Blog Feed: Interesting Thing of the Day

Blog Feed: Interesting Thing of the Day is a series of entertaining and educational articles about unusual or intriguing topics, i..

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Solar Sails / The next big thing in space travel

Published on 2012-05-25 02:00:01

Outfit a spacecraft with a huge but incredibly lightweight mirror, and it can travel indefinitely, without fuel, at speeds that eventually exceed those of conventional rocket-powered craft. > read more

DNA Fingerprinting / Not just for crime fighting

Published on 2012-05-23 02:00:01

Everyone knows that DNA can be used to identify a child's parents or solve crimes, but the applications of DNA fingerprinting are spreading. The technique can be used to authenticate rice, wine, or medicine, fight disease, and trace human migration. > read more

Quiet Parties / Silent night out on the town

Published on 2012-05-21 02:00:01

A night out on the town with friends doesn't have to mean a headache and a sore throat from yelling over the din at a noisy bar or club. You can get all the interaction, but without the noise, if you know where to go. > read more

Highgate Cemetery / Toto, I don't think we're in London anymore

Published on 2012-05-18 02:00:01

Off the beaten path in the city of London is a sprawling cemetery that looks like something straight out of a horror movie. Its residents include Karl Marx, Michael Faraday, and (according to some) a vampire. > read more

The Beale Ciphers / Yet another story of secret codes and hidden treasure

Published on 2012-05-16 02:00:01

One of the most vexing unsolved cryptographic puzzles of the last two centuries may point to buried treasure, but odds favor a more prosaic explanation. > read more

Saffron / The ultimate culinary delicacy

Published on 2012-05-14 02:00:01

The world's most expensive food product, saffron is an essential component of such dishes as bouillabaisse and paella. Literally and figuratively, it's very nearly worth its weight in gold. > read more

The Coelacanth / Re-historic fish

Published on 2012-05-11 02:00:01

An ancient fish, previously known only from fossils more than 65 million years old, turns up alive in 1938, only to become endangered again. > read more

Euskara / The extraordinary Basque language

Published on 2012-05-09 02:00:01

The peculiar language of the Basque people in northern Spain and southwestern France doesn't seem to fit any linguistic expectations. But it's still easy to learn. > read more

Emperor Norton / Monarch of San Francisco

Published on 2012-05-07 02:00:01

San Francisco was once the proud home of an eccentric character who called himself Emperor of the United States. He wisely outlawed use of the term "Frisco." > read more

Coin Tossing / Putting a new spin on randomness

Published on 2012-05-04 02:00:01

If you need a quick, random decision, you'll probably toss a coin. But coin tosses may not be so random after all. > read more

Breathing Liquid / The frontiers of human respiration

Published on 2012-05-02 02:00:01

Under some very specific conditions, humans can breathe special liquids. This technique has potential applications in medicine and diving, but it's not without serious problems. > read more

Bee Venom Therapy / A stinging endorsement

Published on 2012-04-30 02:00:01

Bee stings are extremely unpleasant, but some medical conditions can supposedly be treated by voluntarily stinging oneself. > read more

Tree Tumbo / Mystery plant of the desert

Published on 2012-04-27 02:00:01

One of the world's oddest plants looks like an ugly mass of leaves, but it can survive on the moisture from desert fog for thousands of years. > read more

Optical Painters' Aids / A matter of perspective

Published on 2012-04-25 02:00:01

One of the latest debates raging in the art world involves the claim that Vermeer and other famous painters used optical aids such as a camera obscura to achieve realistic perspectives in their work. > read more

The Milgram Obedience Experiments / Just following orders

Published on 2012-04-23 02:00:01

Controversial experiments conducted in the 1960s showed that ordinary people were willing to inflict pain on others rather than disobey an authority figure. > read more

InterPlay / Getting grown-ups back into their bodies

Published on 2012-04-20 02:00:01

When adults forget how to play, this program can help to remind them what it's like to have fun in some of the most basic human ways. > read more

Parkour / Turning a city into an obstacle course

Published on 2012-04-18 02:00:01

An extreme urban sport combines running, gymnastics, dance, and martial arts. To participate, all you need is a good pair of shoes, thorough training, and nerves of steel. > read more

Operation Migration / Follow that airplane!

