How Stuff Works

For many people, hair grows faster on one side than on the other. (Christopher Campbell). — Have you ever noticed your hair grows faster on one side than the other? Your stylist may have pointed it out when you went in for a cut or you may have observed it when shaving your face or legs. Your fingernails and toenails may grow faster on one side […]

Why Hair Grows Faster on One Side

This entry was posted on September 27, 2018 by Anne Helmenstine (updated on October 2, 2018)

Nail Polish — Every nail polish stash contains a few bottles of gloopy, dried-out polish. Unless you hate the color, don’t throw it out! You can fix dry nail polish, returning it to its fluid consistency. Just be aware, there’s a right way and a wrong way to save the polish. The Wrong […]

How to Fix Dry Nail Polish

This entry was posted on June 4, 2018 by Anne Helmenstine (updated on June 28, 2018)

When it's really cold, you can see your breath. — If you’re outside on a cold winter day or even if you breathe into the freezer, sometimes you can see your breath. Yet, sometimes it’s not all that chilly and see you puffs of vapor, while other times it’s downright frigid and you don’t see anything at all. What’s going […]

Why Do You See Your Breath When It’s Cold?

This entry was posted on May 28, 2018 by Anne Helmenstine (updated on June 6, 2018)

A dandelion burns in colors, including violet, blue, red, orange, and yellow. (Henry Be) — Back in 2013, a photo of a dandelion burning in a rainbow of colors went viral on the internet. The original photograph was taken by Gregory Gomer. That picture looks like what you’d expect. It’s a dandelion, engulfed in flame, pretty much just orange. Clearly, the viral image had been […]

Do Dandelions Burn in Colors?

This entry was posted on April 23, 2018 by Anne Helmenstine (updated on April 28, 2018)

Once water starts boiling, its temperature remains stable. (chuttersnap) — Do you know what happens to the temperature of water boiling in a pot on high heat? It’s a common science question, particularly for tests, because knowing the answer shows how well you understand the process of boiling. The answer is the water reaches its boiling point temperature and stays […]

Does Boiling Water Keep Getting Hotter?

This entry was posted on April 23, 2018 by Anne Helmenstine (updated on September 17, 2018)

Hot Peppers (Ricardo Gomez Angel) — The Scoville scale is used to compare the relative heat of foods, such as ginger, black pepper, and hot peppers. Chemical heat is reported using Scoville heat units (SHU). The scale is named for Wilbur Scoville, the pharmacist who devised the organoleptic test for heat in 1912. This is a […]

Scoville Scale for Peppers and Other Hot Chemicals

This entry was posted on March 22, 2018 by Anne Helmenstine (updated on April 4, 2018)