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Ask Us Anything

PopSci editors answer your most-outlandish, mind-burning questions, from the ordinary to the off-the-wall.

Latest Ask Us Anything Stories

FYI: What Do Forensic Chemists Do, And Why Would They Cheat?

By Krislyn Placide

/ Dec 3, 2012

FYI: What Makes Hair Curly?

By Daniel Engber

/ Dec 3, 2012

Why Do Stars Really Twinkle?

By Daniel Engber

/ Nov 9, 2015

FYI: Can Viagra Make You A Better Athlete?

By Colin Lecher

/ Dec 1, 2012

FYI: Why Don’t Spiders Get Trapped In Their Own Webs?

By Daniel Engber

/ Dec 13, 2012

Does ‘Bracing For Impact’ Really Protect You In A Crash?

By Daniel Engber

/ Nov 5, 2015

Why do we get goosebumps?

By Elaina Hancock

/ Oct 22, 2018

FYI: Why Are Mean People So Hot?

By Julie Beck

/ Nov 29, 2012

Do People Who Grow Up In The Arctic See Better In The Dark?

By Daniel Engber

/ Jan 25, 2016

Why do I feel dizzy after spinning?

By Claire Maldarelli

/ Oct 18, 2018

Say I’m Inside the Large Hadron Collider and It’s Revving Up. Should I Be Concerned?

By Danny Freedman

/ Aug 1, 2008

FYI: What Kind Of Dinosaur Meat Would Taste Best?

By Erin Berger

/ Dec 20, 2012

FYI: What Causes Motion Sickness, And How Do You Cure It?

By Brooke Workneh

/ Dec 24, 2012

Will Drinking Carbonated Beverages Weaken My Bones?

By Matthew Cokeley

/ Jul 30, 2008

FYI: Which Computer Is Smarter, Watson Or Deep Blue?

By Will Grunewald

/ Dec 26, 2012

FYI: Can You Make An Authentic Twinkie At Home?

By Colin Lecher

/ Nov 20, 2012

FYI: What’s The Most Porous Material On Earth?

By Krislyn Placide

/ Nov 17, 2012

FYI: What Is Sea Foam? Where Does It Come From?

By Emily Elert

/ Nov 16, 2012

FYI: What Material Is Water Most Afraid Of?

By Krislyn Placide

/ Nov 16, 2012

Does It Help To Hit The Snooze Bar? [video]

/ Oct 27, 2015

FYI: Why Do We Crave Greasy Food When We’re Hung Over?

By Melody Chandler

/ Dec 31, 2012

FYI: What’s The Darkest Material On Earth?

By Krislyn Placide

/ Nov 14, 2012

FYI: Can Japan’s Latest Soft Drink Really Help You Lose Weight?

By Stephanie Warren

/ Nov 13, 2012

FYI: What’s The Softest Material On Earth?

By Daniel Engber

/ Nov 12, 2012

Do I have a cold or the flu?

By Nicole Wetsman

/ Oct 5, 2018

Are Records Really Better?

By Corey Binns

/ Jul 3, 2008

Do Natural Disasters Breed Health Epidemics?

By Jonathan M. Katz

/ Jan 7, 2013

If You Dropped a Corn Kernel From Space, Would it Pop During Re-Entry?

By Stuart Fox

/ Dec 31, 2008

FYI: Why Does Salt Water Make Hurricane Damage So Much Worse?

By Colin Lecher

/ Nov 1, 2012

Ask a Mars Career Counselor

/ Jan 6, 2009

Does Coffee Give You A Different Buzz Than Tea?

By Daniel Engber

/ Oct 19, 2015

FYI: Could You Survive A Flight Strapped To The Wing Of A Plane?

By Colin Lecher

/ Jan 14, 2013

Dropping the Soap

By Amy Geppert

/ Jun 6, 2008

FYI: How much caffeine would it take to kill you?

By Sam Eifling

/ Oct 29, 2012

Should I Be Freaked Out By Backwash?

By Daniel Engber

/ Feb 17, 2016

FYI: Why Is There A Winter Flu Season?

By Emily Elert

/ Jan 17, 2013

Why Do I Feel Like Someone’s Watching Me?

By Daniel Engber

/ Feb 19, 2016

FYI: Why Would Someone Create A Fake Internet Girlfriend?

By Colin Lecher

/ Jan 19, 2013

FYI: What’s The Worst Pollutant In The World?

By Daniel Engber

/ Jan 22, 2013

FYI: How Do Places On Mars Get Their Names?

By Rebecca Boyle

/ Oct 23, 2012

Ask an Interspecies Musicologist

By David Rothenberg

/ May 22, 2008

How do you make the perfect snowball?

By Daniel Engber

/ Jan 24, 2013

FYI: Do Men Really Fall Apart When A Female Soldier Gets Killed?

By Shaunacy Ferro

/ Jan 29, 2013

FYI: What Kind Of Gas Mileage Can You Get From A Naval Warship?

By Daniel Engber

/ Oct 17, 2012

FYI: What Is Deer Antler Spray, And Why Would A Football Player Use It?

By Colin Lecher

/ Jan 31, 2013

How Do I Become an Internet Rock Star on the Cheap?

By Jonathan Coulton

/ Feb 2, 2009

FYI: Why Does Cheese Taste Better When It’s Melted?

By Daniel Engber

/ Oct 15, 2012

Will Practicing A Skill In Your Head Make You Better At It?

By Daniel Engber

/ Oct 5, 2015

Which is More Powerful: A Giant Microscope or a Giant Telescope?

By Daniel Engber

/ Feb 29, 2016

FYI: What Gives Ravens Quarterback Joe Flacco His Mutant-Like Arm?

By Colin Lecher

/ Feb 1, 2013

FYI: If I Did A Bag Of Lance Armstrong’s Blood, Could I Bike Up A Mountain?

By Colin Lecher

/ Oct 12, 2012

FYI: What Causes Near-Death Experiences?

By Colin Lecher

/ Oct 10, 2012

FYI: What Causes Muscle Twitches?

By Dan Nosowitz

/ Feb 5, 2013

Can People Safely Eat Cat Food?

By Bjorn Carey

/ Feb 10, 2009

FYI: Do Zombies Experience Consciousness?

By Shaunacy Ferro

/ Feb 5, 2013

FYI: Is It Legal To 3-D Print A Handgun?

By Clay Dillow

/ Oct 4, 2012

Do Beards Keep Men Warm?

By Daniel Engber

/ Mar 10, 2016

What’s With All the Movie Mathematicians?

By Daniel Engber

/ Sep 22, 2015

Why Do Shower Curtains Billow Inward?

By Daniel Engber

/ Mar 14, 2016

FYI: Do Meteor Showers Ever Run Out of Meteors?

By Daniel Engber

/ Feb 18, 2013

FYI: Now We’ve Looked Below The Surface, Why Isn’t Mars Red On The Inside?

By Rebecca Boyle

/ Feb 22, 2013

FYI: Could Hand Sanitizer Make You Catch On Fire?

By Rose Conry

/ Feb 23, 2013

FYI: Why Do Girls Throw Like A Girl?

By Colin Lecher

/ Sep 18, 2012

FYI: How Do You Ship A Dinosaur Halfway Around The World?

By Francie Diep

/ Feb 26, 2013

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