Published on 2012-04-16 02:00:01

When endangered birds are raised in captivity, teaching them how to migrate can be tricky. But it's possible, if you can convince them that an airplane is just another bird. > read more

Portmanteau / When words intertwingle

Published on 2012-04-13 02:00:01

A linguistic phenomenon in which two words combine in certain ways to form a new one was named, and put to great comedic effect, by Lewis Carroll. > read more

Passenger Pigeons / The great American extinction

Published on 2012-04-11 02:00:01

The last surviving member of a bird species that once numbered in the billions died in 1914. Their extraordinary extinction is a sad commentary on human values. > read more

Leonardo's Robots / Renaissance man meets mechanical man

Published on 2012-04-09 02:00:01

Leonardo da Vinci was many things, possibly including the world's first roboticist. Sketches from 1495 supposedly constitute plans for a humanoid robot. > read more

The 1715 Spanish Plate Fleet / Disaster on the Treasure Coast

Published on 2012-04-06 02:00:01

A fleet of ships carrying gold from the New World to Spain in 1715 sank in a hurricane. Some of the ships have never been found, but their treasures have washed up on the Florida shores for centuries. > read more

The Autogyro / Taking the proto-helicopter for a spin

Published on 2012-04-04 02:00:01

What do you get if you cross and airplane and a helicopter? A funny-looking aircraft with an unpowered rotor. Whatever else you can say about it, it won't stall at slow speeds. > read more

Sedna's Moon / Mysteries of the solar system's most distant member

Published on 2012-04-02 02:00:01

A planetoid orbiting the Sun much farther away than Pluto should have had a moon, according to astronomical calculations, but it didn't show up in photographs. What happened to it? > read more

The Pont d'Avignon / Miracle bridge to nowhere

Published on 2012-03-30 02:00:01

In the medieval French city of Avignon, once the home of the pope, a bridge stops abruptly halfway across the Rhône river. Once important for spiritual reasons, its fame lives on in a nursery rhyme. > read more

The Story of Toilet Paper / What goes around, comes around

Published on 2012-03-28 02:00:01

Where would modern civilization be without toilet paper? And yet, it was invented only in the late 19th century. How it came to have its current form is a delicate story. > read more

The Wet Collodion Process / Developing a better negative

Published on 2012-03-26 02:00:01

An intellectual property lawsuit in the mid-1800s ended in defeat for both sides, but it left us with the process whereby a photographic negative could make any number of prints. > read more

Biodegradable Plastic / The quest for impermanence

Published on 2012-03-23 02:00:01

Plastics are durable, inexpensive, and versatile, but have the annoying tendency not to break down in landfills. New formulas may solve that problem. > read more

Space Pens / What to use when your writing lacks gravity

Published on 2012-03-21 02:00:01

They write upside-down, underwater, on grease, in zero gravity, and in a vacuum. But did space pens really cost NASA $1 million to develop? > read more

House of the Future / Disneyland's 1957 all-plastic house

Published on 2012-03-19 02:00:01

Wood, steel, and concrete are so passe when it comes to building materials. The future (as of 1957) would be houses built and furnished entirely out of plastic. > read more

Bakelite / The Plastic Age

Published on 2012-03-16 02:00:01

An early type of plastic that was once dismissed as a sticky "goo" turned into a major material for fashioning all sorts of household goods from the 1920s through the 1950s. > read more

The Paperclip / The twisted tale of paper's best friend

Published on 2012-03-14 03:00:01

The most mundane of office supplies has a storied past. Without this modest invention, paper fastening would never be as easy as it is today. Wireless communication might suffer too. > read more

The Crypt of Civilization / Museum in a time capsule

Published on 2012-03-12 03:00:01

There are time capsules, and then there are time capsules. A vault sealed in 1940 in Atlanta contains a huge stash of artifacts that should be unearthed in 8113. > read more

Leap Seconds / Time keeps on slippin'

Published on 2012-03-09 02:00:01

The Earth has the annoying tendency to vary its speed of rotation, and to compensate for this, the world's timekeeping officials must sometimes add an extra second to the day. > read more

