Science Versus Myth
Are vampires real? What is an out-of-body experience? Are crop circles proof that aliens exist? HowStuffWorks explores what is real and what is urban legend with this collection of Science Versus Myth articles.
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The Meaning and Significance of Angel Number 949
Angel Number 155: Unveiling Its Mysteries and Significance
All About the Hoop Snake: Separating Fact From Fiction
Origins of the Fresno Nightcrawler, a Pants-shaped Cryptid
Goatman Legends of Ancient Greece and Modern America
Is Sacred Geometry Related to Science or Is It Simply Beautiful?
What's Going on With Detroit's Mysterious Zug Island?
10 Unidentified Sounds That Scientists Are Seriously Looking Into
What If Cows Didn't Exist?
What If Earth's Magnetic Field Flipped?
What If Humans Could Breathe Underwater?
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If minerals make up so much of the Earth, why would we ever face shortages? The availability of the resources we use to create products often depends more on our priorities than the planet's supply.
Assuming we got to keep the sun, how bad would be for travelers to not have these little guiding lights? And what else might have changed in history without stars?
People would look underground for water and maybe just stay there to escape the fiery hell on Earth's surface. But could humanity really last without the seas?
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Sure, Saturn's luminous rings are a cosmic marvel, but did you know that Earth once had rings? If we still had them today, what would they look like?
The undead are frightening, brain-hungry monsters, lumbering toward their victims with great purpose. But wait. Can they even digest brains?
Your dog just swallowed a plate full of chicken bones. Is he really in serious danger? The short answer: yes. Find out why you need to get him to a vet immediately.
By Jeff Harder
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
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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?
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
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Solar flares disrupt Earth's magnetic field when they hit the planet, causing issues with power and GPS. But if a major solar storm hit Earth, the consequences could be catastrophic.
If you don't recycle, you should. If you do recycle, you should do more. And what if everybody in the world started to recycle? At the very least, it would help us attack that enormous plastic patch in the middle of the ocean.
It's a strange thing to think about, but have you ever wondered what would happen if the ozone layer suddenly wasn't there? Here's a hint: Getting a bad sunburn would be the least of your problems.
Remember learning about photosynthesis when you were a kid? Let's pretend for a moment that this vital process could somehow permanently stop. How tough would it be to continue to live on this Earth?
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Picture the smells of a warm, sunny day in July. To your left, a neighbor is barbecuing. To your right, someone has put a warm apple pie on the windowsill to cool down. Smells great, right? So how does sunshine factor into all of this?
From tropical islands to arctic tundra, we humans appear capable of living just about anywhere. But do different groups of people fare better in certain types of climates, or are we just really good at adapting to the environment around us?
Our early ancestors, enjoying the effects of rotten fruit, had stumbled onto something big. How did alcohol serve as a nutrition source and, some believe, help motivate hunters to take up farming?
There'd be some sacrifices. But bird-people society would have its advantages: interchangeable parents, sophisticated gardening skills and a close relationship with trees.
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Income inequality contributes to societal ills. Would mandating equal paychecks for all improve the situation or lead to work-shirking and massive government?
When it comes to eating certain questionable foods - like unrefrigerated potato salad - most of us know to stay far away. But what about moldy bread? If you cut the offending areas off, is it a risk worth taking or a ticking time bomb?
Say a guy mistakes "the Pill" for a breath mint. Is he going to have any lasting side effects if he takes one? What about if he took it regularly?
Tons of planets have more than one moon. Heck, Jupiter and Saturn have more than 50 each, and they seem to be doing just fine. So why is it that the idea of a second moon for Earth has scientists throwing up red flags?
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Double the suns means double the suntan, double the solar energy and double the awesome sunsets, right? Well, not exactly. Having two suns might sound fun, but it would probably make for a pretty different environment here on Earth.
We all know what Viagra does and why men use it - not to mention how much money this particular prescription drug has made over the years. But does it improve sexual health for women, too?