It’s Thursday, September 17, 2026—and National Monte Cristo Day, when breakfast, lunch, and dessert somehow end up sharing one sandwich.

A cloth merchant discovers an entire population hiding inside the human mouth, an unsuccessful businessman creates his own throne, and television fans turn a fictional name into part of NASA history.

Today we explore Antonie van Leeuwenhoek’s unsettling examination of dental plaque, the wonderfully unofficial reign of Emperor Norton, and the space shuttle named *Enterprise* that never actually traveled to space.

Along the way, we celebrate Roddy McDowall, the former child star who disappeared beneath layers of makeup to give several very different apes their humanity.

Sometimes imagination arrives first—and reality takes a little while to catch up.