Science fiction is the only genre that tends to focus on the future. This means that filmmakers are able to depict hopeful visions of what lies ahead, like in Gene Roddenberry’s Star Trek, or a world that has fallen apart. One of the obstacles to making a great science fiction film, however, is showing a

Nintendo didn’t always make video games. The company was formed in 1889, and before Mario, they tried to sell pretty well everything you can imagine. We’re talking goods and services that no sane man would ever link to video gaming. It would be impossible to list everything Nintendo has tried to sell because they’ve tried

Social media companies are hijacking our minds by exploiting psychological vulnerabilities to manipulate and control our time and attention. That may sound dramatic, but it’s exactly what former employees of these companies, like Facebook cofounder Sean Parker, are beginning to admit. Like fast-food companies that exploit our human cravings for fat and salt, social media

The animal kingdom is constantly under a microscope, having been gazed upon by thousands of researchers over the centuries. Even so, every year, mind-blowing new fauna appears and old familiars break the rules in dramatic ways. The most wonderful discoveries are often the weirdest—things that burst, bones that glow, and a language that resembles human

Everybody thinks they have a great novel in them. Most never get around to writing it, but some chance the rejection and put their thoughts on paper, mostly without commercial success. We tend to think of these people as destined to toil in lonely isolation, forever unknown. However, before they made their marks on history,

You’ve probably seen the periodic table of the elements before. Perhaps it still haunts your dreams, or maybe it came off as nothing more than requisite visual background noise meant to make a science classroom look more sophisticated. There’s a lot more to this seemingly random collection of blocks, however, than meets the eye. The

What could be more exciting than searching for lost treasure? You might think that the concept is antiquated and has no place in today’s modern world, but you would be wrong. There are plenty of hidden treasures still out there, waiting to reveal their secrets to intrepid explorers. Indeed, the practice is very much alive

Smell is the most underrated of the five senses (or six, nine, or more, depending on who you talk to). So many amazing experiences in the world would be nothing without smell—eating a delicious bowl of Thai green curry (or anything that’s made with garlic), revisiting a childhood home, or even Christmas. Smell is also

Energy winds up the world of work and makes money move. New concepts, renewable projects, and heavy investment are promising a bright future to power the world’s electrical and transport needs. But not everything works as promised or hoped. Let’s look at some of the not-so-successful ideas of the past that might make us thankful

Scarce finds add new words to the history books, and none are more visceral than death sites from the past. Most have faded enough to be overlooked by the casual passerby. But sometimes, someone stumbles upon skeletons while experts head for known battlefields. Whether by accidental or on purpose, their musty depths hold treasures that

Some body parts get all the attention, whether it’s the famous essentials like the heart, brain, and liver or the beauty of smiles or athletic musculature. However, there is a whole world of phenomenal body parts that deserve some more attention. These unsung anatomical heroes might not be the most eye-catching, but they’re why you

Grade school takes all the spice out of history and makes it seem like everyone in the past sat around drinking tea to the sounds of harpsichord music. English teachers, for example, usually don’t talk about the dark and dirty secrets of our favorite writers, but their lives are full of them. For some reason,

The night sky appears static, but the universe is a busy monkey. Cutting-edge science follows its trail, and increasingly, the pickings are unusual and spectacular. Sometimes, answers are given with a flourish or mysteries throw back a couple of sticky wrenches. From the smallest diamond on Earth to the biggest structure in the known universe

Millions of people travel across the world to experience the beauty, grandeur, and heritage of some of the planet’s most popular landmarks. However, there is often more than meets the eye to many historic attractions, things most tourists will never realize are there. For example, many famous landmarks house hidden spaces you may not notice

Until recently, the idea of living on another planet has been little more than science fiction. Lately, though, we’ve had the chance to see one of wildest dreams slowly unfold into reality. SpaceX and Mars One have started projects to colonize Mars, the European Space Agency has been talking about colonizing the Moon, and China

