Ask Us Anything

Popular Science answers your most outlandish, mind-burning questions, from the ordinary to the off-the-wall.

Latest in Ask Us Anything

Once considered vestigial, the appendix may play an essential role in gut health.
Science

Which body parts do humans not need?

By Julia Craven

noses and a green stink cloud
Science

Can bad smells harm you? 

By Keith Wagstaff

girl dreaming waking up
Science

Why don’t you remember all your dreams?

By Lauren Leffer

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a solar flare–as seen in the bright flash on the right side–on September 10, 2017. The image shows a combination of wavelengths of extreme ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares, which has then been colorized.
Science

Could the Carrington Event happen again?

By Laura Baisas

Close up on woman white teeth.
Science

Could we ever regrow our adult teeth?

By Harri Weber

dog depression
Science

Do animals experience mental illness?

By Mack DeGeurin

a bird with white and black plummage and an egg on a nest and three other birds standing around her
Environment

Which animals reproduce at the oldest age?

By Laura Baisas

(Original Caption) 1938-Close-up of the very front end of a 1938 Cadillac La Salle. This smaller counterpart to the Cadillac features a smaller radiator grille, and four headlights, as well as the hood ornament and bumper.
Science

Why don’t cars have hood ornaments anymore? 

By Kristin Shaw

Voyager Golden Record cover on black background
Science

What is on the Voyager Golden Record? Shockingly, not The Beatles.

By Andrew Paul

flying with cellphone airplane mode
Science

Why do we still have to use airplane mode?

By Tom Hawking

The long finger sticking out of the Sun at the bottom left of this image is a coronal mass ejection. It was captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory on August 31, 2012.
Science

Does the Sun make noise?

By Harri Weber

an orange cat with green eyes with its tongue out
Environment

Why do some cats have orange fur? New hue clues in an old mystery.

By Clarissa Brincat

Anything with mass cannot reach lightspeed.
Science

What would happen to the human body moving at near lightspeed?

By Lauren Leffer

a slice of jelly toast faced down on the floor
Health

Is the five-second rule true? Don’t push your luck.

By Clarissa Brincat

dog kissing human licking face
Science

Why do dogs lick humans? It could be a sign of affection.

By Lauren Leffer

A Tesla Model 3 engaged in the so-called ‘Full Self Driving’ mode reportedly plowed through a deer without ever detecting it. While more advanced driverless systems use a mix of sensors including LiDAR, Tesla is trying to attain full autonomy using only cameras.
Science

Why are ‘driverless’ cars still hitting things?

By Mack DeGeurin

mercury broken thermometer
Science

Are ‘heavy metals’ dangerous? Yes, but not everything you’ve heard is true.

By Lauren Leffer

Peach and Blossom, the National Thanksgiving Turkeys, are seen on the South Lawn of the White House before recieving a Presidential Pardon from US President Joe Biden in Washington, DC, on November 25, 2024.
Science

How did Thanksgiving turkeys get so darn big?

By Mack DeGeurin

a body on a morgue table with only the feet showing and a toe tag on the big toe
Health

What happens when you donate your body to science? 

By RJ Mackenzie

brain glitch
Science

How does science explain déjà vu? It’s a brain glitch with a purpose.

By Julia Craven