WEIRD HISTORY
Andy Craddock/Unpslash – By Karen Stollznow, Research Fellow of Linguistics, Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith University; University of Colorado Boulder Published: 2026 Apr 30 – You’ve probably seen it on social media before: a paragraph of scrambled text that looks like …
DOERS/Shutterstock – By Stuart Thompson, Senior Lecturer in Plant Biochemistry, University of Westminster Published: 2026 May 11 – Researchers at MIT have suggested that rice seeds can hear the sound of rain, according to a new study. MIT calls it “the first direct evidence …
Premenstrual dysphoric disorder is a severe form of premenstrual syndrome. By Eliza Zhitnik, PhD Student in Health Policy and Management, UMass Amherst And by Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, Assistant Professor of Health Promotion and Policy, UMass Amherst Published: 2026 May 08 – People with premenstrual dysphoric …
Redacted documents from the Jeffrey Epstein files can fuel conspiracy thinking. Brendan Smialowski via Getty Images – By Matthew N. Hannah, Associate Professor of Rhetoric, Politics and Culture, University of Wisconsin-Madison Published: 2026 May 08 – Jeffrey Epstein’s death on 2019 Aug 10, …
The Thing is from the fictional Yancy Street in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, where creator Jack Kirby was raised. Richie S/flickr, CC BY – By Miriam Eve Mora, Managing Director of the Raoul Wallenberg Institute, University of Michigan Published: 2026 May 07 – …
A viceroy butterfly showing off its surprisingly strong anisotropic wing structure. Depositphotos – By Malcolm Azania 2026 May 06 – When you hear about designers biomimicking butterflies, your first thought is probably about creating remote-controlled flying toys or small, artificial flying machines that could …
Mothers are often honored and gifted flowers on Mother’s Day, but their broader influence in the political sphere is not celebrated enough. www.direct2florist.co.uk/ via Flickr, CC BY – By Marie-Claire Beaulieu, Associate Professor of Classical Studies, Tufts University Published: 2026 May 05 – …
Small-scale solar panels mounted on balconies can help more households use renewable energy. Jens Büttner/picture alliance via Getty Images – By Moncef Krarti, Professor of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder Published: 2026 May 04 – Somewhere between 5% and …
Sabi’s beanie is lined with tiny EEG-reading biosensors for brain imaging – and can turn your thoughts into typed text. Sabi – By Abhimanyu Ghoshal 2026 May 03 – Dictation tech for typing on your computer and mobile devices has gotten way better and …
Vegetables, fruits, beans, seeds and nuts are all fiber-rich foods. tbralnina/iStock via Getty Images Plus – By Julie Pollock, Associate Professor of Chemistry, University of Richmond Published: 2026 May 01 – If you’re over the age of 10, the World Health Organization recommends …
