http://discovermagazine.com Science, Technology, and The Future http://discovermagazine.com/2009/jun/20-things-you-didnt-know-about-movies http://discovermagazine.com/2009/jun/20-things-you-didnt-know-about-movies 4) Some things never change: Edison’s early film loops included one showing “cooch” dancers; another reenacted the decapitation of Mary, Queen of Scots—the first porn and horror flicks. Rebecca Coffey http://discovermagazine.com/2009/jun/20-things-you-didnt-know-about-movies/key_image Wed, 03 Jun 2009 01:40:00 -0500 Wed, 03 Jun 2009 01:40:00 -0500 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2009/may/20-things-you-didnt-know-about-tunnels http://discovermagazine.com/2009/may/20-things-you-didnt-know-about-tunnels New York has a forgotten one, Texas has a $2 billion wasted one, and Switzerland's building the longest. Jocelyn Rice http://discovermagazine.com/2009/may/20-things-you-didnt-know-about-tunnels/key_image Wed, 29 Apr 2009 10:15:00 -0500 Wed, 29 Apr 2009 10:15:00 -0500 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2009/apr/20-things-you-didn.t-know-about-money http://discovermagazine.com/2009/apr/20-things-you-didn.t-know-about-money 11) In a study last year, researchers found more cocaine residue on U.S. bills than on any other currency. Also found on money: staphylococcus bacteria and fecal matter. 17) The world’s first ATM accepted only checks laced with identifying traces of radioactive carbon-14. The inventor claimed users “would have to eat 136,000 checks” for the radioactivity to have any dangerous effects. Jason Stahl http://discovermagazine.com/2009/apr/20-things-you-didn.t-know-about-money/key_image Tue, 14 Apr 2009 10:45:00 -0500 Tue, 14 Apr 2009 10:45:00 -0500 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2009/mar/20-things-you-didn.t-know-about-time http://discovermagazine.com/2009/mar/20-things-you-didn.t-know-about-time 3) Daylight Saving Time began as a joke by Benjamin Franklin, who proposed waking people earlier on bright summer mornings so they might work more during the day and thus save candles. 19) Time has not been around forever. Most scientists believe it was created along with the rest of the universe in the Big Bang, 13.7 billion years ago. LeeAundra Temescu http://discovermagazine.com/2009/mar/20-things-you-didn.t-know-about-time/key_image Thu, 12 Mar 2009 08:45:00 -0500 Thu, 12 Mar 2009 08:45:00 -0500 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2009/feb/16-20-things-you-didnt-know-about-television http://discovermagazine.com/2009/feb/16-20-things-you-didnt-know-about-television What did the world's first TV look like? How big is the largest plasma TV in the world? Which mission did NASA lose the video recordings of? Rebecca Coffey http://discovermagazine.com/2009/feb/16-20-things-you-didnt-know-about-television/key_image Tue, 17 Feb 2009 08:45:00 -0600 Tue, 17 Feb 2009 08:45:00 -0600 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2009/jan/05-20-things-you-didnt-know-about-fat http://discovermagazine.com/2009/jan/05-20-things-you-didnt-know-about-fat Body fat can kill you, keep you warm, or power your boat. Jocelyn Rice http://discovermagazine.com/2009/jan/05-20-things-you-didnt-know-about-fat/key_image Mon, 05 Jan 2009 07:40:00 -0600 Mon, 05 Jan 2009 07:40:00 -0600 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2008/nov/03-20-things-you-didnt-know-about-elections http://discovermagazine.com/2008/nov/03-20-things-you-didnt-know-about-elections 5) On election night in 1952, TV viewers saw Walter Cron­kite sitting beside UNIVAC 1, which famously called the race for Eisenhower after only 7 percent of the vote had been tallied. 