As summer ends and students return to school, it is appropriate to take a moment and reflect on one of the things that is as indispensable to studies as notebooks and backpacks: […]
Sharpen Up Your Knowledge of the Pencil
Some Slick Stories Surrounding the Slinky
They say some people are like Slinky’s — they’re not really good for anything, but they bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs. If […]
How a Video Game Pandemic is Teaching Us How to Cope With a Real One
A new disease emerged from a remote part of the world. It started in an animal before jumping to humans. It was highly contagious, but many who caught the disease remained asymptomatic. […]
The Unbelievable Marketing Campaign that Sank a Company
When it comes to brand identification, few companies have been more successful than The Hoover Company and its sales of vacuum cleaners. In the United Kingdom, Hoover so dominated the vacuum cleaner […]
Did a Manhole Cover Become the First Manmade Object in Space?
The eyes of the world were turned spaceward in October 1957 because the Soviet Union had just launched Sputnik, the first manmade object sent into space. Or was it? Just a few […]
The Dam So Big That It Slows Earth’s Rotation
If you aren’t particularly interested in dams, you might think that the day passes more slowly if you have to spend much time contemplating them. There is, however, a direct correlation between […]
Can You Master the Complexity of the Malbolge Computer Language?
When it comes to complicated things, you will be hard-pressed to find anything that is worse than Malbolge. It takes the complexity of computer programming, the nuances of foreign languages, and mixes […]
NASA Knows it Needs an Official Nose
When you contemplate all the skills involved in sending someone into space, you think about math, physics, rocketry, and orbital dynamics. Odds are that you didn’t spend a lot of time thinking […]
The Colorful Connection Between Television and Black and White Dreams
Think of the most vivid dream you can remember. Was it in color? If so, there’s a good chance you did not spend much of your childhood sitting in front of a […]
The U.S. Navy Uses Xbox 360 Controllers on its Submarines
At $2.6 billion, you would think there is nothing cheap about the Virginia-class submarines of the U.S. Navy. The massive subs are 114.9 meters (377 feet) long and displace 7,800 tons of […]
Meet Archytas, the Father of Robotics
Archytas (428 BC–347 BC) was a mathematician and scientist of Ancient Greece. He was a member of the Pythagoreans. (Click here to learn how Pythagoras was killed by his phobia of beans.) […]
Nikola Tesla and the Pigeon of Doom
Nikola Tesla is one of the most intriguing and enigmatic characters of the modern age. His genius and eccentricity have sparked countless discussions concerning his contributions to science and his wasted opportunities. […]
How Long Did It Take to Invent the Can Opener?
War has been a blight on humanity for all of history, but it occasionally produces some good things. Such was the case when Napoleon’s problems with providing food to his troops led […]
The Story of the Popsicle and its 11-Year-Old Inventor
What invokes happy memories of summer better than the popsicle? The cool, refreshing delight of a juicy frozen treat on a hot day can seem like manna from heaven. The next time […]
Quirks and Madness at the IRS
As previously noted here, the IRS has a contingency plan for collecting taxes in the event of the end of the world as we know it. Curiously, this is not the strangest […]
Commonplace Fun Facts 