But if oil comes from ocean dwelling organisms, you may ask, why is so much of it concentrated in the dry, arid Middle East? Because, as you may have guessed, the Middle East was not always a vast desert. Around 100 million years ago the region was c...
True or false: Walter is taller than Scott, and Scott's little brother is taller than Roger. Since Walter is not the tallest one of the four, then Scott's little brother must be tallest. Confusing? It's meant to be. This is the sort of question you m...
Beneath the surface of a pond or stream it's a fish-eat-fish world, and the tiny minnow is often lunch for larger fish such as pike. You'd think a tasty minnow would try to remain inconspicuous, but this isn't always the case. If a minnow's skin is d...
Its well known that when it comes to oil, the Middle East is king. Saudi Arabia has more than 260 billion barrels of proven reserves. Iran has 136 billion. Iraq and Kuwait together nearly 120 billion. Combined, Middle Eastern reserves account for abo...
This decrease has led to reduced numbers of krill, the main source of food for some penguins, as well as for many of the fish species that penguins feed on. But it is not just climate change and melting ice that is putting penguins at risk. Other hum...
Don: Our development of larger brains had much to do with our evolution as a species. But the question is what fueled the development of those larger brains? Ya?l: Isn't it that our ancestors switched from a herbivorous diet to an omnivorous diet? D:...
The world can be divided into two kinds of people: the ones who see a one legged seagull and feel a twinge of sympathy, and the ones who assume the other leg is still there but mysteriously hidden. Who's right? Actually, most birds you see standing o...
This is a problem because a low center of gravity is more stable than a high one. Think how much easier it is to tip over a long two-by-four board balanced on one end than a block of wood the same width but only six inches high. In order to stay stan...
Heres a question of burning scientific importance. How high can you stack pennies before they fall over? The answer? It depends. In a perfect universe, with perfectly flat pennies that align exactly on top of each other, the stack could go as high as...
Like the canaries that used to be brought into coal mines as early warning signals for toxic gases like methane, the worlds penguins are sounding an alarm of potentially disastrous ocean changes. Of the seventeen species of penguins, twelve are decli...
Honey has been around for a very long time. Cave paintings in Spain from over ten thousand years ago show people harvesting honey. Today honey is mostly used for its distinctive flavor, but for baking it has another advantage as well: baked goods mad...
Yael: What are all those pills you're taking, Don? Don: Vitamins, Yael. I'm really into my health these days. I take a pill for nearly every vitamin my body needs. I'm insuring myself against vitamin deficiency. Y: I hope you know what you're doing....
Leave it on the shelf too long and honey begins to crystallize. Heating the honey returns it to its original condition, but if you add water, you could ruin the honey completely. That's because honey, which is a preservative in its original state, fe...
For those lucky enough to live on either coast, going to the beach and frolicking in the ocean waves is a favorite summertime activity. Faced with the reality of an oceanless existence, inhabitants of the landlocked, flyover states came up with the u...
It's one of our most important tools, and holds a prominent place in many ancient philosophies and religions. The ancient Greeks believed that firealong with earth, water, and airwas one of the four essential elements that made up the world. We now k...
