Strange News - Weird Science News and Discoveries

Crop circles in a field outside the village of Avebury, Wiltshire, England

Crop circles: Myth, theories and history

By Benjamin Radford, Callum McKelvie published 27 January 22

Reference Crop circles that mysteriously appear in farmers' fields have puzzled experts and sparked UFO theories.

What is a second cousin?

By Ailsa Harvey, Live Science Staff published 21 January 22

Reference There's a simple way to figure out the relationships between relations, including your second cousins and first cousin once-removed.

Reference

"The Rock" says he purchased the skull of a T. rex named Stan.

Did The Rock buy Stan, the most expensive Tyrannosaurus rex on record?

By Laura Geggel published 18 January 22

Rumors are swirling after a Tyrannosaurus rex skull was spotted in the home of The Rock in a recent interview. But is it real or a cast?

A girl looking at a world map in a classroom.

Why is the world map you know wrong?

By Joe Phelan published 15 January 22

Here's why flat world maps always have distortions.

A concept image of a Bigfoot silhouette walking through a forest.

Bigfoot: Is the Sasquatch real?

By Benjamin Radford, Patrick Pester published 14 January 22

Bigfoot, or Sasquatch, is a large ape-like creature some people believe inhabits North America but there's no hard evidence it actually exists.

Why does cannabis smell skunky?

By John Arnst published 8 January 22

Cannabis has long been called "skunky." Turns out, stinky sulfurous compounds are to blame.

A goldfish drives a water-filled, motorized "car."

Wild video shows goldfish 'driving' a water-filled car in weird experiment

By Cameron Duke published 6 January 22

A supremely weird new video shows a goldfish driving a water-filled, motorized "car" to help scientists understand how they navigate on land.

Why do we still measure things in horsepower?

By Joe Phelan published 1 January 22

Here's how the term "horsepower" got its start and why we still use it today.

The fish trapped inside the beached compass jellyfish on a beach near Padstow in Cornwall, U.K., on Aug. 4.

11 strange things that washed ashore in 2021

By Live Science Staff published 27 December 21

A rundown of some of the strangest things the sea carried to the shores this year.

Chimpanzees are adept at using tools in the wild

When humans are gone, what animals might evolve to have our smarts and skills?

By Joanna Thompson published 18 December 21

If humans suddenly went extinct, what animals are most likely to develop human-like societies?

Image at 10 times magnification of an experimental mixture of myxobacteria from a strain that overexpresses TraAB and adheres to itself (yellow) and a strain that is non-adhesive and non-reversing (blue).

Swarms of mutant bacteria look just like Van Gogh's 'Starry Night'

By Harry Baker published 17 December 21

A new study of swarming bacteria has created microscope images that resemble Vincent van Gogh's paintings.

Here, a real image of Buzz Aldrin saluting the U.S. flag on the surface of the moon.

The 13 biggest conspiracy theories

By Benjamin Radford, Stephanie Pappas published 17 December 21

Conspiracy theories that have taken hold range from a faked moon landing to Barack Obama's birthplace to chemtrails.

Are jackalopes real?

By Tara Santora published 4 December 21

Can rabbits grow horns, as the legendary jackalope does?

Photograph of submariners standing on top of the Seawolf-class fast-attack submarine USS Connecticut in the water at Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton, Washington, May 7, 2018.

Nuclear-powered US submarine collided with a hidden underwater mountain, Navy reveals

By Harry Baker published 3 November 21

An investigation into a recent collision involving a nuclear-powered U.S. submarine has revealed it hit an unmapped seamount in the South China Sea.

The SETI Institute's Allen Telescope Array (ATA) searches our galaxy for radio signals from potential intelligent alien life.

Why extraterrestrial intelligence is more likely to be artificial than biological

By Martin Rees published 1 November 21

Lord Martin Rees argues that if humans do find intelligent alien life, it will be artificial not biological.

What would happen if light traveled much more slowly?

What would happen if the speed of light was much lower?

By Ashley P. Taylor published 30 October 21

Here's what would happen if the speed of light were orders of magnitude slower.

A car drives with "Area 51" written on the back before the start of a "Storm Area 51" spinoff event called "Area 51 Basecamp" on September 20, 2019 near Alamo, Nevada.

Siege of top-secret Area 51 began as a joke. Officials prepared to use deadly force in response.

By Mindy Weisberger published 19 October 21

UFO enthusiasts who rallied in 2019 to invade Area 51 may have been joking about "storming" the base. But law enforcement officials took the idea very, very seriously.

This photo does NOT show the rattlesnakes under the California home. Here, four gravid timber rattlesnakes basking at rookery area near their den.

Why did more than 90 rattlesnakes move into a California home?

By Stephanie Pappas published 18 October 21

More than 90 rattlesnakes were pulled from the foundation of a California home, where the snakes may have been gathering to give birth.

A hammerhead shark that is preserved in alcohol in the East Wing of the Natural History Museum in Berlin, Germany.

Why is alcohol used to preserve things?

By Donavyn Coffey published 5 September 21

Here's how alcohol can help preserve DNA, tissue samples and even entire organisms.

Pi is an irrational number, meaning it has an infinite number of decimal points.

Pi calculated to a record-breaking 62.8 trillion digits

By Harry Baker published 17 August 21

Researchers are set to break the world record for the most precise value of pi, after using an advanced computer to calculate the famous constant to 62.8 trillion decimal places.