Features (Page 2)

Latest in Features

During WWI, a daredevil pilot helped invent the first ‘drones’

By Bill Gourgey

Ask Us Anything

7 wild ways pregnancy changes your body forever

By Jennifer Byrne

A split image featuring a colorized portrait of Mary Anderson, a female inventor from the early 20th century, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a bow tie. Next to her portrait is an original technical patent drawing labeled with various "Fig" numbers, showing the mechanical design and lever system of her "Window Cleaning Device," the precursor to the modern windshield wiper.

Windshield wipers’ overlooked female inventor

By Shoshi Parks

An oil painting titled "The Pythia" by Camillo Miola, depicting the Oracle of Delphi in ancient Greece. The Pythia, a young woman in white and gold robes with a heavy gold necklace, is shown in a trance-like state, seated on a tall bronze tripod. Several priests in white tunics surround her, some holding olive branches and one taking notes on a tablet. In the foreground, two figures in ornate blue and gold robes kneel in prayer or supplication before a low stone altar. The scene is set against a deep red wall, with laurel leaves scattered across the floor and a large, dark omphalos stone visible on the left.

Ancient Greece’s most famous oracle was just high on gas fumes

By Andrew Coletti

A bright, high-key close-up photograph of a woman drinking from a clear glass filled with ice and water. The focus is on the glass and her hand, which features decorative nail art with small fruit patterns.

Is drinking cold water bad for you? We asked a dietitian.

By Sara Kiley Watson

A close-up photograph of a thick-cut roast of venison, sliced to reveal a deep pink, juicy interior. The meat is tied with butcher's twine and has a dark, seasoned crust. It is garnished with coarse sea salt and fresh herbs, resting on a rustic wooden carving board with a blurred kitchen background.

Why some meat tastes gamey

Is drinking hot water in the morning really good for your guts?

By Sara Kiley Watson

A detailed, extreme close-up of an emu's head and neck against its own feathered body. The emu has a sharp, dark beak and a striking, large orange eye. Its head is covered in fine, black wiry feathers, while the thick, gray and black plumage of its body creates a textured, blurred background.

Emus once faced down the Australian army—and won

A small Chihuahua wearing a jacket while walking on a frosty, sunny day. Outdoor photo.

Why do little dogs shiver so much? We asked the experts.

By Niranjana Rajalakshmi

An 1870 sepia-toned photograph of Crawford Market in Mumbai, featuring its prominent stone clock tower and Gothic-style architecture with arched windows. In the foreground, people walk along a dirt road near a horse-drawn carriage and a vintage street lamp.

The history of clocks is one of tyranny and revolution

A colorized historical photograph of a woman in a white coat holding Simon, a black and white tuxedo cat who served as a celebrated ship's cat in the British Royal Navy. The cat wears a pink collar with a name tag, and both the woman and the cat are positioned in front of a dark window.

The tiny tuxedo cat who became a naval hero

a tunnel under roman ruins

Inside the Colosseum’s Passage of Commodus, where emperors once walked

By Margherita Bassi

A dramatic, close-up photo of a black cat's face emerging from deep shadows. Only its large, luminous yellow-green eyes are brightly lit, staring directly forward with wide pupils that reflect a faint glimmer of light.

Why do cats’ eyes glow in the dark?

By Clarissa Brincat

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.

Teen brothers build a Disney-inspired ride in family basement

By Laura Kiniry

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.

Human head transplants’ gory, Frankenstein-esque history

By Nidhi Sharma

A large brown bear rests in a snowy den, its fur dusted with fresh white snow. Only the bear's head and upper back are visible as it huddles at the entrance of a dark opening nestled under evergreen branches. The bear's eyes are closed, appearing to be in a deep sleep or state of torpor.

No, bears don’t actually hibernate

By Andrew Coletti

A close-up photograph of a small, fluffy Great Tit perched on a frost-covered branch during winter. The bird has a distinctive black cap, white cheeks, and a bright yellow breast with a black stripe. The branch is adorned with small red berries and delicate ice crystals, set against a soft, blurred background of snow-covered foliage.

How do birds stay warm in winter?

By Clarissa Brincat

A colorized historical photograph showing a group of men in traditional Middle Eastern attire, including robes and turbans, gathered at an outdoor coffee house. On the left, a man in a white robe stands behind a counter featuring a large, ornate metal coffee urn. To the right, several other men are seated around a small table, engaged in conversation, reflecting the long history of coffee as a social staple.

