Egyptian hieroglyphics confounded Egyptologists for centuries until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone.

The Voynich Manuscript is another old text that has perplexed experts since its discovery about 600 years ago.

Watch this episode on YouTube to see nonstop images of the book itself!

Dr. Robert H. Edwards specializes in investigating the biggest mysteries of the 20th century. I interviewed him on the 100th anniversary of George Mallory's death. I interviewed him again after we found Mallory's climbing partner's foot. Spoiler: We still don't know whether they reached Everest's summit.

The other mystery Edwards investigated was D. B. Cooper, who stole $200,000 and disappeared after skydiving.

Now, Edwards turns his analytical brain to the world's most mysterious manuscript: the Voynich Manuscript.

Voynich Reconsidered: The Most Mysterious Manuscript in the World is Dr. Edwards's attempt at decoding this headache-producing document. If you think James Joyce's Finnegans Wake is hard to decipher, try the Voynich Manuscript!  

Here is my interview about the Voynich Manuscript with Dr. Edwards:

Video

Excerpts from Voynich Reconsidered

The parchment for these four folios was most probably produced sometime in the first half of the fourteenth century.

Who wrote the Voynich Manuscript? 

Nobody knows. Edwards debunks the idea that Roger Bacon authored it:

D’Imperio devoted considerable effort to the study of the supposed link between the manuscript and Roger Bacon. She could not have known that the Voynich parchment would eventually be submitted to radiocarbon technology and that the samples would be dated, with up to 92 percent probability, to periods ranging between 1308 and 1458. Therefore, she could not have known that Bacon, who lived in the thirteenth century, would be excluded as the author of the manuscript, or at least as its producer or as one of its scribes.

Is the Voynich Manuscript a hoax?

Before we embark on our own voyage of investigation of the Voynich manuscript, we must consider the alarming possibility that it is a journey to nowhere. That is to say: it may be that the manuscript cannot be translated or deciphered because it has no intrinsic meaning. For want of better words, we must consider that the manuscript could be a hoax or a forgery.

What's the Voynich Manuscript about?

There is an “herbal” section, consisting of 129 pages and thereby comprising more than half of the book.

The astronomical, cosmological, and astrological sections are short. Edwards is "tempted to group them together into a 'cosmic' theme, occupying thirty-one pages."

The Voynich manuscript invites, for those who are so disposed, the insertion of a preconceived narrative. In this respect, it bears comparison with the notorious proliferation of narratives relating to the man who came to be known as D.B. Cooper, and his hijacking of Northwest Airlines Flight 305 on November 24, 1971.

Do we know what the Voynich Manuscript's message is?

For many years, the mission controllers at NASA resisted demands for another photographic targeting of the “Face. ” Finally, they relented. In 2001, the Mars Global Surveyor took the first new image of the object, at a much higher resolution than that of the Viking. It was revealed to be an eroded mesa with a pleasing symmetry, and certainly with gulleys and hollows that conveyed elements of a human face. Whether that is the end of the story, the reader may decide. This author is content for the mesa to be the product of erosion, by wind or by water, and not the work of ancient Martians, however much we would like it to be so. Likewise, determined researchers of the Voynich manuscript can find, within its cryptic and inscrutable pages, that which they wish to find

Conclusion

I loved Dr. Edwards's other two books (Mallory & Cooper). Although I liked this one about the Voynich manuscript, it's such an inscrutable and inaccessible document that I found it challenging to stay engaged.

Moreover, I don't understand why some people believe that old documents are worth much more than their historical value. Religious texts are helpful because they reveal the values and ideas of the past, but are often utterly wrong, especially when it comes to scientific facts. Even when they're not mistaken, they're often incomplete. A modern botanist knows far more about plants than a 14th-century writer. 

Some fans of the Voynich manuscript seem to believe that if we can somehow decode it, we'll learn a mind-bending revelation. I doubt it.

Other fans, including Dr. Edwards, find the Voynich manuscript fascinating for the same reason people are drawn to Sudoku or a crossword puzzle: it's fun to solve a mystery even if it yields little practical benefit.

If you're drawn to puzzles and the Voynich manuscript, you must buy the Voynich Manuscript and then read Voynich Reconsidered: The Most Mysterious Manuscript in the World. You're guaranteed to learn countless remarkable facts about the manuscript in Dr. Edwards's splendid and thorough analysis.

For others, I'd first start by reading Dr. Edwards's other two books, which are more accessible than this one.

Verdict: 7 out of 10 stars.

Connect

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You can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at https://wanderlearn.com.

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1. My Patrons sponsored this show! Claim your monthly reward by becoming a patron for as little as $2/month at https://Patreon.com/FTapon

2. For the best travel credit card, get one of the Chase Sapphire cards and get 75-100k bonus miles!

3. Get $5 when you sign up for Roamless, my favorite global eSIM! Use code LR32K

4. Get 25% off when you sign up for Trusted Housesitters, a site that helps you find sitters or homes to sit in.

5. Start your podcast with my company, Podbean, and get one month free!

6. In the United States, I recommend trading cryptocurrency with Kraken. 

7. Outside the USA, trade crypto with Binance and get 5% off your trading fees!

8. For backpacking gear, buy from Gossamer Gear.

Egyptian hieroglyphics confounded Egyptologists for centuries until the discovery of the Rosetta Stone.

The Voynich Manuscript is another old text that has perplexed experts since its discovery about 600 years ago.

Dr. Robert H. Edwards specializes in investigating the biggest mysteries of the 20th century. I interviewed him on the 100th anniversary of George Mallory's death. I interviewed him again after we found Mallory's climbing partner's foot. Spoiler: We still don't know whether they reached Everest's summit.

The other mystery Edwards investigated was D. B. Cooper, who stole $200,000 and disappeared after skydiving.

Now, Edwards turns his analytical brain to the world's most mysterious manuscript: the Voynich Manuscript.

