Mental Floss

SCIENCE

iStock

15 Blissfully Cool Facts About Ice

It's summer. Time to think about the science of the cubes clinking in your drink.

DeathLab // YouTube

Design Concept Imagines an Illuminated Cemetery of the Future

Constellation Park could offer an urban alternative to traditional burial.

Poulsen et al. 2016. PLOS One.

Unique Glow Helps Identify Two New Fish Species

Mirrors on the fishes’ bellies help control and direct their glow.

iStock

Bending Sticks Into Tools Is Apparently NBD for Crows

Researchers previously believed a crow named Betty was a genius because they’d seen her bend a twig into a hooked tool. It turns out Betty was just…average.

© CDO courtesy of the University of Arizona

How Living Inside Biosphere 2 Changed These Scientists' Lives

Taber MacCallum and Jane Poynter witnessed the most affecting solar eclipse of their lives in 1992. That's because as they watched the Sun disappear behind the Moon’s shadow, they were also watching their oxygen supplies slipping away.

Neptune image from Voyager courtesy NASA/JPL

Scientists Spot Mysterious Object Beyond Neptune

Its orbit is very abnormal.

ODD ANDERSEN/Getty

Why Did the Olympic Diving Pool Turn Green?

The perfect combination of factors made the diving pool a hotbed for algae.

John Cooke via Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

DNA Shows Infamous ‘Piltdown Man’ Hoax Was Two Parts Human, One Part Ape

But who was behind the hoax?

Study: The First Americans Didn't Arrive by the Bering Land Bridge

For much of the 20th century, scientists believed that the first settlers of the Americas could only have arrived one way.

iStock

An Artificial Pancreas Will Likely Be Available by 2018

"This is, at least at the moment, a bridge to a cure until a biological cure is found.”

iStock

6 of Your Favorite Summer Scents Explained by Chemistry

Breathe them in.

Paul Morris via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 2.0

Humming Might Not Coax Snails Out of Their Shells

Many coastal residents swear a little mouth music is all it takes to bring a common periwinkle out of its shell.

Biblioteca aga via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 3.0

Dolphin Moms May Start Teaching Their Calves Before They're Born

When it comes to pregnancy chatter, dolphins are actually a lot like us.

YouTube // ISAS

Archaeologists Find Remains of "High-Status" Women in Cahokia Burial Mound

The pre-Columbian mound had long been characterized as a testament to male power and warfare.

iStock

Scientists Spot Rare Arabian Sand Cat for the First Time Since 2005

The nocturnal felines are notoriously elusive.

Sarah&Boston via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 2.0

340-Year-Old Cheese Recovered From Swedish Shipwreck

The stench was likened to an extra-pungent Roquefort.

iStock

Why Do We Feel Stiff in the Morning? Blame Biological Clocks

A study of arthritic mice finds that the body suppresses inflammation at night.

Screenshot from YouTube

Researchers Discover a New Type of Fire Called "Blue Whirl"

The discovery could make oil spill clean-ups more efficient.

Kawakami et al., Primates (2016)

Baby Monkeys Are the Most Smiley Sleepers Around

D'awwww.

iStock

Dissatisfied With Your Marriage? Sleep On It

A small study of young couples found that people who got a little extra sleep were happier with their relationships the next day.

7 Animals You Didn't Know Could Catch Some Air

Taking to the skies isn’t something only animals with wings (or planes) can do.

岡部碩道 via Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

Scientists Find Genetic Root of Limb Regrowth

In the three species they studied, the ability to regenerate lost limbs has the same genetic mechanism.

Getty Images

Why Are There Suddenly So Many Corpse Flowers in Bloom?

The flower's infrequent blooms are popping up everywhere, and scientists aren't sure why.

iStock

Some Sloths Are More Slothful Than Others

One species has the lowest field metabolic rate ever recorded in a mammal.