Butterfly wings create dazzling optical illusions
Popular Scienceby Laura Baisas11d ago
Rabbits and doves are the animals most associated with human magicians, but butterflies may be the real magicians of the animal kingdom.
Popular Science
popsci.comadded August 2026
top 36%October skygazing: Two meteor showers and two planets at full opposition
Popular Scienceby Tom Hawking11d ago
Everything comes in twos this month: two outer planets reaching full opposition to the sun, providing optimum viewing conditions, along with two meteor showers.
Bear #89 (Backpack) wins Fat Bear Week 2026
Popular Scienceby Popular Science Team12d ago
A new fat bear head wears the crown. Bear #89 Backpack is officially the champion of Fat Bear Week 2026.
Mathematician creates new shape with 8 sides, 26 edges, and 3 holes
Popular Scienceby Andrew Paul12d ago
It may be hard to believe, but mathematicians are still discovering shapes. The latest three-dimensional example is far stranger than your standard cube or pyramid.
Cold War espionage added $4.6 billion to East Germany’s economy
Popular Scienceby Andrew Paul12d ago
No matter what side you were on, espionage was a cornerstone of Cold War political life. But it was also big business.
Amazon's Big Deal Days sale starts October 6th, but here are 70 early deals worth buying right now
Popular Scienceby Stan Horaczek12d ago
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Since 1934, the Federal Duck Stamp has raised $1.3 billion for habitat conservation
Popular Scienceby Laura Baisas12d ago
Three hundred thirty-one gorgeous duck stamps. Fifteen finalists. Two days of fierce competition. One winner.
Technics' new EAH-A1000 flagship wireless headphones are a fluid mixture of precision and feeling
Popular Scienceby Tony Ware12d ago
We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more › In 1994, I got my first summer job .
Fat Bear Week final: It's Bear #910 vs. Backpack
Popular Scienceby Popular Science Team12d ago
Only two remain. Fat Bear Week 2026 comes down to Bear #910 (unofficially known as Dancing Queen) and Bear #89 (Backpack). Which big head will wear the crown?
The world’s loudest birds squawk as loud as a jackhammer
Popular Scienceby Laura Baisas12d ago
Two new contenders for the title of world’s loudest bird are flocking into the record books—the bare-throated bellbird (Procnias nudicollis) and red-legged seriema (Cariama cristata).
How smart are octopuses? Smart enough to use mirror.
Popular Scienceby Jennifer Byrne13d ago
Part of its brain lives in its arms. It can see with its skin. It has no bones at all, allowing it to fit into any space larger than its beak—oh, and yes, it has a beak.
The Headphone (1) Pro is a whole lotta Nothing, and it's really something
Popular Scienceby Tony Ware13d ago
We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more › Most new wireless active noise-canceling headphones can be explained in a one-pager.
Bald eagles Shadow and Kaydee share a peaceful morning, Jackie's memorial service approaches
Popular Scienceby Laura Baisas13d ago
As summer melts into the fall, internet-famous bald eagle father Shadow is getting into a bit of a routine with a potential new mate named Kaydee.
How to help wildlife after a nor’easter
Popular Scienceby Margherita Bassi13d ago
After killing one person and injuring four, the storm that pummeled the northeastern United States for days is finally winding down. But this early “nor’easter” hasn’t just impacted humans.
Robot dog runs a marathon faster than the average human, all on a single charge
Popular Scienceby Mack DeGeurin13d ago
Engineers in South Korea created a first-of-its-kind robot dog capable of completing a marathon faster than many humans, and it did it all on a single charge.
Fat Bear Week semi-finals: Bucky Dent vs. Backpack and 132 vs. 910
Popular Scienceby Popular Science Team13d ago
Only four chunky specimens remain in Fat Bear Week 2026. Two ladies with fascinating backstories, Bear #132 and Bear #910, battle in the first semi-final, while clever big boys Bucky Dent and...
5 ‘trailblazing’ caribou return to Canada’s wilderness
Popular Scienceby Margherita Bassi13d ago
Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada has five special new inhabitants: one caribou (Rangifer tarandus) bull and four caribou calves.
The 'Father of Modern Taxidermy' wrestled leopards and worked for P.T. Barnum
Popular Scienceby Amy Crawford13d ago
Before Carl Akeley came along, natural history museums were somewhat sedate affairs. “You would have, let’s say, the birds of a certain region, all lined up in stiff poses,” says Mark Alvey, who...
Giant, feathered dinosaur with massive claws and tons of teeth found in China
Popular Scienceby Sarah Durn14d ago
Most dinosaurs are pretty weird-looking. But you know a dinosaur must be extra weird looking when paleontologists call it “anatomically bizarre.” That’s the story behind Therizinosauria, a rare...
Shockingly blue turtle discovered in Kentucky backyard
Popular Scienceby Margherita Bassi14d ago
When a Kentucky woman purchased a home in the town of Campbellsville, she had no idea that she would also be taking in an unexpected animal: an Eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) with...