Science

People have been using telescopes since 1608, but we don’t know who invented the first one. Today, there are many types of telescopes that let us watch celestial bodies and peer into the universe.

Star stickers on the ceiling of a kid’s room, or clock hands that are visible in the dark — at times we come across objects that can glow in the dark, although they look totally normal in the daylight.

At one point in time, dinosaurs ruled the world, having occupied mostly all ecological niches for many hundreds of millions of years. Some were prehistoric raptors who moved around on the ground, others were amphibians, and some learned to fly. We have not had a chance to live side by side with them, so our ideas about these animals are oftentimes based on images from movies, which are far from reality.

If in the evening and at night you experience discomfort in your legs and an irresistible desire to constantly move them, you should read this article. If you’ve never experienced anything like this, you are quite lucky. But perhaps someone close to you has encountered this problem and could use some advice.

Each summer brings us new insect bites. But not everyone suffers from them. You’ve probably noticed that someone can read a book on a bench in the park peacefully, while the person next to them has to constantly brush off buzzing insects. The fact is that mosquitoes choose who they want to bite.

Most people know that honey is produced by bees from flower nectar. It’s stored in hives and is consumed as needed. But how do bees really make honey?

The Sun keeps our entire solar system together. It’s so big that its mass is more than 99% of the mass of our entire solar system.

The same smell can cause different or even opposite feelings in people. Some of them remind us of childhood, others make us instantly lose our appetite, and there are some that cause an instant bodily reaction that’s hard to cope with. We react to various smells differently, and there is an explanation for it.

Imagine that a street performer invites you to play a game: you need to guess the total of the 2 rolled dice to win a prize. It’s impossible to predict which total from 2 to 12 will be on the dice. But if you say 7, you’ll have a better chance of winning than if you say 2. This is what probability theory is about.

Aerodynamics is the study of how gases interact with moving bodies. Because of all the gases there are, we mostly interact with air, and aerodynamics is mostly about the forces that appear when it bumps into solid objects. In other words, aerodynamics is about how air moves around objects.

Have you ever thought about how our world appeared? There are different models of our universe’s evolution, but the most renowned one is called the Big Bang Theory.

Perhaps each of us has heard the collocation “a lazy person.” Many even consider themselves or their friends to be lazy. However, one person is called lazy because they don’t wash the dishes after themselves, while another person might be called lazy for not getting a Master’s degree. So laziness is unique for each person.

Nails are claw-like plates on the tips of the fingers and toes in humans and most primates. They are made of a tough protective protein called alpha-keratin, which is a polymer.

Our skin and hair react differently to sunlight. As a rule, the skin darkens in the sun, and the hair, on the contrary, gets lighter. It’s interesting that the reason for both of these processes is melanin.

Dry branches and no leaves — in winter, plants look lifeless. But every year, they display the miracle of rebirth. The reserves of nutrients help them grow again, get their leaves back, and give fruit if the conditions are right.

You’ve probably experienced a sharp headache when eating your favorite ice cream or drinking an ice-cold drink. Fortunately, it goes away pretty fast. But it’s still interesting: What causes it and what is it called?

Perhaps many of you have noticed that the sun beats down on our backs way more when we wear a black T-shirt, and dark objects lying on a table on a sunny day also heat up more than lighter ones. This fact was relayed to all of us during childhood, however, we rarely ponder why this actually happens.

Fog consists of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air on or near the surface of the Earth. It often looks like low-lying stratus clouds. Fog forms due to 3 factors: bodies of water nearby, the topography of the area, and weather conditions.

Earth is a unique and amazing planet. We have enough knowledge about what is on its surface. But its depths still have a lot of surprises.

Even though the last time many of us heard about calculating probabilities was back in school, it may be very useful to look at certain situations and estimate the chances of them happening. For example, if you know it’s probable that you will be promoted, you will be more motivated.