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Using oxygen to release energy also creates reactive molecules that can damage cells.
Using oxygen to release energy also creates reactive molecules that can damage cells. The body constantly repairs that damage and controls those molecules,…
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Francoise-Athenais de Rochechouart de Mortemart, better known as Madame de Montespan, was the incredibly powerful chief mistress of King Louis the Fourteenth who reportedly…
Francoise-Athenais de Rochechouart de Mortemart, better known as Madame de Montespan, was the incredibly powerful chief mistress of King Louis the Fourteenth…
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Eyelid myokymia is the involuntary spasming of your orbicularis oculi muscle, typically brought on by chronic sleep deprivation, massive caffeine consumption, or overwhelming psychological stress.
Eyelid myokymia is the involuntary spasming of your orbicularis oculi muscle, typically brought on by chronic sleep deprivation, massive caffeine consumption,…
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Scratching can briefly drown out an itch by activating pain pathways.
Scratching can briefly drown out an itch by activating pain pathways. Those signals interact with itch circuits in the spinal cord and brain, reducing the…
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Sega's name came from machines you fed with coins.
Sega's name came from machines you fed with coins. The name abbreviates Service Games and predates Sonic and the home-console wars. Sega's own history traces…
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Director Ridley Scott kept the cast of the 1979 sci-fi horror film Alien completely in the dark about the details of the infamous chestburster scene, neglecting to mention that…
Director Ridley Scott kept the cast of the 1979 sci-fi horror film Alien completely in the dark about the details of the infamous chestburster scene,…
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A tick can survive the wash but lose to the dryer.
A tick can survive the wash but lose to the dryer. Clothes washing does not reliably remove the danger of live ticks. The CDC recommends ten minutes on high…
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Walmart generates such a staggering amount of annual revenue that if the massive retail corporation were recognized as an independent sovereign nation, it would boast a gross…
Walmart generates such a staggering amount of annual revenue that if the massive retail corporation were recognized as an independent sovereign nation, it…
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Filming the One Ring required more than forty rings.
Filming the One Ring required more than forty rings. Jens Hansen's workshop made variations for different wearers and shots, including an eight-inch version…
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Arthur Edward Waite and Pamela Colman Smith created the Rider-Waite tarot deck in nineteen hundred and nine, deliberately designing it to be the first deck where every single…
Arthur Edward Waite and Pamela Colman Smith created the Rider-Waite tarot deck in nineteen hundred and nine, deliberately designing it to be the first deck…
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The same mile is far deadlier on a motorcycle than in a car.
The same mile is far deadlier on a motorcycle than in a car. US traffic data for 2023 put motorcyclist deaths per mile traveled at about twenty-eight times…
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Spyro the dragon was originally conceptualized as a green reptile during his early development phase for the original PlayStation.
Spyro the dragon was originally conceptualized as a green reptile during his early development phase for the original PlayStation. In prototype levels, he…
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An early PC virus came with its creators' contact details.
An early PC virus came with its creators' contact details. The 1986 Brain virus carried the names and address of its creators in Pakistan inside its code.…
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Army ants can get caught following a trail in circles.
Army ants can get caught following a trail in circles. Separated workers can follow one another's chemical trail into a rotating mill. A navigation rule that…
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Othello error occurs when a suspicious observer discounts cues of truthfulness and falsely assumes that an anxious subject is lying.
Othello error occurs when a suspicious observer discounts cues of truthfulness and falsely assumes that an anxious subject is lying. Fear of being falsely…
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Chewing is part of the meal's feedback system.
Chewing is part of the meal's feedback system. Eating involves more than getting food into the stomach: texture, time in the mouth, and digestive signals all…
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An airplane carries a small drinking-water system from airport to airport.
An airplane carries a small drinking-water system from airport to airport. Tanks, transfer hoses, and onboard plumbing all matter because water may be loaded…
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Iceland's Blue Lagoon began beside a power plant.
Iceland's Blue Lagoon began beside a power plant. The pool formed in the lava field as the Svartsengi plant used the area's geothermal resources in the 1970s.…
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Roller coasters owe their terrifying existence not to adrenaline junkies or amusement park visionaries, but to Russian winter festivals in the seventeenth century that featured massive, ice-covered wooden slides.
Roller coasters owe their terrifying existence not to adrenaline junkies or amusement park visionaries, but to Russian winter festivals in the seventeenth…
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John Cleves Symmes Jr.
John Cleves Symmes Jr. passionately campaigned in the early nineteenth century for the Hollow Earth theory, claiming the planet was a series of concentric…
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Poker's legendary 'Dead Man's Hand,' consisting of a two-pair of black aces and black eights, earned its ominous title because it was allegedly the exact hand held by Old West…
Poker's legendary 'Dead Man's Hand,' consisting of a two-pair of black aces and black eights, earned its ominous title because it was allegedly the exact hand…
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The ear's tiny sound sensors do not grow back.
The ear's tiny sound sensors do not grow back. Sound bends microscopic bundles on the inner ear's hair cells, helping turn vibration into electrical signals.…
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A nun was among America's first computer-science PhDs.
A nun was among America's first computer-science PhDs. Sister Mary Kenneth Keller earned her doctorate in 1965, becoming the first woman in the United States…
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Seattle's 'future of transit' stayed a one-mile ride.
Seattle's 'future of transit' stayed a one-mile ride. Built for the 1962 World's Fair, the monorail carries passengers above the streets between Seattle…
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