Voynich Reconsidered: The Most Mysterious Manuscript in the World is Dr. Edwards's attempt at decoding this headache-producing document. If you think James Joyce's Finnegans Wake is hard to decipher, try the Voynich Manuscript!  

Here is my interview about the Voynich Manuscript with Dr. Edwards:

Nobody knows. Edwards debunks the idea that Roger Bacon authored it:

D’Imperio devoted considerable effort to the study of the supposed link between the manuscript and Roger Bacon. She could not have known that the Voynich parchment would eventually be submitted to radiocarbon technology and that the samples would be dated, with up to 92 percent probability, to periods ranging between 1308 and 1458. Therefore, she could not have known that Bacon, who lived in the thirteenth century, would be excluded as the author of the manuscript, or at least as its producer or as one of its scribes.

Before we embark on our own voyage of investigation of the Voynich manuscript, we must consider the alarming possibility that it is a journey to nowhere. That is to say: it may be that the manuscript cannot be translated or deciphered because it has no intrinsic meaning. For want of better words, we must consider that the manuscript could be a hoax or a forgery.

There is an “herbal” section, consisting of 129 pages and thereby comprising more than half of the book.

The astronomical, cosmological, and astrological sections are short. Edwards is "tempted to group them together into a 'cosmic' theme, occupying thirty-one pages."

The Voynich manuscript invites, for those who are so disposed, the insertion of a preconceived narrative. In this respect, it bears comparison with the notorious proliferation of narratives relating to the man who came to be known as D.B. Cooper, and his hijacking of Northwest Airlines Flight 305 on November 24, 1971.

For many years, the mission controllers at NASA resisted demands for another photographic targeting of the “Face. ” Finally, they relented. In 2001, the Mars Global Surveyor took the first new image of the object, at a much higher resolution than that of the Viking. It was revealed to be an eroded mesa with a pleasing symmetry, and certainly with gulleys and hollows that conveyed elements of a human face. Whether that is the end of the story, the reader may decide. This author is content for the mesa to be the product of erosion, by wind or by water, and not the work of ancient Martians, however much we would like it to be so. Likewise, determined researchers of the Voynich manuscript can find, within its cryptic and inscrutable pages, that which they wish to find

I loved Dr. Edwards's other two books (Mallory & Cooper). Although I liked this one about the Voynich manuscript, it's such an inscrutable and inaccessible document that I found it challenging to stay engaged.

Moreover, I don't understand why some people believe that old documents are worth much more than their historical value. Religious texts are helpful because they reveal the values and ideas of the past, but are often utterly wrong, especially when it comes to scientific facts. Even when they're not mistaken, they're often incomplete. A modern botanist knows far more about plants than a 14th-century writer. 

Some fans of the Voynich manuscript seem to believe that if we can somehow decode it, we'll learn a mind-bending revelation. I doubt it.

Other fans, including Dr. Edwards, find the Voynich manuscript fascinating for the same reason people are drawn to Sudoku or a crossword puzzle: it's fun to solve a mystery even if it yields little practical benefit.

If you're drawn to puzzles and the Voynich manuscript, you must buy the Voynich Manuscript and then read Voynich Reconsidered: The Most Mysterious Manuscript in the World. You're guaranteed to learn countless remarkable facts about the manuscript in Dr. Edwards's splendid and thorough analysis.

For others, I'd first start by reading Dr. Edwards's other two books, which are more accessible than this one.

Verdict: 7 out of 10 stars.

Send me an anonymous voicemail at SpeakPipe.com/FTapon

You can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at https://wanderlearn.com.

If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! 

On social media, my username is always FTapon. Connect with me on:

1. My Patrons sponsored this show! Claim your monthly reward by becoming a patron for as little as $2/month at https://Patreon.com/FTapon

2. For the best travel credit card, get one of the Chase Sapphire cards and get 75-100k bonus miles!

3. Get $5 when you sign up for Roamless, my favorite global eSIM! Use code LR32K

4. Get 25% off when you sign up for Trusted Housesitters, a site that helps you find sitters or homes to sit in.

5. Start your podcast with my company, Podbean, and get one month free!

6. In the United States, I recommend trading cryptocurrency with Kraken. 

7. Outside the USA, trade crypto with Binance and get 5% off your trading fees!

8. For backpacking gear, buy from Gossamer Gear.

Hrish Lotlikar of the Superworld app interviewed me in 2025.

You might enjoy it. Here's what the Superworld Channel wrote: 

What if you could leave behind the corporate grind and explore the world—without a trust fund? That’s precisely what Francis Tapon did. After earning an MBA from Harvard and working in Silicon Valley, he walked away from it all to spend five years traveling through every country in Africa and 3.5 years exploring Eastern Europe.

In this episode of Building a Better World with Hrish Lotlikar, Francis shares:

✅ The biggest misconceptions about "dangerous" countries and why most are safer than you think
✅ How he picked up 3,000 hitchhikers across Africa and what it taught him about humanity
✅ Why leaving behind a traditional career was the best decision of his life
✅ His top strategies for traveling on a budget—without sacrificing incredible experiences
✅ What his upcoming book, The Unseen Africa, reveals about the world’s most misunderstood continent

🌍 Want to see the world differently? Don’t miss this conversation!

Send me an anonymous voicemail at SpeakPipe.com/FTapon

You can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at https://wanderlearn.com.

If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! 

