Sign up to our newsletter The Weird Science Drop
A brand new newsletter is bringing back crazy chemistry, bonkers biology and foolish physics in the shape of The Weird Science Drop.
The newsletter goes where other, more-sensible publications fear to tread. Every week, it brings the overlooked, under-the-radar and, above all else, most madcap science news, views and research straight to your email.
From the keyboard of Daniel Smith, The Weird Science Drop keeps a close eye on the latest scientific discoveries and research while also unearthing the little-heard strange stories from the past.
Daniel is an experienced journalist who has worked for news websites on both sides of the Atlantic. Back in the furthest reaches of time somewhere near Watford he fancied himself as an astrophysicist but proved to be hopeless. So he put down the telescope and picked up a pen instead.
Daniel was once the author of the Weird Science Blog - one of the top blogs in this media group - and is delighted to get back in the saddle.
He said: 'It's been great to dust off the old white lab coat and bring Weird Science back but this time in a far better, more dynamic fashion with The Weird Science Drop.
'The newsletter will hunt out the choicest morsels of science goodness, where everything from the world 's unluckiest scientist who inadvertently tried to end the planet twice to research showing monkeys are the world's best yodellers is put under the microscope.
'I'll try to keep people informed, amazed and astounded, while hopefully provoking the old smile along the way.
'So why not subscribe?'
So what's in The Weird Science Drop?
Each newsletter will feature regular sections such as Weird Science News, Photo of the Week, Infographic Magic, plus a rotating platter of goodness including…
Weird Scientist - a look back at some of the oddest characters who ever picked up a test tube
Weird Science Hero - amazing people who have done amazing things
Weird Science in Films - sometimes they get it right, sometimes they throw the laws of reality out of the window
We're Alone / Not Alone - weighing up the odds of alien life out there in the cosmos
Weird Animals - there are some very strange creatures out there
How do I sign up for The Weird Science Drop?
The Weird Science Drop will be published on Substack, an independent platform with no ads, making for a cleaner reading experience than on many other websites.
You can read there on desktop or the app, or simply from your email inbox. So not only do you not have to go searching for the news itself – or wait for the algorithm to decide this is what you might like to see – you don't even have to search for the newsletter. Once it's live it's sent directly to you to read at your leisure.
Sign up for The Weird Science Drop here
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South Wales Argus
a day ago
- South Wales Argus
Tennis duo soar to national doubles title at Wimbledon
Daniel, 28, and Vera, 35, who represent Kent at tennis and live in Crystal Palace, featured in the national finals at Play Your Way to Wimbledon, powered by Vodafone, which is the UK's largest individual mass participation tennis competition and is delivered in partnership with the LTA and the All England Club. Thousands of players took part in the qualifying stages this year, leading to county and regional finals in June and July, with the winners progressing to the national finals on Wimbledon's Aorangi Courts last week. Daniel and Vera, who described Jannik Sinner as their tennis idol, claimed victory in the women's doubles competition on the famous grass courts of Wimbledon and revealed it was an experience they will never forget. Our grass courts are back in action 🤩 This week, they're hosting the Finals of Play Your Way to #Wimbledon, powered by @VodafoneUK 🎾 — Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) August 7, 2025 Daniel said: "It's crazy, absolutely crazy. We said at the beginning just enjoy it, take each game and each point as it comes. We didn't expect [to win] at all. 'I competed two years ago but didn't get past the round robin stage, so this is a very different experience going further.' Vera added: 'I never thought I would be playing here. I played a lot of tennis as a kid and you obviously always think about Wimbledon, even if it's not the actual Grand Slam, just being here is amazing. 