Features (Page 4)

Latest in Features

A person is shown from the chest up, in a green plaid shirt, holding a glass of clear water with a dropper over it. A dark green liquid is dripping into the water from the dropper, creating a swirl. The scene is on a white surface and surrounded by several potted green plants in white containers, with some loose leaves scattered around.

Is chlorophyll actually good for you?

By Lauren Leffer

A photo collage with a vintage illustration of a futuristic, brown and orange sailboat, with a large sail-like structure and a smokestack, positioned on a deep blue sea with white waves. In the background, there's a faint, light-tan newspaper clipping with the headline "A Sailing Ship" and a masthead for "POPULAR SCIENCE" from February 1925.

100 years ago, ‘ghost ship’ sails baffled Einstein—now they’re making a comeback

By Bill Gourgey

a fish with bright blue markings swim in a tank

A rainbow of fish dazzles in New Jersey

By Laura Baisas

A rear-view shot of a group of people doing a side-bending stretch in a brightly lit yoga studio. The main subject, a man with wet, curly hair and a muscular, sweaty back, is in the foreground. Several other people are visible behind him, and the studio mirrors reflect the class. They are all wearing athletic clothing.

Fitness & Exercise

Are ‘hot’ workout classes better?

By Lauren Leffer

How does anesthesia work? Experts still have questions.

By RJ Mackenzie

A young Black woman with curly hair is smiling and looking at her reflection in the mirror. She is wearing a white robe and has a small amount of white cream, likely a skin product, on the fingertips of each hand. She is dabbing the cream onto her cheeks with her index and middle fingers. The background is a bathroom.

Does retinol actually work?

By Clarissa Brincat

a clear squid like creature dotted with small orange circles

9 other worldly images of ‘The Radiant Sea’

By Popular Science Team

A low-angle view of a vast, complex airport baggage handling system. Two suitcases, one black and one gray, move along a blue conveyor belt. The belts snake through a brightly lit, cavernous space with industrial ceilings, surrounded by a network of other green and yellow conveyor belts and metal structures. Two airport workers in high-visibility vests are visible in the distance, observing the operation.

What really happens to your bag after you check it in?

By Laura Kiniry

a broken payphone (left) and a refurbished one (right)

In Vermont, one man is bringing pay phones back to life

By Mack DeGeurin

A woman with her eyes closed and head tilted back, smiling serenely, stands in a dense forest. She is wearing a bright yellow raincoat and a backpack, with tall, dark tree trunks rising all around her. The sunlight filters through the canopy, creating a peaceful and happy mood.

Does St. John’s wort really increase serotonin?

By Clarissa Brincat

A wide-eyed, wet cat being held during a bath, with its fur slicked down and an anxious expression on its face.

Ask Us Anything

Why do cats hate water? An expert explains.

A hand holding a french fry dipped in ketchup, with a plate of fries, a sandwich, and more ketchup in the background.

Ketchup was once a diarrhea cure

By Vittoria Traverso

Interior of a car showing the back seat area with light beige leather upholstery, seatbelts, and a clean, uncluttered space.

Ask Us Anything

What’s really the safest seat in a car? An auto expert weighs in.

By Diana Hubbell

Close-up of two feet with red nail polish, separated by pink foam toe spacers against a light blue background.

Can toe spacers actually help your feet? It could be worth a try.

By Lauren Leffer

Does ashwagandha actually help with anxiety and sleep?

By Clarissa Brincat

A large white mushroom cloud explodes into the upper atmosphere in a vintage photograph of a hydrogen bomb.

When the U.S. almost nuked Alaska—on purpose

By Shoshi Parks

A smiling woman bundled in a dark puffer jacket, grey knitted hood, and fingerless gloves applies lip balm in a green tube to her lips. She has light skin, dark hair, and blue eyes, and her gaze is directed slightly off to the right. The background is blurred, showing an outdoor setting with buildings and trees, suggesting a cool or cold day.

Lip balm’s surprising history from earwax to Lip Smackers

A person with a beard and reddish hair sits in bed, illuminated by the glow of a laptop on their lap. They are looking at the screen and hold a slice of pizza in their right hand, about to take a bite. The room is dimly lit, suggesting it's nighttime.

Does eating late at night really cause weight gain? A nutritionist explains.

By Laura Kiniry

A woman sitting up in bed at night, looking frustrated and rubbing her neck while a man next to her sleeps with his mouth open. A warm lamp hangs on the wall behind them. The woman appears disturbed by the man's snoring or sleep talking.

Why do we talk in our sleep? ‘It’s a glitch.’

By Lauren Leffer

A vintage photo collage shows a man in a suit and glasses looking at a scientific apparatus, with old newspaper clippings in the background discussing "experiments" and "vegetable material" and the possibility of creating food.

100 years ago, scientists thought we’d be eating food made from air

By Bill Gourgey

X-ray scan of two pieces of luggage showing densely packed electronics, wires, and personal items in vivid colors.

What do TSA bag scanners actually see?

By Diana Hubbell

A young girl in a pink polka-dot swimsuit naps on a towel at the beach, wearing pink sunglasses pushed up on her head.

Ask Us Anything

Why does the beach make you so tired?

