SciShow
Space Superlatives of 2022
As we wrap up 2022, we'd like to celebrate a few of the cosmic “winners” discovered this year, at least while they still hold their titles.
SciShow
Eavesdropping On Other Worlds
We usually only get to use our sense of sight in exploring the universe, but that hasn’t prevented scientists from trying to listen in.
SciShow
The Biggest Star In The Universe Is Too Small
R136a1 is the most massive star that astronomers have ever discovered. It's so massive you might think the laws of physics wouldn't allow it. But it turns out that its current mass estimate is actually so low that it threatens our...
SciShow
What That Famous Gorilla Suit Study Didn’t See
Inattentional blindness is a phenomenon where we can be so focused on a given task, we completely miss some pretty bizarre object cross our line of vision. Like a gorilla in the middle of a basketball game. But exactly why it happens is...
SciShow
Fighting Carbon With Carbon
To reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, some researchers are taking carbon capture technology to the source(s) — for example, slurping up CO2 before it ever leaves the power plant that made it. But that's not all! Some...
SciShow
Astronauts Need a Better Sunscreen
Space is a dangerous place. One of the many dangers comes in the form of radiation. On Earth, sunscreen helps shield our bodies. But astronauts on the ISS, or eventually on the Moon/Mars/etc., will have to be rocking some suped-up sunblock.
SciShow
This is How We’ll “See” the Universe’s First Second
In June 2023, scientists around the world announced the first official detection of the gravitational wave background — a cacophonous symphony of gravitational waves coming from every direction in space. Buried within that cosmic noise,...
SciShow
Boom Boom Thump: How to Make Quieter Supersonic Planes
Supersonic jets like the Concorde face concerns over safety, high carbon output, and cost. They also make loud sonic booms so loud that only transoceanic flights are legal. Now one NASA program is trying to make a quiet supersonic plane...
SciShow
The Rocky Mountains Are in the Wrong Place
Mountain ranges usually don't form in the middle of continents. Except for the Rocky Mountains. We'll go into the baffling Laramide Orogeny and a few possible reasons why the Rockies might be in the wrong place.
SciShow
Female Cockroaches Hate Romance (And It’s Our Fault)
Most people don't love cockroaches. And thanks to that lack of love, the females of one species of cockroach might not love their males looking for love. But lucky for both of them, evolution might be finding a way around it.
SciShow
No One Knows Where These Gems Came From
Montana sapphires come in a beautiful array of colors found in a few other places in the world. But geologists have no idea where they originated.
SciShow
The Snail We Misidentified More Than 100 Times
Everyone makes mistakes, but misidentifying a species more than 100 times? It happened. In this List Show, we tell the tale of the periwinkle snail and other creatures scientists confused for someone else.
SciShow
The Sexually Transmitted ... Sandwich?
When you're enjoying an intimate moment with that special someone, the peanut butter and jelly sandwich you ate for lunch is probably the last thing on your mind. But sexually transmitted allergens are a thing, and nut allergies aren't...
SciShow
Why Your Dog Has An Anti-Tick Pill And You Don’t?
If you've ever given your pet an anti-flea and tick medicine, you may have wondered why there's not a similar drug out there for you. Here's a little dive into the history of these drugs, and why there may someday be a human-grade...
SciShow
The Rocket that Hopped
Surveyor 6 may not have been the first craft to make a soft landing on the Moon, but it is the first craft to take off from the surface of another world. And it did so in a very adorable way. Long before any Apollo astronaut, Surveyor 6...
SciShow
How Many Suns Can One Planet Have?
Earth and the other seven planets in our solar system have only one star: the Sun. Years ago, astronomers found the first exoplanet that had two stars. They also found one with three stars. And four. Just how many stars can one planet have?
SciShow
Hacking the Brain to Treat Tinnitus
Start speaking a new language in 3 weeks with Babbel. Get up to 60% off in your subscription here: https://go.babbel.com/t?bsc=1200m60-y... Tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, often accompanies hearing loss, and usually has no treatment....
SciShow
The Only Moons That Trade Places
Saturn's moons Janus and Epimetheus were once thought to be the same moon. It turns out they're dance partners.
SciShow
Why Your Strawberry Milk May Look Different Soon
Popular food dyes Red 3 and titanium dioxide are in everything from toothpaste to your strawberry milk. But multiple U.S. states and the EU are trying to ban them. Are they safe?
SciShow
Does Tylenol Actually Do Anything?
The pain reliever known as acetaminophen or paracetamol, marketed under brand names like Tylenol, Calpol or Panadol, has an excellent reputation. But the quality of evidence that it actually works is shockingly poor. So, do doctors and...
SciShow
This Planet is Only Half Covered in Lava
There are a lot of weird exoplanets out there, like 55 Cancri e (aka Janssen), which is probably half covered in lava. But the half that's covered in lava might not be quite the half you're thinking of.
SciShow
The Ocean’s Turning Green (That’s Bad)
Computer models of climate change have long predicted that the ocean would turn green as a result of warming. But the change can't be seen by the human eye, so scientists weren't sure how they'd measure this effect... until it turned out...
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The Particle So Extreme Scientists Called it OMG
In 1991, a subatomic particle smashed into Earth's atmosphere traveling faster than anything humans can replicate. It's the most energetic particle detected to date, and maybe even the fastest (except light itself). Astronomers call it...
SciShow
Why Hairworms Don’t Have Hair
Hairworms, sometimes called horsehair or Gordian worms, are mind-controlling parasites with a twist. A genetic study found these nematomorph worms are missing 30% of their genome, and we don't understand how they live without genes for...