The Antikythera Mechanism / Computer from ancient Greece

Published on 2012-03-07 02:00:01

The world's oldest surviving geared mechanism is a remarkable analog astronomical computer built by the Greeks in around 82 B.C. But after this device was created, its technology was seemingly lost for 1000 years. > read more

The Longitude Problem / Finding your way around the world with a watch

Published on 2012-03-05 02:00:01

Finding your longitude at sea today is a simple matter of glancing at your GPS. But before satellites, computers, and digital clocks, the problem was quite a bit more complicated. > read more

Sleep Debt / Wake now, pay later

Published on 2012-03-02 02:00:01

Do credit card balances and car payments keep you up at night? If so, you may be accumulating yet another form of debt, and the only way to pay it off is to stay in bed. > read more

Zeno's Paradoxes / Proof that motion unexists

Published on 2012-02-29 02:00:01

An ancient Greek philosopher attempted to prove that motion is not merely possible, it unexists. Even today, some philosophers find his arguments moving. > read more

Safety Coffins / The fact and fiction of dead ringers

Published on 2012-02-27 02:00:01

Worried that you might accidentally be buried alive? Shell out a few extra bucks for a coffin with an alarm system. But don't think that'll make you a dead ringer. > read more

Optical Telegraphs / 18th century wireless telecommunications

Published on 2012-02-24 02:00:01

Long before the technology existed to make the electrical telegraph a reality, inventors devised numerous optical devices for sending data over long distances. > read more

Mail Recovery Centers / Undead letter offices

Published on 2012-02-22 02:00:01

When a package gets lost in the U.S. Mail, where does it go? Either to St. Paul or Atlanta, where federal employees make valiant efforts to reunite them with their senders or receivers. > read more

The Voynich Manuscript / Cryptography's holy grail

Published on 2012-02-20 02:00:01

An elaborate, 240-page manuscript from the 13th century remains one of cryptography's most puzzling artifacts. My guess: it's a student's notebook. > read more

Water Freezing and Boiling Myths / Legend, science, and common sense

Published on 2012-02-17 02:00:01

Among the myths circulating about water are that hot water freezes faster than cold water, and cold water boils faster than hot water. But there may be a bit of truth to these claims after all. > read more

Castor Oil / The all-purpose health aid and poison

Published on 2012-02-17 02:00:01

The old cure for constipation has also been used as a weapon, and extracts from the same plant produce a deadly poison. > read more

The Bavarian Purity Law / Beer and tradition

Published on 2012-02-13 02:00:01

Good brewers around the world still follow a Bavarian law from 1516 that stipulates the only three allowable ingredients in beer. Or four, if you count yeast. > read more

The Martini / Why everything you know is wrong

Published on 2012-02-10 02:00:01

James Bond may have ordered his martini shaken, not stirred, because of a shaken martini's greater health benefits. That's just one of several surprising facts about this trendy drink. > read more

White Tea / Quest for a better brew

Published on 2012-02-08 02:00:01

Take tender, young tea leaves and dry them quickly without letting them oxidize for a tea with a delicate flavor and, reputedly, numerous health benefits. > read more

Ball Lightning / Unsatisfactorily identified flying objects

Published on 2012-02-06 02:00:01

During a thunderstorm, a bright fireball floats through the air for several seconds or longer, perhaps even indoors. This rare phenomenon resists scientific explanations, but don't go blaming UFOs. > read more

Murano Glass / The mirror of Venice

Published on 2012-02-03 02:00:01

A suburb of Venice has been famous for nearly a millennium for producing some of the world's finest and most distinctive glassware. > read more

Fire Breathing / Don't try this at home

Published on 2012-02-01 02:00:01

Just another in the long list of dangerous activities I decline to do and urge you never to try at home is the visually impressive art of spitting fuel onto a flame. > read more

Raku / Zen and the art of tea bowls

Published on 2012-01-30 02:00:01

For a traditional Japanese tea ritual, not just any sort of tea cup will do. You want one made by hand using a method from the 16th century that infuses your tea bowl with Zen sensibilities. > read more

Microbial Fuel Cells / Electricity from bugs

Published on 2012-01-27 02:00:01

Fuel cells generally rely on hydrogen to create electricity, but hydrogen may be hard to obtain. Putting bacteria to work can eliminate a step or two in the process. > read more