On social media, my username is always FTapon. Connect with me on:

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• Twitter


• YouTube


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1. My Patrons sponsored this show! Claim your monthly reward by becoming a patron for as little as $2/month at https://Patreon.com/FTapon

2. For the best travel credit card, get one of the Chase Sapphire cards and get 75-100k bonus miles!

3. Get $5 when you sign up for Roamless, my favorite global eSIM with its unlimited hotspot & data that never expires! Use code LR32K

4. Or get 5% off when you sign up with Saily, another global eSIM with a built-in VPN & ad blocker.

5. Get 25% off when you sign up for Trusted Housesitters, a site that helps you find sitters or homes to sit in.

6. Start your podcast with my company, Podbean, and get one month free!

7. In the United States, I recommend trading cryptocurrency with Kraken. 

8. Outside the USA, trade crypto with Binance and get 5% off your trading fees!

9. For backpacking gear, buy from Gossamer Gear.

It's part 2 of 2 of my conversation with Dr. Johnny Hanson! His 2025 book, Living with Lynx: Sharing Landscapes with Big Cats, Wolves and Bears, is a nuanced analysis of the complex topic of rewilding. 

00:00 Myths

04:00 What surprised Hanson?

06:00 The hardest to co-exist with

12:00 Paradox of Tourism

18:00 Recommendations

In this two-part interview (this is part 2), we discuss the pros and cons of reintroducing apex predators in areas where they have gone extinct. 

Visit my website for part 1.

Can we co-exist with this megafauna? 

If we live with lynx, what will happen?

What do you think we should do?

Send me an anonymous voicemail at SpeakPipe.com/FTapon

You can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at https://wanderlearn.com.

If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! 

On social media, my username is always FTapon. Connect with me on:

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• Twitter


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• LinkedIn


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1. My Patrons sponsored this show! Claim your monthly reward by becoming a patron for as little as $2/month at https://Patreon.com/FTapon

2. For the best travel credit card, get one of the Chase Sapphire cards and get 75-100k bonus miles!

3. Get $5 when you sign up for Roamless, my favorite global eSIM with its unlimited hotspot & data that never expires! Use code LR32K

4. Or get 5% off when you sign up with Saily, another global eSIM with a built-in VPN & ad blocker.

5. Get 25% off when you sign up for Trusted Housesitters, a site that helps you find sitters or homes to sit in.

6. Start your podcast with my company, Podbean, and get one month free!

7. In the United States, I recommend trading cryptocurrency with Kraken. 

8. Outside the USA, trade crypto with Binance and get 5% off your trading fees!

9. For backpacking gear, buy from Gossamer Gear.

Dr. Johnny Hanson's new book, Living with Lynx: Sharing Landscapes with Big Cats, Wolves and Bears, is a nuanced analysis of the complex topic of rewilding. 

In this two-part interview, we discuss the pros and cons of reintroducing apex predators in areas where they have gone extinct. 

What do you think we should do?

00:00 What's the book about?

04:50 Limousine Liberals

Send me an anonymous voicemail at SpeakPipe.com/FTapon

You can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at https://wanderlearn.com.

If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! 

On social media, my username is always FTapon. Connect with me on:

• Facebook


• Twitter


• YouTube


• Instagram


• TikTok


• LinkedIn


• Pinterest


• Tumblr

1. My Patrons sponsored this show! Claim your monthly reward by becoming a patron for as little as $2/month at https://Patreon.com/FTapon

2. For the best travel credit card, get one of the Chase Sapphire cards and get 75-100k bonus miles!

3. Get $5 when you sign up for Roamless, my favorite global eSIM with its unlimited hotspot & data that never expires! Use code LR32K

4. Or get 5% off when you sign up with Saily, another global eSIM with a built-in VPN & ad blocker.

5. Get 25% off when you sign up for Trusted Housesitters, a site that helps you find sitters or homes to sit in.

6. Start your podcast with my company, Podbean, and get one month free!

7. In the United States, I recommend trading cryptocurrency with Kraken. 

8. Outside the USA, trade crypto with Binance and get 5% off your trading fees!

9. For backpacking gear, buy from Gossamer Gear.

Benjamin Wallace's new book is The Mysterious Mr. Nakamoto: A Fifteen-Year Quest to Unmask the Secret Genius Behind Crypto.  

It's the greatest whodunit. Whoever created Bitcoin became the world's richest person, yet we don't know who he is. In fact, we don't even know if it's one person.

There have been other cases where identities have been hidden for a while:

• 
  

  Mysterious Whistleblowers (Deep Throat)

  
  


• 
  

  Mysterious Authors (Ferrante, Klein, Publius)

  
  


• 
  

  Mysterious Artists (Banksy)

  
  


• 
  

  Mysterious Spies / Hackers (Cambridge Five, QAnon figureheads, Cicada 3301)

  
  

However, nothing tops the enigma of Satoshi Nakamoto. Watch my interview with Benjamin Wallace on the WanderLearn Show:

1. In 60 seconds, tell us why we should be curious about who Satoshi Nakamoto was.


2. What's the percentage chance that Satoshi Nakamoto is more than one person?


3. What's the percentage chance that Satoshi Nakamoto is dead?


4. Assuming he's alive, what's the percentage chance that Satoshi Nakamoto will voluntarily reveal himself in his old age or via a dead man's switch video?


5. Who are your top 4 candidates for Satoshi Nakamoto?


6. If those 4 candidates are in a pie chart, how big is the 5th piece of the pie: the Someone Else slice? 


7. Although Nakamoto's OPSEC was impeccable, is it realistic to believe that he faked his Britishisms, his double-spacing after periods, and potentially running his prose & code through a stylometry mixer because he was certain that Bitcoin would become a multi-trillion-dollar asset?


8. What new insights have you had since you wrote the book?


9. What's the percentage chance that we will definitively solve this mystery like we solved the Deep Throat mystery? Or will the ending be more like Forrest Fenn (e.g., a partial conclusion because we know the treasure was found and by whom, but we don't know where)? 


10. What surprised you in your investigation?


11. It seems you want Nakamoto to be Hal Finney, but it's hard to believe he didn't tap into the fortune when his life was on the line. And why not admit to being Nakamoto when he was on his deathbed? Perhaps to protect his family from assaults? Perhaps because he collaborated with someone else and doesn't want to unmask him. But then he could admit that he was part of the Satoshi team and leave it at that.

