Read the latest articles from Popular Science (Page 842)

We finally know how wombats poop cubes
Animals

We finally know how wombats poop cubes

An engineer got the scoop on square poop.

california fire air quality
Pollution

The air quality in San Francisco is so bad, being there for a day is like smoking 10 cigarettes

Particulates in the air from wildfires make going outside a health risk for many Californians.

How to eat healthy when the munchies strike
Life Skills

How to eat healthy when the munchies strike

Keep snacking under control.

A Black Friday timeline to help you maximize deals and minimize misery
Tech Hacks

A Black Friday timeline to help you maximize deals and minimize misery

Shop smarter.

california fires five year infographic
Global Warming

See how much of California has burned in the last five years

It's a lot.

camp fire
Climate Change

Visualizing California’s current fires, some of the deadliest and most destructive on record

These graphics show how the fires have spread over the last few days.

Google Maps data could help you avoid Thanksgiving crowds on the road—and at the liquor store
Technology

Google Maps data could help you avoid Thanksgiving crowds on the road—and at the liquor store

Go get the cake before you get that bottle of wine.

Dry cleaning is dirtier than you think. Meet the neurotoxin hiding in your winter coat.
Health

Dry cleaning is dirtier than you think. Meet the neurotoxin hiding in your winter coat.

Freshly-laundered clothes mask an environmental and social blight.

Cleaning your baby’s pacifier with spit might have surprising benefits
Health

Cleaning your baby’s pacifier with spit might have surprising benefits

Saliva seems to help babies avoid allergies.

How are dinosaurs named?
Dinosaurs

How are dinosaurs named?

New species get identified and named every year, even though you've probably never heard of them.

an illustration of an asteroid hitting ice and sending debris into the air
Space

There’s a giant crater the size of a city hiding under Greenland

But not everyone agrees it's from an asteroid impact.

Online birth control is safe—and the only option for some women
Health

Online birth control is safe—and the only option for some women

Getting the pill from online sites could make the contraception method far more accessible.

Amazon didn’t pick your city for its HQ2, but it sure gathered a lot of data about it
Technology

Amazon didn’t pick your city for its HQ2, but it sure gathered a lot of data about it

Everything the company knows about your town after its year-long search.

Planet phone
Tech Hacks

Eight science apps that turn your phone into a laboratory

Monitor earthquakes, play with a virtual particle accelerator, and more.

Volcanoes might have formed on Mars the same way they did in Hawaii
Mars

Volcanoes might have formed on Mars the same way they did in Hawaii

By studying Martian meteorites, scientists think they've found an explanation for ancient eruptions on the Red Planet.

Neptune and Triton
Pluto

The outer solar system awaits—but getting there may not be as easy as we’d like

We're under a time crunch.

Oceans are losing a football field of seagrass every 30 minutes
Ocean

Oceans are losing a football field of seagrass every 30 minutes

And with it, a vital tool for cleaning up heat-trapping carbon pollution.

A frozen super-Earth is just six light years away
Exoplanets

A frozen super-Earth is just six light years away

It's close, but you won't want to visit.

Delivering groceries with self-driving cars may be even trickier than transporting people
Self Driving

Delivering groceries with self-driving cars may be even trickier than transporting people

Delivering cooked soup is easy, but it turns out delivering the ingredients to make it is hard.

Here’s how much exercise you should get—and why it’s okay if you fall short
Fitness & Exercise

Here’s how much exercise you should get—and why it’s okay if you fall short

New guidelines for Americans emphasize physical activity at any level.