What is the secret behind feeling momentarily weightless in an elevator? Do we really weigh as much as our weighing scale shows us? A little elevator physics made simple.  
Read on ...

This freshwater dolphin is found in the two great river systems of south Asia: the Ganga in India and the Indus in Pakistan. It has eyes but no sight and judges distances through echoes. And its numbers are decreasing.  
Read on ...

We allow most of our rain water to run into the drains. Simple rural techniques of water storage show us how we can actually use this water in the dry months.  
Read on ...

A glass of water kept in the sun becomes boiling hot, but water in an earthen pitcher is refreshingly cool. How does the earthen pitcher keep water cool?  
Read on ...

New research shows that tickling the tiny hair on the hind legs of grasshoppers make them swarm and turn into dangerous locusts. These locust swarms can travel across countries and are capable of stripping a field in a matter of hours.  
Read on ...

Sunlight carries heat with it. This heat is enought to melt ice, but ice is transparent. Sunlight penetrates thick layers of ice without making it melt.  
Read on ...

Everything that goes up has to come down. That is why it is only a matter of time before a satellite too, comes back to earth.  
Read on ...

A submarine is a type of boat which can travel either on or under water. The principle that air is lighter than water is what makes this possible.  
Read on ...

Look at a cat fall from a height. You expect it to hurt itself, but it doesn't. This is because cats have an in-built mechanism to adjust their position during a sudden fall.  
Read on ...

Like computers, our bodies have a software code called the genetic code which makes it run.  
Read on ...

Their intention is not to attract others. It is just the opposite. The bright colour is a warning by these poisonous reptiles to their predators - don't mess with us.  
Read on ...

No one knows whether it is Save Our Souls or Save our Ship but they all know SOS is a coded signal for help used by ships, planes and stranded people in distress the world over.  
Read on ...

They look like potato nuggets but are mushrooms. Found in France and Italy these food delicacies are extremely expensive and in great demand.  
Read on ...

Every year a great amount of water is added to the oceans. Will they overflow then?  
Read on ...

The shape of the egg has an important use. It protects the chick inside, until it is time for it to break out of its shell.  
Read on ...

They are the engineers of the animal kingdom and use their building skills to raise families and escape preying animals.  
Read on ...

The sun is also a star. But it does not twinkle. Wonder why stars do?  
Read on ...

A warm, clear day followed by a cool evening is the magic formula for dew drops to form.  
Read on ...

A beam of light seems to have no colour. Actually it is made up of coloured light rays that can be seen at certain times.  
Read on ...

I was flying home. As the aircraft climbed up, my ears hurt. A fellow passenger asked me swallow air a few times. It helped.  
Read on ...

It is only when a horse is carrying a rider or a heavy load, that it needs shoes.  
Read on ...

Unlike humans and birds their bodies do not become weak with age. They continue to grow for as long as they live.  
Read on ...

These vegetarian animals have buck teeth so that they can fight plants with thorns and chemicals, and have them as food.  
Read on ...

Plants use human beings, animals and birds who eat their fruits, to spread their seeds far and wide...  
Read on ...

There are deep holes or craters and hills on the Moon's surface. We look at the uneven surface and see it as a face.  
Read on ...

Insect-eating plants are found in places with an acidic soil. Such soil lacks nutrients essential for the plant to make food.  
Read on ...

Both kill, cause large scale destruction, and pollute the air. There the comparison ends, for the mass destructive power of the nuclear bomb over time and space knows no limits.  
Read on ...

Touching a high voltage wire is extremely dangerous, yet crows and sparrows, perched on these wires, never get a shock - apparently all that current coursing right below them, leaves them quite unruffled.  
Read on ...

Vampires have been a part of myths and legends all over the world. People of Translyvania are now using the legend of Count Dracula to build a theme park...  
Read on ...

After a long bath or swimming session, you end up with raisin like fingers. What could be the reason?  
Read on ...

You are busy in a conversation and suddenly burst out into uncontrollable hiccups. What are the hiccups and why do we get them?  
Read on ...

The modern pen and pencil have come a long way since their humble cave beginnings - from stones, bones, twigs and feathers.  
Read on ...