Vegetable Oil as Diesel Fuel / Fries and a fill-up

Published on 2012-01-25 02:00:01

With some minor modifications (or the use of a special additive), your diesel-powered car or truck can run on used vegetable oil, potentially saving you lots of money on fuel. > read more

Memetics / The science of idea propagation

Published on 2011-07-04 02:00:01

The way beliefs spread from one person to another resembles, in some ways, the way a virus spreads. A modern theory of idea epidemiology casts new light on religions, fads, political movements, and more. > read more

Intaglio Printing / Duplicating under pressure

Published on 2011-07-01 02:00:01

For the highest quality large-scale printing possible with current technology, use the technique that carved out a niche for itself in paper currency. > read more

3-D Printers / Rapid prototyping and beyond

Published on 2011-06-29 02:00:01

The mechanism from an ordinary, run-of-the-mill inkjet printer can be modified to "print" solid, 3D objects. This and other comparable technologies can be used for rapid prototyping. > read more

Sea Monkeys / New life for an old fad

Published on 2011-06-27 02:00:01

Instant life! Just add water! Sea Monkeys are back, but brine shrimp still don't make particularly good pets. Sneaky marketing strikes again. > read more

Fleur de Sel / The last word in gourmet salt

Published on 2011-06-24 02:00:01

One of the world's rarest and most expensive kinds of salt comes from the sea, but has a very special method of harvesting. > read more

The Color Purple / Shades of royalty and mythology

Published on 2011-06-22 02:00:01

The color of royalty, purple is more than just a pretty shade. One the one hand, it has the odd property of being a sort of optical illusion, and on the other, we owe all our modern fabric dyes to its existence. > read more

Salzbergwerk Berchtesgaden / Mining salt in Bavaria

Published on 2011-06-20 02:00:01

If you want to contemplate the magical powers of salt, there's no better place than a salt mine. This one near Salzburg in Bavaria is open to tourists and features an underground salt lake. > read more

Bookcrossing / Passing the book

Published on 2011-06-17 02:00:01

If you love a book, set it free. That's the idea behind a service that aims to turn the entire world into a library by recirculating good, used books in public places. > read more

Paying It Forward / Spreading the good deed meme

Published on 2011-06-15 02:00:01

Instead of expecting someone to repay you for a good deed, you could ask them to do a good deed for someone else (and keep the chain of goodness going). It's a lovely notion, but fraught with problems. > read more

Rent-a-Dog / Canine company by the hour

Published on 2011-06-13 02:00:01

You can rent a car, bike, or hotel room when you travel, so why not a dog? Strange but true: in some places you actually can rent a dog for an afternoon. Critics think it's cruel and unusual. > read more

Spotted Handfish / Fish that walk

Published on 2011-06-10 02:00:01

This small fish that lives off the coast of Tasmania has fins that look and act like legs. It can swim, but it prefers to walk along the sea floor. But it's an endangered species, and might soon take its final walk. > read more

Carfree Cities / Revenge of the pedestrian

Published on 2011-06-08 02:00:01

Cars can be a blessing and a curse, but the layout of most cities makes them a necessity for many people. With careful planning, cities can be designed (or redesigned) to minimize dependence on the automobile. > read more

Labyrinth Walks / The twisty path to clarity

Published on 2011-06-06 02:00:01

Meditation is a great way to relieve stress, but it need not involve sitting still. One increasingly popular form of meditation involves walking along a twisty path known as a labyrinth. > read more

Wife-Carrying Contests / Obstacles to a healthy relationship

Published on 2011-06-03 02:00:01

Those wacky Finns. The best-known and goofiest sporting competition in Finland involves carrying a woman through an obstacle course. The reward? The woman's weight in beer! > read more

Pilgrimage to Santiago / Spiritual walk across Europe

Published on 2011-06-01 02:00:01

If you want to clear your head, go for a walk. For a really clear head, try walking anywhere from 60 to 1,200 miles and ending up at a church in the town of Santiago, Spain. You'll be in good company: tens of thousands make this pilgrimage every year > read more

Pedometers / Your mileage may vary

Published on 2011-05-30 02:00:01

You can measure the distance you walk or run (with a fairly large margin of error) by wearing a pedometer. For this marvelous invention, we must thank none other than Thomas Jefferson. > read more

