Mad About Science: Speed reading
By Brenden Bobby Reader Colunist I’ve always been a slow reader. I’m the kind of person who has to digest every bit of information I read; and, if my brain goes elsewhere mid-sentence, I...
Category: Mad About Science
Mad about Science: Huckleberries
By Brenden Bobby Reader Staff Idaho’s state fruit is a thing of natural wonder. Steeped in a sense of legendary mysticism, you hear locals talking about hucks (but never sharing their picking patches) and...
Mad About Science: Flies
By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist How many times have you suffered hours of torment from a lone, buzzing housefly persistently taunting you, landing somewhere on your skin and zooming away when you try to...
Mad about Science: Damascus steel
By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist It’s likely that you’ve heard the term “Damascus steel” at some point in your life — particularly if you’re a fan of swords. Beautiful marbled patterns rippling across the...
Mad about Science: Broken bones
By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist Trigger warning: If you’re squeamish, turn the page. I love telling this story for its gross-out effect, but it’s pretty graphic. You’ve been warned. — BB I’ll never forget...
Mad about Science: Animal babies
By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist Human beings spend a lot of time caring for their young. As a species, we officially consider our children to become adults at 18 years of age, when they...
Mad about Science: Swainson’s thrush
By Brenden Bobby Reader Staff June in Idaho means different things to different people; for some it’s a great time to drop the boat in the water, crack a cold beer on the lakeside...
Mad about Science: Ciphers and encryption
By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist Information is the most valuable currency available to humankind. Gold and silver are great, but the information of how to steal someone else’s gold and silver while protecting your...
Mad about Science: The radioactive ‘wild boar paradox’
By Zach Hagadone Reader Staff By now, pretty much everyone should be at least familiar with the disaster that befell the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant on April 26, 1986, when its Reactor No. 4...
Mad about Science: Shaving cream
By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist What is this mystical substance that squirts out of a can and foams up on your face, legs, pits or bits to make shaving a breeze? How did human...