In his book, Wallace writes that any plausible Nakamoto candidate should have the following characteristics:

• Software tools


• Coding quirks


• Age


• Geography


• Schedule


• Use of English


• Nationality


• Prose style


• Politics


• Life circumstances (How had Nakamoto found the time to launch Bitcoin? Why had he left the project when he did?"


• Resume ("I'm not a lawyer.")


• Emotional range (humble, confident, testy, appreciative)


• Motivation to create Bitcoin


• Rationale, and the foresight and skill, to create a bulletproof pseudonym (Who would bother wiping a crime scene clean before it was a crime scene? Who was already that good at privacy in 2008?)


• Monkish capacity to renounce a fortune

Although this list severely restricts who Satoshi Nakamoto could be, it still leaves countless possibilities.

Wallace, who has been trying to crack this mystery for 15 years, has yet to meet a candidate who checks all the boxes.

Wallace refrains from declaring that he has solved the mystery, even though countless "detectives" have already done so.

He interviews people who tell him, with 100% certainty, that Satoshi Nakamoto is:

• Nick Szabo


• James A. Donald


• Adam Back


• Hal Finney


• Peter Todd (according to HBO)


• Elon Musk


• Numerous other options

It's tempting to select what you think is the most viable candidate, throw in a heavy dose of confirmation bias, and declare, "Mystery solved, Sherlock!"

Plenty have done so.

It requires great restraint to resist the temptation of calling it a day, and instead, persevere pugnaciously like Wallace has in what is the greatest whodunit of the 21st century. 

Many suspects seem highly implausible. Elon Musk, for example, is a bombastic self-promoter who would love to proclaim he was the genius behind Bitcoin. It's unimaginable why he would keep his mouth shut.

Hal Finney was a sincere, honest, and good guy. As he said many times when he was dying of ALS, he had no reason NOT to reveal that he was Satoshi Nakamoto. Therefore, it's not him, even though it would provide a neat explanation as to why the old Satoshi Nakamoto bitcoins haven't moved. 

Adam Back is plausible, although ex-cypherpunk Jon Callas says, "The primary argument against Adam Back is he couldn't keep his mouth shut."

Still, an engrossing 3-part documentary argues that Nakamoto is Adam Back. Here's the final episode:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfcvX0P1b5g 

For several years, I believed Nick Szabo was Satoshi Nakamoto. It was an unoriginal deduction since Szabo is a popular choice among amateur Nakamoto detectives. Indeed, Szabo was one of Wallace's prime candidates for a long time.

However, in his book, Wallace explains why Szabo has too many strikes against him:

• Szabo is a scatterbrain when it comes to projects. He doesn't focus on one thing for years. He juggles 150 balls. Nakamoto was laser-focused for 18 months.


• He told Jeremy Clark that Szabo "seemed to think that his bit gold was better" than Bitcoin.


• Clark also said Szabo is an "incoherent" presenter, whereas Nakamoto was "lucid." 


• Although Szabo is intensely private, he's not a complete recluse. He likes sharing ideas and getting public recognition. 


• Minor point: Satoshi Nakamoto wrote, "I'm not a lawyer," but Szabo is one.

Although these points suggest Szabo is unlikely to be Satoshi, Szabo remains a strong Nakamoto candidate, given the absence of a perfect candidate.

Besides, Clark's points are easily refuted. Just because Szabo implied Bitgold was better than Bitcoin means little. Szabo could say that to shake off people who think he's Satoshi. Or he could genuinely believe that aspects of Bitgold were superior to Bitcoin. Clark said Szabo "seemed to think..." He didn't say, "Szabo emphatically said..."

Also, I listened to Szabo speak for 2.5 hours on the Tim Ferriss Show, and he sounded plenty lucid to me. 

Szabo is a decent speaker.

Naturally, Szabo always denies he's Satoshi.

As Wallace says, denying you're not the guy proves nothing. Mark Felt was an obvious suspect for being the Deep Throat in the Watergate scandal. He denied for decades. And guess what? He was Deep Throat! Sometimes the most obvious suspect is the criminal (think O.J. Simpson).

After reading The Mysterious Mr. Nakamoto, I added another suspect to my short list: James A. Donald.

Satoshi Nakamoto used the rare term "hosed" a few times. Donald did so twice. 

Furthermore, Donald was the first person to respond to Satoshi Nakamoto's original Bitcoin post, albeit in a critical way. He has various other attributes that Satoshi Nakamoto shares (read the book to see them all). 

However, Donald is rough around the edges, whereas Satoshi Nakamoto was silky smooth, polite, and unoffensive. Again, James A. Donald is no slam dunk candidate. Nobody is.

Hence, the mystery endures. 

The only negative aspect about this book is that it may provide too much detail for the casual reader with limited interest in this mystery. If you're just looking for the answer, I'll tell you now: we do not know who Satoshi Nakamoto is. 

For Satoshi sleuths, there is no better resource than The Mysterious Mr. Nakamoto: A Fifteen-Year Quest to Unmask the Secret Genius Behind Crypto. It delves deeper and wider than any video, article, or book about the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto. Believe me, I've gone down that rabbit hole.

Many argue we don't need to know who Satoshi Nakamoto is because:

• Knowing his identity could taint the "immaculate conception" of Bitcoin because we might learn that Satoshi Nakamoto was an a*****e.


• We should respect Satoshi Nakamoto's right to privacy. He obviously wanted to be pseudonymous, so let him be.


• If Satoshi Nakamoto is alive, it would imbue him with too much power, especially over the Bitcoin protocol. 

I strongly disagree with this lack of curiosity. Why?

There's a chance that in the 25th century, historians will consider Bitcoin one of the top 10 inventions of all time. I'm not saying that Bitcoin will be around in the 25th century, but something like it will exist and be the global currency, and historians will link its existence to Bitcoin.

