Would I Weigh Less at the Equator? By Ben Mauk Amazingly, you would experience less gravity at Earth's equator. An object's gravitational pull on another object depends upon both objects' masses and their mutual distance.
Why Is Yawning Contagious? By Ben Mauk Some current theories focus on yawning as a social cue (like laughing) that communicates information and helps organize group behavior.
Why Is Ice Slippery? By Ben Mauk A century and a half of scientific inquiry has yet to solve this one.
Why is Grass Green? By Ben Mauk Like many plants, most species of grass produce a bright pigment called chlorophyll.
Why Is Hair Parted? By Ben Mauk The function of body and head hair, and why it grows the way it does.
Why is Poop Brown? By Ben Mauk Fecal matter, aka poop, is the end product of the digestive process - and here's the secret of its chief visual property.
Why is Cow's Milk White? By Ben Mauk A combination of calcium-rich casein and certain fats give bovine juice its color.
Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze on Ice? By Ben Mauk Actually, bare feet prevent these stately ice emperors from burning up in their suits.
Why Does the Body Tan? By Ben Mauk An explanation of the purpose of melanin in humans and other animals.
Why Does Pain Make People Scream? By Ben Mauk Screaming is an evolutionarily useful tool becuase it lets others know something is wrong.
Why Do You Stink? By Ben Mauk Don't get offended! You could be hyper-hygienic and you'd still ooze odors. Even grosser, bacteria's to blame.
Why Do We Grind Our Teeth? By Ben Mauk Bruxism sounds like a radical political philosophy, but here the proletariat is the citizenry of your mouth, being ground down by an oppressive reflex of the jaw.
Why Do Soft Drinks Go Flat? By Ben Mauk When you pop the top, the pressure inside the can decreases, causing the CO2 to convert to gas and escape in bubbles.
Why Do Blood Types Differ? By Ben Mauk Evolution seems to have allowed for varying types based at least in part on environmental pressures.
Why Can't We Reach the End of the Rainbow? By Ben Mauk You'll never swim out to the horizon, and you'll never reach a rainbow's end. The visibility of both requires distance between object and observer.
Why are Ears Shaped So Strangely? By Ben Mauk Those external folds of cartilage and skin, called the pinna, have important resonant properties that modify high-frequency sound waves entering the ear before funneling them to the middle ear.
What Makes My Ears Ring? By Ben Mauk That ringing or buzzing in the ear is a symptom of hearing loss resulting from excessively loud noises.
What Makes Wheels Appear to Spin Backward? By Ben Mauk Two competing theories are currently rolling around the academic journals for acceptance.
What's the Doppler Effect? By Ben Mauk The Doppler effect describes the difference between a sound and its source.
What is Fire? By Ben Mauk Prometheus stole fire from the gods and bequeathed it to humans. Aristotle defined it as one of the four essential elements.
