There is a strong temptation to explain organised-looking animal behaviour by assuming somebody is organising it.
An ant trail invites exactly that. A line of insects moving purposefully between a…
There is a common assumption about layered rocks that slate steadily breaks.
The assumption is that a rock which splits into sheets does so along the layers in which it…
Most of the waiting on a trip is avoidable and is caused by arriving at the same moment as everybody else. Here are ten things that change how much of…
Most rock is worn away mechanically. Limestone is removed chemically, taken into solution and carried off in the water, and a landscape shaped by dissolving behaves unlike anywhere else. Here…
Every other preservation method makes food hostile to spoilage organisms. This one removes them entirely and then locks the door. Here are fifteen consequences.
1. The Order Is Seal First,…
Almost every visible feature of a transmission line is a solution to one of two problems: keeping the electricity in the wire, and keeping the wire in the air. Here…