A living archive of the curiosity, kindness, creation and exploratory spirit of humanity. Sourced stories, published in English and Chinese.https://acurioushumanity.com/enhttps://acurioushumanity.com/en/stories/the-woman-who-measured-the-stars/https://acurioushumanity.com/en/stories/the-woman-who-measured-the-stars/Henrietta Swan Leavitt was paid to count points of light. She found a ruler for the universe.Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTcuriosityastronomymeasurementcepheid variableswomen in sciencehttps://acurioushumanity.com/en/stories/the-woman-who-drew-the-ocean-floor/https://acurioushumanity.com/en/stories/the-woman-who-drew-the-ocean-floor/Marie Tharp was not allowed on the research ships. From a desk in New York, she helped draw the map that made plate tectonics visible.Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTcuriosityoceanographycartographyplate tectonicswomen in sciencehttps://acurioushumanity.com/en/stories/the-doctor-who-drank-the-bacteria/https://acurioushumanity.com/en/stories/the-doctor-who-drank-the-bacteria/Barry Marshall was told ulcers came from stress. He thought they came from a bacterium — and drank it to find out.Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTdiscoverymedicinemicrobiologypeptic ulcerself-experimentationhttps://acurioushumanity.com/en/stories/the-cure-hidden-in-an-old-book/https://acurioushumanity.com/en/stories/the-cure-hidden-in-an-old-book/Tu Youyou was given a wartime problem. She found part of the answer in a fourth-century Chinese medical text — and changed the treatment of malaria.Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTdiscoverymalariapharmacologytraditional medicinedrug discoveryhttps://acurioushumanity.com/en/stories/the-man-who-saved-669-children/https://acurioushumanity.com/en/stories/the-man-who-saved-669-children/In 1938, a young London stockbroker went to Prague for a holiday. He came back with a plan to get children out. Then he said nothing about it for fifty years.Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTkindnessHolocaustKindertransportCzechoslovakiarescuehttps://acurioushumanity.com/en/stories/the-pilot-who-bombed-berlin-with-candy/https://acurioushumanity.com/en/stories/the-pilot-who-bombed-berlin-with-candy/During the Berlin Airlift, a young pilot tied chocolate to handkerchiefs and dropped it to children waiting at the end of the runway.Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTkindnessberlin airliftcold wareveryday kindnessaviationhttps://acurioushumanity.com/en/stories/thirty-million-trees/https://acurioushumanity.com/en/stories/thirty-million-trees/Wangari Maathai did not set out to plant a forest. She set out to help rural women grow firewood, food and a little independence.Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTcreationreforestationwomen's movementskenyaenvironmental democracyhttps://acurioushumanity.com/en/stories/twelve-seconds-that-changed-the-sky/https://acurioushumanity.com/en/stories/twelve-seconds-that-changed-the-sky/On a cold beach in North Carolina, two bicycle makers flew for twelve seconds. The hard part was not getting up. It was staying in control.Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTcreationaviationinventioncontroliterative testinghttps://acurioushumanity.com/en/stories/a-message-in-a-bottle/https://acurioushumanity.com/en/stories/a-message-in-a-bottle/In 1977, two spacecraft carried a gold-plated record of Earth into the dark. It was addressed to no one in particular.Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTbeyondvoyagergolden recordinterstellar spacecommunicationhttps://acurioushumanity.com/en/stories/earthrise/https://acurioushumanity.com/en/stories/earthrise/On Christmas Eve 1968, three men rounded the far side of the Moon and saw their home rise over the horizon. One of them took a photograph.Thu, 05 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTbeyondapollo 8earth photographyenvironmentalismspace exploration