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Fossils are the gifts that keep on giving! They hold mysteries that challenge our notions about what is possible, then leave us with new questions. So when the fossils of a tiny mammoth were found on islands off the coast of California, scientists had a multitude of questions. The biggest, of course, being: How did evolution shrink the mammoth?

Image: Twins with who look like the have the same face

16 minutes

Do You Have a Doppelgänger?

Do you have lookalikes out there? We’ve seen the images of people who have met their doppelgängers, but is there really a face like yours out there or are our own brains just being fooled? Here’s your marvelous brain at its best!

8 minutes

Your World: Made Possible By Giant Fungi

What does a 420 million-year-old giant fungus have to do with life on Earth as we know it today? Much more than you might think! (You might have to thank its early cousins for making our lives possible!)

14 minutes

[ Nature ]

The Sneaky Smarts of Sea Slugs

From sporting bright colors to a touch that really stings, sea slugs have adopted quite a few interesting traits to keep them out of the mouths of predators. Our world only gets more interesting the more we know about our fellow inhabitants, so let’s spend a moment with these unique ones!

9 minutes

[ Innovation ]

The Toilet is Saving Our Lives!

Did you know that this innovation stops deadly diseases from finding you with every flush? Billions of people still don’t have access to one. So we’d like to take a moment to celebrate the humble toilet and see how some truly amazing thought leaders are bringing them to everyone around the globe!

9 minutes

[ Nature ]

The Beauty of Orchard Bees

With 20,000 known species of bee in the world, it’s no surprise that they each go about life a little differently. We’re lucky enough to learn more about the blue orchard mason bee and the beautiful homes they make for their young in this article!

Image: Darwinius Masillae fossil from Messel Germany Fossil Deposit

10 minutes

[ Saturdays Around the World ]

The Fossil Lake that Froze Time

In Messel, Germany there is a place where time was frozen. Preserved in magnificent fossils, the animals of land, water, and air tell a remarkable story.

Image: Illustration of a Thylacine, Tasmanian Tiger

9 minutes

[ Animals ]

Meet One of Nature’s Most Confusing Creatures

Have you heard of the Tasmanian Tiger, or Thylacine? These wolf-like creatures are actually related to koalas! How? A process called convergent evolution.

Image: Beaver on land standing next to their freshly chewed down tree

18 minutes

[ Animals ]

Why Are Beavers So Busy?

These rodents are single-handedly making it possible for other species to thrive! Let’s find out how this is happening…

Image: Colorful cross section slide of a Triceratops frill

9 minutes

[ Conspiracy of Goodness ]

This Beautiful Image Comes from a Dinosaur Bone!

Have you heard about the scientific field called Paleohistology? Scientists are creating stunning images that are not only breath-taking but revealing new insights into the lives of dinosaurs!

Image: close up of an adorable jumping spider sitting on a leaf

12 minutes

[ Animals ]

Meet Lucas the Spider, Your Cure for Arachnophobia!

If you’re one of the many people who suffer from a fear of spiders, we may have found a very adorable way to lessen your fears! (And if you are already a spider fan, well, you’ll love this.)

7 minutes

[ Food ]

An Excuse to Not Eat Your Vegetables?

By Abigayle Fugere

The tastes we’ve come to enjoy from various fruits and vegetables may stem from these plants trying to kill us. Let’s find out who the culprits are, and if salads are truly good for our health or if we’ve all just been blindly following instructions on what to eat.

15 minutes

[ Art ]

Why Does van Gogh’s The Starry Night Captivate Us?

We’ve all seen this painting before, but why do we love it so much? The answer is a fascinating mix of science, legend, mathematics, and our place in the universe.

Image: Person in donkey mask stands out in crowd of cadets in uniform

11 minutes

[ Culture ]

But Why Do We Feel So Awkward?

There may be some benefits to our awkward interactions with each other! Having some anxiety just thinking about it? Well, we may have a fix for that as well.

Image: Illustration of Ambulocetus, a fur covered creature the size of a sea lion that was an ancestor of the modern whale

7 minutes

[ Animals ]

It’s a Dog, It’s a Deer, It’s a… Whale?

Whale evolution is a remarkable story in the history of life on earth! Here’s how the whale went from a tiny deer-like animal to the creatures we know now.

Image: Green wheat, with the sun rising behind it

8 minutes

So… Why Are Plants Green and Not Black?

There are a LOT of plants out there and the majority of them seem to be wearing various shades of the same color. So, why is this?

12 minutes

[ Animals ]

The Remarkable Powers of… Spider Silk?

Let’s talk spiders. These creatures may scare some, but their silk is one of the most remarkable substances in the natural world!

Image: Roman Justice Scales statue with hashtag symbol in clouds around it

10 minutes

[ Culture ]

Let Us Bridge Some #GenerationalDifference

Let’s talk about a controversy that we’ve all had to experience. What do you call this little symbol: “#”? Whether you call it a hashtag or a pound sign, today we explore its fascinating origins.

Image: Looking up at people on a carnival ride

6 minutes

You’re Probably an Optimist, You Just Might Not Know It Yet

It turns out that optimism is hard-wired into our brains, but is this actually a good thing? What does it help us accomplish?

Image:People sitting inside of cave next to colony of glow worms

11 minutes

[ Animals ]

Surprise! Those Are Worms, Not Stars

Welcome to the luminescent ceiling of New Zealand’s Waitomo Caves. It may look like the lights of another solar system, but in reality, it’s home to thousands of wriggling carnivorous glow worms.

Image: A red tree shaped like a heart in a field of red flowers

29 minutes

[ Happiness & Hope ]

The Mathematics of Finding Love

By Dr. Lynda

Know someone who might need some new insights into finding love? Here’s how mathematics can improve everyone’s chances of finding that special someone!

6 minutes

[ Animals ]

You Should Really Thank the Fruit Flies

Would you believe that your genes are super similar to a fruit fly’s? They’ve been helping us discover our own bodies for years, here’s how…

Image: People having fun cooking with flames shooting up from a large skillet

12 minutes

[ Culture ]

How Cooking Made Us Human

By Dr. Lynda

Why do we cook? Is it just to satisfy our senses or stave off disease? Today we find out how cooking made us into modern humans with larger brains with time on our hands! Fascinating!

Image: Decorator Crab blending in with their environment

10 minutes

[ Animals ]

Dressed for Survival

To avoid being eaten, decorator crabs have developed quite the unique ability to disguise themselves! Discover how they do this, and then stay tuned for a final, very flashy, guest crab.

Image: Water Lilies by claude monet's cataracts

7 minutes

[ Art ]

What Claude Monet’s Cataracts Revealed

We all know about his fabulous artwork, but we might not all know that Claude Monet developed cataracts. Lucky for us, he was able to show us how they changed his world through his paintings, and It’s Okay to be Smart gives us a deeper look into this…

4 minutes

[ Business ]

Hack Your Way to a Better Day!

Can we hack our biological clock to be more productive, sleep better, and be healthier? There’s no need to jump on the next big health craze. To get started, all we need is some simple science!

Image: A team of 10 people taking the superman pose, in zero gravity airplane

20 minutes

[ Science ]

Weightlessness in a Heavy World

By Dr. Lynda

Gravity is acting upon us from the moment of conception, and because of that, it is completely beyond our awareness, until now! Take a look at some fun to be had in zero gravity flights, and you’ll be amazed at all there is to appreciate! (And we may also eliminate some other things that could be “weighing us down.”)

Image: Hand throwing a paper airplane out of a window over a city

9 minutes

[ Business ]

How Productive is Your Procrastination?