Jesslyn Shields is a freelance science writer working out of Athens, Georgia. She writes about brand new research for HowStuffWorks. Since 2010, Jesslyn's written science news and content for educational videos, because she loves to always have something new to yammer on about at parties. You can find her online at www.jesslynshields.com
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They blink, stretch, purr and are warm to the touch. Robotic companion animals have been proven to reduce stress, anxiety and antipsychotic drug use among older people, especially those with with dementia.
Wondering what to do with those plastic pill bottles your prescriptions come in? Here are 15 great ways to reuse them and keep them out of the landfill.
The oceans take up most of the surface area of our planet and remain mostly unexplored. But how many oceans are there?
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You could stack the Eiffel Tower, the Washington Monument and the Statue of Liberty in Crater Lake, the deepest lake in the U.S. But, do you know what the deepest lake in the world is?
You can't find trees taller than these behemoths. But do you know which is the tallest tree in the world?
What could be better than the sound of a cat purring in perfect contentment, but have you ever wondered why do cats purr?
The U.S. has some of the longest highways in the world, but the nine longest are scattered all over the globe.
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You can't dis a naked mole rat just for being himself, but, really, what animal could be uglier? Well, the world is full of ugly animals and we've got nine other choices for you.
Some scientists say propelling dust from the surface of the moon into space might be a viable solution to our climate change problem, but will it work?
The Collatz conjecture can be worked on by 9-year-old math whizzes, but it's flummoxed some of the greatest minds of the past century. Will it ever be solved?
You might never have listened to South Korean K-pop music but, trust us, on this planet, it rules. So, what does K-pop stand for and who are the K-pop music idols?
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The Fibonacci sequence has been a numerical sequence for millennia. But what does it have to do with sunflower seeds or rabbits?
Numerators and denominators, oh my! It sounds complicated, but learning how to multiply fractions is easy. It just takes three simple steps.
If you're driving old Route 66, watch out for a line of 10 mid-century Cadillacs, painted in crazy colors and buried nose first in the dirt. That'll be Cadillac Ranch, American roadside kitsch at its finest.
Who invented the toilet? While we wish it were so, it wasn't Thomas Crapper. Surprisingly, toilet design hasn't changed much since the first "water closet" patent in the 1500s.
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SOS was the most commonly used distress signal from the turn of the 20th century until before WWII. But exactly what does SOS mean?
The Ophiocordyceps unilateralis fungus makes a mockery of ant free will. But how does it take over the ant body to control its host?
Fresh snow muffles ambient sound immediately after it falls, but the quiet doesn't last very long.
Is ChatGPT the end of education as we know it, or just the beginning?
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The very idea of trying to subtract one fraction from another may send you into convulsions of fear, but don't worry — we'll show you how.
Bombogenesis is a phenomenon in which the atmospheric pressure in the middle of a low-pressure system drops rapidly, intensifying a storm and creating a bomb cyclone.
We use these abbreviations all the time, but what do they actually mean?
Poinsettia blooms in early winter and is popular around Christmas with its red, white or pink flowers. But it's demanding and needs several hours of daily darkness to rebloom.
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Much mystery surrounds the Georgia Guidestones, including the true identity of the man who commissioned them to be built and the identity of their destroyer.
Grateful that U.S. law ensures decent working conditions and children go to school instead of working in mines? Thank Florence Kelley and her congressman father, William "Pig Iron" Kelley.