Popular Science. Demystifying the worlds of science and technology since 1872.

Cordyceps fungus: ‘The Last of Us’ co-star thriving outside the spotlight
Parasitic fungi have a grip on us, yet most are still a scientific mystery.

The Earth once vibrated for 9 days straight
Plus other weird things we learned this week.

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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Oklahoma City bombing trauma changed the ‘actual physical being’ of survivors
‘The mind may be resilient… but the body doesn’t forget.’

Billionaires dream of building utopian techno-city in Greenland
The ‘freedom city’ is the latest effort to create stateless cities with minimal corporate regulation.

Iconic Windows 95 startup chime added to National Recording Registry
The familiar Microsoft sound was composed by ambient music pioneer Brian Eno.

Cannibal tadpoles help Australia fight invasive species
Researchers have created genetically engineered ‘Peter Pan’ cane toads.

The world is heating up. How much can our bodies handle?
Scientists put people in a heat chamber for nine hours. Here’s what they learned.

Archaeologists hike up a cliff and find 20,000-year-old stone tools
Human ancestors may have used the tools to hunt large game in present-day South Africa.

NASA nominee: ‘We will prioritize sending astronauts to Mars’
NASA previously estimated it could cost half a trillion dollars to put humans to the Red Planet.

Why is fluoride in water so controversial? The science of fluoridation, explained.
The decade’s old public health intervention has been a big boost in the fight against tooth decay.

Cave discovery could rewrite 1,000 years of Mediterranean history
Hunter-gatherers in the region may have taken to the open seas before farming.
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