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
Influenza can jump from pigs to dogs and is becoming more diverse in canines, increasing the possibility that it could eventually evolve to endanger humans.
People who consume massive quantities of animal protein report experiencing the meat sweats, a sensation of feeling flushed and fatigued, accompanied by profuse perspiration.
To define the location of objects in the sky, astronomers utilize a system of celestial coordinates, which extends latitude and longitude from Earth's surface into space.
Dark, cloudy skies and the drumbeat of raindrops on our windows tend to make people feel sad and forlorn, or at least that's what we have come to assume.
The nation's most prominent military burial ground is projected to run out of space as soon as the early 2040s. That may lead to a tightening of restrictions on who is eligible to be interred there.
The U.S. birth rate has plummeted since 1976. Is this a trend we should be worried about?
Robots are starting to show up in the restaurant industry, but their developers say they're designed to work alongside human workers, not replace them.
For the first 100 years, this amendment got little attention. But since the 20th century, Americans have been vigorously debating what exactly the "right to bear arms" means.
Pilots on international flights use Aviation English, a stripped-down, specialized version of the language, to communicate with air traffic controllers.
A NASA study of astronaut Scott Kelly showed that spending time in space altered the expression of some of his genes. But does being on a mountain cause similar effects?
China's newest unmanned submersible isn't designed to be cute — it can go deeper underwater, stay under longer and maneuver more deftly than its predecessors.
Mongol ruler Genghis Khan built the largest empire in human history, reshaping national boundaries and forging new diplomatic and economic relationships that still exist today.
The conviction of 80-year-old Bill Cosby on aggravated indecent assault charges raises the question of how sentencing works in the case of an elderly defendant.
Our fingerprints serve to definitively identify us forever, right? But do they? How long do fingerprints remain usable as identification after we are dead?
Anti-aging scientist Aubrey de Grey, who does math problems for relaxation, just made major progress on the daunting Hadwiger-Nelson problem.
The complicated U.S. immigration system, with its numerous categories and caps, can require some applicants to wait decades to become permanent legal residents.
Astronauts will be testing human and bull sperm to see how microgravity might affect future human reproduction in space.
The increasing interest in autonomous weapons around the world is alarming scientists, and there's a growing movement to halt the development of these weapons before the technology has a chance to proliferate.
He might be the most important scientist you've never heard of, but the ocean current that bears his name helped shape the development of evolutionary theory.
In 2000, a document called a military testamentary instrument was recognized by Congress to provide some clear-cut basic requirements for a military will, exempt from individual states' varying laws.