In 2001, Arthur C. Clarke predicted that by 2016, "All existing currencies are abolished. A universal currency is adopted based on the 'megawatt hour.'"

Eight years before Clarke's prediction, Bitcoin was created.

Although Clarke was wrong about other currencies being abolished,  Bitcoin's value is loosely correlated with its energy consumption. I explain why Bitcoin is worth anything.

Imagine if we didn't know who these inventors were:

1. 
   

   The Printing Press - Johannes Gutenberg (c. 1440): This invention revolutionized communication, allowing for the mass production of books and the widespread dissemination of knowledge, leading to the Renaissance and the Scientific Revolution.

   
   


2. 
   

   The Electric Light Bulb - Thomas Edison (1879): While others experimented with electric lighting, Edison created a practical, long-lasting, and commercially viable incandescent light bulb, which transformed society by extending the day and enabling new industries.

   
   


3. 
   

   The Telephone - Alexander Graham Bell (1876): The telephone revolutionized long-distance communication, enabling people to speak to each other across vast distances in real time.

   
   


4. 
   

   The Steam Engine - James Watt (1778): Watt's improvements to earlier steam engines significantly increased their efficiency, powering the Industrial Revolution and leading to the mechanization of factories, transportation, and other industries.

   
   


5. 
   

   The Automobile - Karl Benz (1885): Benz is credited with creating the first practical automobile powered by an internal combustion engine, ushering in the age of personal transportation and reshaping urban and rural life.

   
   


6. 
   

   Alternating Current (AC) Electrical System - Nikola Tesla (late 1880s): While Edison championed direct current (DC), Tesla's work on AC made it possible to transmit electricity over long distances, laying the groundwork for modern electrical grids.

   
   


7. 
   

   The Airplane - Orville and Wilbur Wright (1903): The Wright brothers achieved the first successful controlled, powered flight of a heavier-than-air aircraft, fundamentally changing travel, commerce, and warfare.

   
   


8. 
   

   Penicillin - Alexander Fleming (1928): Fleming's discovery of the first antibiotic revolutionized medicine by providing a cure for many bacterial infections, saving millions of lives.

   
   


9. 
   

   The Internet / World Wide Web - Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn (Internet, 1970s) & Tim Berners-Lee (World Wide Web, 1989): These inventions created a global network of information and communication, transforming almost every aspect of modern society, from business and education to personal life.

   
   


10. 
    

    The Computer - Charles Babbage (early 19th century): Babbage's designs for the "Analytical Engine" laid the theoretical groundwork for modern computers. Later, inventors like John Atanasoff, Alan Turing, and others developed the first electronic and programmable computers.

    
    

Imagine if we had no clue who invented penicillin or the telephone. Wouldn't historians do their best to figure that out, especially since they were recent and impactful inventions? Would you just shrug your shoulders and say, "Who cares? My telephone works."

Sure, many wouldn't give a s**t. However, for other, more curious minds, we'd like to know. 

Here are four major inventions whose creator is a mystery:

• 
  

  The Wheel: The invention of the wheel is one of the most important technological advancements in human history, enabling transportation and mechanization. Archaeological evidence suggests it originated in Mesopotamia around 3500 BC, but there is no record of who first conceived of it. The challenge wasn't just creating the wheel itself, but also the wheel-and-axle system, which required precise engineering.

  
  


• 
  

  Writing: The development of writing systems enabled the permanent storage and transmission of information, transforming human society. The earliest known writing system, cuneiform, emerged in Sumer (ancient Mesopotamia) around 3400 BC. However, like the wheel, it was likely the result of a gradual process of development by many different people, not the work of a single inventor.

  
  


• Fire making: Some person probably rubbed two sticks together, and the rest is history. Since we can't know who that individual was, it would still be fascinating to know where it started and if it was developed in more than one place independently, like Calculus. 


• 
  

  Bitcoin: Yeah, it's a major invention. It's been the best-performing asset since 2010, it's worth more than any company, and Satoshi Nakamoto is the wealthiest person ever. It has sparked a multi-trillion-dollar industry in just 15 years. So, yes, it's important, and yet we don't know who created it.

  
  

Admittedly, I'm a Bitcoin fan who has produced many videos and articles about the first cryptocurrency, so I'm biased.

Still, if you love a perplexing mystery, you will love trying to solve this one. The good news is that we haven't solved it yet. 

There's a good chance that Satoshi Nakamoto is around my age. If so, he also has a 30-year life expectancy. 

I hope that in 2050, a video appears on the Internet that shows an old man who says, "I am Satoshi Nakamoto. To prove it, I will do what no Satoshi pretender has been able to do: move the 'Satoshi' coins that have been dormant since I mined them in 2009."

He records himself and his computer screen, and with a few clicks and keyboard taps, the transactions get broadcast onto the Bitcoin blockchain for all to see.   

Next, he says, "I am donating my one million bitcoins to the Bitcoin Core for ongoing maintenance and to the following charities." Or perhaps he'll use the one million Bitcoins to create a Bitcoin node on the Moon. Or perhaps he will "burn" his Bitcoin, reducing the total BTC supply to 20 million coins, not 21 million.

Regardless, I hope Nakamoto will finally unmask himself, just like Mark Felt (aka Deep Throat) did when he was 91 (he died at 95). 

Yeah, this fantasy is unlikely, but we can dream, can't we?

Send me an anonymous voicemail at SpeakPipe.com/FTapon

You can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at https://wanderlearn.com.

If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! 

