Articles

When the Sun Gets Violent, It Shoots Antimatter at the Earth

When it casts a solar flare, the Sun also launches antimatter

July 10, 2013

Television Channel for Dogs to Launch in August

DogTV, “the first and only 24/7 television channel scientifically developed and tested for dogs,” is a 24-hour channel that will debut on August 1st

July 10, 2013

Breaking Ground

The “Legacy of Slavery” Comes to the Smithsonian with Angola Prison Guard Tower Donation

Donations from the notorious Louisiana prison highlight a controversial history of incarceration

July 10, 2013

Dogs Have Terrible Eyesight: See for Yourself

Red—green color blind and with awful, awful vision. Life for a dog is kind of a blurry mess

July 10, 2013

The Civil War

Document Deep Dive: The Day the Confederates Attacked Washington

This map painstakingly created by a Union cartographer presents a snapshot of the nation’s capital during the war

July 10, 2013

Earthworm Excrement Could Help Archaeologists Measure Age-Old Climate Conditions

July 10, 2013

Powering the 21st Century

Tour the Country’s Energy Infrastructure Through A New Interactive Map

Examining the network of power plants, transmission wires, and pipelines gives new insights into the inner workings of the electrical grid

July 10, 2013

The Perfect Food for Your Outdoor BBQ: Grilled Pizza

Next time you fire up the grill, try making your favorite pizza

July 10, 2013

Celebrate Nikola Tesla’s Birthday with an Excerpt from a New Biography of the Inventor

Scholar W. Bernard Carlson explores Tesla’s experiments with automatons and radio controlled boats in this excerpt from his new book

July 10, 2013

Choir Members’ Hearts Beat in Time With Each Other

According to a new study, choir members may be mimicking not only their fellow choristers’ voices but also their heartbeats

July 10, 2013

The Origin of the Pilcrow, aka the Strange Paragraph Symbol

It is now nearly invisible in word-processing programs, but it was one of the most elaborate of manuscript ornaments

July 10, 2013

Energy Innovation

Is Scotland the “Saudi Arabia” of Tidal Power?

The Pentland Firth, a seaway along Scotland’s Northern coast, could generate enough electricity to meet half of the country’s needs, new research finds

July 9, 2013

Worldwide, One Out of Four People Paid a Bribe Last Year

While 9 out of 10 people in the survey say they want to act against corruption, many also reported that they had to pay bribes to get simple services

July 9, 2013

Ancient Dinosaur Birds Were Infected With Hepatitis B

82 million years ago hepatitis B infected birds

July 9, 2013

You’re Not Supposed to Mine the Grand Canyon, So Why Are These Miners Digging Up Uranium?

There are four mines still turning out ore near the Grand Canyon

July 9, 2013

Crayola Has At Least 16 Different Names For What Most of Us Would Call ‘Orange’

Crayola is the master of colors. Sort of. In fact, what they’re actually the master of is color naming, and renaming

July 9, 2013

Bystanders Intervene in One-Third of Bar Room Brawls

If you’re at a bar and somebody starts a fight, what do you do? Root them on? Step in? Join the fight?

July 9, 2013

First Arrest Caught on Google Glass

Google won’t be changing anything in response to the video, but they do say they’re talking to lawmakers about the implications of recording everything

July 9, 2013

Events July 9-11: Verbal Gymnastics, Craft Art and Beer and West African Music and Storytelling

This week, unlock your inner poet, make DIY garden-themed craft art and drink craft beer and sway to the beat of West African music and storytelling

July 9, 2013

This New Device Can Sterilize Medical Tools Using Solar Power Alone

An invention called the solarclave could help prevent millions of annual infections that result from improperly cleaned medical equipment

July 8, 2013