Wool was probably the first fibre to be woven into a textile, when early humans switched their primary roles from hunters to herders.  
Read on ...

The Chinese discovered the magic of silk 10,000 years ago and kept it to themselves for two thousand years before the world came to know of the most zealously guarded secrets in history.  
Read on ...

Footwear has a history which goes back many thousands of years. Scientists estimate the first shoes were made from animal skins during the Ice Age 5000,000 years ago!  
Read on ...

When the scientist Thomas Alva Edison said hello over the newly invented telephone, the whole world thought he was the one to coin the word. But hello, that's not true.  
Read on ...

Our stomach contains acid strong enough to corrode metal and dissolve complex molecules. However, our stomach doesn't burn under its influence. How does that happen?  
Read on ...

Whales and dolphins both live in the deep blue seas. However, both these creatures are unable to see the colour blue. This is because their eyes lack the cells that register blue colour.  
Read on ...

No matter how fast you drive, the sun never gets left behind. This is because of the enormous distance between earth and sun. The sun always remains in our field of vision.  
Read on ...

This is an anti-tobacco activist's dream. It plays a health warning when you open a cigarette pack.  
Read on ...

When scientists in the University of Southern California rear tubeworms, they keep the immature worms refrigerator cold and under high pressure.  
Read on ...

Is it from the Greek ‘ola kala’ meaning ‘it is good’, or the initials OK written by freight merchant Obeidah Kelly on the documents he checked? Or could it be a mere accident of language!  
Read on ...

With millions of books and thousands of publishers, how does one identify a specific title or special edition? International Standard Book Numbering is a simple method that is used to identify books.  
Read on ...

Scientists are creating new software programs which try to recreate the process of human learning in a computer, in an attempt to make them 'think'.  
Read on ...

Sitting, standing, inside, outside, there is an immense weight over your head, but you don't feel it! This is the weight of the atmosphere - or air, as we know it.  
Read on ...

No, the white trail left behind by a jet aircraft is not the fairies' trail - it is actually a cloud!  
Read on ...

Overturn a sauce bottle untouched for some time, and the sauce will either not flow, or fall as a blob. But shake the bottle and the gooey ketchup will flow more freely!  
Read on ...

The Dead Sea is a lake that lies between Jordan and Israel. The water in the lake is so dense, it cannot support any aquatic life.  
Read on ...

Egg shells can be crushed with very little force. Then how is it that they don't even crack when a mother hen sits on them to hatch them?  
Read on ...

Water behaves strangely on being cooled. All substances contract on cooling. But water starts expanding after being cooled beyond a certain point...  
Read on ...

It looks like a beaver, has a bill like a duck, walks like a lizard and lays eggs, but it is a mammal. What is it?  
Read on ...

Have you ever wondered how the same television programmes can be viewed by millions of people across the world?  
Read on ...

The Voyager spacecraft covered millions of miles through space to study the farther planets of the solar system.  
Read on ...

Everyone blinks. But this seemingly useless action is in reality, very useful. It protects the eyes from all the dust and pollution around us.  
Read on ...

A sheep named Dolly is the twin sister of her own mother. Genetic engineers have been able to accomplish this feat by cloning the sheep. Humans could follow suit...  
Read on ...

Ham radio enables people to communicate with other people across the globe without using telephones or satellites. They are simple, inexpensive and easy to operate.  
Read on ...

Volcanoes are so powerful, they can create new land masses and islands. Our earth is like a giant pressure cooker steaming, smoking...  
Read on ...

Everything that is born has to die. The sun will too. And it will be quite a dramatic event.  
Read on ...

Pluto is the farthest planet in the solar system. But astronomers are now challenging Pluto's claim to being a planet.  
Read on ...

It has long been known that when certain materials absorb energy, they may throw it back in the form of light. Scientists are using these materials to create books which emit light and can be read even in the dark.  
Read on ...

Animals are capable of long distance communication. And they don't require any electronic devices to do so.  
Read on ...

The Andromeda galaxy is the nearest and the brightest galaxy. It is twice as big as our Milky Way. You can actually see it on any clear winter night.  
Read on ...

