Tag: science
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Wait, What Exactly is Fire?
Everyone’s got an opinion on the best way to build one (the secret is good airflow, by the way), but what exactly is fire?
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The Science Behind The Red Sun During Wildfires
A Red Sun seems otherworldly, but it can be explained by the very same fascinating physics that give us our blue skies on a normal afternoon.
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Can Porcupines Shoot Their Quills?
While it’s true you should keep your distance, is there any truth to the tale of a tenacious porcupine shooting their quills?
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Wigglin’ In The Rain: Why Do Worms Come Out When It Rains?
Why do worms come out when it rains? Unfortunately, we can’t ask the worms, but we have some pretty good ideas!
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Snake Kinetics: How Snakes Move
Whether surfing sandy dunes, diving deep, or racing over rock, snakes know how to get around—no legs required.
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Do Ticks Fall From Trees?
Ticks, for as small as they are, strike a disproportionate amount of fear and disgust into our hearts and minds. And nothing quite leads to misconception like fear.
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Do Penguins Have Knees?
There’s something about penguins, isn’t there? They evoke our curiosity, our affection—nay, our adoration—at levels that other members of the animal kingdom would be hard-pressed to compete with. Perhaps it’s their wobbly gait. Maybe it’s the stark contrast they have with the often otherworldly habitats in which we often mentally…
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How a Puffin Problem Led to the Creation of a Star Wars Icon
Star Wars is as much a product of human ingenuity as it is a space odyssey. Just look at how they solved the Puffin Problem.
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Did Ben and Jerry, the Blue Ducks Who Married, Really Cause an Extinction?
In a sense, this is a story of a story that never needed to be one.
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Where the Earth Opened Up
Where the Water Reflects the Sky | Part One The depth of our history— humanity’s, life’s, earths, and that of the universe itself— is unfathomable. Yet that is where our series begins—deep time. Before you and I. Before everyone you’ve ever known, loved, or learned about. Before the pyramids, before…
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Polar Bears & the Illusion of Color
Most would agree that Polar Bears are white, but there’s more to the story than things may appear.
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What is Net Force?
As we start to explore the world of physics and motion and look at how things interact more closely, we start to see that nothing happens without affecting or being affected by something else.
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What is Force?
No, not that kind of force. But that would be so cool, wouldn’t it?! We’re talking about the science kind of force. IN SCIENCE, A FORCE IS ANY PUSH OR PULL BETWEEN ONE OBJECT AND ANOTHER The universe is full of them and we have names for just about every…
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How Much Does the Sky Weigh?
It’s a question you may have never asked, or wondered about, but now I bet you’re wondering. As it turns out, it’s an unexpectedly loaded question, too!
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Understanding Motion: Momentum, Acceleration
Changing speed is different for different things depending on their current speed and size, or their mass. To understand this, we use something called momentum.
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What is Motion?
You are in motion even at your stillest. The whole universe is in motion! But what does that mean, and how do we know for sure?
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Can Other Animals Get Sunburns?
When was the last time you saw a roseate rhinoceros, a bronzed bunting, or a peeling porcupine? Can other animals get sunburns?
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Sea Otters Have Secret Skin Pockets in Their Armpits
Yes, you read that right. Move over marsupials, you’re not the only mammals with skin pockets.
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Class S1E3 | The Demo Model (DEMOSPONGIAE)
Sometimes, things just work. In the case of sponges, there’s the Demo Model.
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Crocodiles Would Bankrupt the Tooth Fairy
Crocodiles go through an extraordinary amount of teeth in their lives, and the how and why are just as spectacular.
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This Pinocchio-Like Trait Means No Lyin’ Lions
As it turns out, Pinocchio’s nose isn’t the only one capable of revealing the truth. Want to know how old a lion is? The nose knows.
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What Animal has the Highest Blood Pressure?
Typically when we think of high blood pressure, we think of the negatives like high stress and a variety of high-risk health conditions. Yet for some in the animal kingdom, high blood pressure is a mere fact of life. So, what animal has the highest blood pressure?
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Why Do Hedgehogs Have Spikes?
Hedgehogs are easily one of the most unmistakable little critters out there, but how much do you know about them
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Wild Speeds | Earth’s Top 20 Fastest Animals
The average human can run 7 mph. How do we measure up against our cousins across the animal kingdom? Let’s explore the Earth’s top 20 fastest animals.
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Class S1E2: The Art of Glass (Hexactinellids)
Aside from the obviously fascinating fact that these creatures have skeletons made of glass, what exactly are glass sponges?
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Bull Kelp
A couple of weeks back, I saw my first ever Bull Kelp at Huntington Beach! Technically, Bull Kelp is a broad name for a genus, Nereocystis, meaning mermaid’s-bladder in Greek. The thing about the genus is, it’s monotypic meaning it contains just one species: Nereocystis luetkeana. Depending on where you’re…
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Review | Sharks, Lies, and Videotape
“Sharks, Lies, and Videotape: A content analysis of 32 years of Shark Week documentaries” is a stunningly comprehensive report on the ways in which Shark Week, arguably the largest source of shark information consumed by the masses, mixes real science with spectacle and salacious stories.
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How to Build An Animal | Part Three
Life is full of branching points on the tree of animal life. The coelom is the next stop on our journey of how to build an animal..
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How to Build an Animal | Part Two
There really is no shortage of ways to build an animal, but there are rules to be followed. What better place to start than the beginning?