4 times drinking coffee was illegal—or even punishable by death

a whale fluke with hills in the distance

Endangered Species

The lobstermen teaming up with scientists to save endangered whales

By Valerie Shively

A close-up photograph of a young child in a sunlit garden, biting into a large, freshly harvested carrot. The child is shirtless, and the carrot still has its long, vibrant green leafy tops attached. The background is a soft-focus view of a lush garden under a bright, clear sky.

Yes, eating carrots can help your eyesight. But it’s not a cure-all.

By Sarah Lindenfeld Hall

An artistic, mixed-media digital collage of an early twentieth-century electric vehicle, specifically a Woods Motor Vehicle Company car. The car is rendered in shades of purple and pink against a textured yellow background that looks like crumpled paper. The image features playful, hand-drawn scribbles in red and black, including the words "VROOM VROOM" and "LET'S RIDE!" near the front wheel. The car itself has a tall, carriage-like cabin with large windows and thin, spoked wheels highlighted with glowing pink circles. Decorative red loops and lines are sketched around the rear of the vehicle to suggest motion.

In 1916, hybrid cars could’ve changed history. But Ford wouldn’t allow it.

By Bill Gourgey

A close-up of a person's mouth smiling, showing teeth fitted with metal dental braces on both the upper and lower rows. The image focuses on the orthodontic brackets and wires, with the person’s nose and lips framing the smile.

Why our ancestors had straight teeth without braces

By Sara Kiley Watson

a dog sits next to a no dog poop sign

Poop DNA tests and AI dog surveillance: The tech changing pet care.

By Mack DeGeurin

A photograph of a woman in a red jacket outdoors in a snowy park, grimacing in pain while clutching her knee, illustrating how cold weather can affect joint health.

Why do your joints hurt when it’s cold? We asked a doctor.

By Laura Kiniry

A young groundhog and its mother lounging in the tall green grass

Groundhogs don’t poop during hibernation and 6 other random facts

By Laura Baisas

A vibrant stage production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. In the center, a young wizard is being sorted under a floating hat by a man in a brown suit. Four large, illuminated banners representing the Hogwarts houses—Gryffindor (red), Ravenclaw (blue), Hufflepuff (yellow), and Slytherin (green)—hang from the gothic arches of the Great Hall, while students in robes watch from the sides.

A Harry Potter quiz may predict your career prospects

By Clarissa Brincat

An action-packed photograph of skijoring, featuring a person on skis being pulled through deep snow by a galloping brown horse. The horse is captured mid-stride, kicking up a large spray of white snow, while the skier, dressed in traditional thick wool clothing and a fur-lined hat, leans back and grips the tow lines firmly. A crowd of spectators with their phones out is visible in the background against a backdrop of dark evergreen trees.

The extreme sport of skijoring, where horses pull skiers at 40 mph

By Jennifer Byrne

A vintage-style colorized portrait of a middle-aged man with light hair combed back, wearing a blue suit jacket, white shirt, and dark tie. He faces the camera with a neutral expression. The background is a uniform, grainy gray, and the image retains visible texture and noise consistent with an old printed photograph.

The only person to win an Olympic medal and a Nobel Peace Prize

By Amy Crawford

A full-length color photograph of a young woman figure skating on an outdoor ice rink. She is wearing a pale green long-sleeved skating dress and white skates, captured in a graceful pose with her arms extended and one leg trailing behind her. The background features a tall, modern office building, bare trees, and a mountain range under a pale sky, reflecting a mid-century winter aesthetic.

From bones to steel: Why ice skates were a terrible idea that worked

An x-ray image of the brain showing a blue outline of a person's upper skull and bright, glowing yellow brain.

What’s a false memory? Psychologists explain how your brain can lie.

By RJ Mackenzie

A vibrant culinary photograph featuring a bowl of fresh ceviche made from white fish, red onion, and herbs, surrounded by the raw ingredients used to prepare it. Several whole, striped lionfish with their distinctive venomous spines are arranged around the bowl alongside whole limes, red onions, and bright orange habanero peppers.

Should you eat invasive species? We asked an ecologist.

