Robert Krulwich

The Boomerang Rocket Ship: Shoot It Up, Back It Comes

Robert Krulwich — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:45:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoxiK7K28PU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orUjSkc2pG0

A 'Who Do You Hang With?' Map of America

Robert Krulwich — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 15:55:00 +0000

Look at the center of this map, at the little red dot that marks Kansas City. Technically, Kansas City is at the edge of Missouri, but here on this map it's in the upper middle section of a bigger space with strong blue borders. We don't have a name for this bigger space yet, but soon we will.

I would call it, for the moment, "The Part Of America Kansas City Hangs With" because that's what this map is saying. It's a new, intriguing way to see our country. This one was built by tracking dollar bill circulation. There've been similar maps built from phone call data.

The Big Squeeze: Can Cities Save The Earth?

Robert Krulwich — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 17:18:00 +0000

Let's get dense. If we take all the atoms inside you, all roughly 70,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 of them, and squeeze away all the space inside, then, says physicist Brian Greene:

That's a very tight fit. So tight that in real life, it couldn't happen. It's not physically possible. Atoms won't crunch that close. But people, it seems, are willing to try.

Guy Builds Solar-Powered Death Ray In His Backyard (Yawn)

Robert Krulwich — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 06:51:48 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrje73EyKag

What Happened When Humans Met An Alien Intelligence? Sex Happened

Robert Krulwich — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 16:16:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9i_oJn-9d_0

What's That Thing Hanging Outside My Bathroom Window? My Neighbor's Drone

Robert Krulwich — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 01:04:06 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ze84IaSnKFs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxPTbf8OKaM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJafR9dMV2k

Yes, Cats Know How To Fall On Their Feet. But These Guys Do It Better

Robert Krulwich — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 13:32:40 +0000

The champ has met its challenger.

Drop a cat and it will swing its head to a horizontal, rearrange its rear, arch its back, splay its legs, and — amazingly often — land on its feet.

This is what cats do. They're famous for it. But now they have a rival.

This is an aphid.

Aphids spend their days sucking sap from leaves. Those leaves can be high off the ground. "High" of course, being a relative term, but think of it this way: Five feet high up is 381 aphids tall.

Irresistible Meets Unstoppable. Who Wins?

Robert Krulwich — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 20:25:24 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eKc5kgPVrA

Nature Has A Formula That Tells Us When It's Time To Die

Robert Krulwich — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 17:03:26 +0000

Editor's Note: Robert has added a postscript to this post. Scroll down or click here to read it.

We wax, we wane. It's the dance of life.

Every living thing is a pulse. We quicken, then we fade.

Wile E. Coyote Teaches Math (And Despair) To Lucky Students In New Zealand

Robert Krulwich — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 14:49:49 +0000

There's something about being upside down (from all of us in the Northern Hemisphere) that makes New Zealanders a little melancholy. At least that's my theory.

My evidence?