Harriet Bloom
History's surprising, true stories
Edinburgh, UK
Harriet Bloom writes Fun & Facts' history coverage. She hunts down the surprising, well-documented stories behind everyday things and the 'wait, that really happened?' moments — always checked against real sources, always clear on myth versus record.
What Harriet covers
- Surprising origins of everyday things
- 'Wait, that really happened' history
- Myth-busting popular history
- Odd turning points
- The stories behind familiar names
Articles by Harriet
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How Do Fireflies Glow? The Chemistry Behind the Flash
How do fireflies glow? Through a near-perfect chemical reaction between luciferin and luciferase that produces cold light with minimal heat waste—and millisecond
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How Do Plants Know Which Way Is Up?
Plants sense gravity using tiny starch grains that shift in seconds, then redirect growth hormones to bend roots down and shoots up—here's the precise mechanism.
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How Do Birds Know Where to Migrate?
Birds navigate migration using magnetic fields, star patterns, and the sun—three overlapping systems that work together. Here's how each one actually works.
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How Do Bees Make Honey?
Bees transform nectar into honey through enzymes, evaporation, and collective precision. The process takes weeks and requires visits to roughly 2 million flowers per jar.
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Why Do Leaves Change Color in Autumn?
Leaves change color when trees stop producing chlorophyll and reveal hidden pigments—but that's only half the story. The science behind fall foliage, explained.
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Why Different Fruits Ripen at Different Speeds
Different fruits ripen at different speeds because of ethylene gas sensitivity. Climacteric fruits auto-ripen in days; non-climacteric fruits don't ripen after harvest
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What Makes Fossilization Possible
Less than 0.1% of dead organisms ever fossilize. Discover the rare conditions—rapid burial, oxygen depletion, mineral-rich water—that preserve ancient life.
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Why Do Some Plants Eat Insects?
Why do some plants eat insects? Carnivorous plants evolved in nitrogen-poor bogs where catching prey is the only way to get essential nutrients their roots can't access.
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How Do Seahorses Reproduce? The Male Pregnancy Explained
How do seahorses reproduce? Males carry fertilized eggs in a specialized pouch for 9-30 days, providing oxygen and nutrients—unique among fish. Here's how it works.
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What Is the Oldest Tree on Earth?
The oldest tree on earth is an unnamed Great Basin Bristlecone Pine over 5,100 years old, verified by tree-ring counting in Nevada and California's high mountain ranges.
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What Is the Smallest Animal in the World? Microscopic Champions
The smallest animal in the world isn't the famous tardigrade. Parasitic wasps and loricifers measure just 0.1–0.25 mm—smaller than a grain of pollen.
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What Is the Deepest Cave on Earth?
Krubera Cave in Georgia plunges 2,196 meters underground—deeper than any known cave on Earth. Here's how explorers reached the bottom over 18 years.
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How Do Deep Sea Fish Survive Pressure?
Deep sea fish survive crushing ocean pressure through equalized internal pressure, specialized proteins, and flexible bodies—no swim bladders, no air pockets.
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Why Do Whales Breach Out of Water?
Whales breach to coordinate feeding, signal socially, and possibly remove parasites—but each leap costs serious energy. Here's what the evidence actually shows.
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Why Do Penguins Huddle Together? The Science of Survival
Penguins huddle to cut heat loss by 20-30% in Antarctic cold. The rotation is self-organizing, not conscious—here's how the thermal system actually works.
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Why Do Whales Sing?
Why do whales sing? Marine communication serves mating, navigation, and social bonding. Discover how whale songs evolve and travel across ocean basins.
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Why Do We Get Hiccups? The Reflex That Shouldn't Exist
Why do we get hiccups? The answer lies in an ancient reflex from our amphibian ancestors—a misfired protective mechanism that no longer serves a purpose.
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Why Do We Cry When We Laugh? The Science of Laughter Tears
Why do we cry when we laugh? It's not hidden sadness—it's your vagus nerve triggering tear production during intense emotions. Here's the actual mechanism behind
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Why Do We Forget Dreams? The Neuroscience of Memory Loss
Dreams vanish within minutes of waking because norepinephrine—the brain chemical needed for memory—drops to near-zero during REM sleep. Here's the timeline.
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Why Do Some People Not Taste Cilantro?
It's not in your head: a gene variant called OR6A2 makes cilantro taste soapy to some people. Here's the science behind cilantro taste genetics and why culture matters
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How Do Plants Communicate Underground?
Plants share nutrients and possibly chemical signals through underground fungal networks. Here's what science has proven—and what remains hypothesis.
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Why Do We Have Wisdom Teeth?
Wisdom teeth are an evolutionary mismatch: our jaws shrank 12% over 10,000 years while tooth count stayed the same. Here's why our ancestors needed them—and why most of
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What Causes Lightning During Thunderstorms
Lightning forms when ice particles collide inside storm clouds, separating electrical charge. Learn the physics behind the spark, thunder, and 30,000K heat.
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Why Do We Have Unique Fingerprints?
Fingerprints form from random fetal development—differential skin growth and blood flow variations create patterns unique even in identical twins.
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How Did Ancient Egyptians Build the Pyramids?
Ancient Egyptians built the pyramids using copper tools, wooden sledges, ramps, and organized teams of paid workers—not slaves. Here's what archaeology reveals.
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What Causes Earthquakes? The Science Behind the Shaking
Earthquakes happen when stress built up in rock over decades suddenly releases as the rock ruptures. Here's the science behind why the ground shakes.
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What Is Quicksand and How Does It Work?
Quicksand is saturated sand acting as a non-Newtonian fluid. You won't sink like in movies—here's the physics, the myths, and how to escape.
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Why Are Flamingos Pink? The Surprising Science Behind the Color
Flamingos aren't born pink—they get their color from carotenoid pigments in algae and crustaceans. How diet creates the shade, and why captive birds fade.
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Why Do Stars Twinkle? The Atmospheric Truth
Stars twinkle because Earth's atmosphere bends their light unpredictably, not because the star itself is pulsing. Here's the science behind stellar scintillation.
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8 Historical Myths Everyone Believes (But Shouldn't)
From Columbus to Vikings with horns, discover the surprising truth behind common history myths that millions accept as fact—backed by museum archives and historians.
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7 Surprising Origins of Everyday Things (And the Myths Debunked)
From rubber erasers to Post-it Notes, discover the surprising invention stories behind common objects — and what history really tells us about where they came from.