By Andrew Coletti

A young woman slumped over her desk in an office, fast asleep on her arms. To humorously hide that she is sleeping, two pink sticky notes with cartoon eyes drawn on them are stuck over her closed eyelids. Her workspace includes a computer monitor, keyboard, mouse, and a light blue coffee mug.

Tired? You may have social jetlag.

A beautiful snowy forest. The setting sun shines through the tall trunks of conifers.

Ask Us Anything

Snow isn’t actually white

By Laura Kiniry

Some pieces of chocolate with white splotches on a wooden cutting board.

Ask Us Anything

Why does chocolate turn white? It’s not mold.

By Clarissa Brincat

a bat flying through the night

A robot bat sheds new light on how they hunt in darkness

By Mack DeGeurin

A Bengal cat licks the forehead of a young white boy in a striped shirt. The boy has dirty blonde hair and smiles. The cat sits on a table and there's a grey drape pulled to one side of a window behind them.

Why do cats lick you? An expert explains.

A vibrant, conceptual digital illustration of a translucent, bright red gelatin mold (Jell-O) against a gradient yellow background. Visible inside the gelatin is a small, dark silhouette of an airplane, suspended as if frozen in place, visually representing the metaphor of turbulence feeling like being stuck in Jello.

Ask Us Anything

Is turbulence really like Jell-O? Pilots weigh in.

By Cat Rainsford

A top-down photograph of a pile of fresh, green okra pods resting on a rustic, beige linen napkin with a red striped border. The pods are scattered across the fabric and a weathered wooden tabletop, with the wooden handle of a kitchen knife visible in the upper right corner.

Ask Us Anything

Why is okra so slimy? Blame the mucilage.

By Andrew Coletti

A colorful, detailed line illustration depicting a medieval courtroom scene where a pig is standing trial. The pig stands on its hind legs at a wooden witness stand or dock, facing a panel of judges and clerics seated behind a long table. In the foreground, a man in a light blue robe points a finger accusatorially at the pig, while other onlookers in traditional medieval tunics and headwear watch the proceedings with expressions of concern and curiosity. The setting features gothic arched windows and draped backdrops typical of the period.

In medieval France, murderous pigs faced trial and execution

Commercial airplane flying in stormy weather. A lightning strike illuminates the right side of the image as a plane flies to the left.

Ask Us Anything

How pilots avoid thunderstorms—and what happens when they can’t

By Cat Rainsford

a portrait of leonardo da vinci. he has a long white beard, long white hair, and is wearing a black hat

Science sleuths think they found Leonardo da Vinci’s DNA

By Mack DeGeurin

A vintage photograph of an explosion happening on a baech.

BOOM! That time Oregon blew up a whale with dynamite.

By Shoshi Parks

A stylized digital collage featuring chess pieces, including a red king, set against a target-like background of concentric circles and a red-and-white checkered pattern.

Ask Us Anything

Chess or video games—which actually makes you smarter? The answer may surprise you.

By Clarissa Brincat

A white woman cracks her fingers. She has muted purple nail polish on and a muted purple blouse on, too.

Is cracking your knuckles really bad for them?

By Sarah Lindenfeld Hall

A fluffy beavers sits in front of a fallen tree branch with yellow leaves.

Idaho once dropped 76 beavers from airplanes—on purpose

By Jennifer Byrne

A fluffy, grey British Shorthair cat wearing small, gold-rimmed round glasses sits behind an open book on a soft blue textured surface. The cat is looking down at the blank pages as if intently reading.

Ask Us Anything

Can animals read? Not in the human way.

By Clarissa Brincat

A group of three African elephants walking through tall, dry yellow grass in a savanna. The central elephant is facing forward with its large ears fully fanned out, flanked by two others with visible tusks.

Ask Us Anything

Why do elephants have such big ears? There’s not one answer.

By Sarah Philip

A peaceful landscape photograph of a cemetery at sunset, with numerous simple stone headstones scattered across a lush green lawn. Tall pine trees are silhouetted against a bright, warm sun that is filtering through the forest.

Cremation or casket? Here’s the most eco-friendly burial option.

By Jennifer Byrne

A close-up, angled shot of a silver waiter's corkscrew in the process of opening a wine bottle. The metal lever of the corkscrew is braced against the lip of the dark glass bottle, while the black spiral "worm" is drilled deep into the center of the natural wood cork. The background is a soft, out-of-focus gradient of green and grey.

