Popular Science

Lectric

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Vissla Solid Sets 17.5in Ecolastic Short – Men’s — $26.98 (was $59.95)

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Unisex / one-size picks

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Therm-a-Rest Honcho Poncho Down — $142.97 (was $259.95)

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Women’s deals

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Ski & snow jackets, bibs, and pants

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Backcountry Cottonwoods GORE-TEX Shell Bib Pant – Women’s — $269.40 (was $449.00)
Backcountry Cottonwoods GORE-TEX Shell Jacket – Women’s — $287.40 (was $479.00)
Backcountry CrestCarver GORE-TEX Shell Jacket – Women’s — $189.50 (was $379.00)
Backcountry CrestCarver GORE-TEX Shell Pant – Women’s — $104.70 (was $349.00)
Backcountry Cardiac GORE-TEX 3L Bib Pant – Women’s — $207.60 (was $519.00)
Backcountry Cardiac GORE-TEX 3L Jacket – Women’s — $239.60 (was $599.00)
Outdoor Research Archangel Bib Pant – Women’s — $244.63 (was $698.95)
Outdoor Research Hemispheres II Bib Pant – Women’s — $292.03 (was $648.95)
Outdoor Research Snowcrew Pant – Women’s — $69.63 (original price varies by color/size)
Outdoor Research Snowcrew Jacket – Women’s — $115.13 (was $348.95)
Trew Gear Astoria Bib – Women’s — $148.03 (original price varies by color/size)
Trew Gear Chariot Primo Bib – Women’s — $259.48 (was $518.95)
Trew Gear Trillium Jacket – Women’s — $184.48 (original price varies by color/size)
Trew Gear Trillium Bib – Women’s — $184.48 (original price varies by color/size)
Flylow Foxy Bib Pant – Women’s — $165.25 (was $429.95)
Flylow Billie Coat – Women’s — $193.48 (was $429.95)
Helly Hansen Powderqueen Bib Pant – Women’s — $180.00 (was $300.00)
Helly Hansen Courchevel Stretch Suit – Women’s — $650.00 (was $1300.00)
Roxy Dusk Warmlink Snow Jacket – Women’s — $215.00 (was $430.00)
Roxy Chloe Kim Snow Jacket – Women’s — $112.48 (was $374.95)
Roxy Chloe Kim Snow Pant – Women’s — $73.48 (was $244.95)
Roxy Nadia Technical Snow Pant – Women’s — $108.00 (was $180.00)
Armada Lunara Insulated Jacket – Women’s — $107.98 (was $269.95)
Armada Sterlet Insulated Jacket – Women’s — $69.99 (was $279.95)

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Rain shells, technical hardshells & weatherproof layers

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Marmot PreCip Eco Jacket – Women’s — $59.97 (was $99.95)
Outdoor Research Helium Rain Jacket – Women’s — $44.99 (was $179.95)
Outdoor Research Helium Rain Pant – Women’s — $64.98 (was $129.95)
Outdoor Research Aspire II Jacket – Women’s — $67.48 (was $225.00)
Rab Latok Alpine GTX Jacket – Women’s — $330.00 (was $600.00)
Rab Kangri GTX Jacket – Women’s — $233.75 (was $425.00)
Mammut Alto Guide HS Hooded Jacket – Women’s — $166.05 (was $369.00)

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Insulated jackets, down layers & puffers

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Backcountry ALLIED Down Apres Parka – Women’s — $209.40 (was $349.00)
Helly Hansen Verglas Glacier Down Jacket – Women’s — $162.00 (was $360.00)
Helly Hansen Explorer Puffy Parka – Women’s — $175.00 (was $350.00)
Outdoor Research Helium Down Hooded Jacket – Women’s — $179.37 (was $298.95)
Cotopaxi Fuego Down Hooded Pullover – Women’s — $137.50 (was $275.00)
WHITESPACE Insulated Puffy Parka Jacket – Women’s — $170.55 (was $379.00)
Stoic Printed Quilted Puffer – Women’s — $38.70 (was $129.00)
Stoic Cropped Boxy Snap Front Puffer – Women’s — $41.65 (was $119.00)

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Fleece, hoodies & midlayers

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Mountain Hardwear Oakoram Fleece Full-Zip Jacket – Women’s — $38.25 (was $85.00)
Fjallraven Vardag Lite Fleece – Women’s — $65.97 (was $119.95)
Helly Hansen Daybreaker Fleece Jacket – Women’s — $48.00 (was $85.00)
The North Face Canyonlands Hooded Jacket – Women’s — $45.00 (was $100.00)
Outdoor Research Vigor Quarter Zip Jacket – Women’s — $53.37 (was $88.95)
Outdoor Research Polartec 200 Hoodie – Women’s — $62.53 (was $138.95)

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Pants, joggers & everyday bottoms

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The North Face Aphrodite Jogger – Women’s — $48.00 (was $80.00)
Fjallraven Keb Curved Trouser – Women’s — $129.22 (was $234.95)
Toad&Co Balsam Wide Leg Pant – Women’s — $60.00 (was $120.00)
Outdoor Research Cirque II Softshell Pant – Women’s — $95.37 (was $158.95)

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Dresses, rompers & jumpsuits

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Backcountry Destination Dress – Women’s — $34.65 (was $99.00)
Backcountry Destination Trail Dress – Women’s — $41.65 (was $119.00)
Backcountry Wasatch Ripstop Romper – Women’s — $44.55 (was $99.00)
Helly Hansen Viken Recycled Dress – Women’s — $28.00 (was $80.00)
Patagonia Garden Island Jumpsuit – Women’s — $58.53 (was $139.00)
Patagonia Fleetwith Jumpsuit – Women’s — $58.53 (was $139.00)

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Unisex / one-size picks

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Therm-a-Rest Honcho Poncho Down — $142.97 (was $259.95)

The post Backcountry.com’s 3-day clearance flash sale dropped jackets, hoodies, fleeces, and more up to 70% off appeared first on Popular Science.

Backcountry.com is blowing out dozens of sunglasses for clearance prices during this flash sale

Stan Horaczek — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 14:54:07 -0500

You should be wearing sunglasses when you’re outdoors, even in the winter. A good pair provides complete eye protection and a more comfortable, squint-free experience. Right now, Backcountry.com has a surprise 3-day clearance sale happening, which has dropped prices on popular models by up to 70 percent. Grab a pair that fits your style and eye protection needs. Then wear them to look cool.

