HowStuffWorks - Learn How Everything Works!

Sensor Under Your Office Desk? Welcome to Property Technology in Smart Buildings

Sensor Under Your Office Desk? Welcome to Property Technology in Smart Buildings

Our Top Reads

What's the Difference Between Socialism and Communism?

Oct. 20 By Dave Roos

12 'Magical' Hacks for the Magic Eraser

Oct. 19 By Jeremy Glass

Holy Lepidoptera! The Hongshui River Walkway Floats Like a Butterfly

Oct. 19 By Carrie Tatro

Should We Sequence the Genome of Every Baby?

Should We Sequence the Genome of Every Baby?

The Republic of Nirivia: A Magical Micronation That Semi-exists on Lake Superior

The Republic of Nirivia: A Magical Micronation That Semi-exists on Lake Superior

The Orionid Meteor Shower Is Back — Here's What You Need to Know

The Orionid Meteor Shower Is Back — Here's What You Need to Know

Why Do British Lawyers Still Wear Wigs?

Why Do British Lawyers Still Wear Wigs?

Gone Without a Trace

The Mysterious Disappearance of Ambrose Bierce

The Mysterious Disappearance of Ambrose Bierce

How the Philadelphia Experiment Worked

How the Philadelphia Experiment Worked

14 People Who Vanished Without a Trace

14 People Who Vanished Without a Trace

In the News

Remembering Colin Powell's American Journey

Oct. 18 By Chad Williams

Our Brains Have 'Fingerprints' — And We Can Find Them Fast

Oct. 15 By Jesslyn Shields

Do Unbiased Jurors Exist in the Age of Social Media?

Oct. 15 By Thaddeus Hoffmeister

Car Safety Systems Don't Always 'See' in Bad Weather, AAA Says

Oct. 14 By Kristen Hall-Geisler

Putting Planes in Hibernation Is Complicated; Waking Them Up Is Even Harder

Oct. 14 By Patrick J. Kiger

Audubon Mural Project Artists Paint Birds on the Brink

Oct. 13 By Carrie Tatro

Self-navigating Cane Could Better Lives for Visually Impaired

Self-navigating Cane Could Better Lives for Visually Impaired

Study Says Solar Panels on Half of Roofs Could Meet World's Electricity Needs

Study Says Solar Panels on Half of Roofs Could Meet World's Electricity Needs

Did You Hear?

Indigenous Women Keep Vanishing on Canada's Highway of Tears

Indigenous Women Keep Vanishing on Canada's Highway of Tears

Climate Activist Greta Thunberg Wants More Results, Less Politics

Climate Activist Greta Thunberg Wants More Results, Less Politics

Space Architects Will Help Us Live and Work Among the Stars

Space Architects Will Help Us Live and Work Among the Stars

Chaos Is Not Randomness: A Complex Systems Scientist Explains

Chaos Is Not Randomness: A Complex Systems Scientist Explains

Nine Months On Mars: Perseverance Makes Major Milestones

Nine Months On Mars: Perseverance Makes Major Milestones

Advertisement

Editor's Picks

The Super-cute Axolotl Is Also a Ruthless Carnivore

The Super-cute Axolotl Is Also a Ruthless Carnivore

Meet the Trebuchet, the Castle-crushing Catapult of the Middle Ages

Meet the Trebuchet, the Castle-crushing Catapult of the Middle Ages

Food Fermentation: How Microorganisms Make Food Delicious

Food Fermentation: How Microorganisms Make Food Delicious

We All Use the Loo

Sloths Only Poop Once a Week — But They Make It a Good One

Sloths Only Poop Once a Week — But They Make It a Good One

Once a week or so, sloths climb down from their trees and poop on the ground. It feels so good, they do a little dance. But this time of pleasure is also a time of peril.

Why Some People Will Do Anything to Avoid Pooping in Public Toilets

Why Some People Will Do Anything to Avoid Pooping in Public Toilets

White Rhinos Communicate via Massive Communal Poop Piles

White Rhinos Communicate via Massive Communal Poop Piles

When You Have to Go But Don't Want People to Know

When You Have to Go But Don't Want People to Know

Your Bed Has More Poop Than a Chimp's

Your Bed Has More Poop Than a Chimp's

Spooky Spots

Why Does the Winchester Mystery House Have Stairs Leading Nowhere?

Why Does the Winchester Mystery House Have Stairs Leading Nowhere?

10 Real-life Haunted Houses

10 Real-life Haunted Houses

Do You Have to Tell Buyers Your House Is Haunted?

Do You Have to Tell Buyers Your House Is Haunted?

There Are 5 Types of Haunted House Visitors. Which One Are You?

There Are 5 Types of Haunted House Visitors. Which One Are You?

The Story of the Cecil, One of the Creepiest Hotels in the World

The Story of the Cecil, One of the Creepiest Hotels in the World

Perhaps best known as the last home of Elisa Lam before her mysterious death, the Cecil Hotel has a sordid past full of murders and mayhem. Care to step inside?

Fear Is All Too Real

Conquering the Fear of Public Speaking

Conquering the Fear of Public Speaking

Public speaking can be debilitating for many people. What is it that causes so many of us to freeze up like a deer in headlights when it's time to talk in public?

Fear of Dogs Is Real but Treatable

Fear of Dogs Is Real but Treatable

Do You Have Coffee Bubble Phobia? Scientists Now Know Why

Do You Have Coffee Bubble Phobia? Scientists Now Know Why

Trypanophobia: When the Fear of Needles Has You Stuck

Trypanophobia: When the Fear of Needles Has You Stuck

Why Are People With Trypophobia Horrified By Holes?

Why Are People With Trypophobia Horrified By Holes?

Advertisement