The corkscrew began as a tool for muskets, not merlot

By Andrew Coletti

A Jack Russell terrier looks out beneath the bed covers alongside their owner's feet, which peek out from beneath the covers. The dog has an alert, inquisitive expression. The bed covers are a tan color.

Ask Us Anything

Would my dog or cat really eat me if I died alone?

By Nidhi Sharma

a capybara between two evergreen trees

Donated Christmas trees get a second life at the zoo

By Laura Baisas

red and white and red and green candy canes on a green background

The magic of making candy canes by hand

By Laura Baisas

A person in a blue jacket holds a labeled glass jar filled with grain seeds while standing in a narrow aisle of a genebank. The room is filled from floor to ceiling with shelves holding hundreds of similar jars for long-term storage.

Ask Us Anything

The seed vaults that could save humanity

An overhead view shows a group of diverse hands, with varying skin tones, arranged in a circle against a plain white background. The palms are open and facing upward, with some hands overlapping, creating a sense of unity and community. Some individuals wear rings or a beaded bracelet, and the sleeves of various shirts—plaid, denim, and solid colors—are visible at the edges of the frame.

Why do we have five fingers and toes?

By Laura Kiniry

A person bundled up in a hooded jacket and covered in snow is looking toward the camera in a snowy, blurry outdoor environment. The person's face is mostly obscured by a thick layer of snow and frost, with only the area around the eyes and nose showing exposed skin.

Ask Us Anything

The coldest body temperatures humans have survived

By RJ Mackenzie

A taxidermied squirrel named Tommy Tucker standing upright inside a glass display case. The squirrel is dressed in a miniature pink pleated dress with puffy sleeves and a white ribbon tied around the waist, paired with a small pearl necklace. The display case is secured with a brass knob and a black padlock. In the blurred background, papers and a water bottle are visible on a desk.

During WWII, a dress-wearing squirrel sold war bonds alongside FDR

By Amy Crawford

An 1886 color illustration depicting a crowd of people, including men, women, and children, gathered around a massive wheel of cheese in the East Room of the White House. A man in a dark coat is carving into the cheese with a knife, while others eagerly reach out with their own knives and hands to take a piece. In the foreground, a small boy sits on the floor eating a piece of the cheese. This event commemorates the distribution of the "Mammoth Cheese" gifted to President Andrew Jackson in 1835.

Andrew Jackson’s White House once hosted a cheese feeding frenzy

Four chocolate cookies are shown cooling on a wire rack after coming out of the oven.

Ask Us Anything

The best chocolate chip cookie recipe, according to science

By Clarissa Brincat

A large brown lizard, possibly a mother, is perched on a gray rock, eating a much smaller, lighter-colored juvenile lizard, which it holds in its mouth. The juvenile appears to be struggling or caught in the act.

Ask Us Anything

Why some animals eat their babies

By Andrew Coletti

An astronaut in a white spacesuit floats in space above Earth, holding a handmade sign that reads “FOR SALE” in large pink letters. Reflections of space equipment and Earth are visible in the astronaut’s helmet visor, and part of a space shuttle is seen behind them with the blue curve of Earth in the background.

The space billboard that nearly happened

A young person bundled in a green winter jacket, gray knit hat, and blue gloves is standing outside in the snow. They are shivering, with their arms crossed tightly and a nervous or cold expression, with their tongue slightly visible.

Ask Us Anything

What is shivering? Why our bodies shake when it’s cold.

By Laura Kiniry

A close-up, colorized photograph of a middle-aged man with a stern expression and a thick, reddish-brown beard. He is superimposed over a faded, beige background of densely printed, historical text, suggesting he is a figure related to the document's content, which appears to discuss Cattalo or Beefalo (a cow and buffalo hybrid), based on the filename.

The strange Wild West tale of the first cow-buffalo hybrid

By Bill Gourgey

Endangered Species

Ruby the turtle needs a new greenhouse. Dance companies are stepping up.

By Laura Baisas

An old DC-6 cargo plane converted into lodging rests in the snow under a glowing aurora, its windows and engines illuminated against a dark, starry winter sky.

A pilot turned an old plane into a two-bedroom apartment

By Laura Kiniry