The Pavlov’s Dog experiment is among the most famous in the history of psychology. As the story goes, in 1901 Russian scientist Ivan Pavlov observed that if a dog was presented with food, it would begin to salivate in anticipation. If, however, that food was repeatedly presented alongside a separate stimulus – like the ringing of a bell – eventually […]
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It is a classic parenting nightmare: you drop your tiny tot off at the grandparents’ or a friend’s birthday party, hoping to get a few hours’ reprieve from tending to their every shrill, snot-nosed demand. But alas, your plan backfires, for when you return to pick them up you discover that their hosts have filled them up with enough sugary […]
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In the second episode of the acclaimed television series Breaking Bad, high school chemistry teacher-turned-drug kingpin Walter White and his accomplice Jesse Pinkman find themselves in a rather sticky situation. Having just killed two drug dealers who kidnapped and forced them to cook methamphetamine at gunpoint, the pair must now find a way to dispose of the bodies. Drawing on […]
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On July 11, 2021, high over the New Mexico desert, Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo detached from its mothership and ignited its engines, rocketing billionaire Richard Branson and five crewmates past the edge of space. The 15-minute suborbital hop made Branson the first person to fly into space aboard his own privately-built spacecraft and officially ushered in the age of commercial space […]
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Imagine, for a moment that the unthinkable has happened. Whether due to nuclear war, climate change, an asteroid impact, or one too many classic 80’s movies being remade, society has utterly collapsed, leaving only a handful of survivors clinging to life amid the rubble of civilization. Every day, you and your loyal – if mildly radioactive – dog set forth […]
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When it comes to agonizing ordeals, few experiences can compare to that of being shipwrecked. If you are lucky – or unlucky – enough to escape a quick death by drowning, then you face the bleak prospect of drifting on the open sea, exposed to the blistering sun, caustic saltwater, violent storms, hungry sea creatures, and pretty much everything else […]
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Ranked 66th on the Fortune 500, the Walt Disney Company is among the largest corporations in the United States, and the second largest entertainment company in the world. Valued at over $148 billion, the company owns 5 of the 10 most valuable media franchises including Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, operates 14 theme parks and resorts around the […]
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These days, it seems that movie theatres will try just about everything to lure viewers away from the comfort and convenience of television and streaming, from 3D releases to giant IMAX screens to “4D” seats that shake and rock along with the onscreen action. And as theatres struggle to recover from the massive hit in attendance caused by the COVID […]
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If you go walking through the parks and leafy neighbourhoods of Quincy, Massachusetts, you may stumble upon an unusual set of ruins. At the end of a quiet cul-de-sac, a set of crumbling granite rails rise up a shallow hill into the woods, their end flanked by a pair of carved stone obelisks. While unimpressive at first glance, these ruins […]
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“Confucius say” jokes are perhaps how many people in the Western world know of Confucius. Older individuals might also associate him with fortune cookies. At best, many think of Confucius as an aphoristic sort of philosopher, offering wise quotes, not unlike the Book of Proverbs in the Bible, but not a fully systematic thinker the likes of Plato and Aristotle. […]
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One of the crown jewels of the American National Park system, Yellowstone spans nearly 9,000 square kilometres of northwestern Wyoming – an area of breathtakingly beautiful landscapes including mountains, canyons, lakes, rivers, and geothermal springs. Created by the American government in 1872, Yellowstone contains some of the popular and beloved natural attractions in the United States, such as the Grand […]
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The human body is an odd thing, at incredibly fragile yet at the same time surprisingly resilient. On the one hand, even the most seemingly minor injuries can result in an untimely death. For example, in October 1911, Jack Daniel, founder of the famous Tennessee distillery, entered his office and attempted to open the safe… But the lock proved troublesome, […]
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Laura A. asks: What exactly do Scientologists believe? Oh boy, we can already tell that the comment section for this one is going to be a ton of fun, so let’s just get straight to it. The Church of Scientology has a reputation as an infamously secretive and litigious organisation that hides its inner workings far from the prying eyes of […]
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On July 20, 1969, the world looked on in awe as 39-year-old astronaut Neil Armstrong stepped off a ladder of the Lunar Module Eagle and onto the surface of the moon, becoming the first human to set foot on a natural celestial object. This moment, watched on television by over 650 million people worldwide, has gone down in history as […]
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Agencies like the CIA and MI6 are tasked with collecting and processing data deemed potentially vital to their respective counties’ national interests, and then, in an ideal world, making sure those who need to know this information to inform their decisions and plans know it. In order to do this, they need people on the ground, so to speak. So […]
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When Boris Yeltsin resigned as president of the Russian Federation, it was expected, but sudden. He resigned so his Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin could become president on January 1, 2000 – the start of the new millennium. Since then, Putin has been the most powerful man in Russia and one of the most powerful men in the world. Today that […]
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Choking the chicken. Shaking out the curtains. Spanking the monkey. Lone Rangering. Polishing the jewel. Shaking hands with the milkman. Celebrating Palm Sunday. Romancing the stone. These are but a few of the colourful euphemisms for what is perhaps humanity’s oldest pastime: masturbation. For much of human history, the act of piloting the Millennium Falcon with Hand Solo has been […]
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More than a century after it struck an iceberg and sank beneath the waves, the Royal Mail Ship Titanic continues to capture the popular imagination. It is a classic fable of ambition, hubris, and the tragic social divisions of the Gilded Age, and has inspired countless books, documentaries, TV programs, and one of the highest-grossing feature films of all time. […]
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