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Squirrel skins were widely utilized as an official form of currency in medieval Russia and Finland, with the highly prized winter pelts serving as a reliable medium of exchange for everyday goods and services.
Squirrel skins were widely utilized as an official form of currency in medieval Russia and Finland, with the highly prized winter pelts serving as a reliable…
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Your muscles are not the only thing deciding when a workout feels impossible.
Your muscles are not the only thing deciding when a workout feels impossible. Fatigue reflects both changes inside working muscles and the nervous system's…
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Some 1990s Sony camcorders revealed more through thin fabric than their designers intended.
Some 1990s Sony camcorders revealed more through thin fabric than their designers intended. NightShot detected near-infrared light, which passes through…
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Caffeine works by impersonating a neurotransmitter called adenosine, sneaking into your brain's receptors and blocking the actual chemical that tells your body it is time to feel tired.
Caffeine works by impersonating a neurotransmitter called adenosine, sneaking into your brain's receptors and blocking the actual chemical that tells your…
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Flight attendants on the vast majority of major commercial airlines are not actually paid their hourly wage until the aircraft doors are officially closed and the parking brake is released.
Flight attendants on the vast majority of major commercial airlines are not actually paid their hourly wage until the aircraft doors are officially closed and…
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Grand Theft Auto franchise has generated billions of dollars in revenue by basically providing a detailed sociological satire of American consumerism wrapped inside a murder simulator.
Grand Theft Auto franchise has generated billions of dollars in revenue by basically providing a detailed sociological satire of American consumerism wrapped…
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Agbogbloshie in Ghana became one of the largest electronic waste dumps on the entire planet, taking in millions of tons of discarded appliances, smartphones, and computers from wealthier nations.
Agbogbloshie in Ghana became one of the largest electronic waste dumps on the entire planet, taking in millions of tons of discarded appliances, smartphones,…
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William Blake spent his entire life writing profound mystical poetry and creating legendary engravings, completely fueled by the fact that he regularly saw angels sitting in the trees of London.
William Blake spent his entire life writing profound mystical poetry and creating legendary engravings, completely fueled by the fact that he regularly saw…
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An early helicopter rescue had to save people one at a time.
An early helicopter rescue had to save people one at a time. In Burma in April 1944, Carter Harman used a Sikorsky helicopter to evacuate wounded commandos…
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Autonomous vehicles are currently programmed to make highly complex moral decisions in a split second, such as calculating whether it is mathematically better to swerve and hit a…
Autonomous vehicles are currently programmed to make highly complex moral decisions in a split second, such as calculating whether it is mathematically better…
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Vizio paid millions over TVs that reported what people watched.
Vizio paid millions over TVs that reported what people watched. In 2017, Vizio agreed to a $2.2 million settlement after regulators alleged it collected…
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Frogs can use their eyes to help swallow dinner.
Frogs can use their eyes to help swallow dinner. As a frog swallows, its eyes can retract into the roof of its mouth and help move food backward. Experiments…
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Your bank account is part of the deep web.
Your bank account is part of the deep web. The term includes web content search engines do not index, such as private account pages and restricted databases.…
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Skeletal muscle tissue is significantly more metabolically active than adipose fat tissue, burning roughly three times as many calories just to simply exist while you are completely at rest.
Skeletal muscle tissue is significantly more metabolically active than adipose fat tissue, burning roughly three times as many calories just to simply exist…
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Sergei Krikalev's space career left him about 0.02 seconds younger.
Sergei Krikalev's space career left him about 0.02 seconds younger. Across roughly 803 days in orbit, his high speed made time pass slightly more slowly for…
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Star Trek fans built their own publishing network before the web.
Star Trek fans built their own publishing network before the web. Spockanalia, first published in 1967, collected fan stories, art, poems, and discussion…
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A heavy truck bends the ice beneath it, creating a moving wave in the water below.
A heavy truck bends the ice beneath it, creating a moving wave in the water below. On an ice road, speed can make that flexing more dangerous, so operators…
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New York subway riders have helped map the rats as well as the trains.
New York subway riders have helped map the rats as well as the trains. The Transit app asks riders whether they spot rats when they reach a station, then…
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Comedian Jim Carrey shattered the Hollywood salary ceiling in 1996 when he demanded and successfully received a completely unprecedented twenty million dollars to star in the incredibly dark comedy The Cable Guy.
Comedian Jim Carrey shattered the Hollywood salary ceiling in 1996 when he demanded and successfully received a completely unprecedented twenty million…
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Britain gave a dead spy a fake love life to fool the Nazis.
Britain gave a dead spy a fake love life to fool the Nazis. For Operation Mincemeat in 1943, British intelligence gave a corpse the identity of Major William…
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A medieval bishop got in trouble for playing chess.
A medieval bishop got in trouble for playing chess. Around 1061, Peter Damian complained to the pope after discovering that the bishop of Florence had played…
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Astronomers found a raspberry-aroma molecule in a star-forming cloud.
Astronomers found a raspberry-aroma molecule in a star-forming cloud. Ethyl formate was detected in Sagittarius B2 by its characteristic radio emissions. The…
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Comte de Saint Germain was an eighteenth-century aristocrat who sparked massive mystical rumors by allegedly hinting that he was centuries old and possessed the elixir of life.
Comte de Saint Germain was an eighteenth-century aristocrat who sparked massive mystical rumors by allegedly hinting that he was centuries old and possessed…
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The palace guard is a military assignment, not a costume job.
The palace guard is a military assignment, not a costume job. Soldiers serving the King's Guard also belong to operational Army units. Before ceremonial duty,…
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