Watching a school of fish move can be hypnotic. The way they turn in near-perfect synchronicity is equal parts beauty and evolutionary brilliance. While scientists know that fish school as a defense mechanism against predators, what researchers from Johns Hopkins University have just discovered is that, while this is true,…

Our partner Rob Brezsny, who has a new book out, Astrology Is Real: Revelations from My Life as an Oracle, provides his weekly wisdom to enlighten our thinking and motivate our mood. Rob’s Free Will Astrology, is a syndicated weekly column appearing in over a hundred publications. He is also the…

467 years ago, Cuenca was founded in Ecuador, a city of such beauty that it has become known as the “Athens” of South America. Founded on the ruins of the Inca city of Tomebamba (a major administrative center) and the Cañari city of Guapondelig, in 1999 its historic center was…

The year was 1978: Prime Minister Aldo Moro had been kidnapped in Italy, the US Senatorial proceedings were broadcast on the radio for the first time, and Patrick Moriarty was teaching his junior high science class about solar eclipses. Explaining their trajectories, the path of totality, and other such details,…

In the world’s largest Muslim nation, a street food vendor’s tasty sundown snack has become so popular that people rush to get one whether they’re breaking a Ramadan fast or not. The resulting rush has created a kind of friendly competition in the decidedly laid-back country, and even though the…

In difficult situations, physical touch like a hug or a pat on the back can reduce stress; so much so that researchers from the University of Basel have found it can statistically improve free throw points in collegiate basketball. The research demonstrates just how sensitive humans are to physical touch,…

To be a drug-sniffing dog you have to be impassionate, which is exactly what Roger the golden retriever was not. Though he flunked out of the Kaohsiung City police academy in Taiwan, his career in public service was not over, and has now captured the hearts of his people with…

Happy 64th Birthday to Jeremy Clarkson, the journalist and television personality who hosted the iconic motoring show Top Gear. Since hanging up his BBC boots, he bought a rather large farm, and has been entertaining these days on Amazon Prime’s Clarkson’s Farm, where he takes his blithering idiocy and orangutan-like demeanor into…

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station orbited right past the solar eclipse Monday and grabbed some intriguing photos. The path of totality in the Moon’s shadow can be seen plunging the Northeastern coast of the US and part of Canada into darkness, while seven crew members watched from space. Orbiting…

“Hello, uh, you ordered groceries? Your driver got arrested, so we’re delivering your groceries!” It would have been difficult to summarize the sense of surprise that homeowner Joe Neu and his family felt when Florida police officers arrived carrying bags of produce and groceries. The story made national news on…