On social media, my username is always FTapon. Connect with me on:

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• Twitter


• YouTube


• Instagram


• TikTok


• LinkedIn


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1. My Patrons sponsored this show! Claim your monthly reward by becoming a patron for as little as $2/month at https://Patreon.com/FTapon

2. For the best travel credit card, get one of the Chase Sapphire cards and get 75-100k bonus miles!

3. Get $5 when you sign up for Roamless, my favorite global eSIM with its unlimited hotspot & data that never expires! Use code LR32K

4. Or get 5% off when you sign up with Saily, another global eSIM with a built-in VPN & ad blocker.

5. Get 25% off when you sign up for Trusted Housesitters, a site that helps you find sitters or homes to sit in.

6. Start your podcast with my company, Podbean, and get one month free!

7. In the United States, I recommend trading cryptocurrency with Kraken. 

8. Outside the USA, trade crypto with Binance and get 5% off your trading fees!

9. For backpacking gear, buy from Gossamer Gear.

Replaceable You by Mary Roach is science writing with a mischievous grin. This book dives headfirst (and sometimes with prosthetic limbs) into humanity’s never-ending quest to patch, upgrade, and outright swap out our squishiest parts. 

I've read all of Roach's books. Roach, as always, brings her snort-laugh wit to the party, dragging us through a parade of oddballs, surgeons, biohackers, and the occasional harvested cadaver limb. 

You’ll read about everything from organs grown in stem cell “hair nurseries” to attempts at 3D printing spare parts. 
Spoiler: not a single scene is boring.

But fair warning: this book spends nearly half its time on the past. 
Just as you’re itching for a jetpack kidney or a downloadable heart, Roach detours into the wacky history of medicine—think iron lungs big enough for a disco (but only if you like the rhythm of labored breathing), and the lost art of crafting noses from brass, because nothing says “fashion” like a faceful of steampunk.

It’s charming… but if you came craving future-shock, you may find yourself staring at the calendar, wishing she’d hurry up and get to the bionic arms, brain chips, or at least a Bluetooth spleen.

And don’t expect a grand promise that nature is almost obsolete. 

On the contrary, Roach’s conclusion drops the mike with a tear. 
Not a metaphorical tear—an actual, salty, rolling-down-your-cheek tear. 
Turns out, scientists can engineer robotic pancreases and print some new tracheas, but when it comes to replicating the humble human tear (yes, your basic public-crying fluid), they’re still stumped. 
Apparently, its precise chemistry is tougher to copy than most nanotechnology. 
So if we can’t even duplicate a tear, what hope do we have for building a better lung, heart, or anything else that squishes and squelches?

Still, call me an optimist, but I think we'll get there this century.

In conclusion, come for the face transplants, stay for the punchlines, and don’t blame Roach if you find yourself crying (with genuine, irreplicable tears) over the sheer weirdness—and stubborn brilliance—of the human body.

VERDICT: 9 out of 10 stars.

Send me an anonymous voicemail at SpeakPipe.com/FTapon

You can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at https://wanderlearn.com.

If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! 

On social media, my username is always FTapon. Connect with me on:

• Facebook


• Twitter


• YouTube


• Instagram


• TikTok


• LinkedIn


• Pinterest


• Tumblr

1. My Patrons sponsored this show! Claim your monthly reward by becoming a patron for as little as $2/month at https://Patreon.com/FTapon

2. For the best travel credit card, get one of the Chase Sapphire cards and get 75-100k bonus miles!

3. Get $5 when you sign up for Roamless, my favorite global eSIM with its unlimited hotspot & data that never expires! Use code LR32K

4. Or get 5% off when you sign up with Saily, another global eSIM with a built-in VPN & ad blocker.

5. Get 25% off when you sign up for Trusted Housesitters, a site that helps you find sitters or homes to sit in.

6. Start your podcast with my company, Podbean, and get one month free!

7. In the United States, I recommend trading cryptocurrency with Kraken. 

8. Outside the USA, trade crypto with Binance and get 5% off your trading fees!

9. For backpacking gear, buy from Gossamer Gear.

Watch this episode on YouTube! 

Derek has accomplished numerous impressive feats. He founded CD Baby. In 2008, he sold CD Baby for $22 million and donated the proceeds to a charitable trust dedicated to music education. After selling the company, he transitioned into writing and speaking.

Derek's books are short, dense, and profound. In honor of his style, I've broken up my interview with him into three fascinating segments.

It would be great if you could buy Derek's new book, Useful Not True, from Amazon, as I receive a small commission. However, if you want a much better deal, do what I did: buy multiple copies of his book from Derek Sivers's website. It's significantly cheaper than Amazon, especially when purchasing multiple copies, as each additional hardcover copy costs only about $4 more. 

Derek Sivers stumbled onto The Hidden Europe, fell in love with it, and reached out to me 10 years ago, telling me how much he loved my book.

I had no idea who he was, but soon found out.

A-list celebrities, such as Tim Ferriss, have interviewed Derek on multiple occasions.

Still, I'm not one to fall for celebrities, unless she's Megan Fox.

What makes me most thrilled about interviewing Derek is his philosophy: he's a stoic.

This guy sold his company (CD Baby) for $22 million and gave the money away to charity. He loves to experiment, travel, and think out of the box.

It pains me that he and I missed each other when I visited his city in Wellington, New Zealand. I was there for a day, and it happened to be the day that he devotes entirely and exclusively to his son. I wish he were a less responsible father.

Derek Sivers is focused on creation, learning, and living a minimalist, highly intentional life.

• Background: Born in 1969 in Berkeley, he moved frequently during his childhood, including to U.S. cities and England. His early focus on music began at the age of 14, when he was trained at Berklee College of Music. He transitioned into entrepreneurship.


• Career: Started multiple companies, including CD Baby and HostBaby, sold them in 2008, and since then has focused on writing, traveling, and intrinsic creativity rather than money or fame.


• Life Philosophy: Influenced by Stoicism, skeptical and open to changing perspectives, values self-strengthening for the future, and embraces the paradox that opposite views can both be true.


• Work Style: Loves to work alone intensely for long hours (12+ hours daily), prefers solo creative pursuits, and values deep focus and minimalist distraction. Uses minimal tech tools, avoids apps and cloud dependence, and prefers phone conversations to in-person socializing.