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Once you’ve got a new pair of shades, go check out more deals on outdoor gear for up to 70 percent off at Backcountry.

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Editor’s picks

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Smith Shift MAG ChromaPop Sunglasses $171.00 (was $337.00)

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+ + The extra coverage is clutch for outdoor activities. + +

Smith Optics

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If you actually do “move fast, sweat a lot” activities, these are built for it. The magnetic lens swap system makes it realistic to switch lenses without smudging everything up, and the shape is more performance-first than fashion-forward—which is exactly what you want on long rides and runs.

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Zeal Ridgway Sunglasses – Men's — $63.60 (was $159.00)

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+ + Treat yourself with a bold pattern. + +

Zeal

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If you want a pair you can beat up a little, these are a good “throw them on and go” option: polarized lenses to cut glare off snow/water/traffic, a grippy fit for hikes and bike days, and an Rx-ready frame if you’re tired of choosing between sunglasses and seeing clearly.

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Zeal Manitou Sunglasses – Men’s — $103.05 (was $229.00)
Photochromic lenses are the move for “sun in the parking lot, clouds on the trail, sun again at the summit” days. These automatically lighten/darken as conditions change, and they’re polarized for glare control, so you’re not constantly swapping eyewear or squinting through reflections.

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RAEN optics Squire Polarized Sunglasses $61.50 (was $205.00). A rare “nice sunglasses” deal. These lean classic and wearable, so they work as everyday shades, not just trail gear. If you want something that looks good with a puffy jacket and also doesn’t feel out of place at brunch, this is the move.

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Electric Crasher 49 Polarized Sunglasses $124.98 (was $249.95). This is the kind of 50%-off deal that makes upgrading feel justified. You’re getting polarized lenses and a sturdier, lifestyle-friendly frame that’s more “all day” than “one specific sport.”

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Smith Optics deals

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Smith Embark ChromaPop Polarized Sunglasses $135.00 (was $257.00)
Smith Lowdown 2 ChromaPop Polarized Sunglasses $123.00 (was $277.00)
Smith Venture ChromaPop Sunglasses $142.20 (was $297.00)
Smith Guide’s Choice XL ChromaPop Polarized Sunglasses $178.20 (was $297.00)
Smith Shift MAG ChromaPop Sunglasses $171.00 (was $337.00)
Smith Lowdown Split ChromaPop Polarized Sunglasses $123.00 (was $215.00)
Smith Leadout Pivlock Polarized Sunglasses $125.40 (was $235.00)
Smith Joya ChromaPop Polarized Sunglasses $129.00 (was $297.00)
Smith Guide’s Choice Sunglasses $178.20 (was $327.00)
Smith Resolve ChromaPop Sunglasses $101.40 (was $227.00)
Smith Attack MAG MTB ChromaPop Sunglasses $161.40 (was $285.00)
Smith Rockaway ChromaPop Polarized Sunglasses $125.40 (was $269.00)
Smith Layback Polarized Sunglasses $119.40 (was $215.00)
Smith Pursuit ChromaPop Sunglasses $171.00 (was $337.00)
Smith Shift XL MAG ChromaPop Sunglasses $184.20 (was $337.00)
Smith Eastbank ChromaPop Polarized Sunglasses $99.00 (was $195.00)
Smith Boomtown ChromaPop Polarized Sunglasses $118.20 (was $237.00)
Smith Monterey ChromaPop Polarized Sunglasses $113.40 (was $249.00)
Smith Flywheel ChromaPop Sunglasses $111.00 (was $185.00)
Smith Roam ChromaPop Polarized Sunglasses $123.00 (was $205.00)
Smith Shift Split MAG ChromaPop Sunglasses $165.00 (was $337.00)
Smith Lake Shasta ChromaPop Polarized Sunglasses $123.00 (was $217.00)
Smith Wander ChromaPop Polarized Sunglasses $129.00 (was $227.00)
Smith XC Chromapop Sunglasses $142.20 (was $237.00)
Smith Spinner ChromaPop Polarized Sunglasses $142.20 (was $237.00)
Smith Lowdown Slim2 ChromaPop Polarized Sunglasses $151.90
Smith Bobcat ChromaPop Sunglasses $160.55
Smith Lowdown XL 2 ChromaPop Polarized Sunglasses $151.90
Smith Shoutout CORE Polarized Sunglasses $161.85 (was $249.00)

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Pit Viper deals

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Pit Viper The Single Wides Polarized Sunglasses $49.84 (was $99.69)
Pit Viper The Skysurfer HDPV Polarized Sunglasses $60.00 (was $100.00)
Pit Viper The Slammer Sunglasses $38.33 (was $69.69)
Pit Viper The Flip-Offs Polarized Sunglasses $97.50 (was $130.00)
Pit Viper The Original HDPV Polarized Sunglasses $56.00
Pit Viper The Admirer HDPV Polarized Sunglasses $75.00
Pit Viper The Original Sunglasses $75.00
Pit Viper The Highball HDPV Polarized Sunglasses $75.00
Pit Viper The Turboshaft HDPV Polarized Sunglasses $75.00
Pit Viper The Synthesizer Sunglasses $97.50
Pit Viper The Showroom Sunglasses $34.84 (was $69.69)

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Premium and boutique picks

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Oakley Crankshaft Polarized Sunglasses $160.50 (was $214.00)
Electric Crasher 49 Polarized Sunglasses $124.98 (was $249.95)
Electric Noli Polarized Sunglasses $124.98 (was $249.95)
RAEN optics Squire Polarized Sunglasses $61.50 (was $205.00)

The post Backcountry.com is blowing out dozens of sunglasses for clearance prices during this flash sale appeared first on Popular Science.

What were books like in ancient Greece and Rome?

Konstantine Panegyres / The Conversation — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 11:01:00 -0500

This article originally appeared in The Conversation.

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If you were to visit a bookshop in the ancient world, what would it be like?

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You don’t just have to imagine it. The ancient Roman writer Aulus Gellius, who lived in the 2nd century CE, gives us a number of descriptions of his adventures at bookstores. In one passage, he describes an encounter at one in Rome, which he was visiting with a poet friend:

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I chanced to be sitting in a bookshop in the Sigillaria with the poet Julius Paulus […] There was on sale there the Annals of Quintus Fabius Pictor in a copy of good and undoubted age, which the dealer maintained was without errors.
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Gellius then tells us that, while they are sitting there, another customer enters the shop. The new customer has a disagreement with the dealer. He complains that he “found in the book one error”. The dealer says that’s impossible. Then the customer brings out evidence to prove the dealer wrong.