Charlie and His Orchestra / Swing music as Nazi propaganda

Published on 2011-05-27 02:00:01

Hitler's government tried repeatedly to outlaw jazz, and especially swing, which were seen as symbolizing the enemy's values. But they also secretly created their own swing band as a vehicle for spreading propaganda. > read more

Foucault's Pendulum / Low-tech proof of Earth's rotation

Published on 2011-05-25 02:00:01

In order to prove the rotation of the Earth, all you need is a heavy weight, a long wire, and a tall, sturdy ceiling from which to hang it. Well, that and enough grasp of math, geometry, and philosophy to interpret the results. > read more

The Oropendola / Wacky gymnast of the bird world

Published on 2011-05-23 02:00:01

Some tropical birds are known primarily for their colorful plumage. The Oropendola gets its name from its odd behavior: swinging around on tree branches like a gymnast. It's proof that birds just want to have fun. > read more

Burghausen / The longest castle in Europe

Published on 2011-05-20 02:00:01

Of the many grand and well-known castles in Bavaria, Burghausen has an unusual claim to fame: its length of more than a kilometer. > read more

Freeze Drying / The amazing science of lyophilization

Published on 2011-05-18 02:00:01

It's not just for instant coffee and camping foods anymore! The process by which virtually all the water can be removed from something while keeping its structure intact is being applied to everything from flowers to pets. > read more

The Musée Mécanique / Good old-fashioned interactive multimedia

Published on 2011-05-16 02:00:01

Before electronic video games, arcades were filled with electromechanical games, fortune-telling machines, and other amusements. Hundreds of these vintage devices live on in San Francisco's Musée Mécanique. > read more

Bodie, California / The liveliest ghost town in the West

Published on 2011-05-13 02:00:01

In the Sierra Nevada mountains of eastern California lies the remains Bodie, once the state's second-largest city. A bustling mining town in its heyday, it's now lovingly preserved in a state of arrested decay. > read more

Sarlat La Canéda / Time travel, French style

Published on 2011-05-11 02:00:01

The French town of Sarlat looks much the same as it did in medieval times, except that now there are more foie gras shops and internet cafés. > read more

Tachyons / Tracking the elusive faster-than-light particle

Published on 2011-05-09 02:00:01

The Theory of Relativity says that nothing can accelerate to a speed faster than light. But a hypothetical particle called a tachyon gets around this rule because it started out going faster than light. > read more

The Great Clock of Westminster / Big Ben and beyond

Published on 2011-05-06 02:00:01

The clock tower that rises from the British Houses of Parliament is often mistakenly called Big Ben, but that's actually the nickname of one of the bells inside. That's just one of several surprising facts about this well-known clock. > read more

Carbon Dating / Decay rates create debates

Published on 2011-05-04 02:00:01

Scientists can determine the age of very old organic artifacts using the clever process known as carbon dating. But how does it actually work, and why do some religious groups find it so problematic? > read more

Rigo Artwork / Painting by the numbers

Published on 2011-05-02 02:00:01

Some of San Francisco's best public artwork was made by an artist who changes his surname every year. The man who was Rigo 82 in 1982 was Rigo 06 in 2006, but his masterpieces are timeless. > read more

Pennsylvania Coal Fires / Heat under the street

Published on 2011-04-29 02:00:01

When a fire gets started in a coal mine, it can be impossible to extinguish. Coal mine fires have been raging in Pennsylvania for over 40 years, with no end in sight. > read more

Spontaneous Human Combustion / Answering the burning questions

Published on 2011-04-27 02:00:01

It makes for great TV shows and horror stories, but is it really possible for a person to spontaneously burst into flames? The experts don't doubt that people have burned to death, but the whole spontaneity thing is problematic. > read more

The Writings of Carlos Castaneda / Sorcery, mythology, or both?

