A 15-centimeter (6-inch) stone penis has recently been unearthed during excavations at a medieval fortress in southwest Spain. While phallic objects were not uncommon in the ancient world, most notably in the lands of the Roman Empire, it’s pretty strange to find one dating from the European Middle Ages. However, unlike similar artifacts from the […]
Lava Vs Magma: What’s The Difference?
We’ve all seen images of volcanoes spewing out rocks and smoke into the sky – but is the glowing red rock running down the side of the mountain magma or lava, and how can you tell which one you are looking at? Here, we break down the science behind these molten rocks. According to the […]
Pluto’s Gate: The Ancient Doorway To The Underworld That Is Still Deadly
There is a place in Turkey where strange vapors issue from the ground, which ancient Greco-Roman people used in their rituals to the gods of the underworld. The place, known as Pluto’s Gate, is very much a deadly portal between two worlds. Pluto’s Gate is a great example of a ploutonion, a religious temple dedicated […]
Earth’s Days Stopped Getting Longer For A Billion Year Period
The Earth’s days are slowly getting longer, thanks mostly to the Moon. However, it seems this is a much less even process than has been imagined, with the lengthening having stalled at least once. For a long period starting around two billion years ago, it may have stopped entirely, something that may have been driven […]
See A Bubble Of Plasma Explode Across The Sun In Amazing Footage
In December 2019, the Sun’s Solar Cycle 25 began, and it’s been a lot more active than scientists predicted. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA) has released a timelapse of this active cycle, including some of the most spectacular events that have taken place on the surface of the Sun. Among the many observations […]
People Appear To Think Physicists Are About To Make Contact With A Parallel Universe
With all the speculation around unidentified flying objects (UFOs) of late, you may have missed that we’re about to make contact with a parallel universe. According to an article doing the rounds on Twitter, researchers at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are due to get chatty with the parallel universe “within days”. While great news […]
Second Ever Planet Found In a “Tatooine System” Orbiting Two Suns
One of the few planets known to orbit two stars, TOI-1338b, has a giant companion in the same system – only the second time that what is known as a Tatooine System has been found to be multi-planetary. Most known stars are part of binary systems, but we’re still just starting to learn how well […]
In 1797, Henry Cavendish Used Two Small Metal Spheres To Weigh The Entire Earth
If someone asked you to weigh the planet – assuming you haven’t paid much attention during physics in high school – you might not know where to start. How do you weigh a thing you’re standing on? That’s like being asked to weigh your own scales without using a second set of scales. If you’re […]
What Is The ‘Splinternet’? Here’s Why The Internet Is Less Whole Than You Might Think
Splinternet” refers to the way the internet is being splintered – broken up, divided, separated, locked down, boxed up, or otherwise segmented. Whether for nation states or corporations, there’s money and control to be had by influencing what information people can access and share, as well as the costs that are paid for this access. […]
Betelgeuse Is Continuing To Behave Mysteriously – Here’s What Would Happen If It Exploded
The bright, red star Betelgeuse in the constellation Orion has shown some unexpected behaviour. In late 2019 and 2020 it became fainter than we had ever seen it – at least in records going back more than a century. Briefly it became fainter (just about) than Bellatrix, the third brightest star of Orion. This event […]
AI Discovers Giant New Nazca Lines Hidden In Peruvian Desert
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been used to identify a handful of “Nazca Line” geoglyphs that were carved in the deserts of southern Peru thousands of years ago. The collection of colossal ancient carvings – pictured below – depict a pair of legs measuring 78 meters (256 feet) in size, a fish measuring 19 meters (62 […]
Campi Flegrei, Europe’s Supervolcano, Might Be Getting Closer To Rupture
Italy is very geologically active, with many volcanos – some of which have been deadly. However, the largest one doesn’t look like your average volcano at all: Campi Flegrei looks like a depression. It is a caldera with a diameter between 12 to 14 kilometers (7.5-8.7 miles), and part of it is in the sea. […]
This Weird Condition Makes It Possible To Write Messages On Human Skin
With “skin writing” you never get caught short without a pen, as this peculiar condition makes it possible to write messages on human skin with the touch of a finger. Known as dermatographic urticaria, it’s estimated to affect around 2 to 3 percent of the population. Dermatographism, as the condition is known, literally means “to […]
The Center Of The Earth Is 2 Years Younger Than The Surface. It Wasn’t When Earth First Formed
Here’s a fact that would make you sound unhinged if you shouted it in the street: The center of the Earth is two and a half years younger than the surface. About 4.6 billion years ago, a hot cloud of dust orbiting the Sun coalesced and cooled. As it did so, the heavier elements formed […]
You May Need To Revise Your Expectations About Your Perfect Partner’s Height
Spend five minutes on any dating app and you’re bound to find someone who, among the laundry list of qualities they desire in a potential partner, has a very specific view about one particular aspect of human physiology: height. A study looked at people’s preferences for height in romantic partners and found some notable differences […]
Why You Should Never Waste The Stringy Bits On A Banana
Many banana lovers are quick to banish those strange stringy bits that emerge when peeling the fruit, but there are a few good reasons you should savor these strands. Known as phloem bundles, these stringy bits are perfectly edible and surprisingly nutritious. They might be mildly radioactive, but bananas are packed full of goodness. As […]
Will We Ever Get A Jurassic Park?
This article first appeared in Issue 11 of our free digital magazine CURIOUS out now. They say be careful what you wish for, but hot damn, don’t we all want to go to Jurassic Park? Before all of the chaos and carnage and people getting eaten on the toilet, John Hammond’s dream of a dinosaur […]
TWIS: Orcas Ramp Up Their Boat-Destroying Tactics, Billion-Year-Old Rocks Reveal Ancestral “Lost World”, And Much More This Week
This week crocodiles have been documented for the first time reproducing via parthenogenesis, a patient whose life-improving brain implant had to be removed tells of her human-machine symbiosis, and we ask the question: do those with Rhesus-negative blood really descend from aliens? Subscribe to the IFLScience newsletter for all the biggest science news delivered straight […]
100,000 Soldiers: A Geological Oddity Not Seen Anywhere Else In The World
We at IFLScience love a cave. The deeper, bluer, and more terrifying the better. We are also always keen to celebrate the weirdest wonders planet Earth has to offer, and as geological oddballs go, the Trabuc Caves in southern France take the cake. Situated in Mialet, France, the caves are the largest network of underground passages in the […]
Most Expensive Pink Diamond Sells For Record $34 Million In Just 2 Minutes
A pink diamond, described as the “most important pink diamond” to ever come to market, sold for a record-breaking $34.8 million within just two minutes at an auction by Sotheby’s New York on Thursday afternoon. The Eternal Pink is a 10.57-carat diamond that’s said to have a “flawless” clarity. Mined in 2019 at the Damtshaa […]
