Mental Floss

SCIENCE

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The Orionid Meteor Shower Peaks This Weekend

Look up!

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Some Scientists Suggest Chronic Anxiety Is a Learning Disorder

One study suggests an inability to adapt to volatile situations is partly to blame.

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The Science of Tearjerkers: Why We Love It When Movies Make Us Cry

And why we pay good money to watch them.

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Listen to the Eerie Song of Antarctica's Largest Ice Shelf

The sound was impossible to hear until recently.

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New Study Reveals 'Hyper-Alarming' Decline of Rainforest Insect Populations

And that means declines in lizards, frogs, birds, and all the other creatures that feed on those insects.

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This 'Time-Traveling Illusion' Is Designed to Trick Your Brain

We see what we think we should see.

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How Did 6 Feet Become the Standard Grave Depth?

It started with the plague, but it's no longer accurate.

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One Good Reason Not to Hold in a Fart: It Could Leak Out of Your Mouth

Science says so.

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17 Facts About the Apollo Program

NASA was officially established in October 1958. Just two years later, the agency started what would become one of the defining programs of the 20th century—Apollo, which put humans on the moon in 1969.

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Why Tigers Find Calvin Klein's Obsession for Men Cologne So Irresistible

It's musky, with notes of lavender and myrrh. And big cats love it.

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A Chemical in Spider Venom Could Be a Key to Killing Skin Cancer Cells

A spider capable of killing you in 15 minutes might one day save your life.

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Bees Across America Stopped Buzzing During Last Year's Total Solar Eclipse

Some insects act differently during an eclipse. Bees are one of them.

Anna Atkins (1799–1871), Dictyota dichotoma, in the young state & in fruit, from PartXI of Photographs of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions, 1849-1850, cyanotype

How 19th-Century Photographer Anna Atkins Changed the Way We Look at Science

Her identity was a mystery for decades.

Colorized scanning electron micrograph of E. coli, a common gut bacteria

10 Smart Facts About Your Gut

Your gut has millions of neurons. And that's just one of its intelligent features.

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What's the Difference Between Venom and Poison?

It’s all about how it enters the body.

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10 Memorable Neil deGrasse Tyson Quotes

America's preeminent badass astrophysicist turns 60 years old today.

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Florida's Red Tide Has Reached the Miami Area

The phenomenon is rare on Florida's east coast.

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What Causes Hiccups?

The answer depends on whom you ask.

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PTSD Might Be Contagious

A survivor's spouse—or even their therapist—could be at risk.

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Australian Zoo Says Fruit Is Now Too Sugary for Its Animals

You won't see one of its monkeys munching a banana.

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Put Down the Tablet! New Study Suggests Too Much Screen Time May Affect Children's Cognitive Development

Staring into the internet void might have consequences.

Are you being haunted, or just dealing with a mold problem?

6 Scientific Explanations for Ghosts

A surprising number of people believe in ghosts—but there may be a more scientific basis to things that go bump in the night than a restless afterlife.

NASA/JPL/Cornell University

Astrophysicists Are Selling Lab-Made Martian Dirt to Researchers for $20 a Kilogram

The Kennedy Space Center has already ordered half a ton of the stuff.

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All of Your Nemeses Probably Share This 'Dark' Personality Type

Researchers have summed up everything you can't stand about certain people in one sentence.