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In different passage, Aulus tells us about some bookstalls he came across when he arrived by ship at the port of Brundisium on the Adriatic coast. The books, he records, were “in Greek, filled with marvellous tales, things unheard of, incredible […] The writers were ancient and of no mean authority”.

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The volumes themselves, however, were filthy from neglect, in bad condition and unsightly. Nevertheless, I drew near and asked their price; then, attracted by their extraordinary and unexpected cheapness, I bought a large number of them for a small sum.
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Engraving of Aulus Gellius (1706). Image: Public Domain

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Aulus goes on to describe in excited language all the weird facts he derived from these books – like how people in Africa can “work spells by voice and tongue” and through this witchcraft cause people, animals, trees and crops to die.

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The origins of writing

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These sorts of stories bring us close to how ordinary people in ancient Greek and Roman times obtained books and engaged with books. But if we read stories like this it might lead us to want to know more. How did books and writing come into existence? And how were books written and produced?

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Many people in the ancient world thought that writing had been invented by gods or heroes. For example, the ancient Egyptians believed the god Thoth was the first to create signs to represent spoken sounds.

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The origins of writing are certainly mysterious. It’s unclear when writing began and who invented it.

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The earliest written text is a wooden tablet radiocarbon dated to before 5000 BCE. This is known as the Dispilio tablet, because it was discovered at a neolithic lakeside settlement at Dispilio in Greece. It is carved with strange linear markings. These have not been deciphered, but most scholars think they are a form of writing.

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Model of the Dispilio Tablet. Image: Мико/ CC BY-SA

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Evidence for writing appears early in different parts of the world. In Mesopotamia and Egypt, the oldest texts, such as the Kish limestone tablet at Uruk or the Narmer Palette at Hierakonpolis, date to before 3000 BCE. In the Indus Valley, the Harappan script, which remains undeciphered, appeared around the same time. In China, the earliest characters, the Dawenkou graphs, also date to around 3000 BCE.

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One of the most interesting aspects of early writing is that there is such a variety of different scripts. For example, the earliest known texts in the Greek language are written in the Linear B script, which was used from around 1500-1200 BCE, and wasn’t deciphered until 1952. Linear B is not an alphabet, but a syllabary of more than 80 different signs. A syllabary is a kind of writing system where each sign represents a syllable.

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By around the 8th century BCE, most Greeks had starting using an alphabet instead of a syllabary. Unlike a syllabary, in an alphabet each letter represents a vowel or consonant. The Greeks adapted their alphabet from the Phoenician alphabet, probably via interactions with Phoenician traders. The Phoenician alphabet had only 22 letters, making it much easier to learn than the 80-plus syllabary signs of Linear B.

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Our English alphabet comes from the Romans, who in the 8th and 7th century BCE also got their alphabet from the Phoenicians, via the Greeks.

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A papyrus document from ancient Egypt, written in hieratic script. The text describes anatomical observations and the examination, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of numerous medical problems (c.1600 BCE) Image: Public Domain

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The origins of books

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People in ancient times used many different things as writing materials.

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The Roman writer Pliny the Elder (23-79 CE) tells us that the earliest people in the world

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used to write on palm-leaves and then on the bark of certain trees, and afterwards folding sheets of lead began to be employed for official muniments, and then also sheets of linen or tablets of wax for private documents.
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However, the most popular writing material in the ancient Mediterranean was papyrus, from which we get our word “paper”.

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To make papyrus, you get the pith of the papyrus plant (Cyperus papyrus), cut it into slender strips, then press it together. Once dried, it forms a thin sheet that you can write on.

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Papyrus sheets were usually glued together into rolls. These rolls could be very long. Some of the most lavish Egyptian papyrus rolls were more than 10 metres long, such as the recently discovered Waziri Papyrus containing parts of the Book of the Dead.

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When papyri were rolled up they were stored in shelves or boxes. Labels were attached to the handles of the papyri so you could identify their contents. In his play Linus, Greek playwright Alexis (c. 375-275 BC) has one character tell another how to look through a bunch of rolls to find what he wants:

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go over and pick any papyrus roll you like out of there and then read it… examining them quietly, and at your leisure, on the basis of the labels. Orpheus is in there, Hesiod, tragedies, Choerilus, Homer, Epicharmus, prose treatises of every type…
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Papyrus seems flimsy to the eye, but it is a durable writing material, stronger than modern paper. Many papyri have survived for thousands of years stored in jars or sarcophagi or buried under the sand.

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The oldest surviving papyrus text is the so-called Diary of Merer (which you can listen to here), the logbook of a man named Merer, who was an inspector during the construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza under Pharaoh Khufu. This papyrus, which dates to around 2600 BCE, gives a day-by-day account of how Merer and his team of about 200 men spent time hauling and transporting stone and doing other work.

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Papyrus was susceptible to being eaten by insects or mice. But there were ways to prevent this. Pliny the Elder, for example, advises that sheets of papyrus soaked in citrus-oil won’t be eaten by moths.

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+https://youtube.com/watch?v=DCR8n7qS43w%3Fwmode%3Dtransparent%26start%3D0 +

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How to write a book in antiquity

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If you were living in ancient Greece or Rome and wanted to write a book, how would you do it?

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First, you would buy sheets or rolls of papyrus to write on. If you couldn’t afford it, you’d have to write on the back or in the margins of papyri you already owned.

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If you didn’t own any papyri already, then you would have to write on other materials. According to the Greek historian Diogenes Laertius (3rd century CE), the philosopher Cleanthes (c. 331-231 BCE) “wrote down lectures on oyster-shells and the blade-bones of oxen through lack of money to buy papyrus”.

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Second, you would get your ink. In the ancient world, there were many varieties of ink. Normal black ink was made from the soot of burnt resin or pitch mixed with vegetable gum. When buying ink, it would come in powder form, and you would need to mix it with water before using it.

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Third, you would get your pen. It would be made from reed, hence it was called the “calamus” by Greeks and Romans (“calamus” is the Greek word for reed). To sharpen your pen you would need a knife. If you made a mistake, you would erase it with a wet sponge.

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Now you have all the materials you need. However, you don’t need to use the pen and papyrus yourself. If you want, you can get a scribe to write down your words for you.

