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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Einstein showed us a mind-blowing way the universe works, while Max Planck and his gang showed us how particles on the atomic and subatomic levels work. But one doesn't explain the other. So there must be a larger theory encompassing them ... or not?

By Kate Kershner

What does 444 really mean for your life, love, and future? Don't ignore this sign. Discover the shocking truth behind angel number 444 now.

By Jonathan Strickland, Melanie Radzicki McManus & HowStuffWorks

Explore the world of tattoo meanings! Decode the symbolism, culture, and significance behind various tattoo designs. Ink your story with purpose.

By HowStuffWorks

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Move over, mediums. Lots of people say they talk to the dead, including the bereaved. Ready to meet a few others?

By John Perritano

It's a 15-foot man-beast with glowing eyes, doglike teeth, a long tongue and no lips. Gray skin sags off its skeletal frame. We're talking about the wendigo. And it's coming to get you.

By Laurie L. Dove

A key ingredient of horror films, junior-high slumber parties and occult practices, the Ouija board has been fascinating and scaring people for more than a century. But does it really contact the spirit world, or is there a more logical explanation?

By Julia Layton

We all eat things we probably shouldn't, and that's OK from time to time. But there are some foods that are such nutrition bombs that even occasional indulgence isn't exactly wise.

By Maria Trimarchi

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Blood-sucking vampires and brain-munching zombies tend to hog all the undead credit, but we think ghouls deserve a macabre article all their own. Read it -- if you dare.

By Robert Lamb

Made of plain pine or shaped like a shoe, mourners may inter them, suspend them or set them ablaze. How much do caskets and coffins differ?

By Allison Wachtel & Desiree Bowie

These booming sounds are part of a mysterious phenomenon that's occurred for years around the U.S. and elsewhere in the world.

By Patrick J. Kiger

Are strange skeletons unearthed across the globe evidence that we're not alone, or are they simply more myths and legends that are bound to be debunked?

By Diana Brown

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There's no doubt people are seeing lights. But are they really spirits of ghosts - or even aliens - or can these unusual lights be clarified with a simple explanation?

By Diana Brown

If mental strain caused a bloody nose, academic testing sites would be awash in crimson. So why do we still see psychic nosebleeds from "Stranger Things" to "Scanners"?

By Laurie L. Dove

Is 'Jim Wilson' really a code name airlines use to refer to a corpse being transported on a plane? Or just an urban myth?

By Kristen Hall-Geisler

Dragon fire is an awe-inspiring thing, but exactly how would it happen? Real-world clues from nature point the way.

By Laurie L. Dove

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Thousands of years ago, the Babylonians created the zodiac and dropped a constellation when it didn't quite fit into their schematic. Its name? Ophiuchus. Should it be part of our horoscope?

By Kate Kershner & Kathryn Whitbourne

Humans have only been bipedal for a sliver of history. What if we returned our spines to their original position and quit walking upright? What would that world be like?

By Julie Douglas

A bunch of Yale physicists decided to give Schrodinger's cat not one but two boxes. And that, strangely enough, could eventually prove handy for quantum computing.

By Julia Layton

Can infrasound explain away ghosts, hauntings and other paranormal activity?

By Diana Brown

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When a super-realistic android or video character gives us a creepy feeling, it enters the uncanny valley. Why do we get spooked, and what can we do to avoid it?

By Ed Grabianowski

CERN's work has been groundbreaking to say the least, but conspiracy theories run rampant about the potential disasters it could cause, too.

By Diana Brown

Theories surrounding the source of the Tunguska blast that rocked the Siberian region in 1908 abound. But the exact cause is still a mystery.

By Diana Brown

Straitjacket sales may be low, but people still make them, and they definitely still use them.

By Adrian Rogers

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Does everyone's favorite Wookiee call Bigfoot family?

By Robert Lamb

From plane crashes and deaths to sports superstitions and hexagrams, many people believe that the number 23 possesses magical properties.

By Patrick J. Kiger