Author: Maarten Van Den Driessche
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When Tectonic Plates Collide: Lebanon’s Hidden Earthquake Risk
If you’re planning a trip to Lebanon or just curious about why this particular corner of the world is geologically restless, you need to understand what’s happening literally beneath your feet. In August 2024, two earthquakes originating in neighboring Syria reminded everyone that the Levant sits on one of the most tectonically active zones on…
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Was the British Empire Evil? A Question That Still Divides the World
The British Empire governed roughly one in four people on Earth. It stretched across 24% of the world’s land area. It shaped laws, languages, borders, and economies that billions still live within today. Yet in classrooms from London to Lagos, people tell fundamentally different stories about what it meant. The Numbers At its height in…
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The Gallo Pinto War: A Friendly Culinary Rivalry Between Nicaragua and Costa Rica
Few dishes spark as much friendly debate in Central America as Gallo Pinto. This simple yet beloved combination of rice and beans is considered a national dish in both Nicaragua and Costa Rica, with each country proudly claiming it as its own. The so-called “Gallo Pinto War” is not a real conflict but a long-running…
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Tehran’s Metro: What It Says About Urban Priorities
When people think of Tehran, public transportation is rarely the first thing that comes to mind. Yet the Iranian capital has quietly built one of the world’s largest and busiest metro systems, despite decades of economic sanctions and international isolation. Today, Tehran’s metro stretches for more than 300 kilometers (186 miles), with hundreds of stations…
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How Can Luxair Be Larger Than Arik Air?
How Can Luxair Be Larger Than Arik Air? At first glance, it sounds impossible. How could Luxair, the national airline of Luxembourg, a country with a population of just around 680,000 people, operate a larger fleet than Arik Air, one of Nigeria‘s best-known airlines, serving a country of more than 242 million people? Yet that’s…
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Art Is Data
We often think of art and data as opposites. One belongs in galleries, the other in spreadsheets. One speaks to emotion, the other to logic. But every work of art is data. A painting contains information about the artist, the era, the available materials, the culture, and the emotions of its time. A song records…
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All You Have Is Now
There is one truth that unites every person on Earth: none of us knows how much time we have. We spend years planning for tomorrow, worrying about the future, or looking back at the past. We tell ourselves we’ll travel “one day,” call an old friend “next week,” or finally pursue that dream “when the…
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Airbus A350-1000ULR Completes Incredible 24-Hour Flight from Melbourne to Toulouse
In a remarkable milestone for commercial aviation, Airbus has successfully completed one of the longest nonstop flights ever performed by a passenger aircraft. The Airbus A350-1000ULR test aircraft, registered F-WULR, remained airborne for 24 hours and 23 minutes on a nonstop journey from Melbourne (MEL) to Toulouse (TLS), demonstrating the extraordinary capabilities of the aircraft…
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Travel Is Not a Reward for Working. It’s an Education for Living.
For many people, travel is something to look forward to at the end of a long year—a reward for working hard, meeting deadlines, and taking only a few precious days off. We save our holidays, count down the weeks, and tell ourselves we’ve “earned” the right to explore. But what if we’ve been thinking about…