When you think about inventions that have radically changed human existence, what comes to mind? Probably the wheel, the printing press, maybe the refrigerator and definitely personal computers. Then there are those more mundane things that we rarely...
The characters in Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis (co-directed with Vincent Paronnaud) are simple, friendly black-and-white line drawings, as uncomplicated as characters in a children's book. Which is precisely what throws you when they get themselves p...
Time for the mail bag. Let's see what we have. Dear A Moment of Science. Are aliens going to eat us? Signed, Frightened. Well, Frightened, that's more of a science fiction question. But science does have something to say here, and sometimes purely im...
Technophobia What? Technophobe: Someone who does not like, trust, or want to use technology, especially computers. (Macmillan English Dictionary)Technophobia is not a new term and technophobes have existed since the Industrial Revolution and probably...
Dear Annie: I am married to a wonderful man whose family despises me because of a fight I had with his twin sister. His twin, Kari, is a hateful person who attacked me and my daughter (a defenseless 6-year-old). I am now an outcast because I refuse t...
Fact: liquid water is heavier than air. Fact: clouds, which consist of water droplets and ice crystals, seem to hover in the air. One final fact: the water droplets in a typical cloud together weigh many tons. Which raises a question: how do clouds s...
Surprise at Stonehenge! Wizards and aliens aside, actual scientists don't have much to say about Stonehenge--the ancient ring of rocks in Amesbury, England--that hasn't been said. That is, until now. Just recently a four-thousand-year old gravesite w...
Dear Annie: I am 17 years old and my brother is two years older. When he started dating Kim, everything was fine, but as I got to know her better, it became clear that she is just using my brother. I asked my mom what I should do, and she said I shou...
Ya?l: Today, on A Moment of Science, another episode of guilty confessions. That's right. Don is going to confess a secret, and then we'll use science to help him understand it. Don: I confess nothing, Ya?l. My conscience is clear. Y: Then how come I...
You're driving along on your way to deliver some helium balloons to a birthday party. Suddenly you hit the brakes. As your car rapidly decelerates, you feel yourself pushed up against the wheel. Why? That one's probably not too tough. Although you ma...