Unexpected Elements

Rogue Agents

This week’s news of an AI agent managing to hack into an Australian government website has the Unexpected Elements team exploring the sneaky science of infiltration. Marnie Chesterton is joined by sc...

2026-10-02

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An identity crisis

When a NATO fighter jet was sent to investigate what appeared to be a suspicious drone near Vilnius airport, the culprit turned out to be something rather less threatening: a flock of birds. Inspired ...

2026-09-25

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A distorted view

With the United Nations encouraging wider use of the Equal Earth map, a projection designed to better represent the true size of Earth's landmasses, the Unexpected Elements team have been thinking abo...

2026-09-18

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The phizz-whizzing science of Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl Day is celebrated each year on 13 September. Dahl gave us much-loved children’s books like Matilda, The BFG and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which have captivated kids for generations...

2026-09-11

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The show must go on

The 80th birthday celebrations of the late, great Queen frontman Freddie Mercury have us marvelling at mercury at an elemental level: as a killer, a cure and more. First, we hear about how to make a ...

2026-09-04

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A very dry episode

Vast swathes of Europe and Asia are experiencing drought conditions, thanks to relentless heatwaves and lack of rain. This week, we find out why drought conditions could unexpectedly lead to an incr...

2026-08-28

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Fashionably late

News of an Australian library book finally finding its way home 150 years after it was borrowed has the Unexpected Elements team thinking about things that get forgotten, filed away or simply turn up ...

2026-08-21

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Light entertainment

As Europe experiences its first total solar eclipse in almost 30 years this week, Unexpected Elements investigates the surprising science that emerges when sunlight is blocked out. We travel to the ...

2026-08-14

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Someone's always watching

The UK's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has found that birdwatching is the second-fastest growing hobby amongst Gen Z with 750,000 of them regularly venturing into the outdoors to spot some...

2026-08-07

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Down The Rabbit Hole

75 years ago, Walt Disney's Alice in Wonderland hit our screens, welcoming us into a technicolour, topsy-turvy world of eccentric characters – including the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat, the Queen of ...

2026-07-31

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Bald caps, sparrow raps and lightning claps

If you were lucky enough to be at rapper Pitbull's recent concert in Hyde Park in London, you would have been greeted by a sea of bald caps. A Guiness World record-breaking sea of 22,141 bald caps. An...

2026-07-24

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A scientific odyssey

As the film adaptation of the Odyssey bursts onto screens around the world this week, here at Unexpected Elements we’re undertaking our own epic journey through science – all inspired by the ancient G...

2026-07-17

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Everyone needs a hero

A mysterious vigilante in Mexico nicknamed “Batman” has inspired the Unexpected Elements team to investigate the science of superheroes. First up, we explore whether a Batman’s presence can actually ...

2026-07-10

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Stuck in a cycle

Pakistan has recently announced that they plan to abolish the 18% sales tax on menstrual products like pads or tampons. UN Women has welcomed the decision, saying that when these products become more ...

2026-07-03

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Dividing lines

This week South Korea announced they will be adjusting the Civilian Controlled Zone that borders the demilitarised area between North and South Korea. The reshuffle will allow thousands of civilians t...

2026-06-26

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Anyone for chips?

The spiralling cost and short supply of microchips – something the tech journalists have dubbed ‘RAMageddon’ – has the Unexpected Elements team investigating all things chip-related. We start things...

2026-06-19

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The beautiful game

As the Fifa Men’s World Cup kicks off this week in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, football fever is everywhere – and this has the Unexpected Elements team exploring all things football. First...

2026-06-12

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Science bears fruit

Long live the king – of mangoes! In India the famed ‘king of mangoes’, the Alphonso mango, is in drastically short supply after a particularly bad bout of adverse weather. Inspired by the mango’s plig...

2026-06-05

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Celebrating science on Africa Day

How do you translate the latest science work across the 2000 different languages spoken around the African continent? And have you heard of sky mountain? Africa Day has the Unexpected Elements team ta...

2026-05-29

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Unexpected enhancements

Have you ever wondered what happen to salmon when too much cocaine seeps into their rivers? Inspired by the Enhanced Games, we lookat unexpected areas of performance enhancement. Peptides are making a...

2026-05-22

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Unexpected Elements

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