We all know that if you drop a penny from the top of the Empire State Building, it will kill anyone it happens to strike. We think we know it, anyway. Has […]
Could a Penny Dropped from the Empire State Building Kill a Person?
Physics Comes to the Rescue for Traffic Ticket Defense
Physicist Dmitri Krioukov knew he didn’t deserve the traffic ticket he received for disobeying a stop sign. If it came down to his word against the police officer’s, however, he knew he […]
Fleas Accelerate Faster than the Space Shuttle — 10 Fun Facts About the Flea
Fleas may have been directly responsible for wiping out a significant percentage of Europe’s population during the Middle Ages, but you can’t help but admire the tiny insect’s design. The body of […]
Is Your Coffee Cold? Try Yelling at It
If taking a sip of cold coffee gets your dander up, making you want to yell, you might as well go ahead and let loose. You can actually heat your coffee through […]
Relativity: the Ultimate Youth Serum
Mankind has been seeking a way to slow down aging since the very beginning. As it turns out, the best way to slow time is to move faster.
The Mystery of Einstein’s Last Words
Albert Einstein’s (1879-1955) life was marked by his ability to answer many of science’s greatest mysteries. Paradoxically, his dying words left us with questions that will never be answered.
Hot Water Can Freeze Faster Than Cold
It’s called the Mpemba Effect, and it is a mystery that has intrigued the greatest minds in history for over 2,000 years. As counter-intuitive as it may seem, hot water seems to […]
The Mathematical Formula for Life, the Universe, and (Almost) Everything
Readers of Douglas Adams‘ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy know the answer to life, the universe, and everything is 42. What they may not know is the mathematical formula that will […]
Who Says Particle Physicists Can’t Explain Things With Two Words?
In 2011, particle physicists were flabbergasted when they discovered that neutrinos could apparently travel faster than light, breaking the universal speed limit proposed by Einstein. Their result, alas, was later proven to […]
Einstein’s Probability Principle
Albert Einstein married to Mileva Marić in 1903. The marriage ended in divorce 16 years later. Under the terms of the divorce agreement, Einstein agreed to give the money from his Nobel […]
The Diet of the Stars
It’s always a matter of interest when a big star finds a diet that works. If losing weight is your goal, you might want to find out the secret of the biggest […]
Consider All the Empty Space Out There
As documented here, all of the people on planet earth could be relocated comfortably to any one of several U.S. states. What if you wanted to fit everyone into an even smaller […]
That’s Quite a Punch for Such a Shrimp
The mantis shrimp may not be the largest creature in the ocean (hey, it’s a shrimp, after all), and its appearance can be a bit on the flamboyant side, so you probably […]
Relativity? Big Deal… We Want to Know About His Report Card
Albert Einstein’s 1896 Report Card. An often-repeated legend tells of Albert Einstein struggling so hard with math and physics that he failed his college entrance exams. In reality, Einstein excelled in both […]
Welcome to the Heat Ray of Death Building
One of the newest additions to the London skyline is the skyscraper at 20 Fenchurch Street. Popularly known as the “Walkie Talkie” because of its shape, the building is rapidly becoming better […]
Commonplace Fun Facts 