This 1935 Car of the Future Had Huge Spheres Instead of Wheels
Between flying cars and three-wheeled cars, the period between World War I and World War II had some interesting ideas…
Obama Calls Americans a Bunch of Nerds
Popular Science has a new interview with President Obama about science and technology. And with it, he has effectively…
A French Inventor Once Proposed a Giant Mirror to Burn a Message on Mars
When we want to leave our mark on Mars today, we simply send over a few Rovers to roll around in its red soil. But 150…
MIT Study Says Mars One Colonists Would Starve (Among Other Things)
Mars One may have taken us by surprise when the non-profit organization boldly announced that it would put colonists on…
The Solar-Powered Fridge of 1937 Made Sunbeams Into Ice Cubes In 2 Hours
We often think of solar-powered devices as pretty new. But we’ve been harnessing the sun since long before the first…
Why does Popular Science have to be so... science-y?
The latest issue of Popular Science features some counterintuitive commentary from one Bob "Words-Are-Hard" Quackenbush.
Popular Science has turned off comments. Here's why that's a bad idea.
Citing research on the general awfulness of internet commenters, Popular Science has decided to do away with its…
What are the deadliest drugs in the United States?
Which drugs are actually killing Americans? Popular Science combed through overdose statistics from the CDC and turned…
Are popular scientists becoming modern day preachers?
There's a really grumbly post over at The Guardian by Eliane Glaser in which she complains about all the flowery and…
How materials scientists are about to change the very fabric of the world
Over at Popular Science, there is a terrific collection of short articles about the future of materials science —…
Hello Mars -- This is the Earth!
Yesterday, we looked at Wernher von Braun's 1954 vision for a manned mission to Mars. But long before people imagined…
The greatest breakthroughs in scarecrow technology of the 1930s
Since time immemorial, humankind has tirelessly attempted to perfect that ominous barnyard manikin, the scarecrow. And…
This is what 138 years of Popular Science look like
Earlier this year, the publishers at Popular Science asked digital designer Jer Thorp to produce a visualization piece…
When We All Commute by Airplane
After the first successful powered flight by the Wright Brothers in 1903, it seemed like only a matter of time before…
Can you buy land on the Moon?
For now at least, the moon is like the sea: everyone can use it, but no one can own it. In 1967 the U.S. and the Soviet…
PopSci's Retro DIY Archives Are Bizarre and Amazing
PopSci's a forward thinking place, but their vintage stuff is worth a check too—harkening back to a simpler time when a…
A Century of Popular Science
How has Popular Science changed since it was first published in the late 1800s? It got a whole lot more colorful, for…
Some Things Never Change
On the left, we have an issue of Popular Science from 1925. On the right we have an issue of the same magazine from…
For Now, iPad Magazine Issues and Subscriptions Will Cost More Than Their Paper Equivalent
Apple priced digital downloads lower than CDs. Amazon said a digital book should be cheaper than a paper one. But for…
Old Timey Robots Are Obsolescently Hilarious
Back in the day, roboticists were less about constructing sleek robo-sapiens and more about building robots who could…