Patrick Kiger
Patrick J. Kiger has written for HowStuffWorks since 2008 covering a wide array of topics, from history and politics to pop culture and technology. He worked as a newspaper reporter for the Pittsburgh Press, and the Orange County Register in California, where he covered one of the biggest serial murder cases in U.S. history, and also as a staff writer at Baltimore Magazine. As a freelancer, Patrick has written for print publications such as GQ, Mother Jones and the Los Angeles Times, and on the web for National Geographic Channel, Discovery News, Science Channel and Fast Company, among others. In recent years, he's become increasingly interested in how technological advances are altering urban life and the design of cities, and has written extensively on that subject for Urban Land magazine. In his spare time, Patrick is a longtime martial arts student and a fan of crime fiction, punk rock and classic Hollywood films.
RECENT CONTRIBUTIONS
NASA's Mars rover Opportunity's last words were: "My battery is low and it's getting dark."
For years, speculation has surrounded the government's high security animal disease research center, which is slated to close in 2023.
The forward momentum on recycling has stalled in the U.S. and other countries, but some experts say there's still potential for growth.
A handful of other countries have electoral colleges, but they're very different in function and purpose from the one that decides U.S. presidential elections.
Ever sat on an airplane and wondered how your laptop works at 30,000 feet?
A new study reports that the U.S. Endangered Species Act has helped marine mammal and sea turtle populations to significantly regenerate.
Whenever a winter is exceptionally cold, the term "polar vortex" gets thrown around, causing many to wonder if it is a new weather phenomenon. Actually, the polar vortex is always with us – just usually with a lower profile.
President Trump has threatened to use emergency powers to build a border wall without Congressional approval.
From rocket launches and eclipses to meteor showers and lunar landings, these are the space events you won't want to miss in 2019.
Like Earth, the sun does rotate, but in a different way.
So much of our cosmological history starts with the much-discussed Big Bang, but what led up to that cataclysmic moment? And did time even exist back then?
From plane crashes and deaths to sports superstitions and hexagrams, many people believe that the number 23 possesses magical properties.
With 36,000 workers, it has its own fire department, banks, day care facilities, medical clinic and water treatment plant.
This all-female unit of Soviet bomber pilots during World War II helped pioneer the role of women in military aviation.
Scientists are still trying to come up with a conclusive explanation for the Martian blueberries.
How, in today's world, could a cave this massive go undetected for so long?
Yep – there is a hidden space behind those famous presidential faces.
It is a mind-blowing amount.
Palm oil has become one of the most widely used substances on the planet, but its cultivation has been an environmental and human rights disaster.
Stratospheric Aerosol Injection (SAI) is a controversial possibility in the effort to slow the rate of climate change.
