Why Do Onions Make You Cry?
Cutting an onion breaks its cells, setting off a chemical chain reaction that releases a gas which irritates your eyes. The science, and the…
Read article →Wacky World
Fun facts, odd science and surprising history.
Why Is the Sky Blue (and Sunsets Red)? Explained in Two Minutes
Why Is the Sky Blue (and Sunsets Red)? Explained in Two Minutes
The sky is blue because air scatters short (blue) wavelengths of sunlight much more than long (red) ones — Rayleigh scattering. Why it is…
Read article →Who Invented Zero? India’s Gift to Mathematics
Who Invented Zero? India’s Gift to Mathematics
Zero as a number — something you can add, subtract and multiply — was first written down in India. Brahmagupta's rules from 628 CE,…
Read article →The First “Computer Bug” Was a Real Moth (Mostly)
The First “Computer Bug” Was a Real Moth (Mostly)
In 1947, engineers working on the Harvard Mark II found a moth stuck in a relay and taped it into the logbook as the…
Read article →Why Is a Week Seven Days Long?
Why Is a Week Seven Days Long?
Months follow the Moon and years follow the Sun, but the seven-day week follows the seven "planets" ancient people could see. Why Ravivar to…
Read article →Why Do Clocks Go Clockwise?
Why Do Clocks Go Clockwise?
Clocks turn "clockwise" because of sundials: in the northern hemisphere a sundial's shadow sweeps left to right. The short history of why every clock…
Read article →Why Is Indian Standard Time 5 Hours 30 Minutes Ahead?
Why Is Indian Standard Time 5 Hours 30 Minutes Ahead?
IST is set by the 82.5° East meridian near Mirzapur — exactly 5½ hours from Greenwich. How India chose a half-hour time zone and…
Read article →Why Is the “Save” Icon a Floppy Disk? A Short History
Why Is the “Save” Icon a Floppy Disk? A Short History
The floppy disk save icon outlived the floppy disk by decades. Where the 3.5-inch disk came from, why it became the save symbol, and…
Read article →The Surprising History of Undo, Cut, Copy and Paste
The Surprising History of Undo, Cut, Copy and Paste
Where Ctrl+Z, Ctrl+X, Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V came from — from Xerox PARC’s modeless editing to the Apple Lisa and Windows keyboards we use today.
Read article →10 Tech Myths People Still Believe
10 Tech Myths People Still Believe
Incognito mode makes you anonymous, you must drain your battery, more megapixels means better photos — ten common tech myths, busted.
Read article →Time is Greatest Gift
Time is Greatest Gift
Time is your most precious gift because you only have a set amount of it. You can make more money, but you cannot make…
Read article →Phantom Vibration Syndrome
Phantom Vibration Syndrome
Phantom vibration syndrome or phantom ringing is the perception that one’s mobile phone is vibrating or ringing when it is not. Other terms include…
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