Here’s something Queen Victoria unexpectedly had in common with many of today’s smartphone users: the propensity to shorten words. The queen was an avid diarist and kept a regular journal throughout her reign (1837-1901), so historians have ample evidence to back up this claim. But there’s been a new discovery that has provided further insight […]
Born in Punjab, Pakistan, Zahida Qureshi was paralyzed after a bout of polio as a baby. She learned how to crawl to get around as a child, but she didn’t receive her first wheelchair until she was a young adult entering university. Despite the challenges she faced, Qureshi dreamed of creating change in the world
Many people don’t think about their clothing being anything more than a fashion statement, uniform, or necessity — but the clothes you put on could one day power up some popular handheld products. Researchers at Nottingham Trent University have created a new type of fabric that can charge simple electronic devices via solar energy: an
Tiny Solar Panels Embedded in Clothing Can Charge a Phone or Smartwatch  Continue Reading »
Sometimes a nickel isn’t worth just 5 cents. Last week, one from 1913 sold for a whopping $4.2 million dollars. The nickel in question, called the Walton 1913 Liberty Head Nickel, was acquired by GreatCollections auction house and boasts “one of the greatest stories to ever be told in U.S. numismatics,” per a press release.
Tammy Holloway-Servedio, a private pilot and senior manager for United Airlines, grew up as an only child. So when her mother passed away a few months before Christmas in 2019, almost 20 years after her father’s death, she found herself feeling alone as the holidays approached. But in a miraculous twist of fate, she was
Pilots Discover They’re Long-Lost Sisters — And Had Likely Crossed Paths Before Continue Reading »
Grandmothers are forces to be reckoned with. Many provide wonderful blessings to their families — namely things like unconditional love, wisdom, and unending home-cooked meals. But that’s far from where their roles ends — certain groovy grandmas have let their age serve as inspiration to maximize their sunset years. They’ve have been known to dance
The human brain is considered by many to be the most complicated thing yet discovered in the universe — so it stands to reason that brain surgery would be one of the most complicated medical procedures. On October 10 in Italy, a patient turned that procedure into an even more impressive showcase of human capability:
Man Played His Saxophone While Undergoing Nine-Hour Brain Surgery Continue Reading »
Listening to the chirps and trills of birds can decrease anxiety and paranoia, according to a new study out of Germany. The study, published October 13, tested the effects of traffic noise and birdsong on 295 randomly selected participants, who listened to a few minutes of typical city traffic noise and bird choruses at low
Chirps and Trills: Birdsong Can Help Reduce Anxiety and Paranoia, Study Shows Continue Reading »
Constellations, planets, and other celestial events aren’t the only exciting things happening in the world of astronomy this month. A new study is heralding an exciting development in space sciences: a method by which a supernova — the massive explosion marking a star’s death — can be observed as it transpires in real-time. Lead researcher
A team at Yale University took inspiration from turtles and tortoises to develop an innovative amphibious robot that can walk on land and swim — and could potentially help researchers monitor ocean ecosystems. Called ART, or Amphibious Robotic Turtle, it’s a shape-shifting robot with legs that can morph into flippers once introduced to water, a
Meet ART: The Amphibious Robotic Turtle With Limbs That Morph Into Flippers Continue Reading »
