• Can Platypus Venom Kill You?

    A platypus seems more like a Tim Burton creation than a real species. In fact, National Geographic says the scientists that first examined platypi specimens thought they were a hoax. After all, they've got a duck bill, webbed feet, a beaver tail and the body of an otter.

    By Jim Dykstra Read More
  • The Real Meaning Of The Japanese Rising Sun Flag

    No matter what country it represents, a flag is enormously symbolic. It represents a nation's past and its present. How a flag is perceived by its citizens can be vastly different from the way it's perceived by other nations. And a great example of this problem is Japan's "Rising Sun" flag.

    By Becki Robins Read More
  • The Smallest Insect In The World

    Huge insects are terrifying. No one wants to be assailed by horse flies or mosquitoes the size of your fist. But in a way, tiny insects are even more terrifying. A mosquito the size of your fist ... well, at least you can see it coming. Midges, chiggers and flies? Ugh.

    By Becki Robins Read More
  • What Life Was Like For Women During The Renaissance

    Wouldn't it have been great to be a woman in the Renaissance? All those fancy dresses, and the ... fancy dresses. Nope, life pretty much sucked for women in the Renaissance. And guess what? You didn't even get a fancy dress.

    By Becki Robins Read More
  • The Reason Woolly Mammoths Went Extinct

    If you loved Sesame Street as a child, then you should hate that woolly mammoths went extinct. After all, wasn't Snuffleupagus a tusk-less woolly mammoth? One possibility is that mammoths took a wrong turn on the way to Sesame Street and ended up on Cemetery Street. But scientists have other ideas.

    By A. C. Grimes Read More
  • Can The President Pardon Himself?

    It's difficult to know exactly why, but in recent days, the question has been raised: can the president of the United States extend a presidential pardon to himself? Maybe it's a societal innocent curiosity, or because Mercury is stuck in retrograde.

    By Tom Meisfjord Read More
  • The Reason The Earth's Core Is So Hot

    Earth isn't dirt all the way through — the dirt and rock that make up Earth's crust only go down about 19 miles. Under the crust, there are four additional layers — the upper mantle, the lower mantle, the outer core, and the inner core, and those parts of the planet are pretty inhospitably hot.

    By Becki Robins Read More
  • Ancient Greek Inventions That Changed Everything

    Thousands of years after the collapse of their civilization, the Greek empire still reigns as one of those most successful of all time. Sure they gave us things like the Olympics, but they were more than just athletes. They were thinkers, and pioneers in many areas of science and philosophy.

    By Jim Dykstra Read More
  • The Untold Truth Of Women In Space

    There was plenty of evidence that women could be astronauts long before NASA ever took them seriously. Here's the untold truth of women in space.

    By Becki Robins Read More
  • The Tragic Story Of Mt. Everest's "Green Boots"

    Mount Everest is one of the world's most alluring places. As the highest point on Planet Earth, it's one of the few destinations people will happily risk their lives to get to. Sometimes when the mountain's victims die in highly visible places they become landmarks. Such is the case of Green Boots.

    By Becki Robins Read More
  • The Smallest Dog Breed In The World

    Though there are many contenders for the title of World's Smallest Dog Breed, with adorable bundles of love like the Yorkshire terrier and the miniature greyhound seeming like definite possibilities, there can, as with Highlanders, be only one, and it weighs only a little more than a pound.

    By Tom Meisfjord Read More
  • The Untold Truth Of 'Schlitzie The Pinhead'

    Schlitzie the Pinhead was one of the most famous circus sideshow acts ever. Schlitzie's unusual "pinhead" appearance brought swarms of audiences to the circus sideshows he called home. But Schlitzie's life was incredibly hard behind the scenes. Here's the untold truth of "Schlitzie the Pinhead."

    By Asher Cantrell Read More
  • Here's How Much Money Bruce Lee Was Worth When He Died

    Bruce Lee was a true international man of mystery, with immense mental and physical strength. The result was a man who had total confidence in his ability to achieve greatness, and followed through with it by just about every metric. Fame? Check. Chiseled abs? Check. Fortune? Absolutely.

    By Jim Dykstra Read More
  • The Largest Horse Breed In The World

    Horses are quite the superlative animal. Even amongst the ranks of this uber creature, some horses rank as bigger and badder than the rest. Which breed ranks as the biggest of all?

    By Jim Dykstra Read More
  • The Most Expensive Aquarium Fish In The World

    Generally, fish sell for pennies on the dollar, as evidenced by the accepted method of transport -- plastic bag. Maybe it's because most humans think they don't feel pain, but our poor piscine friends don't often get the royal treatment. But some are incredibly expensive.

    By Jim Dykstra Read More
  • The Real Reason Most Ships Are Painted Red On The Bottom

    Ever since we've been putting things in water, they've been getting all biofouled, and for millennia, we've been struggling to deal. Over the ages, humans have tried everything from scraping chains against the hull to coating hulls with glass. But the answer lies in painting boat bottoms red.

    By Jim Dykstra Read More
  • How Many Millionaires Are In The World?

    Those with $1 million or more, account for 45 percent of the world's total wealth. Guess how many of them there are... If your answer was 36 million, you're correct, according to Credit Suisse's Global Wealth Report.

    By Jim Dykstra Read More
  • The Untold Truth Of Eddie Money

    Eddie Money was a blue collar rocker, saxophonist, and champion of the everyman who managed to rack up 11 Top 40 hits. Here's the untold truth of Eddie Money.

    By Deborah Kennedy Read More