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...
Category: Mad About Science
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...
Mad About Science: Mad Honey
By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist It’s no secret that I’m a bit of a food nut. Hunger and the avoidance of it is a driving force behind virtually every human behavior. We can consume...
Mad about Science: Wild and successful military tactics, part II
By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist We’re back to examine some wacky warfare tactics used successfully throughout human history. Last week we learned about siege Oreos and the U.S. Army, French prisoners of war and...
Mad about Science: Wild and successful military tactics, part 1
By Brenden Bobby Reader Columnist Warfare encapsulates all of the worst tendencies of humankind into an age-old chain of tragic stories. Amid their chapters, subplots and characters, some of those stories took unbelievably strange...
