If you undertook a journey to the center of the Earth in the manner of Jules Verne’s classic sci-fi novel, you wouldn’t come upon a herd of mastodons or a hidden sea where the plesiosaur swims free. What you would come upon would be temperatures so high a...
Science
If you like your night sky to look like the cover of a 1960s sci-fi novel, you’re in luck. The next total blood moon eclipse is coming this weekend.According to NASA, a lunar eclipse—when the sun, Earth, and moon align and the moon passes into Earth’s sha...
Public opinion about the police force tends to vary. Some see them as a mighty legion of men and women who exist to serve and protect, while others see them as the invasive, abusive minions of a Big Brother figure. Nevertheless, the police are undeniably ...
We may never know the full extent of the ocean’s many mysteries, but we’re always guaranteed to be confronted with something unexpected. Case in point: A recent discovery of a rock formation that bears a strong resemblance to the Yellow Brick Road from Th...
This article contains affiliate links to products selected by our editors. Mental Floss may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.Uh-oh, here comes the apocalypse. What should we do? That question, a classic of science fiction, has b...
Honey bees know nothing. Literally. Honey bees have previously demonstrated to scientists they understand the concept of zero by selecting dotted paper based on a reward of sweetened water. Eventually, the paper with no dots that provided the treat was re...
Over many years of science classes, the message that Earth rotates on its axis probably lodged itself firmly in your brain and has stayed there since. But did your teachers happen to mention in which direction Earth spins—and, if so, do you remember it?Ac...
A great popular science book needs to strike a balance between being accessible and entertaining to the general public, whilst being informative enough to satisfy the most inquisitive minds. When an author is successful in doing this, great popular scienc...
Who’s a good boy? The question has piqued the interest of pet owners and dogs alike for centuries. Certainly, not eating your work shoes counts. But does breed? According to a new study, likely not.Research published in the journal Science surveyed 18,385...
Here in the 21st century, we like to pride ourselves on our innovation. Yet authors writing a century ago had many of the same problems we have today, and sometimes, they came up with the very solutions we now implement.Featured image credit:Fir0002/Wikim...
Did you know that a day on Earth used to be around six hours shorter than it is today? Or that Julius Caesar once implemented a 445-day-long year? Learn those fascinating facts about time and more in this list, adapted from an episode of The List Show on ...
People generally agree on what makes an animal adorable, and theres a good reason for that. What we consider cute is determined by our evolution, which ensures we pay attention to human babies.This has spilled over into other animals, and for the most par...
There are so many astounding science fiction books out there that this has been one of the hardest lists for me to put together. I have added and culled but finally I have a list of the most important 15 Science Fiction Books of all time. I realise that n...
Science is held in unique esteem in our society. When we see the words a study shows in a newspaper, most people will just accept that whatever follows is the truth. When we see that an article cites an academic journal, we step back and applaud that fina...
The words Victorian science bring to mind sober men with ridiculous facial hair peering through microscopes. What it doesnt bring to mind are certifiable lunatics trying to fly into space, electrocute their genitals, and teach dogs the alphabet. Yet thats...
For two years, the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve team has been visiting Gulf Coast shorelines in Texas.And so have the dolls.According to United Press International, the team has encountered a steady supply of dolls washing ashore. T...
From health to the paranormal, we all have an opinion on many things. Maybe youre convinced that aliens are real. Perhaps youre not into quinoa. And maybe, just maybe, you liked The Dark Tower this summer.Whatever your opinions, theyre probably based on k...
Every year, thousands of people donate their bodies to medical science. Since the beginning of the study of anatomy, weve learned a lot about ourselves, our bodies, life, death, and our mortality in general. Its safe to say that anatomical research has re...
Throughout the entire history of life, birth abnormalities have always occurred. Occasionally, these defects border on the strange, bizarre, unusual, and grotesque. Such is the case with fetus in fetu, a rare condition wherein one twin in a set of twins i...
No matter who you are, where youre from, what you do, or how much money you make, death will eventually touch you. Since the dawn of time, humans have pondered their own mortality. We await the fateful day when our lives will be over...and it will happen ...
