Sports
Team and individual sports and physical activities
How Olympic Bodies Have Changed Over Time
From 1929 to now, how do former Olympic champions compare to today's athletes?
August 09, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
Kok-Boru, the Horse Game You Won’t See at the Olympics
In Kyrgyzstan, traditional horse games offer a glimpse into Central Asia’s nomadic past
August 09, 2012 |
By Mike Ives
The Swimsuit Series, Part 5: Olympic Athletes, Posing
Vintage styles cycle in and out of favor among medal-winning racers
August 08, 2012 |
By Emily Spivack
Synchronized Swimming is Really Hard, and Really Weird
Olympic synchronized swimmers get a lot of flack for their wacky sport - but while it is weird, it's also really hard.
August 08, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
How Olympians Could Beat the Competition by Tweaking Their Genes
The next horizon in getting that extra athletic advantage may not be steroids, but gene therapy
August 06, 2012 |
By Larry Greenemeier
Best Vegetarian Foods of the World
Traveling and eating abroad, many diners discover that the world is a vegetarian's oyster
August 03, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland
Scientists Explain How an All Drug Olympics Could Create the Greatest Athletes Ever
If we let athletes dope all they want, just how big, fast and strong can they really get?
August 03, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
76 Years Ago Today, Jesse Owens Proved the Nazis Wrong
In 1936 Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics, throwing the idea of Aryan supremacy back into Hitler's face.
August 03, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
Meet Team USA’s Marlen Esparza, the New Face of Women’s Boxing
The flyweight pugilist has spent all her life waiting for the chance to compete on the Olympic stage. Now, she just needs to win
August 03, 2012 |
By Jim Morrison
Why don’t sprinters start with a pistol anymore? They’re too fast
The classic starting gun leaves too much margin of error, so London has switch to an electronic beep.
August 02, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
Old-Timey Olympians Show How Things Have Changed
Clendenin's photos evoke the feeling that for all the changes seen by the modern Olympic games, the athletes themselves could easily be transposed across time.
August 01, 2012 |
By Colin Schultz
Gooooal! Two Technologies Compete to Sense Soccer Goals
A major botched call by referees during the World Cup has opened the door for computerized replacements
July 31, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
How China Will Beat the US in Olympic Medals
How to tell which countries will take home more bling, and why weight lifting matters.
July 30, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
How to Win Money by Predicting the Olympics
Statistics could help predict just how fast athletes will run and swim at this summer's Olympics.
July 27, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
A Single Brain Structure May Give Winners That Extra Physical Edge
An extraordinary insula helps elite athletes better anticipate their body's upcoming feelings, improving their physical reactions
July 26, 2012 |
By Sandra Upson
When the Olympics Gave Out Medals for Art
In the modern Olympics’ early days, painters, sculptors, writers and musicians battled for gold, silver and bronze
July 25, 2012 |
By Joseph Stromberg
The Science Behind London Olympics’ “Springy” Track
When the athletes hit the track at this summer's Olympic games, they'll be stepping onto a surface as finely tuned as they are.
July 24, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
Which Freestyle Method Would Help You Beat Michael Phelps?
Scientists examine the difference between two distinct freestyle strokes in order to determine the most efficient stroke around.
July 23, 2012 |
By Rose Eveleth
Great Books—and the Best Places to Read Them
Reading while traveling can serve as a sensory supplement to one's surrounding environment. Here's a list of some of my favorite books and where to read them
July 21, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland
Man’s Best Friend or the World’s Number-One Pest?
With perhaps 600 million strays skirmishing for food on the fringe of the human world, street dogs are a common element of travel just about everywhere
July 18, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland
