Lehua Kamalu had only a few minutes to talk. She was perched atop a two-hulled canoe called Hōkūle’a in the Pacific Ocean, not far from the Big Island of Hawaii where her crew had just set sail. The wind whipped into the phone as she spoke. An expert sail...
Technolog
During the early days of cell phones, it seemed like designers focused heavily on trying to make the devices as small as possible and compact enough to fit in clutches and pockets. But they’re no longer just for calling and texting: You can work from your...
Although George Orwell was a little premature in predicting a total surveillance state in 1984, based on some of todays technology, he wasnt too far off the mark. In earlier lists weve mentioned a few paranoia-inducing inventions, such as Google Glass, fa...
This article contains affiliate links to products selected by our editors. Mental Floss may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.Some kitchen appliances are so sought after, they rarely go on sale online. Case in point? The Breville...
In what will undoubtedly be the premise for a future action movie, plans are underway for a hotel in space that will allow people to luxuriate in orbit. And it could be coming far sooner than you might think.According to Smithsonian, the futurists at Orbi...
What was the mysterious substance provided by God to the Israelites to overcome the hunger in the wilderness for 40 years? In the Hebrew Bible, the manna is referred to as food (edible substance) provided by God during the Exodus of the people of Israel.T...
A newspaper once said that "there never was a more audacious experiment in marine architecture" than the R.M.S. Lusitania. But on May 7, 1915, a German torpedo sunk the massive ship, killing more than 1100 civilian passengers. The sinking was one ...
SMART NEWSRobot Jumps a Record-Breaking 100 Feet in the AirThe device can launch three times higher than the current record for a robotic leapThis device canaccelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 30 feet per second.Elliot W. HawkesResearchers at the University of...
Scientists Believe That Alien Technology Created Billions Of Years Ago Was Found In Space Rock In Si

Scientists Believe That Alien Technology Created Billions Of Years Ago Was Found In Space Rock In Si
In 2014, NASA published a book that considers extraterrestrial interference in human history. It considers the possibility that some rock art depictions on Earth may be of alien origin. Moreover, in 2009 scientists found a naturally impossible mineral in ...
Ever since Zeus invented technology (thats what happened, right?) mankind has been constantly inventing. Some creationslike the iPod or the electric nose hair trimmerbecome so ingrained into our everyday lives we cant imagine a world without them. Others,...
On May 21, 1980, The Empire Strikes Back—the second film in the Star Wars series—arrived in theaters and thrilled audiences. Here are 10 fascinating facts about one of the most frequently misquoted films in the history of cinema.1. The Empire Strikes Back...
This article contains affiliate links to products selected by our editors. Mental Floss may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.Whether you’re putting together a summer feast for your family or just want to prep your lunch for the ...
When many people think nuclear, they first think of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but this is only a small portion of the story when it comes to nuclear bombs set off around the world. And while most people know about incidents like Chernob...
The US Navy holds a series of UFO-like technology patents that could power cities and even a spacecraft. The most interesting thing is that the technology written in those patents is capable of producing unlimited clean energy from a device no larger than...
The ancient pyramids of Giza[1] have wowed mankind for centuries. They tower over the desert landscape, with the Great Pyramid standing a whopping 139 meters (455 ft) high. For many years, the Great Pyramid, believed to have been built by Pharaoh Khufu ar...
The “Martian” is one of the best films of the science fiction genre of recent years, and when you watch it, you might really get the impression that flying to Mars and supporting the life of people on Mars is a fairly simple task. In reality, ...
Few Americans remember the tragic true-life incident at the beginning of my new novel, The Fervor (G.P. Putnam’s Sons), a reimagining of the Japanese internment during WWII. On May 5, 1945, the only U.S. wartime deaths on the mainland occurred when a fu-g...
With over 2 billion iPhones sold, Apple has managed to glue itself to the ears (and pockets) of consumers around the world. But the company has been notoriously fickle about service for the devices, insisting people bring their iPhones in for repair.That’...
SMART NEWSCool FindsA Library’s Mysterious Trove of Wax Cylinders Will Soon Break Its Century-Long SilenceThe recordings may include mundane conversations—and some of opera’s most legendary singers Nick Bergh handles a damaged wax cylinder, which th...
Make up a word that starts with an h and contains a handful of l’s and vowels, and there’s a good chance it already exists. One of the oldest in recorded history is holla, an early 16th-century interjection meaning “Stop!” that came from an even older Fre...