Popular Science. Demystifying the worlds of science and technology since 1872.
![africa and the middle east seen from space](https://www.popsci.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/blue-marble-earth.jpg?quality=85&w=1589)
New theory ups the odds that intelligent aliens exist
Humans might not be that special in the universe after all.
![Channel cover](https://www.popsci.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/The-Weirdest-Thing-I-Learned-This-Week-1.png?quality=85)
This worm got into some hot water and changed the course of history
Plus other weird things we learned this week.
![Rachel Feltman](https://www.popsci.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/rachel-feltman.png?quality=85&w=102&h=102&crop=1)
Rachel Feltman
At Popular Science, we report and write dozens of stories every week. And while a lot of the fun facts we stumble across make it into our articles, there are lots of other weird facts that we just keep around the office. So we figured, why not share those with you? Welcome to The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week.
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![Valentine’s Day 1946: The first general-purpose electronic computer blossoms](https://www.popsci.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/valentine_subtle.png?quality=85&w=800)
Valentine’s Day 1946: The first general-purpose electronic computer blossoms
The ENIAC was a 30-ton ‘numerical monster’—and pivotal in the history of consumer technology.
![couple sitting on sofa together](https://www.popsci.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/silence-in-couples-1600x600-1.jpg?quality=85&w=1200)
Quiet couples: Alone time together
The right kind of silence can be golden, revitalizing and strengthening a relationship.
![A selection of the mummified bodies in the exhibition area of the Egyptian museum in Cairo.](https://www.popsci.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Mummy-Shelves.jpg?quality=85&w=800)
What do Egyptian mummies smell like? Surprisingly pleasant.
Scientists and sniffers teamed up to study the ancient scents for the first time.
![Cut and impact marks indicating cannibalism on various human parts of the skeleton from the Maszycka Cave.](https://www.popsci.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Cannibal-Chart.jpg?quality=85&w=800)
Butchered skulls point to Europe’s Ice Age cannibals
‘It… seems unlikely that cannibalism was practiced out of necessity.’
![one jaw fossil and six vertebrae fossils lined up](https://www.popsci.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/florida-fossil.png?quality=85&w=800)
500,000 years ago, a bunch of animals fell into a Florida sink hole
Hobby fossil hunters found over 500 fossils in the murky waters of the Steinhatchee River.
![Once considered vestigial, the appendix may play an essential role in gut health.](https://www.popsci.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/appendix.jpg?quality=85&w=800)
Which body parts do humans not need?
Evolution left us with some organs and functions we no longer need.
![A California condor spreads its wings atop a mountain in Sierra de San Pedro Mártir National Park, in Baja California, Mexico.](https://www.popsci.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/condor-reintroduction-500x288-1.jpg?quality=85&w=800)
Return of the California condor
North America’s largest bird disappeared from the wild in the late 1980s. Reintroduction work in the United States and Mexico has brought this huge vulture back to the skies. This is the story of its comeback.
![HEGER Brock (usa), Polaris, Sébastien Loeb Racing - RZR Factory Racing, SSV T4, portrait during the Stage 9 of the Dakar 2025 on January 14, 2025 between Riyadh and Haradh, Saudi Arabia - Photo Frédéric Le Floc'h / DPPI](https://www.popsci.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/heger_eddy_dakar.jpg?quality=85&w=799)
A promising rookie takes on the world’s most grueling off-road race
A duo of Americans and Polaris take home the win in the 2025 Dakar’s SSV Class.
![ROV screenshot of OceanGate Titan wreckage tail section](https://www.popsci.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/OceanGate-Tail-Wreck.png?quality=85&w=800)
Listen to chilling underwater audio of the OceanGate ‘Titan’ implosion
The controversial submersible’s catastrophic failure killed five passengers en route to the ‘Titanic.’
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