Indiana Jones object called world’s first computer. Plus, mahjong’s surprising history, animals trapped in war zones; sharpening memory
| BRIDGEMAN/ALAMY | | Said by some to the world’s first computer, the centerpiece of the new Indiana Jones movie rested by a sunken treasure ship at the bottom of the Mediterranean for more than 2,000 years.
Serendipity brought the strange mechanism to the world’s attention. The size of a shoebox, it could predict the positions of the sun, moon, and planets. What else could it do? | | | |
| TONY FREETH | | What’s in the box? Only fragments (at top) survive of the tantalizing contraption, formally known as the Antikythera Mechanism for the Greek island near where it was found. However, a reconstruction (above) has been made, based on what was known of astronomy at the time as well as the inscriptions on the mechanism. Originally an afterthought to other treasures discovered in the shipwreck, the Dial of Destiny is having its moment now in cinemas worldwide. Read more. | | | |
| PHOTOGRAPH BY GEORGE ETHEREDGE/THE NEW YORK TIMES/REDUX | | Lasting popularity, global imprint: Mahjong may seem a venerable game, but its Chinese and American roots are not as old as you think. The four-player game of chance and skill encourages conversation and community building—and the longest one ever played is 33 hours long. (Above, women play mahjong at a beach club in Queens.)
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| ILLUSTRATION BY ROC OLIVÉ (INSTITUT CATALÀ DE PALEONTOLOGIA MIQUEL CRUSAFONT)/FECYT | | Its greatest advantage was its curse: A 240-million-year-old marine reptile used its long neck to sneakily capture prey—exposing a prime spot for its predators to latch on and capture it. (Above, a rendition of the decapitation of Tanystropheus hydroides.) | | | |
Today’s soundtrack: Bills, Bills, Bills, Destiny’s Child
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