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The Greek orator Dio Chrysostom (c.40-110 CE) even advised writers not to use the pen themselves:

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Writing I do not advise you to engage in with your own hand, or only very rarely, but rather to dictate to a secretary.
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If you needed to consult other books while writing, you could get friends to send them to you or ask book dealers to make you a copy. In a papyrus from the 2nd century CE found at Oxyrhynchus, Egypt, and written in Greek, the writer asks his friend to find the books that he needs and make copies of them. Otherwise, you would go to a library, though the best libraries at Alexandria, Rome and Athens might be far away.

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When you finished drafting your book you would need to revise and correct it. You could then publish it by having many copies made by scribes and delivering these copies to friends and booksellers.

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When all this was done, your book would be out in public. Perhaps someone like Aulus Gellius would stumble across it in a busy Roman bookshop. Maybe he’d even buy it.

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The post What were books like in ancient Greece and Rome? appeared first on Popular Science.

Baby chimpanzees like to free fall through trees

Margherita Bassi — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 10:08:00 -0500

Given the many similarities between humans and chimpanzees, one might assume that both species similarly engage in risky behavior within the same age range. For humans, that’s obviously adolescence. However, according to a study recently published in the journal iScience, it turns out that in chimps, it’s the infants you have to watch out for.

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After studying videos of 119 wild chimpanzees, researchers found that chimpanzees’ risky behavior peaks in their infancy, and then lessens as they get older. Specifically, they documented that infants were three times more likely, juveniles were 2.5 times more likely, and adolescents were 2.1 times more likely than adults to undertake risks. Chimps are typically classified as infants from birth to around five years old.

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“One of the main findings is that all chimpanzee kids are risky, and that infant and juvenile chimpanzees are even more risky than adolescents,” Lauren Sarringhaus, lead-author of the recent study and a biologist at James Madison University, said in a statement. “That’s noteworthy because that is not what you see in humans.”

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Chimps’ risk-taking was not associated with their sex, nor how high up in the trees they were. In other words, it was equally probable for male and female infants to undertake physical risks at any height. The specific risky behavior studied in chimps was free flight—when they purposefully fall from a branch or jump from one branch to the next without any hold.The risk in free flight is falling and then getting hurt.

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Compared to chimpanzees, it’s more difficult to investigate physical risk-taking in humans. We can’t recreate the behavior in a lab, but even studies based on observations or survey data run into the issue that risky behavior in children (such as doing monkey bars) doesn’t usually continue into adulthood (such as skydiving), and vice-versa.

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Interestingly, this study appears to suggest something novel about our own species. Simply put, the results indicate that while chimp mothers can only restrain their children as long as they can maintain them physically close, human parents and caregivers can continue monitoring them and human children are simply supervised more. What’s more, if we didn’t have this extended overwatch, our risky behavior might also peak earlier instead of being delayed to adolescence.

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“Bryce found that in fact the youngest chimps were doing all of these crazy leaps and drops, and it declined gradually as they aged. We were really scratching our heads thinking, ‘What is going on?’”said co-senior author Laura MacLatchy, a professor of anthropology at the University of Michigan, referring to co-author Bryce Murray. “We realized that the littlest chimps were unrestricted in what they do, as soon as they were out of arm’s reach of their mom and no longer clinging and riding around on their mom.”

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According to indications by earlier work, chimpanzee play might help them exercise abilities related to movement, or understand the results of risky behavior during a particular period of their lives—they are young, lightweight, have “spongier” bones, and have fewer chances of injury

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Indeed, infant chimps frequently take the risks in question while playing, MacLatchy explained, to gain the physical competencies and confidence necessary for an arboreal existence. “Competency as an adult really depends on practice when you’re little,” she added. “Play as practice might be part of what’s going on with these kids. Then again, there may be no stopping them.”

The post Baby chimpanzees like to free fall through trees appeared first on Popular Science.

How to avoid the iPhone’s notorious ‘silent alarm’ bug

David Nield — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 08:00:00 -0500

You might’ve seen recent reports of users complaining that they’ve slept through alarms set on their iPhones–or even encountered it yourself. But it’s not a new bug. The silent iPhone alarm issue has plagued users for at least a couple of years, and still keeps affecting people (even though Apple has previously promised to fix it).

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The bug causes alarms to go off, but silently—there’s no audible ring, and no vibration. That’s not ideal if you need to get up for work, a flight, or anything else you have to do. So what exactly is going on? Here’s what we know about the so-called silent alarm bug on the iPhone and what you can do about it.

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What is the silent arm bug?

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Being caught out by silent alarms? You’re not alone. Screenshot: Apple

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If you set an alarm, it’s important that it actually alerts you at the right time. But these silent alarms that users have been noticing on their iPhones don’t make any sound and don’t trigger any vibrations. They do appear on screen as normal, but they’re completely silent.

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As for what’s causing it, no one seems certain. Back in 2024, Apple said it was fixing the issue, without going into much detail about what was behind it—but users are finding that it’s still happening. Sometimes it seems that a particular iOS version will patch the problem, only for it to show up again in a subsequent version.

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Given that it’s been happening for a long time, and affecting a substantial number of users (but not everyone), it’s possible that there are multiple causes. While there’s been no official guidance from Apple about how to fix it, there are steps you can take to minimize the likelihood of silent alarms.

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Fixes you can try

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Disabling Attention-Aware Features can help in some cases. Screenshot: Apple

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First, make sure your alarms are set as intended from the Alarms tab of the Clock app. Tap on an alarm and you can check the Sound option to see the noise it triggers and the Repeat option to check the frequency—it may be that your alarm is set to go off some days and not others. If a specific alarm isn’t ringing, try deleting it and creating it again.

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You can get to the audio settings for your iPhone by opening up Settings, then choosing Sounds & Haptics. Look at the volume slider under Ringtone and Alerts to make sure it’s high enough. You might also want to turn off Change with Buttons to make sure you’re not adjusting the alert volume accidentally. Alarms shouldn’t be affected by the Silent Mode toggle, but you can try turning this off anyway.

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Under Bluetooth in Settings, make sure your iPhone isn’t connected to any speakers or headphones that it shouldn’t be—otherwise it could be piping your alarm sounds through a different device and not your iPhone speakers.

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Some users have found they can overcome the silent alarm bug by turning off the Attention-Aware Features toggle switch, which you’ll find under Face ID & Passcode in Settings. This changes certain iPhone behaviors, including the level of alarm sounds, if it thinks you’re looking at the screen. It could explain certain silent alarms—though it should only ever lower the alarm volume level, not mute it completely.

