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Popular Science answers your most outlandish, mind-burning questions, from the ordinary to the off-the-wall.

Latest in Ask Us Anything

Anything with mass cannot reach lightspeed.
Science

What would happen to the human body moving at near lightspeed?

By Lauren Leffer

a slice of jelly toast faced down on the floor
Health

Is the five-second rule true? Don’t push your luck.

By Clarissa Brincat

dog kissing human licking face
Science

Why do dogs lick humans? It could be a sign of affection.

By Lauren Leffer

A Tesla Model 3 engaged in the so-called ‘Full Self Driving’ mode reportedly plowed through a deer without ever detecting it. While more advanced driverless systems use a mix of sensors including LiDAR, Tesla is trying to attain full autonomy using only cameras.
Science

Why are ‘driverless’ cars still hitting things?

By Mack DeGeurin

mercury broken thermometer
Science

Are ‘heavy metals’ dangerous? Yes, but not everything you’ve heard is true.

By Lauren Leffer

Peach and Blossom, the National Thanksgiving Turkeys, are seen on the South Lawn of the White House before recieving a Presidential Pardon from US President Joe Biden in Washington, DC, on November 25, 2024.
Science

How did Thanksgiving turkeys get so darn big?

By Mack DeGeurin

a body on a morgue table with only the feet showing and a toe tag on the big toe
Health

What happens when you donate your body to science? 

By RJ Mackenzie

brain glitch
Science

How does science explain déjà vu? It’s a brain glitch with a purpose.

By Julia Craven

toes in pool
Science

Why do humans have toenails? Because we’re evolutionary ‘weirdos.’

By Lauren Leffer

the sound of your own voice
Science

Why do people hate the sound of their own voice?

By Julia Craven

raw milk poured into a glass
Health

Is raw milk safe? Science has a clear answer.

By Lauren Leffer

An image of the Sun from June 20, 2013, at 11:15 p.m. EDT.
Science

Why can’t we just launch all of Earth’s garbage into the sun?

By Harri Weber

young woman in bed with alarm clock and eyes opened suffering insomnia and sleep disorder thinking about his problem on dark studio lighting in sleeping and nightmare issues
Science

What causes you to jolt awake right before falling asleep?

By Andrew Paul

Pompeii ruins
Science

Without humans, what would happen to Earth?

By Lauren Leffer

A graphic depicting the inner workings of a 2024 Toyota Mirai, showing the vehicle's hydrogen storage system, fuel cell, and electric motor.
Science

Why aren’t we driving hydrogen powered cars yet? There’s a reason EVs won.

By Harri Weber

Janet Leigh screaming during iconic shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's 'Psycho.'
Science

Why do jump scares terrify us so much? Blame evolution.

By Andrew Paul

poppy seed bagel
Science

What causes positive drug tests? It’s not just drugs… or poppy seeds.

By Lauren Leffer

Group of Snow Geese in elegant flight against blue sky at Bosque del Apache wildlife refuge in New Mexico in winter.
Environment

Why do birds migrate? Scientists have a few major theories.

By Lauren Leffer

A variety of behaviors can foster muscle tension and lead to knots.
Science

What is a muscle knot actually? A pain in the neck, but not a knot.

By Harri Weber

This artist concept illustrates the frenzied activity at the core of our Milky Way galaxy. The galactic center hosts a supermassive black hole in the region known as Sagittarius A*, or Sgr A*, with a mass of about four million times that of our sun.
Science

Can the black hole in the center of our galaxy expand to our solar system? 

By Alex Hazlett