Procedural Dogma
Cases where adherence to the process became far more important than the actual outcome. We look at specific moments when a rigid checklist completely overrode common sense and better evidence. We then trace how that blind obedience actively generated failure instead of ensuring public safety.
The Failed Bonfire of EU Laws
The 2022 Retained EU Law Bill was designed to allow thousands of regulations to expire automatically. This was abandoned months later when the government realised it did not know what it was deleting.
Vitamin D – How a Calculation Mistake Shaped Global Guidance
The global Vitamin D standard was built on a confirmed calculation error. Corrected mathematics points to a higher dose, yet the official guideline remains unchanged.
The Cornish Pasty Claim About an Arsenic Handle
The legend claims the crimp was a disposable handle against arsenic. However, archival photos show miners using ‘crib bags’ instead. We test this theory against estimated daily energy needs to see if the story is history or fakelore.
Cornish Pasty – The Ingredient Audit
The law insists on beef, yet 1862 wage logs prove the miner could not afford it. We audit the ‘pig economy’ to reveal how the PGI protects an upmarket feast rather than the working-class reality.
How the HFEA Licenses ‘Saviour Sibling’ Cases
A small committee decides if families may try to create a ‘saviour sibling’. The law says child welfare comes first. The standards are unpublished. We open the black box and test whether a humane system can also be a transparent one.
How UK Saviour Sibling Policy Was Forged by Contradiction
In 2002, the UK’s fertility regulator refused one family a ‘saviour sibling’, setting a firm ethical principle. Two years later, it quietly reversed that principle for a near-identical case, creating the inconsistent foundation of today’s law.
The Keeper’s Gamble – Systemic Failure in the Lighthouse Service
Three keepers broke their service's cardinal rule and left their lighthouse unmanned. The official report blamed a freak wave, but this investigation explores a different cause. A system in which the fear of a fine for lost equipment proved deadly.
Rogue Waves – The Flannan Isles Case and the Draupner Evidence
In 1900, a lighthouse team vanished from the Flannan Isles. In 1995, a North Sea platform measured a wave twice the expected height. The two events, nearly a century apart, reveal how rogue seas were dismissed until instruments proved them real.
The Orphan Object – The Gold Waltham Watch of the Yuba County Five
On 4 June 1978, a gold Waltham watch was found beside Ted Weiher. Families said it was not theirs. No serial, no forensics, no chain of custody. Our inquiry shows how omissions turned a possible lead into an inert symbol.
The Serengeti Investigation – The Truth About Africa’s Most Famous Wilderness
Declassified British colonial files reveal the Serengeti's "pristine wilderness" was manufactured through systematic dispossession. The world's most famous park began as an elite hunting estate, built on 64 years of legal warfare against indigenous peoples.