In recent weeks, a baby polar bear at the Berlin Zoo has caused a worldwide stir. Knut, as he’s called, was rejected by his mother at an early age, and has since been hand-reared by zoo staff. This situation has spurred some opponents to the hand-rearing of wild animals to comment that it would be […]

Starting this Sunday (March 11) at 2 A.M., most residents of the U.S. and Canada will set their clocks forward one hour in observance of the start of Daylight Saving Time. This is a change for 2007, since in previous years DST started the first Sunday in April. However, there are many regions in the […]

Today on Interesting Thing of the Day I wrote about the Chinook winds of the Western US and Canada. There are many other famous winds around the world; below are a few of the best-known ones. If I haven’t included your favorite, feel free to add it in the comments section.

Bora: Adriatic, Greece, Russia, Turkey Brickfielder: […]

Non-Newtonian fluids are substances that can act like both liquids and solids, depending on the pressure exerted upon them. Here are some video clips showing experiments people have undertaken to show the various properties of Non-Newtonian fluids.

A pool filled with non-newtonian fluid: This clip from a Spanish TV show features very excited people walking across […]

With the win of Happy Feet for Best Animated Feature Film at Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony, that makes two consecutive years in which a movie featuring penguins has won an Oscar (last year March of the Penguins won Best Feature Documentary). It may seem like the success of March of the Penguins has spawned the […]

Entomophagy (literally, “insect-eating”) has been practiced throughout human history and continues to this day. Modern enthusiasts cite the economic and environmental benefits of using insects as a major source of protein in their diet; some even admit to liking the taste. Although I can’t personally vouch for the tastiness of any of the following items, […]

Some of the first sounds we learn to imitate as babies are the sounds animals supposedly make. I say supposedly, since each language has its own idea about what those sounds are. While most people hear the mewing of a cat in a similar way (some variant of mee-ow), there is a huge range of […]

Having trouble sleeping at night? It could be the light from a streetlight (or a neighbor’s floodlights) streaming through your bedroom window and interrupting your circadian rhythms. Intrusive artificial light at night can take several forms, and each causes its own set of problems. Here are five examples, taken from Interesting Thing of the Day […]

During the recent U.S. mid-term election, the town of Jupiter, Florida was mentioned in the news because it experienced some problems with its voting process. Hearing the town’s name made me wonder if there were other towns similarly named after planets. I found out that there are many, and I’ve listed the states that have […]

You’ve heard of the Book-of-the-Month Club, no doubt, a handy way for bibliophiles to feed their obsession without leaving the house. I’ve personally been a member of a fruit-of-the-month club and a chocolate-of-the-month club too. But the range of items you can receive by mail, once a month by subscription, is truly staggering. This list […]