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.
Top 10 Ghost Tours
Top 10 Hotels That Will Scare the Daylights Out of You
What's So Scary About The Winchester House Story?
The Pyramid in Antarctica Isn't Actually a Pyramid
The Spiritual Awakening Signaled by the 757 Angel Number
8888 Angel Number Meaning: Prosperity, Abundance, and Spiritual Growth
234 Angel Number Meaning: Unlocking Spiritual Guidance, Harmony, and Divine Messages
311 Angel Number: Meaning, Symbolism, and Guidance
Unlock the Secrets of the Nine of Pentacles: Your Guide to Abundance, Independence, and Refinement
Squonk: Cryptid Crybaby With a Damp Disappearing Act
Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus: The Internet's Favorite Fake
Black Demon Shark: Baja California's Aquatic Cryptic
Do Marfa Lights Come From UFOs, Cars, the Military or Ghosts?
Solfeggio Frequencies: Healing Tones or Pseudoscience?
Is Sacred Geometry Related to Science or Is It Simply Beautiful?
What If Cows Didn't Exist?
What If Earth's Magnetic Field Flipped?
What If Humans Could Breathe Underwater?
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It's a massive book that no one can read, and it has fascinated scientists, historians and cryptographers for decades. Is it a textbook, an encyclopedia ... or an elaborate hoax?
In 1977, SETI volunteer Jerry Ehman saw a transmission so exciting he circled it on paper and wrote the word "Wow!" It seemed to indicate a message from outer space. But what was it really?
The mysteries of Stonehenge have captivated us for centuries: Who built it and why? How did they move those giant stones? Though archaeologists and other researchers have replaced old theories with new ideas, many questions remain.
By Jane McGrath
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Was Anna Anderson really Anastasia Romanov? Does the Bermuda Triangle really exist? Wonder no more: We have the answers to these and other formerly unsolved mysteries.
A "law of miracles," you say? What, are people going to get fined for practicing miracles without a license? Is there even a certification program for becoming a miracle worker? No, it's a mathematical law?
We humans have no problem dreaming up superpowers we wish we had. There's flight, invincibility and super strength. But what about pyrokinesis or starting fires with our minds? Is that a real-life thing or comic-book fantasy?
Star jelly sounds like it could be some sort of cosmic spread for toast -- complete with a flashy label boasting, "Now with 50 percent more universe!" Unfortunately, the real story of star jelly is far less tasty -- and far more terrestrial.
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The Zone of Silence is Mexico's own Bermuda Triangle, a place where radio signals don't work and an alien might just turn up. But what is the real story behind it?
Ancient caves! Mysterious stones! Tiny little beings with strange heads! Sounds like the plot of an Indiana Jones movie, doesn't it? The legend of the Dropa stones has persisted for over half a century now, but is any of it actually true?
Humans riding dinosaurs: Sounds like a kid's dream come true! History tells us this couldn't possibly have happened, but the Ica stones say otherwise. So is there any truth to these allegedly ancient carvings, or are they just an elaborate hoax?
Whether in "King Kong," "Journey to the Center of the Earth" or "The Lost World," humankind has long held out hope of discovering a secret land filled with prehistoric beasts. But is that even possible? Are dinosaurs still alive?
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Fans of the Super Mario Bros. series know that enemy fish can attack from above. And fans of the film "Magnolia" know that sometimes frogs do rain from the sky. But this is purely the realm of pop culture. Things like this don't really happen, right?
Singing monuments sounds like the premise of an enchanted Broadway musical -- or a scene straight out of "A Night at the Museum." So did the Colossi of Memnon actually sing at one time? And if so, why don't they sing anymore? Stage fright?
Is the world really connected by an intricate, invisible web of knowledge-expanding energy waves? Sure, it's called the Internet -- and you're channeling it right now! Oh, you were asking about the ley lines? We've got an answer for that too.
Long before crop circles captured the world's imagination, a Peruvian culture called the Nazca went about creating a series of intricate lines -- sometimes in the shapes of animals -- on the desert floor. But how'd they do it -- and why?
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Obviously, if we had more evidence of the existence of ghosts, we wouldn't all spend so much time debating the matter. Believers in the supernatural, however, are convinced a substance called "ectoplasm" proves ghosts are real -- but are they right?
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.
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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?
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?
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There'd be some sacrifices. But bird-people society would have its advantages: interchangeable parents, sophisticated gardening skills and a close relationship with trees.
Income inequality contributes to societal ills. Would mandating equal paychecks for all improve the situation or lead to work-shirking and massive government?