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It’s worth saying that the Do Not Disturb mode and any other modes you’ve got set up in Focus in Settings shouldn’t make any difference to alarms—they just control the volume for app notifications—but it’s perhaps worth reviewing them anyway.

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Finally, be sure to keep your iPhone up to date with the latest version of iOS. While it seems as though this bug is persisting in the latest software releases, hopefully at some point Apple will squash it for good, and when that happens you’re going to want to get the update as soon as possible.

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Alternative alarm apps

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Alarmy is one of the best alternative alarm apps. Screenshot: Alarmy

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Something else you can do to try and avoid silent alarms is to install a third-party alarm app, and there are lots to choose from. Alarmy actually prides itself on the loudness of its alarm alerts, so you should have no problems waking up. You can get some extra premium features and remove the ads by paying $4.99 a month, but the basic functionality is free.

+ + + +

Then there’s Galarm, which packs alarms and reminders into one app, with a host of options available. You can categorize alarms and add notes to them, for example, and go into plenty of detail when it comes to when alarms should repeat. Again, you can opt to subscribe for more features and an ad-free experience, which costs $0.99 a month.

+ + + +

Sleep Cycle is another app worth considering. Not only will it wake you up, it also has a smart alarm feature that aims to rouse you at the most beneficial time in your sleep cycle (within a preset window). It’ll track your sleep too—there’s a lot to it. You get the basics for free, with a pile of premium features (including weather reports and more sleep stats) available for a $2.99-per-month subscription.

+ + + +

Or you can invest in a smart alarm clock. Or just an old-fashioned alarm clock with the big red numbers and real buttons.

The post How to avoid the iPhone’s notorious ‘silent alarm’ bug appeared first on Popular Science.

Duluth Trading’s winter clearance drops its toughest coats, pants, and outerwear up to 70% off

Stan Horaczek — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 07:00:00 -0500

Alaskan Hardgear (AKHG) is Duluth Trading’s hardcore outdoors line. Where the main Duluth catalog leans into hard-wearing workwear, flannels, and versatile casual gear, AKHG is the brand’s more technical side. It’s built for outdoor use, versatile layering, and employs fabrics meant to handle sweat, weather, and abrasion. Right now, Duluth Trading has a huge clearance sale going on, which drops prices by up to 70 percent. That includes AKHG, which rarely goes on sale compared to typical fare. Grab new outdoor kit now and stay warm all winter (and for a bunch of future winters). You can literally dress like an Alaskan to stay warm.

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Editor’s picks

+ + + + +

+ +

Men’s AKHG Stone Run Standard Fit Pants $48.97 (51% off)

+ + + + +

+ +

+ + Jeans aren’t made for hiking. + +

Duluth Trading

+ + + + + See It + + +

+ + + +

This is the deal for replacing your default jeans with something that’s actually meant for being outside. A solid pair of hiking-style pants earns its keep fast especially on windy days, travel days, and any time you’re climbing over stuff that isn’t a curb.

+ + + + +

+ +

Men’s AKHG Ursa Major Parka $190 (41% off)

+ + + + +

+ +

+ + This is a great option for layering. + +

Duluth Trading

+ + + + + See It + + +

+ + + +

A long, insulated parka is the move for truly cold days because it keeps your core warm and doesn’t leave your thighs out in the wind. If you spend any real time outside in winter, this is the kind of layer that makes the whole season less miserable.

+ + + + +

+ +

Women’s AKHG Ursa Major Waterproof Down Parka $158.97 (50% off)

+ + + + +

+ +

+ + Your thighs will appreciate the extra length. + +

Duluth Trading

+ + + + + See It + + +

+ + + +

If winter where you live is more wet-snow-and-freezing-rain than fluffy powder, a waterproof down parka is the right kind of overkill. It’s a long, insulated layer meant to keep you warm while still standing up to ugly weather.

+ + + + +

+ +

Women’s AKHG Triple Slope 3-in-1 Jacket $103.99 (70% off)

+ + + + +

+ +

+ + This is one of the most versatile jackets you could own. + +

Duluth Trading

+ + + + + See It + + +

+ + + +

The whole point of a 3-in-1 is that you’re not stuck committing to one level of warmth all day. It’s the kind of kit that makes sense if your week is split between commuting, dog walks, and the occasional cold weekend hike.

+ + + +

All AKHG deals

+ + + +

Outerwear and big warm layers

+ + + +

Women’s AKHG Triple Slope 3-in-1 Jacket $103.99 (70% off)
Women’s AKHG Snowpack Stretch Down Jacket $61.99 (70% off)
Women’s AKHG Puffin Parka Jacket $83.97 (50% off)
Women’s Plus AKHG Puffin Long Parka $83.97 (50% off)
Women’s AKHG Ursa Major Waterproof Down Parka $158.97 (50% off)
Men’s AKHG Puffin Mock Jacket $63.97 (46% off)
Men’s AKHG Puffin Hooded Jacket $80 (38% off)
Women’s AKHG Puffin Hoodie Jacket $80 (43% off)
Women’s Plus AKHG Puffin Hooded Jacket $68.97 (51% off)
Women’s AKHG Puffin Mock Jacket $75 (42% off)
Men’s AKHG Outer Limit Hybrid Jacket $97.97 (30% off)
Men’s AKHG Snowpack Stretch Down Jacket $103.97 (48% off)
Men’s AKHG Triple Slope 3-in-1 Jacket $205 (41% off)
Men’s AKHG Ursa Major Waterproof Down Jacket $175 (42% off)
Men’s AKHG Ursa Major Parka $190 (41% off)

