Does Bacon Stop Nosebleeds? Time to go the A Moment of Science mailbag. A listener writes: Dear A Moment of Science, Ive heard that pork can be used to stop a nosebleed. Is this true, or just a myth? Well, there are lots of anecdotal stories about do...
Plant Self-defense Plants may appear to be helpless in the face of hungry,toothy animals but many plants have evolved interesting systems of self-defense. Coarse meadow grasses are a good example. If you run your finger along a blade of coarse grass,...
A Cool Sunburn A listener from Ontario, California wrote to A Moment of Science with a question her sons had asked her. The boys wondered why is it that when you get sunburned you often feel chilled. It really does seem like a contradiction: youve be...
Chattering Chimps We talk to our house pets all the time, but wouldnt it be great if your cat could answer you in English? Well, maybe it wouldnt be so great! We tend to assume that, because they dont speak human language, other animals are dumb, or...
Why Do Stars Twinkle? If youve ever glanced skyward on a clear evening, youve probably noticed with some wonderment the sheer numbers of stars. Some are tiny, barely visible points. Others radiate strong white light. And from our earthly vantage poin...
The Worlds Biggest Spittoon In the spring, the eastern half of North America turns into one big spittoon for spittlebugs. Wandering through a meadow, its easy to spot the gobs of foam they produce, stuck to the stems of various plants. What makes spi...
How To Keep Bread From Going Stale Generally speaking, refrigeration helps to keep food fresh. Fruits, vegetables, and dairy products all last longer if kept cool. But dont try to store a loaf of bread in the refrigerator if you want it to stay fresh...
Why Does Sweat Smell So Bad? Our bodies have two main kinds of sweat glands. The sweat glands that are distributed over most of the body produce an innocent, clear sweat thats more than ninety-nine percent water. As this watery sweat rinses your skin...
The Supermarket Numbers Game Have you ever gone to the store just for milk, but walked out with eight sale-priced cans of something youd never tasted and eight candy bars? How does that happen? Brian Wansink and colleagues have studied how people mak...
The Surprising Truth: Doctors Are Not Washing Their Hands Since the beginning of time, or at least for a good long while, mothers have exhorted their kids to wash their hands. Its a lesson most of us learn and carry with us into adulthood. And youd t...