Life's Little Mysteries Weird Archives
Can Bad Memories Be Erased?
September 3 , 2010, by Molika Ashford, Life's Little Mysteries Contributor
Many people think of memory like a video, as if it were a perfect record of events to be replayed over and over again in the mind. But even as scientists have learned how very unlike a video our memories… View Full Article »
What's a Petri Dish?
August 30 , 2010, by Benjamin Radford, Life's Little Mysteries Contributor
Unless you're a working scientist, your exposure to the petri dish has probably been limited to using them high school biology class or seeing them in mad scientist horror films. But the lowly petri dish… View Full Article »
A Dozen Extraordinary Egg Facts
August 20 , 2010, by Karen Rowan, Life's Little Mysteries Managing Editor
Salmonella bacteria found in eggs prompted a nationwide egg recall of 380 million eggs this week. As the FDA works to investigate the how the outbreak occurred, Life's Little Mysteries has rounded up a… View Full Article »
Is It Safe to Cut Off the Mold and Use the Rest?
August 17 , 2010, by Michelle Bryner, Life's Little Mysteries Contributor
There’s more to mold than that green, possibly furry patch on the surface of your bread, or the velvety dots found on old fruit. It turns out that the colorful patches visible to the naked eye are the… View Full Article »
13 Strange Things That Happened on Friday the 13th
August 12 , 2010, by Remy Melina, Life's Little Mysteries Staff Writer
Friday the 13th is synonymous with bad luck and superstitions — so much so that some people flat-out refuse to fly, make business deals or get married on this fateful day.
As many as 21 million people… View Full Article »
Could Humans Live Without Bacteria?
August 12 , 2010, by Molika Ashford, Life's Little Mysteries Contributor
The idea that trillions of bacteria are swarming over your skin and through your body is enough to give anyone the creepy crawlies.
But as long as humans can't live without carbon, nitrogen, protection… View Full Article »
Why Does Your Nose Run When You Eat Spicy Food?
August 10 , 2010, by Nicholas Gerbis, Life's Little Mysteries Contributor
Uh-oh. Judging from your reaction, that chunk of Indian food you just bit into wasn’t some harmless vegetable, but a bhut jolokia, the world’s hottest chili pepper, according to Guinness World Records.
Eyes… View Full Article »
Does Microwaving Vegetables Destroy Their Nutrients?
July 15 , 2010, by Stephanie Pappas, Life's Little Mysteries Contributor
Nuke away! Microwaving vegetables isn't any worse for your veggies than other types of cooking. And, in some cases, it may be better.
Some natural-food enthusiasts have argued that microwaves "kill" food,… View Full Article »
Superstitions Bring Real Luck, Study Reveals
July 12 , 2010, by Amber Angelle
The next time you cross your fingers or tell someone to break a leg, you may actually be bringing some luck.
Superstitious ways of bringing good luck are found in cultures around the world, and it turns… View Full Article »
Public Swimming Pools: How Dirty Are They?
July 1 , 2010, by Remy Melina, Life's Little Mysteries Staff Writer
Public swimming pools have earned a bad rep as unsanitary petri dishes of infectious diseases – but is this reputation unfounded or well deserved?
One-in-eight public swimming pools was immediately… View Full Article »
