Inventors, bless them, are constantly coming out with new inventions. If this story is anything to go on, they’d be far better off putting their fancy new flying cars on hold and simply forcing everyone to learn how to use the inventions they already have. A video of a toaster has been widely shared on […]
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Why People Would Not Sleep In The Catacombs Of Paris For $10 Million
Over the past week, people have been debating whether they would stay in the catacombs of Paris for a cool $10 million. The debate is entirely hypothetical, started by the account “creepy.org” on Twitter. $10 million is a lot of money, so why aren’t people keen? Well, as well as concerns about respect for the […]
Wolves Can Recognize Human Voices, Just Like Dogs
A new study has shown that wolves, just like dogs, recognize and respond to human voices, especially those they are familiar with. This has interesting implications for our understanding of both canine domestication and how species interact. Many animals can discriminate between members of their species (conspecifics) and recognize familiar individuals by sight, smell, or […]
Why Lemon Juice And Sodas Can Cause False Positives In Some Tests
The rumors are true: lemon juice, soda, and other beverages can be misused to provide false-positive results on certain tests, such as lateral flow tests. This piece of knowledge grew during the COVID-19 pandemic when schoolkids in the UK were reportedly using this trick to forge at-home tests to get out of class. However, there […]
Classic MythBusters Clip Demonstrates Just How Quickly Implosion Happens
The one fundamental law of the universe remains true – if something happens, MythBusters or The Simpsons foresaw it. With the recent catastrophic implosion of the Titan submersible while hunting the Titanic, a MythBusters clip of them testing out what implosion actually looks like has resurfaced and it’s pretty dramatic. The MythBusters team looked to […]
The Singing Sand Dunes Of Dunhuang: China’s Mysterious Musical Phenomenon
In China’s northwestern Gansu Province, the city of Dunhuang’s desert hills are alive with the sound of music. A fascinating, and somewhat eery, phenomenon causes the staggeringly high sand dunes scattered throughout the Kumtag Desert to “sing” in the wind. The Singing Sand Dunes range in size, with the highest peak reaching 1,715 meters (5,626 […]
Nearby Star Cluster May Be Nearly As Old As The Universe
A new technique has been used to estimate the age of globular star cluster M92 at 13.8 billion years, plus or minus 0.75 billion years. This is an almost exact match for the estimated age of the Universe, albeit with wider error bars. Either this nearby collection of stars formed as soon as possible after […]
Iceland Suspends 2023’s Whaling Season – And It’s Unlikely To Return In Future
Iceland’s government has suspended this season’s commercial whaling due to animal welfare concerns. While the suspension only lasts until the end of this summer 2023, animal rights groups are hoping it will be the final nail in the coffin for the dwindling whaling industry in Iceland. The move was announced on June 20 by Svandís […]
Study Finds Out What Happens When Students Stop Using Pornography For A Week
A study has taken a look at whether regular porn users experience withdrawal symptoms after seven days of abstaining (or attempting to abstain) from pornography. After the rise of the Internet, there has been a significant increase in pornography consumption, with PornHub – one of the most popular adult websites – reporting over 39 billion […]
The JWST Has Taken This Stunning Image Of Saturn And More
The JWST devoted more than two and a half hours of its precious time to observing Saturn this weekend, and the images above and below are among the products. The different images show the planet, its rings, and sometimes its moons as seen using different filters, in some cases really letting the rings steal the […]
Just A 3-Minute Activity Boosted Male Sexual Response In Study
Just three minutes of physical stress appears to increase males’ responses to sexual stimuli, according to one study. When shown sexual images, males that had done a short bout of exerting strong hand grip just prior had a stronger bodily response compared to the control group, suggesting physical exertion could boost mechanisms controlling arousal. The […]
This Is Why You Can Live In Hiroshima And Nagasaki But Not Chernobyl
Three of the most cataclysmic nuclear events of the 20th century took place in three cities, two in Japan and one in Ukraine. We are probably all familiar with what happened in each case, but what isn’t so clear is why people have been able to live and thrive in Hiroshima and Nagasaki but not […]
The Next Pompeii? Another Volcanic Titan Lurks In The Mediterranean
Mount Vesuvius is the infamous volcanic force that looms over the Gulf of Naples. However, it’s less known that this idyllic pocket of the Italian coast is also home to another peril: Campi Flegrei. Given its potential to rain hell on a major Mediterranean city, it’s been speculated that this active volcano could create the […]
People Are Asking Why The Titanic Didn’t Implode As It Sank
Last week, the Titan submersible imploded as it went down to explore the wreck of the Titanic, killing all five passengers. People now appear to be confused as to what caused the implosion, and why the Titanic did not suffer the same fate. On Thursday, conservative radio show host Jesse Kelly tweeted: “I have a […]
Is Exercise Really Good For The Brain? Here’s What The Science Says
The health benefits of physical activity are undeniable. Yet, a recent study based on data published over the past 30 years challenges the famous adage Mens sana in corpore sano (a healthy mind in a healthy body) and questions the importance of exercise for both brain health and cognition. Advertisement A few days after that […]
If Humans Went Extinct, What Would The Earth Look Like One Year Later?
Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to [email protected]. If humans went extinct, what would the Earth look like one year later? – Essie, age 11, Michigan Have you ever wondered what the world would be like if everyone […]
Do These Seven Things Really Stop Mosquitoes Biting You?
There’s one animal that ruins summer evenings: the mosquito. While mosquitoes don’t carry any diseases in the UK, their itchy bites are far from fun. Everyone has a friend who gets covered in mosquito bites and a friend who doesn’t get a single one. That’s because mosquitoes use their sense of smell to find people […]
The Science Of Luck. Find Out More In Issue 12 Of CURIOUS – Out Now
Issue 12 (July 2023) of CURIOUS is out now, bringing you science highlights for the month plus deep dives into intriguing topics, interviews, exclusives, diary dates, and explanations for some of Earth’s most perplexing natural phenomena and landscapes. In This Issue… Advertisement OUR COVER STORY: The Science Of Luck Is there any science behind luck? […]
Scammers Exploit Psychology For Convincing Internet Cons – Here’s What To Watch Out For
Online fraud is today’s most common crime. Victims are often told they are foolish for falling for it, but fraudsters use psychological mechanisms to infiltrate the defences of their targets, regardless of how intelligent they are. So it’s important to keep up with the latest scams and understand how they work. Advertisement Recently, consumer protection […]
The Scientist Who Burned Diamonds To Prove That They Were Carbon
In 1772, Antoine Laurent Lavoisier – sometimes referred to as the father of modern chemistry – set valuable diamonds on fire. When Lavoisier was born, chemistry was still not what you’d call a science. Beliefs included the theory of phlogiston – that all combustible materials contain a fire-like element (called phlogiston) that is released as […]