+ + + +

Midlayers and fleeces

+ + + +

Women’s AKHG Midnight Sun Short Sleeve Dress $24.99 (70% off)
Men’s AKHG Crosslayer Fleece 1/4 Zip Mock $38.97 (51% off)
Women’s AKHG Trail Tech Fleece Full Zip Mock $43.97 (51% off)
Men’s AKHG Crosslayer Standard Fit Fleece Hoodie $43.97 (51% off)
Women’s AKHG Crosslayer Fleece Hoodie $62.97 (30% off)
Men’s AKHG Blackburn Standard Fit 1/4 Zip Mock $43.97 (51% off)
Women’s AKHG Blackburn Pullover Mock $43.97 (51% off)
Men’s AKHG Blackburn Standard Fit Full Zip Hoodie $48.97 (51% off)
Women’s AKHG Blackburn Full Zip Hoodie $48.97 (51% off)
Women’s Plus AKHG Blackburn Full Zip Hoodie $48.97 (51% off)
Men’s AKHG Graveltec Standard Fit Full Zip Mock $69.99 (36% off)
Women’s AKHG Northern Light Fleece Mock $38.97 (51% off)
Women’s AKHG Northern Light Fleece Vest $31.97 (50% off)
Men’s AKHG Boundary Line Popover Hoodie $48.97 (51% off)
Women’s AKHG Boundary Line Popover Hoodie $48.97 (51% off)
Men’s AKHG Kindler Pile Fleece Full Zip Jacket $78.97 (47% off)
Women’s AKHG Kindler Pile Fleece Full Zip Jacket $78.97 (51% off)

+ + + +

Vests

+ + + +

Men’s AKHG Blackburn Standard Fit Vest $38.97 (51% off)
Women’s AKHG Blackburn Vest $38.97 (51% off)
Men’s AKHG Puffin Mock Vest $53.97 (51% off)
Women’s AKHG Puffin Mock Vest $53.97 (51% off)
Women’s AKHG Outer Limit Hybrid Vest $53.98 (51% off)

+ + + +

Pants, bibs, and leggings

+ + + +

Women’s AKHG Roadless Slim Leg Pants $28.99 (71% off)
Women’s AKHG Access Point Pull-On Slim Leg Pants $21.99 (70% off)
Men’s AKHG Stone Run Standard Fit Pants $48.97 (51% off)
Men’s AKHG Stone Run Relaxed Fit Pants $48.97 (51% off)
Men’s AKHG Stone Run Slim Fit Pants $48.97 (51% off)
Men’s AKHG Free Rein Standard Fit Pants $43.97 (51% off)
Men’s AKHG Free Rein Relaxed Fit Pants $43.97 (51% off)
Men’s AKHG Boundary Line Fleece Pants $48.97 (51% off)
Women’s AKHG Boundary Line Fleece Pants $48.97 (51% off)
Women’s AKHG Roadless Pull-On Joggers $43.99 (51% off)
Women’s Plus AKHG Roadless Lined Pants $33.99 (70% off)
Men’s AKHG Roadless Lined Pants $72.99 (30% off)
Men’s AKHG Triple Slope Bibs $145 (42% off)
Women’s AKHG Triple Slope Bibs $123.97 (50% off)
Women’s AKHG Trail Tech Leggings $43.98 (51% off)
Women’s AKHG Trail Tech Ridge Leggings $46.98 (50% off)

+ + + +

Base layers and tops

+ + + +

Men’s AKHG Mountain Stream Relaxed Fit Short Sleeve Shirt $18.97 (71% off)
Women’s Plus AKHG Crosshaul Overshirt $27.99 (70% off)
Men’s AKHG Tun-Dry Standard Fit Long Sleeve T-Shirt $18.97 (52% off)
Men’s AKHG Tun-Dry Standard Fit Short Sleeve T-Shirt $16.97 (51% off)
Men’s AKHG Trailmarker Short Sleeve Crew $16.97 (51% off)
Women’s AKHG Trailmarker Long Sleeve Crewneck $18.97 (52% off)
Women’s AKHG Renew Bamboo Short Sleeve Tee $18.97 (52% off)
Women’s AKHG Renew Bamboo Long Sleeve Tee $21.97 (51% off)
Women’s AKHG Renew Bamboo Long Sleeve Mock $23.97 (52% off)
Men’s AKHG Renew Bamboo Hoodie $31.97 (50% off)
Women’s AKHG U.P. Stream Shirt $21.98 (51% off)
Men’s AKHG Midnight Sun Relaxed Fit Shirt $36.97 (50% off)
Men’s AKHG Boar’s Nest Standard Fit Flannel Shirt $41.97 (50% off)
Men’s AKHG Boar’s Nest Relaxed Fit Flannel Shirt $41.97 (50% off)
Men’s AKHG Stone Run Standard Fit Overshirt $69.99 (30% off)
Men’s AKHG Crosshaul Standard Fit Overshirt $46.97 (50% off)
Men’s AKHG Elk Flats Flannel Shirt Jac $48.97 (51% off)

+ + + +

Shorts, skorts, and swim

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Women’s AKHG Outer Limit 3″ Shorts With Liner $18.99 (71% off)
Men’s AKHG Lost Lake 11″ Swim Board Shorts $26.98 (51% off)
Men’s AKHG Wanderwear Performance 8″ Shorts $23.98 (52% off)
Men’s AKHG Outer Limit 8″ Shorts $28.98 (51% off)
Men’s AKHG Free Rein 8″ Shorts $38.97 (51% off)
Men’s AKHG AlpineFlex Standard Fit 10″ Shorts $38.97 (51% off)
Women’s AKHG Roadless 5″ Shorts $38.97 (51% off)
Women’s AKHG Trail Tech Flow Skort $28.98 (51% off)
Women’s Plus AKHG Access Point Pull-On Skort $31.98 (50% off)
Women’s AKHG Access Point Pull-On Skort $31.98 (50% off)
Women’s AKHG Roadless Skort $33.97 (51% off)
Women’s AKHG Lost Lake Swim Dress $48.98 (51% off)
Women’s Plus AKHG Lost Lake Swim Dress $48.98 (51% off)
Women’s AKHG Lost Lake Swim One-Piece $43.98 (51% off)
Women’s Plus AKHG Lost Lake Built-In Bra Tankini $38.98 (51% off)
Women’s AKHG Lost Lake Built-In Bra Tankini $38.98 (51% off)
Women’s Plus AKHG Lost Lake 5″ Swim Shorts $31.98 (50% off)
Men’s AKHG Lost Lake 8″ Swim Shorts With Liner $28.98 (51% off)
Men’s AKHG Lost Lake 10″ Swim Shorts With Liner $31.98 (50% off)
Women’s AKHG U.P. Stream Cover-Up Dress $33.98 (51% off)
Women’s AKHG Outer Limit Easy Tank Dress $28.98 (51% off)
Women’s Plus AKHG Trail Tech Flow Dress $46.98 (50% off)
Women’s Plus AKHG Trail Tech 9″ Shorts $33.98 (51% off)

+ + + +

Accessories and extras

+ + + +

AKHG About Face Ball Cap (Performance Fit) $13.98 (53% off)
AKHG Flex Patch Hat $13.98 (53% off)
AKHG Knit Beanie $18.98 (52% off)
AKHG Knit Gaiter $18.98 (52% off)
Men’s AKHG Bailout Belt $34.99 (30% off)
Men’s AKHG Dry on the Fly Sport Bullpen 3D Boxer Briefs $23.97 (54% off)

+ + + +

Hubble spots three young stars going through growth spurts

Andrew Paul — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 14:57:00 -0500

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has captured a trio of young stars in the process of becoming their best selves in the constellation Scorpius. Posted to the agency’s site on January 16 as part of its Hubble Stellar Construction Zones series, the three T Tauri stars—seen at the bottom right, upper center, and left along with many other stellar objects in the background—are forming inside the hazy Lupus 3 cloud about 500 light-years from Earth. While the image appears somewhat serene, the interior forces at play are anything but tranquil.

