. You can discover even more about science and the world around us in our magazine, so head over to oyla.us to check it out!
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Mary Anning and a World Full of Monsters
Toothy ichthyosaurs, giant plesiosaurs, flying pterosaurs... What beasts could possibly be more terrifying? For one woman who spent her life among these fossilized giants, the problems of poverty, gender inequality, and theft of her life’s work proved to be much more ugly monsters than these. Story told by Garrett Tucker. You can discover even more about science and the world around us in our magazine, so head over to oyla.us to check it out!
OYLA Science Magazine is launching a podcast series! This new format will let you delve into the fascinating world of science like never before. In each episode, embark on a journey that breaks the boundaries of our printed pages as we unlock the mysteries of the universe one discovery at a time. Subscribe and get ready to be inspired, informed, and amazed by the incredible world of science.
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