6) But it was a lie: Cronkite sat beside a cardboard panel with blinking Christmas lights. The real computer was projecting returns in Pennsylvania. LeeAundra Temescu http://discovermagazine.com/2008/nov/03-20-things-you-didnt-know-about-elections/key_image Mon, 03 Nov 2008 09:25:00 -0600 Mon, 03 Nov 2008 09:25:00 -0600 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2008/oct/01-20-things-you-didnt-know-about-genius http://discovermagazine.com/2008/oct/01-20-things-you-didnt-know-about-genius 7) Many 19th- and 20th-century creative geniuses acquired a reputation for promiscuity. Examples include Richard Feynman, Albert Einstein, and Bertrand Russell. 8) One theory suggests that male geniuses are unusually endowed with enthusiasm for risk taking, which is notoriously testosterone-linked. Rebecca Coffey http://discovermagazine.com/2008/oct/01-20-things-you-didnt-know-about-genius/key_image Wed, 01 Oct 2008 09:25:00 +0000 Wed, 01 Oct 2008 09:25:00 +0000 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2008/sep/27-20-things-you-didnt-know-about-telescopes http://discovermagazine.com/2008/sep/27-20-things-you-didnt-know-about-telescopes From Galileo to the Hubble, viewing space has come a long way. Susan Kruglinski http://discovermagazine.com/2008/sep/27-20-things-you-didnt-know-about-telescopes/key_image Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:30:00 +0000 Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:30:00 +0000 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2008/aug/14-20-things-you-didn.t-know-about-sports-technology http://discovermagazine.com/2008/aug/14-20-things-you-didn.t-know-about-sports-technology From luge suits to computerized tennis ball trackers, sports technology has chartered a path for modern athletes to move faster, go higher, and stay safer. Dean Christopher, with additional reporting by Andrew Grant and Susannah Locke http://discovermagazine.com/2008/aug/14-20-things-you-didn.t-know-about-sports-technology/key_image Thu, 14 Aug 2008 12:00:00 +0000 Thu, 14 Aug 2008 12:00:00 +0000 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2008/jul/20-things-you-didn.t-know-about-oil http://discovermagazine.com/2008/jul/20-things-you-didn.t-know-about-oil 16) In oil-rich Baku, Azerbaijan, villagers could once dig a hole in the ground with their hands, drop in a live coal, and start a fire. 17) In the United States, when people first noticed oil, they bottled it, slapped a label on, and sold it as a health tonic. Susan Kruglinski http://discovermagazine.com/2008/jul/20-things-you-didn.t-know-about-oil/key_image Sat, 28 Jun 2008 12:05:00 +0000 Sat, 28 Jun 2008 12:05:00 +0000 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2008/jun/19-20-things-you-didnt-know-about-summer-solstice http://discovermagazine.com/2008/jun/19-20-things-you-didnt-know-about-summer-solstice 10) Due to continued shifting of Earth’s axis, the Tropic of Cancer is now misnamed. On the current June solstice, the sun actually appears in the constellation Taurus. 8) Modern-day druids gather at England’s Stonehenge to mark the summer solstice. Many still don Celtic attire, even though a civilization known as the Beaker People finished Stonehenge a millennium before the Celts turned up. Dean Christopher http://discovermagazine.com/2008/jun/19-20-things-you-didnt-know-about-summer-solstice/key_image Thu, 19 Jun 2008 09:00:00 +0000 Thu, 19 Jun 2008 09:00:00 +0000 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2008/may/20-things-you-didn.t-know-about-recycling http://discovermagazine.com/2008/may/20-things-you-didn.t-know-about-recycling Happy Earth Day! Now help fix the planet. Jocelyn Rice and Amber Fields http://discovermagazine.com/2008/may/20-things-you-didn.t-know-about-recycling/key_image Tue, 22 Apr 2008 10:00:00 +0000 Tue, 22 Apr 2008 10:00:00 +0000 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2008/apr/19-20-things-you-didn.t-know-about-sex http://discovermagazine.com/2008/apr/19-20-things-you-didn.t-know-about-sex 10) The spiny anteater, an egg-laying mammal native to Australia and New Guinea, has a penis with four heads, but only two fit into the female at once. 17) Only a few vertebrates besides humans copulate face to face. Among those that sometimes do this: hamsters, beavers, and some primates, such as bonobos and orangutans. Dean Christopher http://discovermagazine.com/2008/apr/19-20-things-you-didn.t-know-about-sex/key_image Wed, 19 Mar 2008 09:30:00 +0000 Wed, 19 Mar 2008 09:30:00 +0000 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2008/mar/20-things-you-didn.t-know-about-relativity http://discovermagazine.com/2008/mar/20-things-you-didn.t-know-about-relativity 1) Who invented relativity? Bzzzt—wrong. Galileo hit on the idea in 1639. 