There is a creature alive in the ocean today whose kind was already ancient before the first tree on Earth had grown. We tend to file it under the age of the dinosaurs. Today’s secret is how far back it really goes, and the one everyday thing on land it quietly predates.
We picture her against the backdrop of the pyramids, as if she watched them rise. She did not. Today’s secret is which modern moment she was, in fact, closer to.
A shark’s sense of smell is the stuff of legend — a trace of blood in a vast volume of water. Your own nose is usually treated as feeble by comparison. Today’s secret is the molecule behind it, and just how sensitive to it you really are.
One of the most modern names on Earth — a company built on screens, consoles and pixels — was founded so long ago that it predates the motor car, powered flight, and both world wars. Today’s secret is the year it began, and what it actually sold back then.
We file one of these under “medieval” and the other under “ancient” — and we have it almost exactly backwards. Today’s secret is which two things we are comparing, and by how wide a margin.