Quixotic

The National Ignition Facility is a laser-based inertial confinement fusion research device. NIF's mission is to achieve fusion ignition with high energy gain. It achieved the first instance of scientific breakeven controlled fusion in an experiment on December 5, 2022, with an energy gain factor of 1.5] It supports nuclear weapon maintenance and design by studying the behavior of matter under the conditions found within nuclear explosions. NIF is the largest and most powerful ICF device built to date. The basic ICF concept is to squeeze a small amount of fuel to reach pressure and temperature necessary for fusion. NIF hosts the world's most energetic laser. The laser heats the outer layer of a small sphere. The energy is so intense that it causes the sphere to implode, squeezing the fuel inside.

Bermeja is a phantom islet lying off the north coast of the Yucatán peninsula according to several maps of the Gulf of Mexico from the 16th to the 20th centuries. Despite being located somewhat precisely in relation to neighboring islands by notable Spanish cartographers of the 16th century, the island was not found in a 1997 survey, nor in an extensive 2009 study conducted by the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) on behalf of the Mexican Chamber of Deputies. Interest in the island arose in late 2008, fueled by the fact that if such an island existed, it would be important for determining the boundaries for exploitation rights of oil in Hoyos de Dona in the Gulf of Mexico.

Stéphane Breitwieser is a French art thief and author, notorious for his art thefts between 1995 and 2001. He admitted to stealing 239 artworks and other exhibits from 172 museums while travelling around Europe and working as a waiter, an average of one theft every 15 days. He differs from most other art thieves in that most of his thefts initially did not involve profit motive. He was a self-described art connoisseur who stole in order to build a personal collection of stolen works, particularly of 16th and 17th century masters. At his trial, the magistrate quoted him as saying, "I enjoy art. I love such works of art. I collected them and kept them at home." Despite the immensity of his collection, he was still able to recall every piece he stole.

Nathan Leopold Jr. and Richard Albert Loeb were two wealthy students at the University of Chicago who kidnapped and murdered 14-year-old Bobby Franks (a relative of Loeb) in Chicago, Illinois, United States, on May 21, 1924. They committed the murder – characterized at the time as "the crime of the century" – hoping to demonstrate superior intellect, which they believed enabled and entitled them to carry out a "perfect crime" without consequences. After the two men were arrested, Loeb's family retained Clarence Darrow as lead counsel for their defense. Darrow's twelve-hour summation at their sentencing hearing is noted for its influential criticism of capital punishment as retributive rather than transformative justice. Both young men were sentenced to life imprisonment plus 99 years. Loeb was murdered by a fellow prisoner in 1936. Leopold was released on parole in 1958.

The Kola Superdeep Borehole, located in Russia, is the world's deepest man-made hole, reaching a depth of 40,230 feet (12,262 meters) or 7.6 miles (12.2 kilometers), surpassing the depth of the Mariana Trench and the height of Mount Everest. The drilling project, initiated by the Soviets in 1970, revealed unexpected findings such as the absence of the "Conrad discontinuity" transition from granite to basalt, the presence of liquid water at unexpected depths, and microscopic fossils from single-celled marine organisms dating back 2 billion years. Despite the significant depth achieved, the drilling faced challenges like increasing temperatures and rock densities, leading to the project's discontinuation in 1992, with the hole being sealed in 2005.

Hiroo Onoda was an Imperial Japanese Army intelligence officer who fought in World War II and did not surrender at the war's end in August 1945. After the war ended, Onoda spent 29 years hiding in the Philippines until his former commander travelled from Japan to formally relieve him from duty by order of Emperor Shōwa in 1974.