Popular Science. Demystifying the worlds of science and technology since 1872.
The only person to win an Olympic medal and a Nobel Peace Prize
Philip Noel-Baker ran middle-distance races at the Olympics before dedicating his life to disarmament.
Chicago’s rat hole wasn’t made by a rat
Plus a retirement home for penguins and other weird things we learned this week.
Rachel Feltman
At Popular Science, we report and write dozens of stories every week. And while a lot of the fun facts we stumble across make it into our articles, there are lots of other weird facts that we just keep around the office. So we figured, why not share those with you? Welcome to The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week.
Latest Articles
From bones to steel: Why ice skates were a terrible idea that worked
The long, strange journey from prehistoric bone skates to the high-tech blades of today.
Amazon’s 180 internet satellites are already too bright. It wants 3,000 more.
A new study determined 92% of Amazon Leo’s satellites may currently impede research.
Digg is back to take on Reddit, and you can use it now
There’s some new competition for ‘the front page of the internet’.
80% of Americans may opt for cremation by 2045
Rising costs, shifting beliefs, and environmental concerns are accelerating the decline of casket burials.
The most dangerous type of precipitation isn’t snow
And that time the U.S. government censored the weather.
This odd vine contradicts long-standing evolutionary theory
‘They don’t follow the classic ideas of how we would have imagined the species evolved.’
What’s a false memory? Psychologists explain how your brain can lie.
Fruit of the Loom’s logo never had a cornucopia and you didn’t have pizza for dinner last Friday.
Data centers are facing an image problem. The tech industry is spending millions to rebrand them.
Through television ads and online campaigns, industry-backed groups are promising jobs, clean energy, and lower electricity bills.
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