A century ago, many thought Mars was scored by a canal system constructed by an advanced civilization - an idea championed by astronomer Percival Lowell. Why? How did an astronomer come to this conclusion? Today we explore the canal phenomenon and discuss why it's a crucial allegory from history - pertinent now more than ever. Written & presented by Prof David Kipping. You can support our research program and the Cool Worlds Lab at Columbia University: https://www.coolworldslab.com/support Get Stash here! https://teespring.com/stores/cool-worlds-store Thank-you to our supporters L. Sanborn, K. Clark, T. Widdowson, D. Smith, S. Hackley, M. Sloan, P. Herman, C. Bottaccini, D. Daughaday, S. Fincher, J. Kindred, A. Jones, J. Allen, S. Baldwin, S. Brownlee, D. Denholm, G. Fulton, S. Griffiths, P. Halloran, J. Jurcevic, N. Kildal, V. Kremer, M. Lijoi, S. Loftin, A. Maslyanchuk, B. Matson, O. Mcintyre, L. Mitchell, A. Pelletier, B. Robinson, Z. Star, L. Steely, E. West, B. York, T. Zanjonc, P. Gowd, S. Kelsey, C. Wolfred, E. Dessoi, F. Naeem, F. Rebolledo, H. Laging, T. Leger, L. Skov, E. Wilson, I. Baskerville, J. Bassnett, J. Shackleford, I. Johnstone, G. Suter, I. Hopcraft, P. Akrill-Misso, W. Robertson, G. Ingham, D. Van Hecke, J. Pilloff, C. Stouffer, G. Benson, A. de Vaal, J. Wenzel, M. Elliot, M. Wallstab, B. Thomson, B. Daniluk, B. Bowen, D. Jacobson, G. Coogan, J. Patrick-Saunders, J. Bushong, M. O'Donnell, M. Forbes, P. Conroy, R. Clifton, S. Vystoropskyi, S. Carr, T. Laird, S. Lee, T. Tschopp, Z. Danielson, Z. Turner, E. Fernandes, E. Vinci, L. Holc, S. Grant, C. Butler, M. Peraic, C. Fitzgerald, B. Meraz, R. Ybarra, V. Alexandrov, R. Sinai, L. Macchia, C. Souter, M. Gillette, J. Rockett, T. Jeffcoat, D. Roos, D. Poole, G. Fuhrmann, H. Jensen, J. Flynn, L. Chambers, M. Archer & A. Bradaric. ::References:: ► Lowell, P., 1895, "Mars", Houghton, Mifflin and Co., MA ► Lowell, P., 1906, "Mars and Its Canals", The Macmillian Company, NY ► Lowell, P., 19