• Personal: American by origin, a world citizen, and expat living in various countries for extended periods. Has a 12-year-old son with whom he spends significant undivided time weekly. Identifies as an introverted extrovert with a strong social time limit, values voice communication, and dislikes noise and crowds.


• Values & Traits: Minimalist in possessions and technology, single-task oriented, future-focused, deliberate, avoids addictions, hates wasting time, and values silence and quality over quantity in relationships and experiences.


• Creative Interests: Loves and creates music with a focus on innovation, song craft, and high-quality recordings. Prefers analytical listening and creative originality rather than mainstream trends.

Overall, Derek leads a carefully optimized life that prioritizes creativity, learning, and meaningful personal connections, with a strong emphasis on independence, long-term thinking, and simplicity.

Derek Sivers  [email protected]  https://sive.rs/
Get my audiobooks, ebooks, and hardcovers at sivers.com/e?t=n0fw4KGN40U4D71f
sive.rs/u = USEFUL NOT TRUE: reframing because belief → emotion → action
sive.rs/h = HOW TO LIVE: 27 conflicting answers and one weird conclusion
sive.rs/n = HELL YEAH OR NO: what's worth doing?
sive.rs/m = YOUR MUSIC & PEOPLE: humanistic marketing for creatives
sive.rs/a = ANYTHING YOU WANT: make your business a utopia

Send me an anonymous voicemail at SpeakPipe.com/FTapon

You can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at https://wanderlearn.com.

If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! 

On social media, my username is always FTapon. Connect with me on:

• Facebook


• Twitter


• YouTube


• Instagram


• TikTok


• LinkedIn


• Pinterest


• Tumblr

1. My Patrons sponsored this show! Claim your monthly reward by becoming a patron for as little as $2/month at https://Patreon.com/FTapon

2. For the best travel credit card, get one of the Chase Sapphire cards and get 75-100k bonus miles!

3. Get $5 when you sign up for Roamless, my favorite global eSIM! Use code LR32K

4. Get 25% off when you sign up for Trusted Housesitters, a site that helps you find sitters or homes to sit in.

5. Start your podcast with my company, Podbean, and get one month free!

6. In the United States, I recommend trading cryptocurrency with Kraken. 

7. Outside the USA, trade crypto with Binance and get 5% off your trading fees!

8. For backpacking gear, buy from Gossamer Gear.

This is episode 2 of 3 featuring Derek Sivers.

Watch it on YouTube!

Derek has accomplished numerous impressive feats. He founded CD Baby. In 2008, he sold CD Baby for $22 million and donated the proceeds to a charitable trust dedicated to music education. After selling the company, he transitioned into writing and speaking.

Derek's books are short, dense, and profound. In honor of his style, I've broken up my interview with him into three fascinating segments.

It would be great if you could buy Derek's new book, Useful Not True, from Amazon, as I receive a small commission. However, if you want a much better deal, do what I did: buy multiple copies of his book from Derek Sivers's website. It's significantly cheaper than Amazon, especially when purchasing multiple copies, as each additional hardcover copy costs only about $4 more. 

Derek Sivers stumbled onto The Hidden Europe, fell in love with it, and reached out to me 10 years ago, telling me how much he loved my book.

I had no idea who he was, but soon found out.

A-list celebrities, such as Tim Ferriss, have interviewed Derek on multiple occasions.

Still, I'm not one to fall for celebrities, unless she's Megan Fox.

What makes me most thrilled about interviewing Derek is his philosophy: he's a stoic.

This guy sold his company (CD Baby) for $22 million and gave the money away to charity. He loves to experiment, travel, and think out of the box.

It pains me that he and I missed each other when I visited his city in Wellington, New Zealand. I was there for a day, and it happened to be the day that he devotes entirely and exclusively to his son. I wish he were a less responsible father.

Derek Sivers is focused on creation, learning, and living a minimalist, highly intentional life.

• Background: Born in 1969 in Berkeley, he moved frequently during his childhood, including to U.S. cities and England. His early focus on music began at the age of 14, when he was trained at Berklee College of Music. He transitioned into entrepreneurship.


• Career: Started multiple companies, including CD Baby and HostBaby, sold them in 2008, and since then has focused on writing, traveling, and intrinsic creativity rather than money or fame.


• Life Philosophy: Influenced by Stoicism, skeptical and open to changing perspectives, values self-strengthening for the future, and embraces the paradox that opposite views can both be true.


• Work Style: Loves to work alone intensely for long hours (12+ hours daily), prefers solo creative pursuits, and values deep focus and minimalist distraction. Uses minimal tech tools, avoids apps and cloud dependence, and prefers phone conversations to in-person socializing.


• Personal: American by origin, a world citizen, and expat living in various countries for extended periods. Has a 12-year-old son with whom he spends significant undivided time weekly. Identifies as an introverted extrovert with a strong social time limit, values voice communication, and dislikes noise and crowds.


• Values & Traits: Minimalist in possessions and technology, single-task oriented, future-focused, deliberate, avoids addictions, hates wasting time, and values silence and quality over quantity in relationships and experiences.


• Creative Interests: Loves and creates music with a focus on innovation, song craft, and high-quality recordings. Prefers analytical listening and creative originality rather than mainstream trends.

Overall, Derek leads a carefully optimized life that prioritizes creativity, learning, and meaningful personal connections, with a strong emphasis on independence, long-term thinking, and simplicity.

Derek Sivers  [email protected]  https://sive.rs/
Get my audiobooks, ebooks, and hardcovers at sivers.com/e?t=n0fw4KGN40U4D71f
sive.rs/u = USEFUL NOT TRUE: reframing because belief → emotion → action
sive.rs/h = HOW TO LIVE: 27 conflicting answers and one weird conclusion
sive.rs/n = HELL YEAH OR NO: what's worth doing?
sive.rs/m = YOUR MUSIC & PEOPLE: humanistic marketing for creatives
sive.rs/a = ANYTHING YOU WANT: make your business a utopia

Send me an anonymous voicemail at SpeakPipe.com/FTapon

You can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at https://wanderlearn.com.

