Category Archives: Science

We’re going to need a bigger island

Crowd at hockey game
Photo by Sreejith K.

Sometime around Halloween 2011, the global population topped seven billion. That’s a staggering number of people. In fact, linked arm to arm, a human chain would wrap around the equator roughly 175 times or extend to the moon and back about nine times, according to CBC/Radio-Canada.

Bearing this image in mind, we can be forgiven for believing that there are more humans roaming the Earth today than during all of history and prehistory combined. But is it true?

Are There More People Alive Today than Ever Lived?

My Coke runneth over

Diet Coke and Mentos geyser.
Photo by Michael Murphy.

They say you can’t un-break what’s broken, un-see what you’ve seen or put the toothpaste back in the tube. But can you un-shake a can of soda? More to the point, does tapping the top, slapping the sides or flipping the can end-over-end make a difference?

I’ll tell you what I found out, but some of you might not like the answer ….

Does Tapping a Soda Can Prevent it from Foaming Over?

In a microwave, still waters run deep – and dangerous

Michael Bay's microwave
Tick-tock.

In case you’re wondering, yes, microwaves are magic and, yes, they are trying to kill you. Take that seemingly innocuous cup of water that you just heated for your afternoon tea. Shouldn’t that be bubbling by now? After all, you nuked it for an awfully long time.

Come to think of it, what do you really know about that microwave?

Can Water Explode in a Microwave?

It’s like Dazzler and Tesla had a baby, and it was a t-shirt

Orange Sound Charge T-Shirt
Photo courtesy Orange

The pages of ThinkGeek teem with techno-tees fitted with LEDs, speakers, DIY artwork, virtual instruments and WiFi meters. Meanwhile, companies vie to gin up greener charging methods for cell phones.

Is it time for a mashup? A cellphone-charging tee? Maybe – but good luck wearing one through airport security.

Can a T-shirt turn sound into electricity?