8) Although Einstein was a teetotaler, when he finally completed his theory of relativity, he and his wife drank themselves under the table—the old-fashioned way to mess with your space-time continuum. Susan Kruglinski http://discovermagazine.com/2008/mar/20-things-you-didn.t-know-about-relativity/key_image Mon, 25 Feb 2008 11:05:00 +0000 Mon, 25 Feb 2008 11:05:00 +0000 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2008/feb/20-things-you-didn2019t-know-about-science-fiction http://discovermagazine.com/2008/feb/20-things-you-didn2019t-know-about-science-fiction 19) After Philip K. Dick’s death, fans built an android likeness of him that mimicked his mannerisms and quoted his writings. 20) In 2005, the Dickbot was misplaced by a baggage handler. It remains at large. Dean Christopher and Jocelyn Rice with additional reporting by William Shunn http://discovermagazine.com/2008/feb/20-things-you-didn2019t-know-about-science-fiction/key_image Wed, 30 Jan 2008 10:00:00 +0000 Wed, 30 Jan 2008 10:00:00 +0000 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2008/jan/20-things-you-didn.t-know-about-snow http://discovermagazine.com/2008/jan/20-things-you-didn.t-know-about-snow 11) Don’t eat the red snow, either: “Watermelon snow” smells like fresh watermelon and gets its ruddy color from a species of pigmented algae. The snow tastes great, but eating it will give you the runs. 17) Inuit cultures probably don't have hundreds of words for snow. Many linguists say there are so many Inuit dialects and so many ways to parse a word that it’s like counting how many words Europeans have for love. Susan Kruglinski http://discovermagazine.com/2008/jan/20-things-you-didn.t-know-about-snow/key_image Wed, 12 Dec 2007 07:00:00 +0000 Wed, 12 Dec 2007 07:00:00 +0000 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2007/dec/20-things-you-didn2019t-know-about-gold http://discovermagazine.com/2007/dec/20-things-you-didn2019t-know-about-gold 10) Gold is virtually indestructible and has been highly valued throughout history, so humans have always recycled it. Upwards of 85 percent of all the gold ever found is still being used today. 12) For more than 70 years, the standard treatment for rheumatoid arthritis was regular injections of a liquid suspension of gold, which acts as an anti-inflammatory. Doctors still don’t know why. LeeAundra Temescu http://discovermagazine.com/2007/dec/20-things-you-didn2019t-know-about-gold/key_image Thu, 15 Nov 2007 15:00:00 +0000 Thu, 15 Nov 2007 15:00:00 +0000 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2007/nov/20-things-you-didn2019t-know-about-living-in-space http://discovermagazine.com/2007/nov/20-things-you-didn2019t-know-about-living-in-space 15 Missing something? The vents on the space shuttle and International Space Station serve as the lost and found, sucking up anything that’s floating about unsecured. 16 The shuttle commode requires that astronauts align themselves precisely in the dead center of the seat. A mock-up of the shuttle toilet, complete with built-in camera, is used to train them how to position themselves. Corey S. Powell http://discovermagazine.com/2007/nov/20-things-you-didn2019t-know-about-living-in-space/key_image Tue, 30 Oct 2007 10:00:00 +0000 Tue, 30 Oct 2007 10:00:00 +0000 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2007/oct/20-things-you-didn2019t-know-about-the-surgeon-general http://discovermagazine.com/2007/oct/20-things-you-didn2019t-know-about-the-surgeon-general They weren't all the presidents' stooges. Dean Christopher http://discovermagazine.com/2007/oct/20-things-you-didn2019t-know-about-the-surgeon-general/key_image Fri, 05 Oct 2007 11:00:00 +0000 Fri, 05 Oct 2007 11:00:00 +0000 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2007/sep/20-things-you-didnt-know-about-hygiene http://discovermagazine.com/2007/sep/20-things-you-didnt-know-about-hygiene 18) TV kills! Television remotes are the worst carriers of bacteria in hospital rooms, worse even than toilet handles. 