Popular Science. Demystifying the worlds of science and technology since 1872.

See More
A close-up view of the back of a person's head, showing a receding hairline and a circular patch of thinning hair or male pattern baldness on the crown, surrounded by short, gray and brown hair. The background is pure white.
Health

3 hair loss myths you probably believe

Baldness does not only come from your mother’s side—and other myths debunked.

By Clarissa Brincat

Featured

Gear and Reviews

Podcast

More Episodes
Channel cover

You’re actually not allowed to keep bird feathers you find on hikes—and it’s all thanks to two women who got really mad about hats

Plus ant yogurt 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

Video screenshot of remoras attached to humpback whale
Whales

Ride on a humpback whale with little sucker fish

New POV video shows a mutually beneficial relationship between remoras and the gentle giants.

By Andrew Paul

A warning sign is seen at the closed walking trail to the observatory in the Shirakawago district, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Bears

Japan deploys army to fight bears

After over 100 bear attacks this year, it’s time for reinforcements.

By Andrew Paul

V0015163ER Two hooded figures and a King grieve over a dead person whil Credit: Wellcome Library, London. Wellcome Images images@wellcome.ac.uk http://wellcomeimages.org Two hooded figures and a King grieve over a dead person while another masked figure comes to cleanse the room of the plague. Woodcut by V. Solis. Published: - Copyrighted work available under Creative Commons Attribution only licence CC BY 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Diseases

Centuries of Black Death misinformation started with a poem

A 14th century trickster tale was misread as fact.

By Andrew Paul

Playful young woman hiding face under blanket while lying in cozy bed, pretty curious girl feeling shy peeking from duvet, covering with white sheet, head shot close up. Top view
Mental Health

4 research-backed ways to beat the winter blues in the colder months

By Gio Dolcecore / The Conversation

hermit crab with pink creature on its head
Animals

New species looks like a fuzzy pink hermit crab wig

The pair lives in a symbiotic relationship over 1,000 feet below the Pacific.

By Laura Baisas

This artist's concept depicts a supermassive black hole in the process of shredding a massive star—at least 30 times the mass of our Sun—to pieces. Scientists propose this is what happened around the distant black hole referred to as J2245+3743, which in 2018, brightened dramatically to create the brightest black hole flare ever recorded, shining with the light of 10 trillion suns. This is likely the most massive star-shredding event (formally called a tidal disruption event or TDE) ever observed and one of only a few to have occurred in an active galactic nucleus (AGN), which is an active supermassive black hole "feeding" off material in a surrounding disk. The stunning flare was discovered by the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF), based at Caltech's Palomar Observatory, and the Caltech-led Catalina Real-Time Transient Survey.
Black Holes

Black hole unleashes brightest flare ever—brighter than 10 trillion suns

A supermassive black hole’s star snack lit up the cosmos like never before.

By Andrew Paul

Seized ivory and rhino tusks photographed by law enforcement
Endangered Species

Endangered rhino horns and elephant tusks seized in California

Poachers kill over 20,000 African elephants every year for their ivory.

By Andrew Paul

rotten eggs with black and white fuzzy mold on them
Medicine

Stinky ‘rotten egg’ gas could fight nail infections

Don’t worry, scientists are working on the odor.

By Laura Baisas

A close-up photo of some dandelions, but the image is slightly distorted by digital artefacts.
Science

Why we (probably) aren’t living in a computer simulation

Mathematicians say they proved reality is real. Critics already say otherwise.

By Andrew Paul

Popular Science Cover Art Store

Own a piece of science history.

Browse all covers

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.

Meet the team

Our writers and editors