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An overhead view shows a group of diverse hands, with varying skin tones, arranged in a circle against a plain white background. The palms are open and facing upward, with some hands overlapping, creating a sense of unity and community. Some individuals wear rings or a beaded bracelet, and the sleeves of various shirts—plaid, denim, and solid colors—are visible at the edges of the frame.
Evolution

Why do we have five fingers and toes?

It all goes back to our fishy ancestors.

By Laura Kiniry

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Chicago’s rat hole wasn’t made by a rat

Plus a retirement home for penguins and other weird things we learned this week.

Rachel Feltman

Rachel Feltman

Host

At Popular Science, we report and write dozens of stories every week. And while a lot of the fun facts we stumble across make it into our articles, there are lots of other weird facts that we just keep around the office. So we figured, why not share those with you? Welcome to The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week.

Latest Articles

a variety of gadgets
Best of What's New

The 5 coolest gadget innovations of 2025

From a UV printer to a 360-degree camera drone.

By Stan Horaczek

Cropped shot of an unrecognizable man washing his hands in the kitchen sink at home
Health

Ditch the antibacterial soap this cold and flu season

You still need to wash your hands with soap and warm water though.

By Alisha McDarris

three Lamborghinis driving
Hybrid Cars

Lamborghini’s new hybrid supercar includes a three-level drift mode and three axial flux motors

The supercar pulls out the stops with a screaming 10,000 revolutions per minute at the redline.

By Kristin Shaw

Pair of African penguin chicks
Endangered Species

Newborn African penguin named after a hot dog

The critically endangered chicks, Oscar and Duffy, were born at a New Jersey aquarium.

By Andrew Paul

A cluster of stars inside a large nebula. The clouds of gas and dust are predominantly bright red in colour and wispy, akin to flames. They are clumped in the bottom-left corner. Other clouds, deeper in the cluster behind many of the stars, appear pale pink. The stars are concentrated in the top half of the image and are mostly small, bright white and six-pointed. They cast blue light over the nebula. Other stars with very long spikes surrounding them lie in the foreground.
Space Telescope

James Webb and Hubble Space Telescopes snap images of same nebula, 10 years apart

The two images of Westerlund 2 show just how far the technology has come.

By Andrew Paul

two astronauts share a holiday meal on the ISS
NASA

9 festive ISS holiday celebrations through the years

Crews living 250 miles above the Earth still keep the holiday spirit alive.

By Laura Baisas

a butterfly with blue wings with black spots
Endangered Species

9 new butterflies discovered in old museum archives

The team even extracted DNA from a tiny 100-year-old butterfly leg.

By Margherita Bassi

a close up of a turtle with its head in its shell
Wildlife

Butt breathing and 5 other ways animals stay warm in winter

Blue crabs burrow, wood frogs freeze, and other cold weather survival strategies.

By Laura Baisas

The book "Raising AI" by De Kai serves as an essential guide for parenting our future, exploring the profound responsibilities of nurturing artificial intelligence. The cover features a minimalist, metallic silver aesthetic that mirrors the clinical yet evolving nature of technology. In contrast to this futuristic outlook, the image of a weathered vintage tin robot—with its wide-eyed, staring expression and rusted edges—highlights the human-centric "mirage" of ethical AI, reminding us of the mechanical origins and imperfect projections we cast upon our digital creations.
AI

Chasing the Mirage of “Ethical” AI

Isaac Asimov’s “Handbook of Robotics” imagined simple rules for machine morality. But reality is a maze of contradictions, biases, and blind spots.

By De Kai / MIT Press Reader

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Popular Science has been demystifying the worlds of science and technology since 1872. We explain the inner workings of the phone in your pocket, explore world-changing innovations, and examine everything from the marvels of deep space to the secret lives of staples like bread. We deliver an engaging, approachable, and inclusive look at emerging technologies and scientific advances.
Daily, Popular Science unpacks the science behind the top current new stories, dissects the latest technology and digital trends, and helps readers live smarter, safer, and happier through clever DIY projects.

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