19) It is now believed President James Garfield died not from a gunshot but because doctors treated the president with manure-stained hands, causing a severe infection that killed him three months later. Liza Lentini and David Mouzon http://discovermagazine.com/2007/sep/20-things-you-didnt-know-about-hygiene/key_image Mon, 20 Aug 2007 18:00:00 +0000 Mon, 20 Aug 2007 18:00:00 +0000 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2007/aug/20-things-you-didn2019t-know-about-mosquitoes http://discovermagazine.com/2007/aug/20-things-you-didn2019t-know-about-mosquitoes 6 It would take 1,200,000 mosquitoes, each sucking once, to completely drain the average human of blood. In the Arctic, mosquitoes can bite a person as many as 9,000 times per minute. At that rate, an individual could lose half his blood in two hours. 11 When a mosquito detects the whine of the opposite sex, it begins to synchronize its own pitch to match that of the potential mate. Randy males can “relate” to girl frequencies in a second or two. Females take several times longer to synchronize. Dean Christopher http://discovermagazine.com/2007/aug/20-things-you-didn2019t-know-about-mosquitoes/key_image Mon, 23 Jul 2007 16:00:00 +0000 Mon, 23 Jul 2007 16:00:00 +0000 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2007/jul/20-things-you-didn2019t-know-about-galileo http://discovermagazine.com/2007/jul/20-things-you-didn2019t-know-about-galileo 13 Although he formulated the laws of universal acceleration, there is no evidence he ever dropped balls off the Leaning Tower of Pisa to prove them. 18 He also sketched various inventions, including a candle-and-mirror combination to reflect light through a building, an automatic tomato picker, a pocket comb that doubled as an eating utensil, and a ballpoint pen. Liza Lentini http://discovermagazine.com/2007/jul/20-things-you-didn2019t-know-about-galileo/key_image Mon, 02 Jul 2007 19:00:00 +0000 Mon, 02 Jul 2007 19:00:00 +0000 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2007/jun/20-things-you-didnt-know-about-nothing http://discovermagazine.com/2007/jun/20-things-you-didnt-know-about-nothing 11) It is said that Abdülhamid II, sultan of the Ottoman Empire in the early 1900s, had censors expunge references to H2O from chemistry books because he was sure it stood for “Hamid the Second is nothing.” 17) To physicists there is no such thing as nothing. Empty space is instead filled with pairs of particles and antiparticles, called virtual particles, that quickly form and then, in accordance with the law of energy conservation, annihilate each other in about 10^-25 second. LeeAundra Temescu http://discovermagazine.com/2007/jun/20-things-you-didnt-know-about-nothing/key_image Tue, 05 Jun 2007 22:55:00 +0000 Tue, 05 Jun 2007 22:55:00 +0000 Print Article http://discovermagazine.com/2007/may/20-things-you-didnt-know-about-pencils http://discovermagazine.com/2007/may/20-things-you-didnt-know-about-pencils 2) In his autobiography, G. Gordon Liddy describes finding John Dean (whom he despised for “disloyalty”) alone in a room. Spotting sharpened pencils on a desk, Liddy fleetingly considered driving one into Dean’s throat. 9) French researchers hit on the idea of using caoutchouc, a vegetable gum now known as rubber, to erase pencil marks. Until then, writers removed mistakes with bread crumbs. Dean Christopher http://discovermagazine.com/2007/may/20-things-you-didnt-know-about-pencils/key_image Mon, 14 May 2007 22:15:00 +0000 Mon, 14 May 2007 22:15:00 +0000 Print Article