Chances are, at one time or another, you’ve had the feeling that someone is staring at you, as though another person’s gaze is a tangible beam. You may even look and find that to be the case. Or perhaps you’re the one doing the staring, and avoid doing it for too long for fear the […]
Earth experiences roughly 8.6 million lightning strikes every day. And every day, at least 1.5 billion cars snake along the various highways and byways that crisscross the planet. You don’t need a calculator to do the math: It’s only a matter of time before the two collide in an incredible display of electromagnetism. Conventional wisdom […]
The image of massive construction cranes rising above steel columns and half-completed buildings is a classic urban landscape. But try to remember the last time you saw one of those giant beasts rumbling down the highway to get there. You probably can’t, and that’s for good reason. The large, erector-set-looking cranes that loom over construction […]
Whether they’re writing their grocery lists or using a pair of scissors, about 90% of folks favor their right hand. Across cultures, continents, and historical eras, lefties have always been in the minority.But despite decades of research, scientists still haven’t found a specific reason why roughly one in 10 people are naturally left-handed. Instead, evidence […]
Spider silk doesn’t look particularly impressive. It’s thinner than a human hair, light enough to drift on the breeze, and fragile enough to disappear in a single swipe of a broom. Yet pound for pound, some spider silks are stronger than steel and tougher than Kevlar — the material used in bulletproof vests. So how […]
One moment, you’re late for an exam for a class you forgot you signed up for. Then your old high school turns into an aquarium; a giant octopus is somehow giving the test. You forgot to wear pants. As anxiety-inducing as all this is, none of it seems particularly strange while you’re experiencing it. Then […]
You know the feeling. You spent a little too long at the beach, forgot to reapply your sunscreen on a hike, or underestimated just how strong the afternoon sun could be. A few hours later, your skin feels hot enough to toast bread, your shoulders are flamingo-pink, and putting on a T-shirt feels like snuggling […]
Time warps, reverse gravity, alien abduction — there are plenty of theories about why so many ships and aircraft have vanished in the Bermuda Triangle. But none have been proven (and are almost certainly not what’s going on). Nonetheless, people have been observing mysterious phenomena in this vast tract of ocean (somewhere between 0.5 and […]
For dog owners, one of the absolute best feelings is walking in the door after a long day and seeing your pup waiting for you, tail wagging full speed and ready to give you all their love. The message in this case is obvious: “I’m so happy you’re here!!!” However, a wagging tail can have […]
In 1910, attendees of the Paris Motor Show saw something quite unlike anything they’d seen before: the world’s first neon lamp. Two years later, a Parisian barbershop installed a neon sign that read “Palais Coiffeur,” creating an effect so eye-catching it soon proliferated in Paris and then the rest of the world. Even the City […]
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