Stories by David Bressan

“A little Christmas Dream“, cartoon by Artist Georges du Maurier, published in Punch (1868), with what seems to be a creepy mammoth (image in public domain).

“Tell me something, my friend. You ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?” (“Batman” 1989) The night before December 6, belongs to the Krampus, a beast-like demon in the Alpine folklore – and strange marks can be found on some rocks in the Dolomites - resembling the imprints of an exceptional large cloven [...]

November 23, 1963 the first episode of the British science-fiction television programme “Doctor Who*” was broadcast. The series follows the adventures of the “Doctor“, last survivor of the Time Lords, an incredible advanced alien race once native to the planet Gallifrey.

Cabinet of curiosities proudly presents… This Week Geohistory: November 15, 1835: the “RMS Beagle” arrives to Tahiti, where a geologizing Darwin tests his famous reef-evolution-theory November 14, 1797: Birthday of Sir Charles Lyell, he is best known for introducing uniformitarianism in geology, however he was also interested in the enigmatic origin of Loess, a windblown [...]

You can still enter the naming contest and now this week cabinet of curiosities – links for a lazy afternoon… This Week Geohistory: November 9, 1934:  Birthday of a collection of organic molecules called Carl E.

“Very scanty acquaintance with practical geology, I’m exceedingly interested in all wider problems with which it deals” Alfred Russel Wallace (1896) When Charles Darwin published “The Origin of Species” in November 1859 geologists were still discussing the age of the earth.

Early naturalists were obsessed with the idea to collect and to describe all the secrets of earth, many unusual and strange things were therefore displayed – for education and amusement – in “Wunderkammern” or “Cabinets of Curiosities“.

“the magisterium, our great work, the stone” “The Alchemist” Act 1. Scene 4 4. – The Philosopher’s Stone Today we remember Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) for his contributions to optics, mechanics and astronomy, but as a typical scholar of his time he was also interested in more obscure knowledge, like provided by alchemy.

“O, it is excellent – To have a giant’s strenght, but it is tyrannous to use it like a giant.” “Measure for Measure” Act 2, Scene 2 3.

“When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?” “Macbeth“  Act 1, Scene 1 2. – The Thunderstone Already the Roman scholar Pliny describes them as “Idaei dactyli” (the fingers from the mountain Ida).

“Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble…” “Macbeth“  Act 4, Scene 1 For everybody who´s planning to boil a magical potion or plans a witches gathering for All Hallows’ Eve, this week I will present some geological ingredients for a perfect witch’s brew: 1.

October 23 is (in)famous as supposed earth’s birthday – this date is mentioned in many textbooks retelling the life of Irish Archbishop James Ussher (1581-1656).

“Inside the globe [there] exist mysterious forces, whose effects become apparent on the surface. Eruptions of vapors, glowing lava and new volcanic rocks…[]” Alexander von Humboldt At the end of the 19th century and after the victory of “Plutonism” in the great Granite War, geologists accepted the idea that igneous rocks originate from deep inside [...]

In 1820 the Italian engineer Count Giuseppe Marzari-Pencati (1779-1836) published a short article about the stratigraphic succession found near the small village of Predazzo.

In the early afternoon of September 26, 1997 a sequence of earthquakes hit the Italian province of Umbria. The two main quakes, with a magnitude of 5.6-5.8, were followed by a series of aftershocks -  one aftershock was so strong that it caused the partial collapse of the damaged roof of the basilica of St.

For centuries the quarries in the slope of the “Tschingelberg” had provided valuable schist-plates and with the introduction of public school (and chalk boards) in the Swiss canton of Glarus the demand increased exponentially.

“Humanity’s genius is to have always had a sense of its weakness. The physical energy and strength, with which nature insufficiently endowed humans, is found in animals that help them to discover new territories.” “Home” (2009) A post dedicated to the forgotten heroes of early geology -  asses !

“Suddenly I heard a noise as of thunder, which I thought to be that of a wave of the sea. The trees shook, and the earth was moved. I uncovered my face, and I saw that a serpent drew near…[]…his body was as overlaid with gold, and his colour as that of true lazuli….[]… it [...]

August 21, 1986 was a busy market day in the village of Lower Nyos (Cameroon) and most people that evening went to bed early. At 9:30 p.m. a strange sound, like a distant explosion, was heard and suddenly people and animals tumbled onto the ground.

After some monster science* the “History of Geology” blog will be dedicated to “travelling geologists” – the first post will introduce us to a woman who visited (and survived) the “island(s) of monsters”: (*anyway Discovery Channel makes a much better job promoting silly science) “Outside the harbour of the country, neither very near it nor [...]

Marie Tharp was born July 30, 1920 in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Already in early years she followed her father, a soil surveyor for the United States Department of Agriculture, into the field.