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A portrait of two brothers, Nico and Matteo Mucchetti, posing with their homemade, full-sized replica of a purple ride vehicle from Disney's "Big Hero 6" attraction. The younger brother sits inside the purple wooden structure, which is detailed with orange accents and a string of LED lights along the edge, while the older brother leans over the back. They are positioned in a dimly lit room, creating a dramatic spotlight effect on them and their project.
Vehicles

Teen brothers build a Disney-inspired ride in family basement

‘Big Hero 6’ inspired Nico and Matteo Mucchetti’s ambitious project.

By Laura Kiniry

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Americans planted entire forests of exploding Australian trees

Plus beaver skulls 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.

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Example of paired images used during free-view eyetracking study. These image pairs focused on participant reactions to spider versus other arthropods – (A) spider versus butterfly, (B) spider versus insect, (C) spider eyes versus insect eyes, (D) spider versus non-spider arachnid, and (E) spider versus myriapod. We also included a paired image of (F) scorpion versus non-scorpion arachnid to gain insight into whether participants respond differently to spiders versus scorpions (e.g., d vs. f).
Spiders

Psychologists made people look at spiders. They didn’t like it.

Humans will try to focus on almost anything else.

By Andrew Paul

the sun hits a waterfall so it looks like fire
Environment

Yosemite’s glowing, golden waterfall is flowing again

The annual natural phenomenon event is expected to last until February 26.

By Margherita Bassi

a whale swimming
Whales

The oldest-known humpback whale recording was hiding in an archive

The audio, etched onto a plastic disc in 1949, predates the era when researchers could even recognize whale calls.

By Laura Baisas

These observations by NASA’s SPHEREx show the infrared light emitted by the dust, water, organic molecules, and carbon dioxide contained within comet 3I/ATLAS’s coma during the mission’s December 2025 campaign.
Space Telescope

Comet 3I/ATLAS is leaving the solar system with a dramatic light show

The interstellar space rock shows off the illuminating effects of its brush with the sun.

By Andrew Paul

a bobsledder backlit
Vehicles

The U.S. Olympic bobsled team borrowed Honda’s wind tunnel for test runs

In West Liberty, Ohio, Team USA athletes boarded their bobsleds to gather data on aerodynamics.

By Kristin Shaw

A vintage, colorful movie poster for the 1931 film Frankenstein. In the center, a large, dramatic close-up of Boris Karloff as Frankenstein's monster looms over the other characters. He has a pale, squared-off head, visible scarring on his forehead, and heavy-lidded eyes looking downward with a somber expression. The poster is divided into segments: Bottom left: A well-dressed man in a suit and a woman in a pink dress look off-camera with concerned expressions. Bottom right: Two men are engaged in a tense conversation; one appears to be Dr. Frankenstein, gesturing animatedly with his hands toward an older man. The overall aesthetic is dark and atmospheric, using a "vignette" style with deep blacks and pops of green and blue in the background.
Medicine

Human head transplants’ gory, Frankenstein-esque history

From two-headed Soviet dogs to modern ‘brotech.’

By Nidhi Sharma

Stirling, Scotland - August 1, 2020, old medieval cemetery around Port of Menteith Parish Church
Archaeology

Medieval elite still received fancy burials despite disease stigma

939 skeletons reveal complex social politics during the Middle Ages.

By Andrew Paul

Castle Geyser erupts with hot water and steam with pools of thermophilic bacteria and it's a cone geyser in the Upper Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, United States.
Environment

Yellowstone’s supervolcano is creating a 19-mile bulge

But scientists aren’t that worried.

By Andrew Paul

white bird poop on a black car
Birds

Bird poop powered this pre-Hispanic kingdom

The Chincha Kingdom likely used seabird guano to fertilize their corn.

By Margherita Bassi

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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.
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