Science Versus Myth

Figuring out how to deal with rising sea levels isn't some kind of purely academic exercise. It's happening. So how do we deal with it, especially if the sea rises a foot in our lifetime?

By Jeff Harder

You would probably be pretty freaked out if you ate uranium, right? Well, if you've ever eaten a potato or turnip, you may already have done so. How does your body deal with this radioactive substance?

By Jeff Harder

Feel like drinking a nice, big glass of embalming fluid? We didn't think so. But what would happen if a living person poured into his or her body something meant for the insides of the dead? Nothing good.

By Jeff Harder

A small amount of household bleach, while it sounds gross, probably won't harm you. But what happens if you drink more than that?

By Nathan Chandler & Jeff Harder

Yes, you can eat marijuana, but turns out it can provide a much different -- and possibly more potent -- high than when you smoke it. Read on to find out ingested marijuana's effects on the body.

By Jeff Harder

Dragons have captured imaginations -- and their fair share of maidens -- across the globe. But are they more than mythological?

By Laurie L. Dove

The speed of light is like that annoying friend who beats you at every game. What would happen if humans one day surpassed the cosmic speed limit?

By William Harris & Patrick J. Kiger

It's one of those fantastic things you may have wished for at one point, like, say peace on Earth, but would a world full of cures be radically different from the one we know, or not so much?

By Susan L. Nasr

While organizations around the world are fighting to end famine, so far, no one has come up with a game-changer. Why does famine happen in the first place, and what would a hunger-free world be like?

By Jessika Toothman

Would we stick flowers in our hair and dance in the street? Or twiddle our thumbs and wonder what to do with all that new free time? Join us as we ponder a world without war.

By Robert Lamb

Would a world with ample water for all mean less disease? Fewer wars? Globally improved health and finances? Sip along with us as we wonder what if.

By Jonathan Atteberry

It's a crazy thought, but what if cancer didn't exist? And malaria, schizophrenia and every other illness that disrupts our normal functioning? Come along as we investigate what such a world might look like.

By Susan L. Nasr

Unless you've been living under a rock (one not appearing on Google Maps’ Street View), you're probably intimately familiar with the behemoth and its many services. But what would the world look like if this powerhouse company had never existed?

By Nathan Chandler

Before leaving work, you'll need to check the traffic report. Lately, a disruptive T. rex has meant some adjustments to your commute. What other changes would be in store if dinos roamed the Earth?

By Jessika Toothman

Decapitation is a surefire way to deliver a quick and painless death, right? In actuality, an increasingly large body of historical and scientific evidence suggests that beheading doesn't, in fact, deliver instant death.

By Josh Clark

How great would it be to reconcile general relativity with quantum theory and truly have a theory of everything? That's what a band of theoretical physicists and their trusty hypothetical strings have been working on for decades.

By Robert Lamb

Once upon a time, our universe was born. Was it all just luck that it evolved in a manner compatible with life? Or are such "coincidences" all in a day's work for a universe?

By Robert Lamb

You know the drill: You plunge into darkness and then see a bright light. An angelic figure speaks to you. Why are people's near-death experiences so similar?

By Patrick J. Kiger

Let's assume that it's possible to create a complete loop in time travel -- that time travelers could travel into the past and then return to the future (or vice versa). What could we do with our time machine, and how would time travel affect our lives?

By Chelsea Hedquist

You may know that the ancient Egyptians used embalming in mummification. But they weren't the first to embalm their dead, nor were they the last. In fact, it's still being done today.

By Elizabeth Sprouse

Matches work by combining flammable chemicals with heat from friction. Learn whether you can light a match with sandpaper in this article.

By HowStuffWorks.com Contributors

Wood, grass and food scraps undergo a process known as biodegradation when they're buried. They're transformed by bacteria in the soil into other useful compounds, but those same bacteria typically turn up their noses at plastic. Luckily, that's not the end of the story.

By William Harris

Plastics that aren't recycled tend to hang around our planet like houseguests who have worn out their welcome. Can biodegradable plastics, which may break down in fewer than 90 days, change that scenario?

By William Harris

The hybrid car may be the savior of the automobile industry, but its production processes have come under fire of late. The car may be green, but what about the way the car actually gets made?

By Dave Roos

Even though they've come down in price, solar panels are still expensive and somewhat inefficient. And then there are cloudy days. Can solar panels ever replace fossil fuels for our everyday needs?

By Jonathan Strickland