Terms and conditions

Effective October 28, 2026.

These terms are the rules for using Weird Science History at weirdsciencehistory.com, including the stories, the games, the dispatch, the ads, and the book. The site is published by the Curiosities Desk. What we collect, and how the ads use cookies, is in the privacy policy.

If you read, play, subscribe, or buy, these terms apply. If you do not agree with them, please do not use the site.

The archive

The stories are historical journalism. Sources are listed at the end of each one. They are not medical advice, legal advice, or instructions for an experiment. Many of them describe work that was dangerous, wrong, or both. Do not repeat it. Reading a story does not create a professional relationship.

Footnotes link to other sites. Those sites have their own rules, and we do not control them.

Advertising

The site shows third-party ads through Google AdSense. We do this to pay for the archive. Google chooses the ads. We do not endorse the products, claims, or landing pages in them, and an ad is not part of a story. If you click an ad, your dealings are with the advertiser.

We do not sell your email address to advertisers. How advertising cookies work, and how to opt out of personalized ads, is explained in the privacy policy.

The dispatch

The newsletter is optional. It is about one email a week. We do not sell, rent, or trade the addresses on that list. To unsubscribe, email [email protected] from the address you used, and we will remove it.

The games

Fact or Myth and The Blank are free. Scores are for amusement. We may change, pause, or remove a game. The privacy policy explains the random identifier stored in your browser.

The book

Their Own Guinea Pigs is a 42-page PDF, sold for $4.99 in United States dollars. Stripe processes the payment under its own terms. When a payment succeeds, we email a personal download link to the address given at checkout. The link expires 60 days after the purchase.

The file is licensed to you for your own reading. You may not resell it, post it for others to download, or distribute copies. If the link fails or the file will not open, email us and we will send a working link. Rights to cancel or receive a refund that the law already gives you still apply.

Acceptable use

You may read the archive, play the games, and share links to pages. Please do not interfere with the site or with other readers, attempt to get at the subscriber list or other non-public data, send spam through the site, or copy the archive in bulk in a way that degrades it. Please do not use the stories as a script for harming yourself or anyone else.

Intellectual property

The writing, the site design, and the original illustrations are owned by Weird Science History. Historical facts are not. You may link to any page. You may quote a short passage if you credit Weird Science History and link to the story. You may not copy an article in full, republish the archive, or resell it without permission.

If you believe a page uses your work in a way the law does not allow, email [email protected] with the page address and the work you own. We will review it.

Disclaimers

The site is provided as it is and as it is available. We correct stories when a better source turns up, and we still make mistakes. We do not promise that the site will be uninterrupted, that every detail is final, or that ads and outside pages will be accurate or safe.

Liability

To the extent the law allows, Weird Science History and the Curiosities Desk are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages arising out of the site, the games, the dispatch, the ads, or the book. If the claim is about a copy of the book you bought, and the law lets us limit that claim, the limit is the amount you paid for it. These terms do not limit liability the law says cannot be limited.

Changes

We may update these terms. The new version will be posted on this page with a new date. Continuing to use the site after that date means the new terms apply.

Law

These terms are governed by the laws of the United States, except where the law of your place of residence requires otherwise. Please write to us before starting a formal dispute. We would rather fix the problem.

Contact

Weird Science History
The Curiosities Desk
[email protected]