+ + + +

A T Tauri star is a young star, usually less than 10 million years old. During this phase, the still-growing stellar object sees the dust and gas surrounding it begin to disappear as stellar winds, radiation, and other ionized particles bombard it. This dynamic environment is reflected in the star’s brightness, which randomly fluctuates depending on the material interactions underway in its accretion disk. More regular shifts in brightness can also occur as sunspots move in and out of view to astronomers here on Earth.

+ + + +

The T Tauri examples seen in Hubble’s image have a long way to go before they resemble the stars most observers recognize. Gravity will continue to bear down on the object until it forces hydrogen and helium elements to fuse in the star’s core, at which point it will finally become a main sequence stellar object.

+ + + +

The stars in Scorpius are further along in their growth than the protostars highlighted by NASA on January 14, however. About 1,300 light-years away, protostars in the “sword” of Orion are getting their start inside the constellation’s Orion Molecular Cloud complex. Astronomers aimed Hubble toward this area of the sky to better understand outflow cavities—areas where a protostar’s gas and dust is shaved away by nearby stellar winds.

The post Hubble spots three young stars going through growth spurts appeared first on Popular Science.

You need a portable jump starter in your car and Amazon has these GOOLOO models for clearance prices

Stan Horaczek — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 14:45:19 -0500

My car battery died last weekend. Cold weather is notorious for playing havoc with car batteries and mine bit the dust at an inconvenient time. Luckily, I had a portable jump starter as part of my car emergency kit and I managed to get where I needed to go without becoming a popsicle. Right now, Amazon has GOOLOO portable jump starters at or even below their all-time low prices. Grab one before you need one.

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Editor’s picks

+ + + + +

+ +

GOOLOO GT4000S Jump Starter (4000A, 100W fast charging) (Yellow) — $99.99 (33% off)

+ + + + +

+ +

+ + This is one of the best gifts I can recommend. + +

GOOLOO

+ + + + + See It + + +

+ + + +

Keep it in the trunk, forget it exists, then use it once every couple years to feel like a genius. The integrated cables won’t get lost in your car and you won’t have to depend on a kind stranger for a jump. The 100W charging matters, too—on road trips it can pull double duty as a legit power bank for phones, tablets, and other USB-C stuff.

+ + + + +

+ +

GOOLOO A5 Jump Starter with Air Compressor (4000A, 160 PSI) — $99.99 (47% off)

+ + + + +

+ +

+ + Low tire pressure is dangerous, but the built-in compressor can help. + +

GOOLOO

+ + + + + See It + + +

+ + + +

If you’re trying to cover the two most likely roadside problems with one device, this is the pick. Jump the car when the battery gives up, then top off a tire after you’ve been ignoring that warning light for a while. The inflator’s auto-off feature is underrated: you set the target pressure and let it stop itself.

+ + + + +

+ +

GOOLOO GP2000 Jump Starter (2000A) — $49.99 (38% off)

+ + + + +

+ +

+ + The rugged case can endure a life spent in the trunk. + +

GOOLOO

+ + + + + See It + + +

+ + + +

Sometimes you just want the affordable, no-drama option. Compact, cheaper than a tow, and capable of bailing out most everyday vehicles without taking up half your trunk, it’s well worth the price.

+ + + +

Big power jump starters (4000A–6000A)

+ + + +

If you drive something larger, live somewhere cold, or just want the most headroom, start here.

+ + + +

GOOLOO GT4000S Jump Starter (4000A, 100W fast charging) (Yellow) $99.99 (33% off)
GOOLOO GT4000S Jump Starter (4000A, 100W two-way fast charging) $99.98 (33% off)
GOOLOO GT4000 Jump Starter (4000A, 100W, -40°F pre-heating tech) $109.99 (31% off)
GOOLOO GP4000 Jump Starter (4000A peak) $79.99 (43% off)
GOOLOO 4000A Peak Car Jump Starter (Orange) $99.99 (23% off)
GOOLOO GT6000 Jump Starter (6000A, 100W bi-directional fast charge) $129.98 (24% off)

+ + + +

Mid-range jump starters (2000A–3000A)

+ + + +

If you drive a typical commuter car, this tier is often plenty—and it’s the easiest on the wallet.

+ + + +

GOOLOO GP2000 Jump Starter (2000A) $49.99 (38% off)
GOOLOO GP2000 Jump Starter (2000A) (Red) $49.98 (38% off)
GOOLOO Upgraded GP3000 Jump Starter (3000A peak) $59.98 (29% off)
GOOLOO GP3000 Jump Starter (3000A) $69.99 (30% off)
GOOLOO GT3000 Jump Starter (3000A, 65W quick charge) $69.97 (30% off)
GOOLOO G7 Jump Starter (3000A, built-in cable) (Deal A) $59.97 (40% off)
GOOLOO G7 Jump Starter (3000A, built-in cable) (Deal B) $66.99 (33% off)

+ + + +

Jump starter + air compressor combos

+ + + +

If you only want to throw one thing in your trunk and call it a day, pick from this section.

+ + + +

GOOLOO A5 Jump Starter with Air Compressor (4000A, 160 PSI) $99.99 (47% off)
GOOLOO A3 Jump Starter with Air Compressor (3000A, 150 PSI) $66.48 (40% off)
GOOLOO A7 Jump Starter with Air Compressor (6000A, 160 PSI, inflate/deflate) $149.99 (29% off)
GOOLOO A2 8-in-1 Jump Starter with Air Compressor (150 PSI) $59.99 (14% off)

+ + + +

Tire inflators (for the “I’ll do it later” crowd)

+ + + +

If your car doesn’t have a full-size spare (most don’t), this is a smart add.

