ENGINEERING
Why Do Elevators Have Mirrors Inside?
Traveling at high speeds in an enclosed box suspended high above the ground, filled with total strangers powered by a pulley system? It sounds like some daredevil stunt, or perhaps an amusement park ride — yet that’s an accurate way to describe riding an elevator. Elevators make 21st-century urban life possible. Without them, buildings could […]
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Why Do Stars Twinkle?
Sorry to burst your nursery rhyme bubble, but “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” got one important thing wrong: Stars don’t actually twinkle. At least, not on their own. When you peer up at the night sky and see those tiny pinpricks of light shimmering and winking back at you, what you’re actually viewing is an illusion […]
NATURE
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How Do Barcodes Work?
Walk into any supermarket and the chirp of barcode scanners easily dominates the ambience of squeaky shopping cart wheels and corporate-approved pop songs filling your ears. Without barcodes, though, buying groceries — and all kinds of retail products — would be a logistical nightmare. Ever since the first commercial barcode was scanned some 50 years […]
TECHNOLOGY
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Why Can’t You Tickle Yourself?
Try it right now. Go ahead — wiggle your fingers into your own armpit or poke yourself in the ribs. Chances are, you won’t burst into helpless laughter, although you might feel a little annoyed at yourself. But give the job to another person, and suddenly your body reacts as though it’s under attack, revealing […]
HEALTH
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