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For generations, the summer heat has sent kids running through the spiralling streams of water cast from old-fashioned, s-shaped garden sprinklers.But what would happen to the sprinkler head if it was submerged and sucked in water instead? Would it rotate the same way as a normal sprinkler if the flow was reversed, driven by the force of water gushing in, or spin in the opposite direction as suction draws the rotation forward? Might it stand oddly still?That's the decades-old problem question made famous by the renowned…

After the star-studded mystery thriller The Number 23 debuted in cinemas in 2007, many people became convinced that they were seeing the eponymous number everywhere. I was in school at that time, and some of my classmates would shudder whenever the number 23 appeared in any context. Other people became fascinated by this form of numerology because as soon as you pay more attention to a certain thing—including a number—you get the feeling that you see it too often to be purely coincidence.For a long time, people assumed…

Since humans first began using fire, we’ve wondered why insects seem to have an irresistible attraction to light. With the modern use of electricity, the mystery has taken on new importance, as our lights disrupt insect behavior across the planet. Now, scientists say they’ve figured out why insects are drawn to the flame. Credit: Sam FabianScientists discovered that insects keep their backs to light sources at night, a behavior that suggests artificial lights disrupt their natural navigation. This finding, based on…

When more than $400 million worth of crypto was mysteriously pulled out of the coffers of what was once the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, on the very day that it declared bankruptcy in November of 2022, many initially suspected insiders at the company—including, potentially, then CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, now convicted of fraud. But clues left across blockchains over the past year suggested instead that external thieves had chosen a particularly inconvenient moment during FTX's meltdown to pull off an…

One of aviation history’s biggest mysteries might finally be resolved.When Amelia Earhart was officially declared dead on January 5, 1939, after the US government concluded her engine had run out of fuel and crashed into the vast ocean, questions regarding what had happened following the supposed crash remained unresolved, until now.For nearly a century, the disappearance of the legendary American aviator has gripped people’s attention worldwide, with multiple theories emerging online trying to piece together her…

Security guards are in high demand but low supply in the United States. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the security guard occupation is expected to grow by 6.3% in the next decade, but many factors are discouraging people from pursuing this career.To address this challenge, a company has developed an autonomous patrol robot that can navigate any terrain and perform various security tasks. The robot, the Ascento Guard, is designed to offset the lack of security guards and provide a cost-effective and…

Thanks to a pair of tiny lunar rovers, the mystery of Japan's crippled SLIM Moon lander has been solved. Images returned by the two robots show that the spacecraft bounced and is sitting on its nose, preventing its solar panels from charging.When JAXA's SLIM spacecraft touched down on the Moon on January 19, 2024, it was a real cause for Japan to celebrate. Not only was the country the fifth to successfully land on our satellite, it did so with an unprecedented degree of precision. Unfortunately, while the lander was…

After confounding scientists for more than 80 years and following an unexpected recent outbreak in Australia, researchers have finally discovered how Buruli ulcer, caused by a flesh-eating bacteria, is transmitted: mosquitoes. The discovery means practical measures can now be taken to restrict the spread of the disease.Caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium ulcerans, Buruli ulcer is a chronic infection that eats away skin and subcutaneous tissue. The bacteria’s toxin attacks fat cells under the skin, leading to localized…

Lund University researchers have uncovered that the genetic color variation in female bluetail damselflies, including a male-mimicking form, originated over five million years ago. This finding deepens our understanding of genetic diversity and evolutionary processes in damselflies and sets the stage for further evolutionary studies.For more than two decades, scientists at Lund University in Sweden have been studying the common bluetail damselfly, a species where females display three distinct color forms, including one…

The mystery of strange pockmarks that dimple the floor of the North Sea has finally been solved.These mysterious depressions are not always, as had previously been thought, the result of methane seeping from beneath the seafloor sediment; rather, they're sometimes the mess left behind by porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) and sand eels (Ammodytes marinus) inhabiting the region.In a study led by geoscientist Jens Schneider von Deimling of Kiel University, scientists have shown that the pockmarks are the work of both animals.…