Sometimes it takes long, hard study to pin down what we thought we knew all along—and to reveal surprising findings beneath the surface of common sense. People drive poorly when talking on their cellphone? The elderly prefer happy memories over sad ones? Shocking!
Thus, with great pleasure, we round up ten of the past year’s best hard science studies that answer some of the world’s least pressing questions.
Click to launch the photo gallery to see this year’s most obvious science
