Science
Discover facts about science. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Science
Why balsa is technically hardwood
“Hardwood” sorts trees by their family, not by how tough their lumber feels. Balsa comes from a broadleaf flowering tree, so it gets the label even though a…
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Why fugu chefs train for years
The danger in fugu depends on keeping poisonous organs away from the meat. Some parts of the fish can contain tetrodotoxin, and cooking does not reliably…
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Bavaria's famous beer law also set the price of a drink
The 1516 decree named barley, hops and water as beer ingredients, but it also specified seasonal price limits. Breaking the ingredient rule could mean losing…
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In Brazil, açaí can be served with fish
Açaí can show up beside salted river fish rather than granola. In parts of the Amazon, people eat the fruit unsweetened, making it part of a savory meal. The…
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Tequila can only come from blue agave
To make tequila, harvesters use the blue agave’s piña—the big central core where the plant stores sugars. They cook it to free those sugars, then yeast…
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Argentine cattle graze entirely on massive flat plains
A wide pasture tells you where the cattle grazed, not whether a steak will be tender. Muscles that work harder tend to make tougher cuts, while aging lets…
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Avocados may owe their survival to humans
Avocados may once have depended on huge animals to swallow their large fruits and carry the seeds away. After those animals went extinct, humans cultivated…
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The Northern Lights may sound like popping
A reported auroral pop may have a surprisingly local source. In one proposed explanation, small electrical discharges in the air near the ground make the…
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Real goulash is a soup, not a stew
Traditional goulash gets its deep flavor from paprika-rich broth, not from a thick sauce. The liquid stays thin, so a hearty bowl eats like soup rather than…
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South Korean scientists engineered kimchi for low orbit
Fermentation can keep going after kimchi is sealed, as microbes continue producing gas inside the package. In a spacecraft, where storage is cramped, that…
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Floating soap bubbles stay perfectly spherical via tension
A soap bubble’s thin film pulls inward under surface tension, shrinking its surface. For a given amount of air, a sphere encloses it with the least surface…
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Real paella uses rabbit and snails
Rabbit and snails fit a traditional Valencian paella because they reflect what was available from the region’s fields. But paella isn’t one frozen recipe:…
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Canadian moose lick salt off parked cars
In winter, plants may not provide moose with enough sodium, so road salt residue can attract them to parked cars. The animal licks the salt, not the vehicle…
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Why truffle hunters switched from pigs to dogs
A pig’s nose can lead a hunter straight to a truffle—and then the pig may eat the evidence. Dogs can learn to point out the scent while leaving the buried…
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Russia once legally treated beer as a soft drink
Until 2011, Russian law treated beer below 10% alcohol as a food product, not an alcoholic drink. That classification kept it outside some restrictions aimed…
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Distinct echoes demand at least a fraction of a second delay
An echo’s delay includes the trip out to the wall and the trip back to you. Since sound travels about 343 meters a second, a wall roughly 17 meters away gives…
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The Supreme Court called tomatoes vegetables for a tax bill
In Nix v. Hedden in 1893, the dispute was about import duties, not botany. Tomatoes counted as vegetables under the tariff because people served them with…
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A forest fire can prepare a giant sequoia's nursery
Hot air dries older cones so they open and release seeds. Fire also removes some competing vegetation and exposes ground where seedlings can establish…
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Sweet peaches and plums officially belong to the rose family
Peach flowers share features with flowers of the rose family, even if the fruits look nothing alike. Plums, apples, cherries, and strawberries belong to that…
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Why Amazon river dolphins turn pink
Many Amazon river dolphins start life gray and become pinker as they age. Their gray pigmentation fades, while scrapes accumulate on the skin and let more…
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Norway made frozen pizza a national favorite
Grandiosa became a familiar Norwegian staple by putting a ready-to-bake meal in the home freezer. Its appeal doesn't depend on a restaurant reservation or…
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Many agaves spend years preparing one enormous flower stalk
For these species, the parent rosette dies after flowering and seed production. Offsets at the base can survive and continue growing. What looks like the end…
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Ecuadorian ceviche cooks its seafood first
In many Ecuadorian shrimp ceviches, the shrimp is boiled before it meets the citrus marinade. Citrus can also change seafood proteins and turn the flesh…
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Finnish herders tested reflective antlers
In 2014, the Reindeer Herders' Association began testing reflective spray to make reindeer easier for motorists to see. Headlights would supply the light; the…
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