I Made a Big Mistake

From the road to the science lab, human error can have curious effects. In the series I Made a Big Mistake, PopSci explores mishaps and misunderstandings, in all their shame and glory.

Latest in I Made a Big Mistake

American actor Richard Dreyfuss (left) (as marine biologist Hooper) and British author and actor Robert Shaw (as shark fisherman Quint) look off the stern of Quint's fishing boat the 'Orca' at the terrifying approach of the mechanical giant shark dubbed 'Bruce' in a scene from the film 'Jaws' directed by Steven Spielberg, 1975.
Environment

Why the creators of ‘Jaws’ regretted making sharks the monsters

By Laura Baisas

Model of the Titanic and the Boeing 737 Max at the Museum of Failure.
Technology

The Museum of Failure challenges how we think about mistakes

By Charlotte Hu

super glue invention mistake
Technology

How a shot at making better gunsights became Super Glue instead

By Kelsey D. Atherton

A glowing bluish star remnant bursts with X-ray beams in an artist's illustration.
Science

How astronomers traced a puzzling signal to a lunchtime mistake

By Briley Lewis

A short-haired teenage boy wearing a black shirt and grinning with his head stuck in a metal fence.
DIY

Read this if you or someone nearby is stuck in a fence

By John Kennedy

Why the DeLorean DMC-12 was a star on the screen but not the road
Technology

Why the DeLorean DMC-12 was a star on the screen but not the road

By Kristin Shaw

Vintage robots
Technology

An electric cow, a robot mailman, and other automatons we overestimated

By Bill Gourgey

a person showing a sunburn on their shoulder and back, probably looking for a sunburn treatment.
DIY

A sunburn treatment that actually works

By Sandra Gutierrez G., Claire Maldarelli