Is it possible to run a car on water? No, it is not a joke, the fuel cell does exactly that - it converts water into electricity.  
Read on ...

Deep inside the earth most of the material remains in a super heated molten state. Scientists are now using this heat to generate electricity. It is free and clean.  
Read on ...

Nowadays, you can sometimes sample a perfume advertised in a magazine, in the advertisement itself. Ever wondered how this happened?  
Read on ...

A trip to a fair feels incomplete without having a sweet, fluffy cotton candy. The cotton candy is actually nothing but sugar spun into tiny threads.  
Read on ...

The ink used in a ball-point pen is thicker than the ink used in a fountain pen. The pen writes because a tiny ball placed at the tip of the ball-point pen rotates when we write..  
Read on ...

Cola is among the favourite drinks in the world. Its sweet tangy taste is something everyone likes. Actually the cola gets its fizz from the carbon dioxide dissolved in it.  
Read on ...

Snoring is a common sleep disorder. It occurs when the muscles at the back of throat relax during sleep.  
Read on ...

Stars are thousands and thousands of miles away. But how do astronomers calculate this distance...  
Read on ...

At daybreak, the sun appears as a reddish ball. It gives way to a golden-white sheen as the day advances and reappears as an orange ball at the time of setting. Does the sun really change colour or does it only seem so?  
Read on ...

Its hind legs are larger than its fore legs and the rat uses its tail to balance itself. It even hops around like a kangaroo. And this desert creature requires practically no water to survive.  
Read on ...

As the Indian summer approaches the rickety air coolers come out of the closets. But do you know that our bodies have their own system of cooling? And that involves sweating...  
Read on ...

Look carefully. The little black dashes on the wall are ants walking in a line. It is their way of finding their way about without the help of gadgets like compasses.  
Read on ...

The potato is a stem that grows under the ground, the onion is actually a leaf. These are ways by which plants have adapted themselves to their surroundings, to store water and food.  
Read on ...

Chimpanzees share 99 per cent of the human DNA that determines inherited characteristics in people. And female birds can spot the better of two male songbirds in minutes, while experts take three hours over it!  
Read on ...

The shaking of the earth caused by a sudden shifting of rocks below its surface, is called an earthquake. Through a simple experiment understand the process.  
Read on ...

A pinwheel that turns in the wind is fun to play with. But when the wind turns the blades of a windmill, it has the power to pump water and produce electricity! For countries like Holland, the windmill is a big windfall.  
Read on ...

Have you ever noticed what you do when you have to shout? You cup your hands around your mouth when you shout? Do you know that there is a 'sound' reason behind this gesture?  
Read on ...

The size of a candle reduces as it burns. But where does all the wax disappear? To unravel this secret you need to know what a candle is made of.  
Read on ...

The cricketer or the person on the beach wears that 'white paint' as protection against the harmful rays of the sun. This increased exposure to these rays is because human actions have reduced the earth's safety blanket of the ozone layer.  
Read on ...

Be it the condor (eagle) or the Concorde, their flying feats stem from their wings. To understand how it happens you have to realise the power of the wind that rushes past the wings...  
Read on ...

Ever noticed how an approaching train's whistle gets louder, fading as it moves away? The scientist Doppler studied this mystery. Wonder of wonders, his discovery - the Doppler effect - can also be used to understand the secret of our expanding universe.  
Read on ...

In the same way as a fast-moving carom striker hits the coins, many small rocks and heavenly objects encircling the sun head for the earth, attracted by its gravitational pull. When they hit the earth, it can sometimes be fatal - they made the dinosaurs extinct.  
Read on ...

Why does a cricket bowl swing? Is it magic or does it have a science behind it. Read and find out.  
Read on ...

Cool and sweet, that red transparent blob of jelly looks so inviting. You know what makes it set so? It's gelatine, which in turn is made from an animal tissue called collagen.  
Read on ...

Did you ever think you could pay and buy a star? Sounds strange, doesn't it? Well, it is happening!  
Read on ...

Very often when you put the milk to boil, it spills. Have you wondered why this happens?  
Read on ...

