TECH

What Does it Matter if I'm Allergic to Eggs? (A Flu Shot FAQ)

Since we're right in the middle of flu shot season, here are the answers to a few questions you might be mulling over on your way to get your injection of this year's vaccine cocktail. How long have flu shots been

10 Unusual Playgrounds From Around the World

Playgrounds have come a long way since the early days of hot, steel slides and open-backed infant swings. Here's some that are more than just seesaws and monkey bars

Do Blind People See Things in Their Dreams?

A question from reader Josiah: "Do blind people see when they dream?Â I think there are two sides to the question, dealing with people who were born blind, and those who used to be able to see." Whether visual imagery is present in the dreams of the blin

9 Spiders and the Stars They Were Named For

When I read that a new spider species was named Heteropoda davidbowie in honor of David Bowie, it reminded me of several other celebrities whose names were enshrined in taxonomy because there are so many new spiders being discovered as distinct species. W

How Does Scratching Relieve an Itch?

If you have an itch, you scratch it. Scratch and itch; they go together like peas and carrots and everyone—humans, apes, dogs and cats—knows it. What we didn't understand for a very long time was the physiological connection between the two&md

The Quick 10: 10 Bizarre Video Games

Everyone knows the video game classics "“ you can't go wrong with Mario, Zelda, or Donkey Kong. But there are some games out there that make you really wonder what the publisher was thinking when they green-lighted the idea. Although, to be fair, a coup

7 Space Missions to Remember

This is the International Year of Astronomy. The U.N. and International Astronomical Union have declared it so, but with a slogan like "The Universe -- yours to discover," it could be sponsored by the auto club. Still, if you've lost track of those wond

8 Uses of the @ symbol on Twitter

Ever wonder how the symbol "˜@' can mean so many different things on Twitter? I did, and spent some time poking around online to find the answers. Having stumbled upon a very well written, informative entry on the subject over on Chicago-based tech guru L

New TV Alert: Science Channel & Popular Science Team Up for "Future Of..."

Starting tonight at 9pm (ET/PT) and on Mondays hereafter, a new science show hits The Science Channel -- it's called Popular Science's Future Of.... I've seen the first few episodes, and think it's worth watching. The premise is simple: the host -- blo

How 16 Electronics Companies Got Their Names

Most of us spend a lot of time staring at a computer or TV screen, playing video games, or gabbing into our cell phones. The brand names for these products are all familiar, but where did they come from in the first place?

Former pro football player Jim Brown filed a lawsuit against Sony and Electronic Arts.

Not Playing Around: 8 Lawsuits Involving Video Games

These 8 celebrities and athletes who took issue with their portrayal in video games and advertisements.

How Does the Treadmill Know How Many Calories I've Burned?

How do they measure the calorie content of food? When you lose weight, where does it go? Matt Soniak has the answers to these questions and more. How does the treadmill know how many calories I've

3 Solved Math Mysteries (and 2 That Still Plague Us)

Mathematics has fascinated the human race nearly as long as our existence. Some of the coincidences between numbers and their applications are incredibly neat, and some of the most deceptively simple ones continue to stump us and even our modern computer

The 16 Members of the U.S. Intelligence Community

With 16 agencies and organizations working both independently and together to collect, analyze, and disseminate information in the interest of protecting U.S. national security, it's difficult to keep track of who exactly does what among the 16 members of