By Lauren Leffer

Steven Spielberg, director of ‘Jaws,’ films the mechanical shark on set.

50 years of the ‘Jaws effect’

By Laura Baisas

an airplane lavatory with a toilet and sink

Ask Us Anything

How do airplane toilets work?

Macy's fireworks display over Manhattan on the 4th of July

How pyrotechnic wizards orchestrate the Macy’s 4th of July fireworks

a doctor usess a tongue depressor to examine a young boy's throat

Do we need our tonsils?

By Lauren Leffer

Charlie Chaplin looking through icy window in The Gold Rush

Long-lost Charlie Chaplin film meticulously restored after 100 years

text in the background, a man sitting at the first tv in foreground

100 years ago, the battle for television raged

By Bill Gourgey

a smart watch and phone illuminate as a woman is sleeping

Can tracking make my sleep worse? The quiet torment of sleep tech.

an aerial train car set on top of text

A century ago, suspended monorails were serious mass-transit contenders

By Bill Gourgey

a cut out from old magazine on text background

Why we can’t squash the common cold, even after 100 years of studying it

By Bill Gourgey

a man with long dark hair and beard is wearing a white and green robe and holding a shepherd's crook. he is a actor portraying saint patrick

Where are St. Patrick’s remains? It’s a hot debate.

By Laura Baisas

a man in a diving tube on text

100 years of deep-sea filmmaking and ocean exploration

By Bill Gourgey

a woman and a patent

The forgotten story of the woman who invented the dishwasher

Carhartt Detroit Re-Engineered jacket laying on some grass

How Carhartt re-engineered a 1950s work jacket that became an unlikely fashion icon

By Stan Horaczek

An NA Negroni sitting on the arm of an Adirondack chair with the Cascade Mountains in the background.

Inside the first non-alcoholic distillery in the United States

Roadtrips to roadmaps: Inside Rockford Fosgate’s speaker development process

Roadtrips to roadmaps: Inside Rockford Fosgate’s speaker development process

inflated balloon ready to launch

Alien-looking balloons might be the next weapon in the fight against wildfires

By Sarah Scoles

What tangled headphones can teach us about DNA

By Ryan F. Mandelbaum

A rendering of AI-assisted traffic light systems.

The future of open city streets could start with smarter traffic lights

Garbage in space illustrated in blacks and reds

How harpoons, magnets, and ion blasts could help us clean up space junk

By Tatyana Woodall

An illustration of worms in caves in an article about their benefits to humanity.

Cave worms could hold the secrets to a better life

By Sarah Scoles

An illustration of science's dirtiest jobs.

10 of science’s dirtiest jobs

By Leigh Cowart

Grapes, cocktail, pie, and oil illustrated on a red background to show examples of weed edibles

The tasty chemicals flavoring the edible cannabis boom

Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York, on three Polaroid photos

This historic Brooklyn cemetery shows us a future without lawns

By Ryan Goldberg

Gen Z and millennial kid and parent with curly hair and leather jackets sticking their tongues out in the mirror of a red motorcycle

The myth of generations, debunked

By Yasmin Tayag

Hands holding phone showing Google calendar chat feature on screen

You can now chat with your guests directly on Google Calendar. Here’s how.

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

Exercise, brainwaves, light, headaches, and more affect sleep

5 reasons you can’t sleep

By Eleanor Cummins

This century-old technology could be the key to unlocking America’s renewable energy future

This century-old technology could be the key to unlocking America’s renewable energy future

By James Dinneen

pedestrian traffic light with red background

Designing spaces with marginalized people in mind makes them better for everyone

By Eleanor Cummins

Hand holding a phone with a map in front of an empty road.

No cell service? These are the best offline apps.

fisherman holding a rope on a boat

Post-pandemic seafood could be more sustainable. Here’s how tech is driving the change.

By Virginia Gewin

White birds on a pink, purple, and green illustration of the Fukushima nuclear plant

5 famous environmental disasters where humans and nature healed together

By Meera Subramanian

Nation's largest public housing project next to a power plant

At New York City’s biggest power plant, a switch to clean energy will help a neighborhood breathe easier

Three people in prison jumpsuits behind orange bars and the SARS-CoV-2 virus illustrations superimposed in four spots

On surviving—and leaving—prison during a pandemic

By Sarah Scoles

Nuria Tamarit illustration

Five dolls that changed the world

By Erin Blakemore

Android and iPhone

Twenty features you didn’t know Android and iOS stole from each other

winter ultramarathon

Fitness & Exercise

These ultramarathoners say life is easier after running 40 miles on frozen backwoods trails

Surfers are riding a wave of new technologies to their Olympic debut

anatomy of a laugh

Why does laughing feel so stinkin’ good?

By Sara Chodosh

wooden derby cars

Meet the dads who can’t quit pinewood derby racing—even after their kids are over it

By Andrew Zaleski

It’s not just you: Restaurants have gotten too loud. But there are some fixes.

By Chris Berdik

joan wong illustration

Seven mysterious sounds science has yet to solve

By Erin Blakemore

Jacques Kleynhans illustration

Why you’re powerless to ignore a crying baby

By Sara Chodosh