Beavers Build Dams That Can Last Centuries, Maybe Even Millennia
Beavers are some of the greatest builders on earth, and, as some scientific research has shown us, they build for the long term.
Some Spiders In Loud Areas Soundproof Their Webs
Spiders know what it's like to get distracted by excess noise. A new scientific paper finds certain arachnids in louder environments build their webs differently than those where it’s quiet.
To Protect Riders, This 3D Printed Bike Helmet Contracts During A Collision
Bike helmets have been more or less the same for many years, but there’s a new effort to make safer and more responsive headgear with 3D printing.
Scientists Sent A Diaper-Wearing Ferret Named Felicia Through A Particle Accelerator
It's National Ferret Day, and so here’s the story of a ferret named Felicia who made an unusual contribution to the field of physics.
The BBC Once Ran An April Fools’ Day Story About Spaghetti Growing On Trees
April Fools' Day is when people try to mislead each other, sometimes the people you’d least suspect. Like how on this day in 1957, one of the world’s most steady and preeminent news outlets reported that spaghetti was growing on trees.
An Engineer Wanted To Add Car Ramps To The Eiffel Tower
Today in 1889, the formal opening and dedication of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. What a strange life it’s had, including a proposal in the 1930s to add two huge car ramps to the sides of the thing.
“Wing Walker” Gladys Ingle Could Change An Airplane’s Tire In The Middle Of The Sky
Today in 1899, the birthday of Gladys Ingle. She was called a “wing walker," which meant she could walk on the wings of a plane in mid-flight and perform some of the most daring and death-defying stunts you could imagine.
Eliza Scidmore Lobbied For Decades To Bring Cherry Blossoms To Washington DC
There are thousands of cherry blossoms in the nation's capital, and it all happened thanks to one very determined woman and a bunch of great minds all thinking alike.
The Supremes Were Such A Popular Group, They Had Their Own Bread
Today in 1944, the birthday of Diana Ross. In the 1960s she and the Supremes had hit record after hit record, and at one point, they were even the namesakes for a line of white bread.
How A “Sea-Worm” Inspired Marc Brunel To Dig London’s Thames Tunnel
Today in 1843, the opening of the Thames Tunnel in London, the first tunnel of its kind and one inspired by a mollusc known as a shipworm.