Human Behavior, features and articles | Educational Science

Feb 1, 2018

Conspiracy Theorists Don't Trust Vaccines Either

If someone vehemently argues that President John F. Kennedy's assassination was an inside job, that Princess Diana was murdered or that the U.S. government knew about the attack on New York City's World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, and declined to stop it, they might also skip vaccinations, according...

Feb 5, 2018

Flat-Earth Rocketeer Fails to Launch (Again)

The flat-Earth rocketeer remains planet-bound. Mad Mike Hughes, a flat-Earth conspiracy theorist who has managed to get significant attention for his now-repeated failed rocket launches, strapped himself into his second homemade rocket Saturday (Feb. 3). But, as Noize TV documented in an excruciating 11-minute livestream of the event, Hughes' rocket...

Feb 7, 2018

Yup, Flat-Earthers Think the Falcon Heavy Launch Was a Conspiracy

Yesterday's successful launch of SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket also sent an unusual payload into space: a cherry-red Tesla Roadster manned by a dummy named Starman and equipped with cameras that provided gorgeous views of Earth against the backdrop of space. But flat-Earthers aren't buying it. People who believe that the...

Mar 12, 2018

Yep, the Earth Is Still Round, Neil deGrasse Tyson Says

Cosmos host and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson recently shot down the ideas of anyone who still thinks the Earth is flat. In a new YouTube video on the scientist's StarTalk channel, he used examples ranging from space observations to ancient Greek experiments in a conversation with stand-up comedian Chuck Nice....

Mar 25, 2018

Flat-Earther Blasts Himself into the Sky on Homemade Rocket (and He Survives)

A flat-Earth conspiracy theorist named Mike Hughes finally lifted off our spherical planet's surface into the skies aboard a self-made, steam-powered rocket Saturday (March 24). Mad Mike believes, of course mistakenly, that the Earth is flat, and his plan since November 2017 has been to launch himself upwards of 1,800...

Apr 4, 2018

A Third of Young Millennials Are Confused About This Incontrovertible Fact

The findings don't necessarily indicate an epidemic of flat-Earthism, as only 4 percent of the 18- to 24-year-old age group said they actually believe the world is flat. Rather, there seem to be a relatively large number in this age group who are willing to entertain doubts: 9 percent said...

May 2, 2018

Flat-Earthers Explain Why We Don't Fall Off the Edge of Our Planet, and It Involves Pac-Man

More than 200 flat-earthers descended on West Midlands, England, this past weekend to engage freely in deep and meaningful discussions, according to the Flat Earth Convention UK. The Earth's glorious globular-ness was proved more than 2,000 years ago by the ancient Greeks, but there's a small subset of people who...

May 8, 2018

I Watched an Entire Flat Earth Convention — Here's What I Learned

Speakers recently flew in from around (or perhaps, across?) the earth for a three-day event held in Birmingham: the UK's first ever public Flat Earth Convention. It was well attended, and wasn't just three days of speeches and YouTube clips (though, granted, there was a lot of this). There was...

May 14, 2018

Stephen Hawking's Memorial Might Have Time Travelers in Attendance

Physicist Stephen Hawking, who died March 14 at age 76, will be remembered primarily for his pioneering work in studying black holes and describing the origin of the universe. But he should also be remembered for hosting one of the most pitiful parties of all time. On June 28, 2009,...

Jun 22, 2018

Some Paranormal Experiences May Be Explained by Sleep Paralysis, Exploding Head Syndrome

If you believe in the paranormal you might not be surprised if you hear stories of deceased loved ones appearing during the night, huge explosions heard just as someone is drifting off with no obvious cause, and other peculiar occurrences. But what if you don't? My interest in the paranormal...

Jul 10, 2018

Watch These Ghostly Faces Suddenly Reappear in the World's Oldest Photos

Like ghostly apparitions, faces that have long since disappeared from some of the world's oldest photographs have suddenly reappeared in all their eerie detail. No, those photographs aren't possessed by the long-lost souls in the pictures. Instead, they've gotten a second life, thanks to a new technique. By examining the...

Jul 24, 2018

Maybe Bigfoot Was a Dinosaur, If These Fossils Are Any Indication

While basketball player LeBron James' shoe size (15) is pretty big, it's nowhere near the considerable foot size of the dinosaur with the largest feet on record, a new study finds. That honor goes to a long-necked dinosaur of enormous proportions that lumbered around about 150 million years ago in...

Aug 17, 2018

9 Reasons We Have an Undying Interest in the Undead

We like considering an apocalypse. (Image credit: AMC)People have been making predictions about the end of times for a very, very long time. They've never been correct, but that doesn't seem to deter modern-day apocalypse forecasters. Live Science previously reported on the growing trend of apocalypticism, and how an increasing...

Oct 14, 2018

Child 'Vampire' Was Buried 1,550 Years Ago in Italy

A 1,550-year-old vampire burial of a child with a rock stuffed into his or her mouth has been discovered in an ancient cemetery in Lugnano, Italy. Those who buried the child, who possibly died of malaria, may have used the rock to prevent him or her (the child's sex isn't...

Oct 28, 2018

Why Believing in Ghosts Can Make You a Better Person

Halloween is a time when ghosts and spooky decorations are on public display, reminding us of the realm of the dead. But could they also be instructing us in important lessons on how to lead moral lives? Roots of HalloweenThe origins of modern-day Halloween go back to samhain, a Celtic...