What is a pulsar? A pulsar is a neutron star that rotates extremely rapidly and releases pulses of radiation, hence their name. Neutron stars are formed when stars much larger than our sun (a minimum of eight times larger) run out of fuel to burn. All stars begin by burning hydrogen and turning it into […]
#1240 What is a pulsar? Read More »
What is the Anthropocene? The Anthropocene is the geologic age that we are in at the moment, although it is not agreed upon by experts. Geologic periods are a way of dividing the Earth up into chunks that cover different stages in the life of the Earth. It is a little like breaking a human
#1239 What is the Anthropocene? Read More »
Is earwax actually wax? No, ear wax isn’t actually wax. It is similar in consistency and texture to wax, which is why it is called wax, but it isn’t actually wax. Let’s look at what earwax is and what wax is. Earwax is technically called cerumen, which is the Latin word for wax. It is
#1238 Is earwax actually wax? Read More »
How is a pope elected? A pope is elected by the College of Cardinals and they need to get two-thirds of the vote to be elected. There have been approximately 266 popes so far. I say approximately because at some points there were two popes at the same time as different parts of the church
#1237 How is a pope elected? Read More »
How do microplastics damage the body? The quick answer is that nobody really knows how microplastics damage the body, or even if they damage the body. The thinking is that they probably are harmful, but there hasn’t been enough research into how they are harmful or how harmful they are. What are microplastics? Microplastics are
#1236 How do microplastics damage the body? Read More »
Did the Treaty of Versailles cause World War 2? The Treaty of Versailles didn’t directly cause World War 2, but it did put in place some of the contributing factors. The Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28th, 1919. It was the peace treaty that brought World War 1 to an official end. The
#1235 Did the Treaty of Versailles cause World War 2? Read More »
How do cats land on their feet? Cats land on their feet because they have an inbuilt mechanism called the “righting reflex”, which very quickly tells them which direction they are pointing in and to reorient themselves. Cats are famous for always landing on their feet. We all know that a cat dropped from almost
#1234 How do cats land on their feet? Read More »
Why do we yawn? There is no single clear reason why we yawn because we yawn at many different times for many different reasons. Yawning is an involuntary response, in that it happens without us thinking about it and we cannot stop once we have started, just like sneezing. In a yawn, we gradually open
#1233 Why do we yawn? Read More »
Is absinthe really hallucinogenic? No, absinthe is not really hallucinogenic. There are many stories of absinthe making people hallucinate. It is often associated with artists and creative people. There is a chemical in it called thujone, which has been cited as the reason why it is hallucinogenic and as the reason why it is harmful.
#1232 Is absinthe really hallucinogenic? Read More »
Why are Stradivarius instruments good? Stradivarius instruments might be good because of their age, because of their craftmanship, because of the materials they are made of, because of the person playing them, or simply just because of their name. On the other hand, they might not be as good as we think they are. Most
#1231 Why are Stradivarius instruments good? Read More »