An earthquake can change the topography of a region. The greatest land mountain range and the long undersea mountain range below the Pacific and Antarctic Oceans are the aftermath of enormous quakes that rocked the earth.  
Read on ...

An earthquake is literally an earth shattering experience. Buildings may collapse and people are trapped under falling debris. It is best to be prepared for such emergencies and know what to do and what not to do.  
Read on ...

When an earthquake occurs, it generates energy that travels across the surface of the earth at a speed of several kilometres per second. A network of seismographic stations measures these waves and tabulates them on a Richter Scale.  
Read on ...

An earthquake is the sudden release of energy from below the surface of the earth. Stress in the earth's outer layer causes a pushing effect against a fracture between two plates. This releases energy in waves that we feel during an earthquake.  
Read on ...

Though called dragons, the Komodo dragon is a lizard found in the Komodo islands of Indonesia. Komodo dragons are also the world’s largest lizards measuring over 10 feet and weighing over 130 kilograms.  
Read on ...

These black and white striped animals are distant cousins of the horses. They are found only in Africa and are virtually untamable. One would think the stripes would make them very conspicuous but among the tall grass the pattern is an excellent camouflage.  
Read on ...

If you were to press your thumb on an inkpad and then on a sheet of white paper you will leave a smudge or print, which no one else in the world can make. Each print is totally unique and they remain practically unchanged from a person’s birth to death.  
Read on ...

The ancient Romans staged games where men called gladiators, fought with others for sport. Called the games or circus, the spectacle was first held in the market place and later at the Colosseum, and staged for Caesar and Rome.  
Read on ...

Ananas originates from South America. To the early Spanish voyagers this curious fruit had an abrasive, segmented exterior like a pinecone and inside a firm interior pulp like an apple. So combining the two they called it ‘pineapple’.  
Read on ...

We have all been vaccinated against various diseases while we were kids. To kids all over the world it is a very scary and painful experience when the time comes to roll up the sleeves and count the seconds before the pinprick of the injection.  
Read on ...

Wrongly referred to as blood cancer, it is actually cancer of the bone marrow. Years ago, a person with leukaemia was considered really hopeless. Today, advances in modern drugs have led to enormous improvements in survival and cure rates.  
Read on ...

If you thought yawning indicated that you were bored and tired, think again. New research indicates that yawning actually perks people up!  
Read on ...

At the very first chop into this vegetable, you end up shedding copious tears as if someone is taking a stick at you. Is this the vegetable’s way of saying don’t take a knife and cut me?  
Read on ...

Our lives are constantly dictated by time. We rush in and rush out trying to meet various schedules in our lives. But have you ever stopped to think why the needles of the clock run in a certain way?  
Read on ...

Winter in certain countries heralds snow. Children love to play in it either on sleds or on ice skates as the lakes and rivers freeze in the cold. Others go to mountain resorts and ski on the snow covered slopes.  
Read on ...

Built in 1855 and used as a mail hauling locomotive, troop transporter, construction engine and later a display item, the Fairy Queen has come a long way. If you are lucky you can even hitch a ride.  
Read on ...

The ability of jazz musicians to improvise constantly on their music is the reason why jazz has so many exciting forms to it.  
Read on ...

With origins in the soulful blues sung by African slaves in America, Jazz has evolved into one of the modern world's most enduring musical forms.  
Read on ...

The king of fruits, mango, is a hot favourite to many people. This golden yellow fruit is usually associated with summers, but today is available the year round and in what variety….Phew!  
Read on ...

The earliest ads were simple messages classified into different categories. Today, Indian advertising has grown into a huge industry making many brands household names in the process.  
Read on ...

The first recorded instance was in Iraq over eight centuries ago. But in this day of mobile phones, the police of Orissa in India still employs pigeon couriers to carry mail.  
Read on ...

It's the one thing a soldier away from home looks forward to: mail. Serving over a million soldiers across the length and breadth of the country and in remote inaccessible places, the army post office makes it all possible.  
Read on ...

The Church at Palayur, in Trichur district, Kerala had its altar consecrated by Apostle Thomas Didaemus himself in 52 A.D. It still stands, though the altar itself is enclosed inside a new building built in 17th century.  
Read on ...