'It's very surreal to play here, also because we don't usually play on grass so it's a really nice feeling.' This year's tournament delivered over 10,000 playing opportunities with thousands of singles and doubles players taking part at 800 venues, leading to county and area finals in June and July, with the winners progressing to the national finals on the All England Club's Aorangi Courts from 3 – 9 August 2025. The competition aims to broaden playing opportunities and to inspire people of all ages and abilities to play tennis and follow in the footsteps of their tennis heroes by competing for a chance to play on Wimbledon's iconic courts. In addition to 14 and under singles, 18 and under doubles and adult doubles draws, the categories also included wheelchair (adult and juniors), learning disability and visually impaired competitions. The national finals also saw the return of popular para-standing and deaf tennis exhibition matches held during the week. World No.1 wheelchair doubles partners and Vodafone ambassadors Alfie Hewett OBE and Gordon Reid OBE were in attendance to cheer on the players at SW19 and offer their experience and advice. 'We would have loved to have had something like this when we were younger and playing'' said Hewett. 'Play your Way to Wimbledon is a massive event for someone to pick up a racket for the first time or start playing again if they haven't for a while. 'It's about being active at grassroots level, making friends and new tennis partners and that is the beauty of events like this.' Reid added: 'We want tennis to be available and accessible to everybody and get as many people as possible enjoying the sport. 'This event encapsulates that perfectly and we're proud to be a part of it.' Play Your Way to Wimbledon, powered by Vodafone, is the UK's largest individual mass participation tennis competition. It is delivered by Vodafone, in partnership with the LTA and the All England Club, forming part of Vodafone's ongoing commitment to supporting grassroots tennis in the UK and making the sport more accessible for players of all ages and abilities.
Wales Online
2 days ago
- Wales Online
England rugby star 'choked out' cast member in unaired TV footage as full story emerges
England rugby star 'choked out' cast member in unaired TV footage as full story emerges The dual-code England star was appearing on SAS Australia: Who Dares Wins in 2021 Sam Burgess pretends to choke out Phil Tufnell as he explains how he hijacked a bus (Image: YouTube) Former England dual-code rugby international Sam Burgess has revealed how he once hijacked a bus on a TV show, choking out the driver in unaired footage. Burgess, who played for England in the 2015 World Cup, was competing on the second series of SAS Australia: Who Dares Wins back in 2021 when he ended up commandeering a mini-bus. The show, which first aired in the UK in 2015 before an Australian version was made in 2020, pits contestants against a shortened training course designed to simulate a condensed version of the actual United Kingdom Special Forces selection course. However, in Burgess, producers clearly got more than they bargained for as he gave those involved in the show a taste of their own medicine after hijacking a bus following one challenge. Appearing on the Stick to Cricket podcast with Phil Tufnell, Sir Alastair Cook, David Lloyd and Michael Vaughan, Burgess dove into great detail - even using Tufnell as a makeshift driver to show how he manufactured his escape as he left the former cricketers in raptures. "Yes, it's a true story," said Burgess when Vaughan asked if there was a story from the show involving a bus. "They took us away and it's a 15-day course. "20 might start and it's just who can get to the end, basically. We get to day 12 and there's only four or five people left on the show. Article continues below "Throughout the whole show, you're sleep deprived, food deprived, freezing cold. It's really hard graft. Each night, they might come in and talk to you before you go to bed. 'Listen, if you're captured, you should always try and escape, because the longer you're in captivity, the less chance of survival'. Sign up to Inside Welsh rugby on Substack to get exclusive news stories and insight from behind the scenes in Welsh rugby. "This is all sinking in my subconscious. The next day, we do this assault course for four or five hours. We're freezing cold, wet through. "Explosions go off and guns come in. They put hoods on you and tie you up. I felt like I was in a warzone. By this point, you feel like a zombie. "The training kicked in, what they've been teaching us over the last few weeks. I'm in a stressed position against the fence, with this woman kicking me in the shins. I'm thinking 'what is going on here'. "After about two hours in captivity, they've thrown us in a vehicle and are transporting us to another destination. They also said that on transportation is where you've got a great chance to escape, because it's generally someone low down the food chain - that's where you should attempt to escape. "So I've gone here's my chance. I've