At an international competition, spectators held their breath as a long, narrow boat raced across the water, leaving its rivals far behind. The crowd erupted for the winners—Soviet athletes—who were bombarded with questions about their “secret” to success.
The athletes talked about training, paddling tactics, and casually mentioned their relationship with the water — it’s soft… until you hit it. Understanding that behavior helped explain their success. The rowers plunged their oars into the wat…

Combine 1 teaspoon dry yeast, 1.5 cups warm (not hot) water, 1.5 teaspoons salt, and about 2.2 pounds sifted flour. Gradually add the flour while gently kneading the dough until it’s smooth and soft. Place the dough in a bowl, cover it with a towel, and set it in a warm, draft-free spot—a kitchen cabinet works perfectly. After 1.5 hours, punch the dough down, dust it with flour, and bake the loaf for about 25 minutes. To check doneness, lift the loaf from the pan and tap the bottom; it should s…

Timing a runner is easy: time when they start and when they cross the finish-line tape. But how do you measure a bird’s flight speed?
A method for measuring flight speed has been found, and a feathered champion has emerged.
In a competition testing speed, endurance, and navigation, a flock of albatrosses from Midway Atoll in the Hawaiian Islands took part. The birds were captured, transported to remote islands in the vast Pacific Ocean, and released. Soon after, the winner’s return to Midway At…

Imagine a communication device from more than a thousand years ago. But this ancient “phone” had nothing in common with the phones we use today.
It consisted of two dried gourds connected by a tightly stretched cord. While it’s unlikely the device could transmit human speech, it was possible to communicate with a series of taps. Tapping one empty gourd sent sound along the cord, and the other gourd amplified it as a resonator.
Remnants of such a communication device were discovered in the ruins…

In the Altai region, the Pazyryk burial mounds contain the well-preserved bodies of Scythian chieftains and their wives, buried about 2,500 years ago. The graves also contained fully equipped sacrificial war horses. It’s as if the fabrics, carpets, and personal belongings of our distant ancestors—the Scythians—were laid to rest just yesterday.
Another remarkable example involves the body of Menshikov, a close associate of Peter the Great, which lay in a cemetery in the Siberian city of Berezovo…

There’s nothing worse than biting into an apple and finding a worm inside. It may look rosy and fragrant on the outside, but inside it’s a mushy mess. There’s little joy in eating fruit that’s been compromised. And the tree supplies all its apples with the same nutrients, so worm-infested fruit gets just as much as healthy fruit…
But is there a way to tell if a worm has made its home in an apple while it’s still green?
You won’t find out just by feeling the apple with your fingers. If you use a…