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In 1896 the French physicist Henri Becquerel noticed that pitchblende had one very unusual property: photographic plates exposed to a sample of pitchblende reacted as if they had been exposed to light. This property was called radioactivity, but at the time many scientists dismissed it as being of little importance. However, the investigation of what caused the radioactivity was to lead to one of the most significant discoveries in science, a discovery that laid the foundations for modern nuclear physics.

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An odd device patented in Britain in 1904 by a Prussian count, Vladimir Skorzewski, was a compressed air walking assister. It consisted of a seat and handlebars, shock absorbers, and leg extensions and soles attached to stirrups. The count’s notion was that the shock absorbers at the contraption’s joints would function much like a series of miniature pogo sticks. The user could bound along the street and still enjoy the comforts of sitting down while “walking”.

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Alvarez had studied the work of his colleague Juan Vucetich, head of the bureau of statistics for the La Plata police. Vucetich had discovered a method of analyzing and classifying fingerprints that made them easy both to file and, equally vital, to retrieve. Until then, the police authorities had largely ignored his work. But because of the Rojas case and subsequent successes, Argentina adopted fingerprinting as its sole method of identifying criminals – the first country in the world to do so.

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A program being established by NASA will eventually cover and area 10 million times larger than that investigated so far. Using specially designed equipment, it will focus on some 1,000 carefully chosen sun-type stars. The hope is to detect radio signals. The equipment will also scan the entire sky over a wide range of frequencies. Although each point will be observed for only few seconds, the survey will increase the probability that all potential sites for intelligent life have been examined.

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Anybody having difficulty with squares and square roots? Your guide awaits.

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Who would have thought that worms can be so beautiful?

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There really are some odd and unusual mammals on this planet of ours. It seems that life has found almost every conceivable shape, size or design to take advantage of every possible aspect of the various ecosystems that exist, indeed have become an integral part of those systems. This is just a small selection of the rare and wonderful ways in which mammals have evolved to survive and thrive, sometimes in extraordinarily specialised ways to cope with or make the most of their surroundings.

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This Mexican salamander is a unique animal that is another inspiration to the science fiction community. It resembles many a monster and alien that have been seen in movies and on television. Yet despite its popularity, it is now endangered due to the amount of pollution entering the waters around Mexico as more and more companies create factories in the area.

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Does this land-based crab really exist? The Coconut Crab can be found in the Indo-Pacific island region and has developed over centuries from its hermit crab roots to become a fully functioning massive crab.

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Quite possibly one of the oddest looking animals out there and certainly an inspiration for science fiction characters from Blade, Alien and a bunch of others. Decide for yourself if the Star Nosed Mole is science fact or fiction.