With the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle approaching, it is useful to look back through the history of royal weddings to see what we can expect. Certainly, there will be bunting, cakes, and flag waving. If they are lucky, the worst thing that will happen will be minor royalty turning up in

Ancient Egypt has fascinated the imagination since we first cleaned the sands away from the Great Sphinx. For the past two centuries, it has been an obsession for archaeologists and historians. It is a land whose mysteries we have spent years slowly unraveling. Even after all this time, though, there is still a great deal

In 2016, the University of Duisburg-Essen reported that more than 40 percent of the 263 heterosexual men who were surveyed could see themselves having a sex with a robot. Before sex toys got to the point where robots were a possibility, however, people had to settle for blow-up dolls and other rudimentary sex dolls. Many

Hollywood is a place mired in scandal and disrepute. This was just as true back in its early days. It seems that from the very start, the glitz and glamour were just a thin surface layer that hid the filth and vice beneath. That may actually be part of what makes Hollywood so alluring. People

Graveyards—there’s something inherently hair-raising about them, and to many, they’re some of the creepiest and most taboo places on the planet. What’s scarier than your typical, run-of-the-mill cemetery, though? How about one that houses the remains of millions of Parisians and is located directly underneath France’s capital? Yeah, probably that. For a city that’s known

Hackers have been around for a lot longer than you might think. It didn’t start with the Internet—people have been breaking codes and hacking into networks for as long as it’s been possible. Long before computers, hackers were already around, breaking into phone networks, punch-card machines, and even into telegraphs. Some hackers plied their skills

Driver’s education first began in the United Kingdom as a business in 1909. Twenty-five years later, the first high school driver’s ed course was opened in the United States. It offered students lessons in driving skills as well as hands-on training. Since that time, such programs have been plagued, particularly in America, with unscrupulous instructors,

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I (1914–1918). By 1914, the airplane was barely a decade old but it already held the potential to revolutionize warfare. Air combat during those brief four years resulted in one of the steepest technological and tactical learning curves in history. Here, we investigate

The “flat Earth” idea has been weirdly popular lately. Working from the theories of scientific minds like Tila Tequila and B.o.B., a whole group of people have insisted that our world is as flat as a pancake for the past couple of years. It’s a silly idea, but it does bring up an interesting question.

Prior to the discovery of antibiotics, severe bacterial infections were one of the major causes of human deaths throughout the developed world. We all have probably used antibiotics at some point in our lives to treat an infection. Before the discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming, people died from otherwise small scrapes and cuts through

Before plowing his van into a crowd of people in Toronto and bringing ten innocent lives to a horrific end on April 23, 2018, Alek Minassian left a strange message for the world: “The Incel Rebellion has already begun!” He wasn’t talking about a terrorist group. He was talking about a group of sexually frustrated

Getting sick can be scary, especially when you’ve been infected with something that’s messing with your private parts—like gonorrhea, the second most common sexually transmitted disease (STD) in the US. Gonorrhea causes pain when urinating, discharge, sore throat, fever, and achiness. Some of its symptoms are ignored because they’re associated with other illnesses, and some

There’s no room for stories of evil monsters, ghostly ships, or oracles and their priestesses in the cold light of the rational 21st century. The ancient myths and legends that have come down to us are seen as no more than the creation of someone’s overworked imagination. However, many of these seemingly impossible tales do

Humans seem to have an innate, experience-based desire to alter their reality. It’s incredible that we can take certain substances to change our perception and sometimes even rebuild perception itself. And we’ve found more than a few such substances over the years. Psychedelics are drugs primarily known for causing visual and auditory hallucinations and altered

Practically everyone watches TV. Whether it’s political commentary, the NFL, or the Real Housewives franchise, there truly is something for everyone. And while TV can lead to some headed arguments on- and off-screen, some TV shows caused people to take their anger one step further—ending in murder. While there are tons of lists about movies