Just Plain WEIRD #2
In scary and uncertain times, having a stockpile can feel soothing. AP Photo/Ted S. Warren. By Stephanie Preston – Professor of Psychology, University of Michigan – The media is replete with COVID-19 stories about people clearing supermarket shelves – and the backlash …
OK is an editorial joke run wild. (Photo: ClassicStock/Corbis) – By Rachel Nuwer – SmithsonianMag.Com – “OK” is one of the most common words in the English language, but linguistically it’s a relative newbie. It’s just 150 years old, and traces its roots …
Depending on where you’re from, you say words like ‘basil’ a specific way. Leonie Broekstra/Shutterstock.com. By Christine Mallinson, Professor of Language, Literacy and Culture and Director of the Center for Social Science Scholarship, University of Maryland, Baltimore County Curious Kids is a …
A volcano in California is a hot spot for conspiracy theorists. By Paul Ratner – Lenticular cloud over Mount Shasta. February 12, 2020. Photo Credit: Shasta-Trinity National Forest. Unusual UFO-shaped formations were observed in the skies over Mount Shasta. These were actually lenticular …
By Loz Blain – The Czinger 21C will have 1,250 hybrid horsepower and a 1.9-second 0-62 sprint time. – Czinger has released more details, pics and video of its upcoming 21C hybrid hypercar, including the two crucial figures we’ve been waiting for: 1,250 …
A new study suggests that the type of alarm clock you use might affect the severity of sleep inertia you experience. By Stephen Johnson – Columbia Pictures – Sleep inertia is a physiological state that describes the period between waking up and …
A few traditions in the Roman Catholic Church can be traced back to pagan cults, rites, and deities. By Molly Hanson – Photo by Josh Applegate / Unsplash – The Catholic rite of Holy Communion parallels pre-Christian Greco-Roman and Egyptian rituals that involved …
Most people haven’t even heard of Transnistria, the breakaway state of Moldova that hugs its border with Ukraine. And that’s partly what makes it so fascinating to visit. By Sarah Reid – By the time the morning sun had crept above the city’s …
For the first time since the Vikings sailed, the Icelandic public will soon be able to worship classical Norse gods like Odin, Thor, and Frigg at a public temple built in their honor. By Orion Jones – Photo credit: Shutterstock – For the …
The world’s most isolated inhabited island also has some of the world’s strangest toponyms. Tristan da Cunha, spotted by NASA’s Terra ASTER satellite in 2006. Image: NASA ASTER Volcano Archive, JP. By Frank Jacobs – Tristan da Cunha is the world’s most isolated …