Published on 2011-04-25 02:00:01

Revered by some as a great spiritual leader and mocked by others as a fraud, Carlos Castaneda made a huge (if dubious) impact on the way people think about sorcery and mysticism. > read more

Membership Libraries / Exclusive playgrounds for book lovers

Published on 2011-04-22 02:00:01

Rare yet marvelous institutions, membership libraries are open only to those who have paid their annual dues. In exchange you get access to a place where books are taken as seriously as they should be. > read more

White Noise / Color-coding sound

Published on 2011-04-20 02:00:01

People commonly refer to static, hissing, rainfall, and other similar sounds as white noise, but real white noise is a bit different. And yes, noise comes in other colors as well! > read more

Anechoic Chambers / The sound of silence

Published on 2011-04-18 02:00:01

For testing audio equipment and other sensitive tasks that require a complete absence of reflected sounds, an anechoic chamber is the ultimate cone of silence. > read more

Cochlear Implants / The sound and the fury

Published on 2011-04-15 02:00:01

With an external microphone and processing circuitry and tiny electrodes implanted into the cochlea, some deaf people can regain partial hearing. But is this a cure or an assault on entire culture? > read more

Binaural Beats / The magical music of the brain

Published on 2011-04-13 02:00:01

When your brain tries to process two tones with slightly different pitches, one delivered to each ear, it creates the sensation of a rhythmic beat. This phenomenon can help put the brain into a relaxed state. > read more

Holophonic Sound / 3D audio with just two speakers

Published on 2011-04-11 02:00:01

Surround sound gives you immersive audio in a single plane, and requires several speakers to do so. But holophonic sound promises 3D sound that includes the up-down axis, and requires only two speakers altogether. > read more

Array Microphones / The more (microphones) the merrier

Published on 2011-04-08 02:00:01

With the help of some digital signal processing, an array of two or more microphones can pick out a speaker from background noise, and even refocus their signals as the speaker moves. > read more

Audium / San Francisco's Theatre of Sound

Published on 2011-04-06 02:00:01

For an experience of sound that's unlike any concert you've ever heard, go to San Francisco's Audium, a theater where listeners are surrounded by speakers and enjoy the performance in total darkness. > read more

Flywheel Batteries / A new spin on energy storage

Published on 2011-04-04 02:00:01

Chemical batteries aren't the only way to store large amounts of electricity. Reduce the friction enough, and a large, heavy, spinning wheel can serve the same purpose. It also lasts a lot longer than batteries. > read more

The Egely Wheel / Vital energy measurement for the masses

Published on 2011-04-01 02:00:01

A small electronic device can supposedly measure your ch'i, or vital force. But is it it a technological marvel, a hoax, or just wishful thinking? > read more

Car Sharing Programs / The stress-free alternative to car ownership

Published on 2011-03-30 02:00:01

Forget carpools and conventional car rental agencies. You can get nearly all the advantages of car ownership without any of the hassles by joining your local car sharing program. > read more

Automatic Transmissions for Bicycles / Reinventing the two-wheeler

Published on 2011-03-28 02:00:01

Automatic transmissions are common on cars, but a similar technology can provide easier pedaling for bicyclists too. Bike manufacturers are beginning to overcome the technical and marketing challenges. > read more

NextBus / Friendlier mass transit through technology

Published on 2011-03-25 03:00:01

Wondering when the next bus or train will arrive? Your cell phone may be able to tell you, thanks to a service called NextBus that tracks vehicles' locations using GPS receivers. > read more

Fortune Cookies / The authentic Japanese-American Chinese treat

Published on 2011-03-23 03:00:01

You can find fortune cookies at any Chinese restaurant in North America, but they're unknown in China. They were actually invented in San Francisco, based on a Japanese treat. > read more

Pastrami / Cure for the common deli

Published on 2011-03-21 03:00:01

The world's first delicatessen came into existence in the late 1800s thanks to a new kind of cured meat known as pastrami. But the exact nature of pastrami is open to interpretation. > read more

Piñatas / History of a breakthrough

Published on 2011-03-18 03:00:01

The piñata may be a staple of children's birthday parties in North America, but it apparently originated in China. Or maybe Africa. Ask Marco Polo. > read more

Modern Mummies / Resurrecting the art of arrested decay

Published on 2011-03-16 03:00:01

Mummification may have gone out with the pharaohs, but a new, modern mummification process aims to restore its popularity. You can even have your pet mummified for eternity. > read more

Demosthenes' Stones / Improving your diction, Athenian style

Published on 2011-03-14 03:00:01

The Greek orator Demosthenes overcame a severe speech impediment by forcing himself to speak with stones in his mouth. > read more

The S Curve / What is wrong with success?

