Darwin’s Dilemma, the mystery of the Cambrian Explosion, refers to a period of time during which a diverse range of animals suddenly appear in the fossil record around 500 million years ago.
Darwin described it as “inexplicable,” [...]
7 UnLuckiest People in the World
on Dec 15, 2013
We're not saying these are the unluckiest people in history; we realize the world is full of starving children and cancer victims. But sometimes you see people who have weird, one-in-a-million instances of bad luck, often [...]
Toothed Shark’s Teeth Spiral Mystery Solved
on Dec 10, 2013
Helicoprion is a bizarre species of sharklike fish with a distinctive spiral jaw. Fossils were first discovered in 1899, but the only part of it that fossilized was the strange spiral jaw.
Since then, scientists have [...]
Eisoptrophobia Fear of Mirrors
on Dec 8, 2013
Eisoptrophobia is a fear of mirrors in the broad sense, or more specifically the fear of being put into contact with the spiritual world through a mirror.
Sufferers experience undue anxiety even though they realize [...]
Why Do Corals Pulsate?
on Dec 6, 2013
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck was one of the earliest scientists to study corals in the 19th century.
One of the mysteries that has endured since then is why some of them pulsate. This movement, in which their flowerlike heads [...]
Demonophobia Fear of Demons
on Nov 17, 2013
Demonophobia is an abnormal and persistent fear of evil supernatural beings in persons who believe such beings exist and roam freely to cause harm.
Those who suffer from this phobia realize their fear is excessive or [...]
The Way The Earth’s Core Spins
on Nov 16, 2013
In 1692, Edmond Halley, of Halley’s Comet fame, first discovered that the Earth’s geomagnetic field drifted westward.
He concluded that Earth must have two cores spinning at different speeds, but no one knew why.
Science [...]
Pentheraphobia Fear of Mother-in-Law
on Nov 14, 2013
Of all the phobias on this list, pentheraphobia is probably the most common. It is, as stated above, the fear of one’s mother-in-law.
I am sure that most married people have, at one time or another, suffered from this [...]
Do Women Blush In The Dark?
on Nov 11, 2013
“The question whether young women blush in the dark is a very difficult one,” wrote 18th-century German scholar Georg Lictenberg.
While it seems a trivial question, it was also impossible to answer.
In the dark, no [...]
Cathisophobia Fear of Sitting
on Oct 21, 2013
Cathisophobia (sometimes spelled with a ‘k’) is a terror of sitting down.
This disorder can be sparked off by a particularly nasty case of hemorrhoids but in some serious cases it can be due to physical abuse relating [...]
The Baby Crustacean With No Adult Form Mystery Solve
on Oct 11, 2013
Cerataspis monstrosa was the name given to a species of crustacean discovered 180 years ago. It’s only ever been found as larvae in the guts of fish that have eaten it.
No adult version was ever identified, leaving [...]
Agyrophobia Fear of Crossing the Street
on Oct 10, 2013
Agyrophobics have a fear of crossing streets, highways and other thoroughfares, or a fear of thoroughfares themselves.
This, of course, makes it very difficult to live comfortably in a city.
The word comes from the [...]
Mysteries Of The Falkland Islands Wolf
The Falkland Islands wolf, hunted to extinction in 1876, was the only mammal living on the Falkland Islands when they were discovered by explorers in the 17th century.
They were amazingly tame and earned a species name [...]
