Exploring bleeding edge experiments, oddities, new and bizarre dicoveries, and fact-checking conspiracy theories since 2008. No question is out of bounds and no topic is too strange for a deep dive.
# oddities
A new experiment shows that ridicule as almost as effective as debunking when it comes to dissuading people from falling for conspiracy theories.
# sex
A widely covered study alleges that humans lost the penile bone and a certain measure of endurance in mating. But that finding seems to be at odds with other studies.
# tech
In most fields, bleeding edge research is conducted in academic labs, not corporate bullpens. In computer science, that's often not the case.
# science
Quantification and tracking gets people to do more of what you want them to do, but makes doing it a lot less fun.
# sex
AAU's survey of inappropriate sexual behavior did not go smoothly and its results raise a lot of questions about both their methodology and college culture.
# science
A new study shows that human languages do tend to follow the same logical rules, but the theory's sheer scope means it only takes one exception to invalidate its premise.
# sex
American seniors are convinced that millennial life is just an orgy of constant casual sex. But research into the matter shows absolutely no evidence of this.
# space
Mars One might be imploding under its own hype but that doesn't mean we can't learn from its ability to tap into people's desire to explore.
# science
The future of meat isn't exactly not meat, at least not yet. But there is one way we could convince at least some people to start eating meat that doesn't come from an animal...
# sex
The idea that sexual abuse and careers in porn go hand in hand isn't true according to a survey of adult performers. But the context of the findings and public reactions to them are still quite unsettling.