Tag Archives: Culture & Society

Fire Pit

This year’s Olympic flame isn’t a flame at all—and that’s a good thing

The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris had a goal of being the most environmentally-friendly games in history. One way to meet this goal was by asking the question: “What if the Olympic flame looked like a flame, but wasn’t one?” Learn how engineers came up with the illusion at the heart of the Olympic Games

Sepia-, blue-, and green-toned grungy film negatives overlapping background

Earthquakes, Megaquakes, and the Movies: Lights! Cameras! Disaster!

Tornadoes, ice ages, asteroids, megaquakes, and sometimes angry aliens: Hollywood sure enjoys disasters! Read this article about the differences between Hollywood’s view of earthquakes and the views of the scientific community. Learn the real-world science behind movie myths and mayhem.

Cat Carved in Jack-O'-Lantern

The CIA’s Most Highly-Trained Spies Weren’t Even Human

Pigeons that guide missiles to their targets? Cats that spy on secret meetings? Trained spiders? Read this article to learn why Bob Bailey, the first director of the Navy’s dolphin training program, says he’s never found an animal he couldn’t train—and find out what his animals have been trained to do.

Two teenage girls giving a bank card to a cashier in a store

How Retailers Are Using AI To Manipulate Consumer Shopping

Have you ever wondered why some products appear at the top or bottom of online shopping search pages? Or why some items appear twice? Or why you may see identical items with different prices? Artificial Intelligence is powering more and more online and it has a growing ability to influence consumer decisions—and to do so in ways the consumer is unaware of.