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White arrows point to the fossilized feathers of Microraptor gui.

Actually, Dinosaurs Probably Didn’t All Have Feathers

The increasingly-popular idea that all dinosaurs had feathers may be a bit too enthusiastic

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London’s New Years Eve Will Feature Edible Confetti And Scented Fireworks

Only time will tell whether the sites and sounds and tastes and smells are a success, but no one can say London didn’t try

The History of Cone-Shaped Medieval Princess Hats

Known as hennins, the tall headdresses were popular among European noblewomen in the late Middle Ages

Japan’s Newest Island Has Merged With Its Neighbor

Ongoing volcanic activity has caused Japan’s newest island to merge with its neighbor

This Texas Teen’s Most Productive Fishing Hole Is the Sewer

Kyle Naegeli, 15, first discovered this unlikely fishing hole after he made a $5 bet with his dad

Doctors Are Now Prescribing Books to Treat Depression

Reading to feel less isolated may be more than just a poetic thought

Tolkien’s Dwarves Would Have Needed 38 Mini-Nuclear Plants to Melt All That Gold So Quickly

Unless those dwarf furnaces were burning some sort of Middle-earth super fuel, in real life Smaug probably would have just eaten the dwarves

Jupiter's moon Io in orbit around the gas giant. Io is casting a dark shadow on Jupiter's atmosphere.

Did Astronomers Just Find the First Moon Outside Our Solar System?

The potential moon is half the size of Earth and in orbit around a planet four times bigger than Jupiter

Batteries

The Latest Technology in Cheap Energy Storage Is Manufactured with Pasta Makers

A startup based in Manhattan called Urban Electric Power is taking a stab at the energy storage problem.

In 1949, a Physicist Proposed Using Skyscapers And a Roof to Control NYC’s Climate

No scorching summers, no freezing winters…just a nice pleasant time, all year round

Science Is Inching Closer to the Possibility of Erasing Bad Memories

Scientists began tinkering with memory in the late 1960s, but it’s only recently that research really began to hint that this might be possible

Get Geeky About Dialects With the Dictionary of American Regional English

Did the NYTimes’ dialect quiz get you interested in regionalisms? Then check out the Dictionary of American Regional English

Coconut Crabs Eat Everything from Kittens to, Maybe, Amelia Earhart

According to one theory, Earhart did not drown in the Pacific but instead crashed on the remote Nikumaroro atoll, where she was eaten by coconut crabs

Sewage Water Reveals Community’s Illegal Drug Habits

Sewage analyses in the US found the highest levels of methamphetamines to date, but revealed that cocaine use in the US seems on par with that in Europe

Can You Fry Things in Space?

Can the good old American tradition of caking foods in grease continue in the vast recesses of space?

A U.S. destroyer, part of the U.S. 6th Fleet, sits near Syria.

Syria’s Chemical Weapons Are Going on a Convoluted Journey Before They’re Destroyed

Multiple nations and multiple hand-offs will take Syria’s chemical weapons out of the country for disposal

Hadza hunter-gatherers on the hunt for dinner.

Animals And Humans Use Similar Tactics to Find Food

The authors think this particular foraging method may have evolved in early humans and stuck around through the eons due to its effectiveness

A member of the Texas Camel Corps.

Cool Finds

The United States Army Used Camels Until After the Civil War

When the first American settlers started moving west, their horses and mules weren’t cut out for the long, dry treks

Decorations in Thailand.

Christmas Is Huge in Asia

From India to Thailand to China, even non-Christians are getting into the holiday spirit

Cool Finds

Some Spiders Eat Salads

Most people think of spiders as terrifying carnivores, laying in wait to trap their prey. That’s mostly true, but sometimes spiders eat other things too

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