Strange News - Weird Science News and Discoveries

How does the rubber pencil illusion work?

By Isobel Whitcomb

The rubber pencil illusion works because our brain can't keep up.

Venus flytraps produce magnetic fields when they eat

By Yasemin Saplakoglu

These carnivorous plants generate tiny magnetic signals when they clamp down on insects.

The colorful sea whip (Leptogorgia virgulata) is often mistaken by beachgoers for a tangle of cable or rope.

'Pile of rope' on a Texas beach is a weird, real-life sea creature

By Mindy Weisberger

Frequently mistaken for discarded piles of beach trash, ropelike sea whips are a type of colorful coastal coral.

A view of the tent as the rescuers found it on Feb. 26, 1959. The tent had been cut open from inside, and most of the skiers had fled in socks or barefoot.

Russia's 'Dyatlov Pass' conspiracy theory may finally be solved 60 years later

By Brandon Specktor

The infamous Dyatlov Pass incident, where 9 hikers died under mysterious circumstances, just got its first scientific explanation after 60 years of speculation.

A rock collector in Brazil found this agate, a type of volcanic rock, that looks just like Cookie Monster.

Rock collector finds rare gemstone that looks like Cookie Monster

By Stephanie Pappas

An agate discovered in Brazil bears a remarkable resemblance to the Sesame Street muppet Cookie Monster.

Can science 'prove' there's an afterlife? Netflix documentary says yes.

By Stephanie Pappas

The new Netflix series 'Surviving Death' marches through an array of paranormal phenomena, some unprovable, some debunked and some genuinely mysterious.

Lizzie Borden's home, site of a brutal double murder, is for sale. Borden, pictured here in 1889, was accused and acquitted of the axe murder of her father and stepmother.

Lizzie Borden's home, site of brutal axe murders, could be yours for $2 million

By Mindy Weisberger

The home where Lizzie Borden's father and stepmother were murdered is now a bed and breakfast, and a museum. Its retiring owner just put it on the market.

U.S. Navy videos of alleged UFO sightings were previously available but had not been officially declassified.

CIA releases entire collection of UFO-related documents to truth-seeking website

By Brandon Specktor

The CIA just turned over 2,700 pages of UFO-related material to The Black Vault, a free repository of UFO records online.

An image shows the coils of the long siphonophore.

10 science records broken in 2020

By Yasemin Saplakoglu

From the longest bird flight to the oldest identical twins, 2020 was filled with record-breaking science.

10 times science made a sucky year suck less

By Yasemin Saplakoglu

From the incredible efforts of scientists to develop a COVID-19 vaccine in record time to clapping seals, this year had some amazing discoveries.

The 'double boomerang' of an x-shaped radio galaxy.

Live Science's top stories of 2020: Writers' choice

By Mindy Weisberger

From a mirror universe to X-shaped galaxies, these stories guaranteed that 2020 would be a year to remember.

A fiery meteor slams into Earth's atmosphere.

Fireballs, spaceships and … iguanas? 7 strange things that fell from the sky

By Nicoletta Lanese

Watch your head!

CSIRO's Parkes radio telescope, also called The Dish, located in Australia.

Alien hunters detect mystery signal coming from the closest star system

By Rafi Letzter

Astronomers hunting for radio signals from alien civilizations have reportedly detected an "intriguing signal" from the direction of Proxima Centauri, the nearest star system to the sun.

The fly species Coenosia tigrina with two large holes in the abdomen. The holes are an effect of infection with the fungus Strongwellsea tigrinae. The infective spores are discharged through these holes.

Newly discovered fungi turn flies into zombies and devour them from the inside out

By Stephanie Pappas

Two newly discovered fungi eat flies from the inside out while dropping new spores out of holes dissolved in the living flies' abdomens.

The octopus's ninth arm is an offshoot on its left third arm.

Rare 9-armed octopus found off Japan coast

By Laura Geggel

How did an octopus in Japan grow nine arms?

While conducting a count of bighorn sheep in a portion of southeastern Utah, on Nov. 18, 2020, researchers spotted a mysterious metal monument in the middle of the desert.

Who set up this mysterious metal monolith in Utah desert? (It's not aliens.)

By Stephanie Pappas

Who embedded a 10-foot-tall metal monolith in the remote Utah desert?

This man visited the Soviet embassy in Mexico City while Lee Harvey Oswald was in Mexico in 1963. U.S. officials think it may be Oswald.

JFK conspiracy theory is debunked in Mexico 57 years after Kennedy assassination

By Gonzalo Soltero

Most conspiracy theories surrounding President John F. Kennedy’s assassination have been disproven.

Rockefeller, the stowaway owl found in the Norway Spruce taken to Rockefeller Center, all wrapped up in a sweater.

Tiny owl found hiding in the Rockefeller Christmas tree isn't going home. Here's why.

By Laura Geggel

The owl found in the Rockefeller Christmas tree isn't going back to his original territory. Here's why.

Two brown bears hunt on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula.

Mama and baby bear shot to death aboard Russian nuclear submarine

By Brandon Specktor

A mother bear and her cub were shot and killed by Russian hunters after boarding a docked nuclear submarine in Kamchatka.

A heron likely regretted eating an eel after it burst out in midair.

Alien-like photo shows eel dangling out of heron's stomach in midair

By Laura Geggel

The eel probably thought "not today" as it burrowed out of the heron's stomach.