If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! 

On social media, my username is always FTapon. Connect with me on:

• Facebook


• Twitter


• YouTube


• Instagram


• TikTok


• LinkedIn


• Pinterest


• Tumblr

1. My Patrons sponsored this show! Claim your monthly reward by becoming a patron for as little as $2/month at https://Patreon.com/FTapon

2. For the best travel credit card, get one of the Chase Sapphire cards and get 75-100k bonus miles!

3. Get $5 when you sign up for Roamless, my favorite global eSIM! Use code LR32K

4. Get 25% off when you sign up for Trusted Housesitters, a site that helps you find sitters or homes to sit in.

5. Start your podcast with my company, Podbean, and get one month free!

6. In the United States, I recommend trading cryptocurrency with Kraken. 

7. Outside the USA, trade crypto with Binance and get 5% off your trading fees!

8. For backpacking gear, buy from Gossamer Gear.

This is episode 1 of 3 featuring Derek Sivers. 

Derek has accomplished numerous impressive feats. He founded CD Baby. In 2008, he sold CD Baby for $22 million and donated the proceeds to a charitable trust dedicated to music education. After selling the company, he transitioned into writing and speaking.

Derek's books are short, dense, and profound. In honor of his style, I've broken up my interview with him into three fascinating segments.

It would be great if you could buy Derek's new book, Useful Not True, from Amazon, as I receive a small commission. However, if you want a much better deal, do what I did: buy multiple copies of his book from Derek Sivers's website. It's significantly cheaper than Amazon, especially when purchasing multiple copies, as each additional hardcover copy costs only about $4 more. 

At 10:00 in the episode, Derek mentions Stewart Brand's How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They're Built. 

Derek Sivers stumbled onto The Hidden Europe, fell in love with it, and reached out to me 10 years ago, telling me how much he loved my book.

I had no idea who he was, but soon found out.

A-list celebrities, such as Tim Ferriss, have interviewed Derek on multiple occasions.

Still, I'm not one to fall for celebrities, unless she's Megan Fox.

What makes me most thrilled about interviewing Derek is his philosophy: he's a stoic.

This guy sold his company (CD Baby) for $22 million and gave the money away to charity. He loves to experiment, travel, and think out of the box.

It pains me that he and I missed each other when I visited his city in Wellington, New Zealand. I was there for a day, and it happened to be the day that he devotes entirely and exclusively to his son. I wish he were a less responsible father.

Derek Sivers is focused on creation, learning, and living a minimalist, highly intentional life.

• Background: Born in 1969 in Berkeley, he moved frequently during his childhood, including to U.S. cities and England. His early focus on music began at the age of 14, when he was trained at Berklee College of Music. He transitioned into entrepreneurship.


• Career: Started multiple companies, including CD Baby and HostBaby, sold them in 2008, and since then has focused on writing, traveling, and intrinsic creativity rather than money or fame.


• Life Philosophy: Influenced by Stoicism, skeptical and open to changing perspectives, values self-strengthening for the future, and embraces the paradox that opposite views can both be true.


• Work Style: Loves to work alone intensely for long hours (12+ hours daily), prefers solo creative pursuits, and values deep focus and minimalist distraction. Uses minimal tech tools, avoids apps and cloud dependence, and prefers phone conversations to in-person socializing.


• Personal: American by origin, a world citizen, and expat living in various countries for extended periods. Has a 12-year-old son with whom he spends significant undivided time weekly. Identifies as an introverted extrovert with a strong social time limit, values voice communication, and dislikes noise and crowds.


• Values & Traits: Minimalist in possessions and technology, single-task oriented, future-focused, deliberate, avoids addictions, hates wasting time, and values silence and quality over quantity in relationships and experiences.


• Creative Interests: Loves and creates music with a focus on innovation, song craft, and high-quality recordings. Prefers analytical listening and creative originality rather than mainstream trends.

Overall, Derek leads a carefully optimized life that prioritizes creativity, learning, and meaningful personal connections, with a strong emphasis on independence, long-term thinking, and simplicity.

Derek Sivers  [email protected]  https://sive.rs/
Get my audiobooks, ebooks, and hardcovers at sivers.com/e?t=n0fw4KGN40U4D71f
sive.rs/u = USEFUL NOT TRUE: reframing because belief → emotion → action
sive.rs/h = HOW TO LIVE: 27 conflicting answers and one weird conclusion
sive.rs/n = HELL YEAH OR NO: what's worth doing?
sive.rs/m = YOUR MUSIC & PEOPLE: humanistic marketing for creatives
sive.rs/a = ANYTHING YOU WANT: make your business a utopia

Send me an anonymous voicemail at SpeakPipe.com/FTapon

You can post comments, ask questions, and sign up for my newsletter at https://wanderlearn.com.

If you like this podcast, subscribe and share! 

On social media, my username is always FTapon. Connect with me on:

• Facebook


• Twitter


• YouTube


• Instagram


• TikTok


• LinkedIn


• Pinterest


• Tumblr

1. My Patrons sponsored this show! Claim your monthly reward by becoming a patron for as little as $2/month at https://Patreon.com/FTapon

2. For the best travel credit card, get one of the Chase Sapphire cards and get 75-100k bonus miles!

3. Get $5 when you sign up for Roamless, my favorite global eSIM! Use code LR32K

4. Get 25% off when you sign up for Trusted Housesitters, a site that helps you find sitters or homes to sit in.

5. Start your podcast with my company, Podbean, and get one month free!

6. In the United States, I recommend trading cryptocurrency with Kraken. 

7. Outside the USA, trade crypto with Binance and get 5% off your trading fees!

8. For backpacking gear, buy from Gossamer Gear.