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Articles

What is appropriate Google Glass behavior?

Will Google Glass Make Us Better People? Or Just Creepy?

Some think wearable tech is just the thing to help us break bad habits, others that it will let us invade privacy like never before

This Japanese Shrine Has Been Torn Down And Rebuilt Every 20 Years for the Past Millennium

In addition to reinvigorating spiritual and community bonds, the tradition keeps Japanese artisan skills alive

Centipede Venom Is a More Potent Pain Killer Than Morphine

Of the nine possible sodium ion channels the centipede venom could have affected, it happened to correspond with just the right one for numbing pain

These Jellyfish-Mulching Robots Could Be the Savior of the Seas

These new robots can chew up nearly a ton of jellyfish per hour

This New, Weird Beer Has Moon Dust in It

We hear it goes great with cheese

How Do Canada Geese Get Ready to Fly?

In the movie Fly Away home that involved a goose shaped plane, but in the wild it’s just a few flicks of the neck.

When rains come, this curcurbit beetle is most definitely not looking for love.

Insects Are Less Randy in the Rain

Beetles, moths and aphids are markedly turned off by the hint of impending rain, likely an evolutionary adaptation to prevent them from getting washed away

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This 5’5” Basketball Player Can Dunk And Has a Message: Treat Short Athletes Better

Brandon Todd spent years training to be able to dunk, putting on 80 pounds of muscle and increasing his vertical to 45 inches

People Are Just As Superficial About Robots’ Looks As They Are About Humans’

Depending on a person’s age and the robot’s job, people feel differently about what the robot should look like

Why do we associate popcorn with the movies?

Ask Smithsonian 2017

Why Do We Eat Popcorn at the Movies?

The movie theater’s most popular concession wasn’t always associated with the movies—in fact, it used to be explicitly banned

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Energy Innovation

This Gadget Charges Your Phone With Fire

A new device uses heat from any fire to produce electricity

Are Diesel Exhaust Fumes to Blame for Honeybee Colony Collapse?

Tests show that diesel pollutants reduce bees’ ability to smell flowers, potentially playing a role in the disappearance of the pollinating insects

A calcified flamingo, preserved by the highly basic waters of Tanzania’s Lake Natron and photographed by Nick Brandt

This Alkaline African Lake Turns Animals into Stone

Photographer Nick Brandt captures haunting images of calcified animals, preserved by the extreme waters of Tanzania’s Lake Natron

A recreation of an ancient English farm

Early Agriculture Nearly Tanked Ancient Europe’s Population

While the rise of agriculture allowed human populations to blossom, it also opened the door for catastrophic collapses

257,000 Years Ago, a Hyena Ate Some Human Hair (And Probably the Rest of the Person, Too)

The brown hyena who originally planted the evidence most likely ate the person, though it could have scavenged on a dead body

These Mice Sing to Mark Their Territory

A lot of things sing to mark their territory - birds, wolves, howler monkeys. But you can now add mice to that list

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People Have Already Managed to Litter on Pakistan’s New Earthquake-Formed Island

A massive earthquake last week created a new island off the coast of Pakistan

Tom Clancy at a book signing at Boston College.

Espionage Thriller Author Tom Clancy Dies

Clancy authored more than 20 books and his final novel, Command Authority, is scheduled for release on December 3

New testing of treated wastewater from fracking shows that it contains high levels of radioactive radium, along with chloride and bromide.

Radioactive Wastewater From Fracking Is Found in a Pennsylvania Stream

New testing shows that high levels of radium are being released into the watershed that supplies Pittsburgh’s drinking water

How Much Abuse Can a Single Lego Brick Take?

Forget iPads, if you want a long lasting toy stick with blocks

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