Published on 2011-03-11 02:00:01

After someone acquires a certain level of expertise, further development of a skill seems to drop off dramatically. Can this phenomenon, known as the S Curve, be overcome? > read more

Perpetual Motion Machines / The endless quest for free energy

Published on 2011-03-09 02:00:01

Over the centuries, countless people have tried to create perpetual motion (or over-unity) machines, in defiance of the Laws of Thermodynamics. So far, physics is holding its own. > read more

Propeller Beanies / The story of the geek's icon

Published on 2011-03-07 02:00:01

The little beanies with plastic propellers on top have become iconic (in America, at least) of science fiction fans and techie nerds of all kinds. But the cap's inventor never got the credit he deserved. > read more

The Hurdy-Gurdy / Violin, bagpipes, and kazoo combined

Published on 2011-03-04 02:00:01

A musical instrument that's quite odd by today's standards, the hurdy-gurdy was quite popular for accompanying dancing in the medieval period. And it's making a bit of a comeback. > read more

The Story of Doughnuts / The truth, the hole truth . . .

Published on 2011-03-02 02:00:01

When and how doughnuts were invented (and how they got their name) is the subject of some disagreement. People also disagree about where to get the best doughnuts in San Francisco, but I'm doing my best to answer that question. > read more

Sedona's Energy Vortexes / The world's most popular invisible tourist attraction

Published on 2011-02-28 02:00:01

The town of Sedona, Arizona is best known for several so-called energy vortexes that are supposedly sites of increased energy. They may or may not promote health and spiritual development, but they certainly promote tourism. > read more

The Globe Theatre / Shakespeare's ideal venue, then and now

Published on 2011-02-25 02:00:01

Shakespeare's famous Globe Theatre, originally built in 1599, bares little resemblance to what most people think of as a theater today. A replica, made as historically accurate as possible, was built in London in 1996. > read more

Walloon / Green Bay and the French connection

Published on 2011-02-23 02:00:01

What's the connection between Belgium and Green Bay, Wisconsin? It's not cheese, but a little-known language called Walloon. > read more

Bahasa Indonesia / The complex story of a simple language

Published on 2011-02-21 02:00:01

The official language of Indonesia has been called an artificial language, but that's not quite correct. Nevertheless, it has undergone several significant transformations, some of which were artificially guided. > read more

Linguistic Categories / Women, fire, and dangerous things

Published on 2011-02-18 02:00:01

Most languages have one or more mechanisms of dividing nouns into groups that express meaningful categories for the language's speakers. Some of these groupings yield insights into subtle cultural and mental processes. > read more

Pittsburghese / America's most underappreciated dialect

Published on 2011-02-16 02:00:01

Residents of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (and its surrounding area) have their own distinctive dialect of English called Pittsburghese. > read more

Hypercorrection / Taking the rules of language too far

Published on 2011-02-14 02:00:01

When you try so hard to correct a grammatical error that you overcompensate and make another error in the process, you're experiencing the common phenomenon of hypercorrection. > read more

The Klingon Language Institute / The final frontier of linguistic scholarship

Published on 2011-02-11 02:00:01

A linguist developed a complete Klingon language for the Star Trek television shows and movies. Incredibly, a nonprofit scholarly organization exists to promote and study the language. Coming soon: the Bible in Klingon. > read more

Ventless Clothes Dryers / Laundry without the hot air

Published on 2011-02-09 02:00:01

Amazing but true: you can machine-dry clothes without venting hot, moist air (or indeed any air at all). You can even have a combination washing machine and ventless dryer in one. Clever engineering triumphs again. > read more

Silicone Baking Products / The quiet revolution

Published on 2011-02-07 02:00:01

Go into any kitchen store and you'll see an increasing number of products made out of (or coated with) silicone, an amazingly heat-resistant yet pliable substance. > read more

Heat-Resistant Chocolate / Defying the laws of confectionary

Published on 2011-02-04 02:00:01

Milk chocolate melts in your hand, your pocket, or a hot glove compartment. Wouldn't it be great if it didn't? Keeping chocolate from melting when you don't want it to, while maintaining proper texture and taste, is a challenge of food science. > read more

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