Disaster And A Clockwork Orange

Disaster Rehearsal

Morley Musick | n+1 | 16th July 2026

What it's like to be a volunteer for a mass-casualty simulation drill at an airport. First, you are daubed with fake blood and burns. Then, a replica plane on a disused runway is set on fire. Everyone lies on the floor and pretends to be injured. Trainee firefighters effect a rescue, which is "a very pleasurable, quasi-erotic experience, giving a taste of what it might be like to be able to float" (1,800 words)

Puzzle: Play Nomido, the Browser’s daily word game.

As Odd As A Clockwork Orange

The Memory Hole | 28th June 2026

The oft-repeated origin story of A Clockwork Orange — that Anthony Burgess completed the novel after receiving a terminal brain tumour diagnosis, drawing inspiration from a horrific attack on his wife — is not true. The brain tumour never existed and it's highly likely the attack never happened either. When asked once on what occasions he lied, Burgess replied: "When I write, when I speak, when I sleep" (3,500 words)