Why do so many people fear spiders? The vast majority of spiders are harmless, so it's hard to believe that the fear is based entirely on the possibility of a painful or deadly spider bite.Yet spiders are terrifying, terrifying, harbingers of ... what? Do you even know why you're afraid of them?
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When we heard there was a supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy we knew it meant bad news. We've seen the movies. But we have little to fear from the black hole and it's surprisingly quiet. Until now. Our galaxy's supermassive black hole might be up to something weird.
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The term "water bear" is a nickname for the tardigrade, an adorable species of nearly invisible little engines that could. Tardigrades are microscopic eight legged animals with incredible powers of adaptability. So where can you find these majestic creatures?
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G-forces, or gravity forces, increase your perceived weight when you accelerate. In fact, subjecting your body to extreme G-forces will not only make you feel both fast and fat; it can knock you unconscious. What's the highest G-force that a human can take before the Sandman comes knocking?
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Consider the following question: what color is the sun? The obvious answer would be to say "That's easy, it's..." before staring into the sky, screaming in pain, and accidentally blinding yourself permanently without ever coming up with an answer. Don't do that. Let us tell you the right answer.
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Great white sharks would be dwarfed by a megalodon shark. Yet despite their obviously superior awesomeness, megalodons no longer exist. So what force of nature could have possibly been so massive, so terrifying, so overwhelming that it could be the reason megalodon sharks went extinct?
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The hottest temperature ever recorded anywhere on Earth was in Death Valley on July 10, 1913, when the mercury reached 134 degrees Fahrenheit. In case you're wondering how hot that is, it's Really Danged Hot. What is it about Death Valley in particular that makes it such an oven?
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The United States' worst hurricane of all time was not Hurricane Katrina, at least in terms of death toll. The United States' worst hurricane of all time was the Great Galveston Hurricane of 1900. Between 6,000 and 12,000 people died, making it the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history.
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Flat-Earthers insist that the earth is shaped like a Parcheesi board rather than the sphere that science has shown it to be. If you ever become embroiled in a debate with one of these flat-Earthers, here are a few quick and easy ways to prove the earth isn't flat.
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If you believe spy movies and novels, you'd better not ever get captured by the enemy and injected with truth serum because you'll sing like a canary. Yes, truth serum is not to be messed with. Truth serum might not actually be a thing, though. Does 'truth serum' actually work?
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Snake Island is home to one of the deadliest snake species in the world and oh yeah, there are literally thousands of these golden lancehead snakes on Snake Island. Also Snake Island is a mere 110 acres, so the density of golden lanceheads on Snake Island is pretty darned high.
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Asteroids and meteors are both small (relatively speaking) objects that inhabit our solar system. But is "asteroid" simply a synonym for "meteor," or are they actually two different things altogether? Buckle up: we're about to take you to space-stuff-school.
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As with all things, moderation is key when it comes to heat. Too little and you'll freeze to death -- too much, and you'll become a hunk, a hunk of burning corpse. But just how hot can it get before you stop sweating bullets and your body is completely shot to hell?
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Sometimes our beloved dogs cross a line. Our dear pooches can do things that make their owners really uncomfortable -- and one of those things is that seriously disconcerting habit they have of staring deep into our eyes. While they're pooping. Ugh. Why do dogs do this?
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Good news: no force known to humankind could make Earth suddenly stop spinning, and scenarios where the planet instantly or rapidly stops spinning are completely hypothetical. The slightly less good news is that if we're wrong about that and it one day does happen to us, we're pretty much screwed.
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It's long been one of nature's greatest mysteries: how the heck do birds know where to go for the winter? If most humans tried to migrate south without a map or a GPS, we'd probably end up in Nova Scotia. Scientists have been trying to solve this mystery for a long time.
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Dolphins are cute and playful. Sharks are scary and full of teeth. So how can it be true that a ruthless predator like a shark is afraid of a sweet little thing like a dolphin? Could such a concept even be true at all? Well, yes and no.
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When you've got to go, you've got to go, but sometimes there's no convenient place to do your business. We've all experienced the agony of a full bladder. What happens when you're stuck in traffic, or the line to the restroom is winding down the hallway and you have no option but to hold your pee?
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If you ask some folks in cryptozoology circles, they'll tell you that a few dinosaurs are still roaming about.
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As far as existential threats that you have to push to the back of your mind just to get through the day go, the inevitable death of the sun in a scant few billion years has to take the wildly depressing cake. But come on. How bad could things really get? The answer, folks, is bad.
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From a human perspective, mosquitoes suck. They drink our blood and transmit diseases like yellow fever, malaria and West Nile virus. In fact, mosquitoes cause over 1 million deaths per year, making them one of the world's deadliest species So, say we choose to eradicate them. Should we?
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You've heard of both "magma" and "lava" when it comes to that hot stuff from the end of Lord of the Rings. You know it's spicy enough to melt evil rings. But you might not be clear on the difference between the two terms. Well, we'll keep you from embarrassing yourself in front of the elves.
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Sharks are enigmatic creatures, but if there's one emotion we've felt comfortable assigning to them, it's severe crankiness. But what if it's not in their nature to be underwater rage machines? What if they're just really tired? Do sharks need a nap? Could they nap if they wanted to?
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It's basically a cartoon trope: the giant, seemingly unflappable and mighty elephant is reduced to abject, prancing terror at the sight of a plucky mouse (who's probably involved in an elaborate heist to obtain cheese). Is there any truth to it? And if not, where did this weird notion come from?
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One moment you're enjoying a nice cold treat with your two closest friends. The next, you're doubled over in pain as a thunderous pain claps your temples. Unfortunately, you're not Harry Potter sensing Voldemort, you've just got brain freeze. What is this scourge of summertime snow-sweets?
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We humans love to break records, and messing with gravity seems to be one of our species' odd and enduring obsessions. But what would happen if we decided to take things to the next level by convincing every human on earth to jump at exactly the same time?
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The human race has an odd relationship with the battered, lonely space-bauble lazily circling our planet. It means many different things to our species. But setting our love affair with Earth's largest natural satellite aside, what would happen if it weren't there?
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