got a hood on and zip ties on my wrist. I'm so fired up because of that woman kicking me in the shins, I've popped the wrist straps. "We're on a bus that's moving. We're told we're on there with armed guys with guns so do not f*****g move. "So I've peeked through my hood and I see the other contestants. There's one guy driving, there's a camera man and one other guy. I think there's no guns on here. "I can take them. We're on a bit of a freeway. We're going about 100 km/h. I charge the bus and I get the guy at the front. I'm dishing him up. "It's no show in my head. I was convinced I was in Afghanistan. I was there in my head. This guy had an earpiece on but I ripped out his comms and get him under control. "I free one of my fellow contestants, John Steffensen, who is a sprinter." Burgess, who won the NRL title with the South Sydney Rabbitohs in 2014, then used Tufnell to show what he did to the bus driver. The panel were left stunned by Burgess, who continued his story. "I say 'don't you f*****g move'," said Burgess, stood behind the former England spinner. "I'm choking him and I say pull the van over now. "He's not saying a word. I start tugging the wheel and everyone's screaming. This guy didn't break character. "I say I'll put you to sleep. I say to John I'm going to choke him out. Handbrake on, keys out, he's out the vehicle as well as the other guy. I get in the front seat. The cameraman looks at me and I say you can get out as well." Ultimately, another contestant - former Australian athlete Jana Pittman - convinced Burgess to snap out of it, but not before he'd tried to find some food after nearly two weeks of brutal training. "I've then got the mini-bus, me and four other contestants," he continued. "I was starving. "I thought I'd go to KFC. But I had no money. I'm driving down the road, don't know where to go, but I'm free. I thought I'd completed the show. "I'm driving around and this vehicle comes towards us. It's definitely from the show. I took it on. They swerved off. I wanted to win. "There's a woman still on the show, Jana Pittman, amazing athlete. She said to me 'you've taken it a bit too far'. I came back into normal life. "I drove past a pub so I pulled in there. Within about 15 minutes, we were surrounded by six cars. Ant Middleton came back on the bus and they absolutely flogged us for about 12 hours. Article continues below "We lost two contestants that night. They never aired any part of that show because we weren't insured. None of it has been aired. "They loved it, though. They reckon it's the best escape story they've ever had."
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Daily Mail
Joy Reid's substack following climbs after MSNBC firing
On Monday, the former Reid Out host announced that she was a 'Substack Bestseller with thousands of paid subscribers.' While it's unclear how many of her 168,000-plus followers shell out the $8 monthly subscription fee, even a small percentage of paying customers would potentially net Reid six figures per month. 'At the start of the year, I had a grand total of nine thousand subscribers, who mostly came to this page (then called "And another thing with Joy") to read my occasional posts, and to live chat with me as I sat on set at 30 Rock during MSNBC special coverage,' Reid wrote on Monday. 'That modest growth ended abruptly in January, when my then boss, the MSNBC president, told me I wasn't allowed to have a Substack. Other paid plans for her Substack musings include an annual subscription for $80 and a yearly 'Founding Member' subscription for $240. Substack takes a 10 percent commission from each of its authors - as well as a four percent surcharge per payment - leaving Reid with plenty left over to pay the bills. Even if just 5,000 of her subscribers opted for the yearly plan, she would still be raking in a cool $360,000 a year. That doesn't account for any revenue earned from her YouTube series, The Joy Reid Show, which launched on June 9 and counts more than 243,000 subscribers. Former CNN anchor Jim Acosta, for example, has amassed just over 300,000 subscribers on Substack after his resignation from the network in early January. Reid, who rankled MSNBC brass with her extreme online rants, was fired in late February by the network's new boss. An insider at MSNBC told Politico that her controversial social media posts - including shamed Latino Republican's for voting for Trump and claiming the media's preoccupation with Russia's invasion of Ukraine was motivated by the victims being 'white and largely Christian' - 'gave the Standards Department heartburn.' In January, Reid compared President Donald Trump to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler on Holocaust Remembrance Day.
