The 20th century brought more prosperity and turbulence to Hong Kong, as the adolescent colony matured to become Asia’s leading commercial, logistical, and financial hub.
Curiosities
Tide Predictors: The Surprising Analog Computers That Helped Win WW2
On 9 October 1943, the Liverpool Tidal Institute received its most challenging task to date: to calculate the optimal day and hour for the largest
Shanghai: The Port of the World
Shanghai, the busiest port the world has ever seen, may also be the oldest in existence. The tiny fishing village sprouted out of the marshy
Great Ships That Saved Jewish Refugees From the Holocaust (And Some That Couldn’t)
The recent decade has been grimly generous with humanitarian catastrophes, and while recent history abounds with natural disasters, man-made ones have often surpassed them in
The Evolution of Early Naval Submarines: Part 2
In Part 1 we saw the early outbursts of inspiration and genius, which led to random but fascinating developments – the maritime equivalent of Woodstock,
The Evolution of Early Naval Submarines: Part 1
It lurks in the depths, blind in the complete darkness below, but hearing every little sound around. Above it – a troop transport with two
Whales of the Great Lakes
A peculiar species of cargo ship populated the Great Lakes in the late 1800s – the whaleback. Designed by Scottish captain and inventor Alexander McDougall,
Splice the Mainbrace: How the Navy Gave Us Cocktails
The rowdy sailor and his bottle of rum. Few stereotypes have stuck for so long, and this one is so deeply etched in our minds
How to Sink a Ghost-Ship: The Story of the SS Ourang Medan
The sea is a treacherous mistress – an alluring caress of winds and waves, below them only silent death. She has called out countless eager
In the Flames of Madness – the SS Morro Castle
In the dark hours before dawn on 9 September 1934, the residents of Asbury Park, a seaside town in New Jersey, woke up to a