+ + + +

GOOLOO GT160 Tire Inflator (160 PSI) $49.99 (38% off)
GOOLOO A6 Gear Tire Inflator (160 PSI) $39.99 (33% off)

+ + + +

OBD2 scanners (turn the dashboard light into actual information)

+ + + +

If you’re tired of guessing why the check-engine light came on, a scanner can save time (and sometimes a trip) by giving you a starting point.

+ + + +

GOOLOO DS900 OBD2 Scanner (8″ touchscreen, Bluetooth 5.0) $299.98 (40% off)
GOOLOO DEEPSCAN DS200 OBD2 Scanner (Bluetooth wireless) $59.99 (40% off)

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Compressed air dusters (because your keyboard is disgusting)

+ + + +

Not car gear, but still useful: rechargeable air dusters are basically a reusable can of compressed air. They’re handy for keyboards, PC fans, car vents, and all the places dust likes to hide.

+ + + +

GOOLOO F3 Compressed Air Duster (150,000 RPM) $29.98 (40% off)
GOOLOO F5 Compressed Air Duster (180,000 RPM, dual removable batteries) $89.99 (31% off)

+ + + +

The post You need a portable jump starter in your car and Amazon has these GOOLOO models for clearance prices appeared first on Popular Science.

How to make a Blockbuster VHS sleeve for any movie

Andrew Paul — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 13:27:08 -0500

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“[Blockbuster] closed in 2010, but it lives on in our hearts as a beloved symbol of video rental culture,” Jernigan explained on the project’s website.

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While this movie came out long after Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy, you can still make a sleeve for it. Credit: Blockbuster Sleeve Generator / Popular Science

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“It does a slight squeezing of 1080p video so that it fits onto the screen. I think it does a great job,” he says.

+ + + +

Jernigan does note it’s worth mentioning that his personal project is “focused on the design and nostalgia side” of VHS culture, and is not intended to help illegal copying or redistribution.

+ + + +

“I always try to encourage people to be mindful of copyright and local laws and to respect the original creators,” he says.

+ + + +

But for your own home, there are few ways to better respect the pinnacle of video rental outlets than trying out Blockbuster Sleeve Generator.

The post How to make a Blockbuster VHS sleeve for any movie appeared first on Popular Science.

Bose is clearing out refurbished audio products, including a soundbar for just $99

Tony Ware — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 12:24:54 -0500

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Editor’s picks

+ + + + +

+ +

Bose Solo Soundbar Series II (Refurbished) $99 (50% off)

+ + + + +

+ +

+ + It’s simple to connect and emphasizes voices so movies and TV shows are easier to understand. +

+ + + + + See It + + +

+ + + +

+ + + + +

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (Refurbished) $169 (43% off)

- Pros

- -

Front oil suspension fork
Rear rack that can hold up to 150 pounds
Five levels of pedal assist plus throttle
Front and rear 602 hydraulic brakes
Integrated headlights and rear lights
Front and rear fenders
Removable battery
External charging port
Slime-lined tires to prevent flats
Multiple mounting points for additional accessories
1-year warranty

- Cons

- -

Long-range battery available for extra
Well-organized, but external wires and cords
Nothing to secure the bike when folded

- Specs

- -

- - Unfolded bike: - - - 66 inches long by 18.5 inches wide by 45 inches tall -
- - Folded bike: - - - 37 inches by 17 inches wide by 29 inches tall -
- - Motor: - - - 500W hub motor with 55Nm of torque (750W option available) -
- - Battery: - - - 672Wh lithium-ion -
- - Riding range: - - - Up to 50 miles using pedal assist or up to 20 using throttle only (Long-range 85-mile version available) -
- - Class: - - - 1, 2, or 3 -
- - Top speed: - - - 28 mph -
- - Bike weight: - - - 62 pounds without battery (7 lbs.) -
- - Carrying capacity: - - - 330 pounds (combining rider and passenger/cargo) -

+ + + +

+ +

+ + Get excellent noise canceling in a small package. +

+ + + + + See It + + + + + + +

+ + + + +

+ +

Bose SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen) (Refurbished) $99 (38% off)

+ + + + +

+ +

+ + The built-in loop lets you hang it from a carabiner. +

+ + + + + See It + + +

+ + + +

All refurbished Bose deals

+ + + +

Soundbars and TV audio

+ + + +

Bose Solo Soundbar Series II (Refurbished) $99 (50% off)
Bose Smart Soundbar (Refurbished) $349 (36% off)
Bose TV Speaker (Refurbished) $229 (18% off)

+ + + +

Headphones and earbuds

+ + + +

Bose QuietComfort Headphones (Refurbished) $199 (45% off)
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (Refurbished) $279 (35% off)
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (Refurbished) $169 (43% off)
Bose Ultra Open Earbuds (Refurbished) $179 (40% off)

+ + + +

Portable Bluetooth speakers

+ + + +

Bose SoundLink Micro (Refurbished) $79 (34% off)
Bose SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen) (Refurbished) $99 (38% off)
Bose SoundLink Plus (Refurbished) $219 (19% off)
Bose SoundLink Max (Refurbished) $319 (20% off)
Bose SoundLink Revolve II (Refurbished) $159 (27% off)
Bose SoundLink Revolve+ II (Refurbished) $179 (40% off)
Bose Portable Smart Speaker (Refurbished) $319 (20% off)

+ + + +

Home theater add-ons

+ + + +

Bose Bass Module 500 (Refurbished) $449 (18% off)

+ + + +

Specialty gear

+ + + +

Bose A30 Aviation Headset (Refurbished) $999 (23% off)

The post Bose is clearing out refurbished audio products, including a soundbar for just $99 appeared first on Popular Science.

In ancient Arabia, people dined on sharks and stingrays

Andrew Paul — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 11:13:32 -0500

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+ +

Lectric is one of the OGs of foldable electric bikes, so much so that I’d nearly always get a shout or recognition from another Lectric rider when I was riding one around town. They’d chat with me at a stop or ride alongside me for a bit, and I can honestly say it’s never happened to me on another brand of e-bike. The Lectric XP4 finetunes what it’s learned from previous models for an affordable, fun ride with five pedal-assist levels and a thumb throttle. Lectric added more juice to the 500W motor, which can peak at 1,092W and kick out 55Nm of torque.

Neolithic hunters likely also wore shark teeth as pendants. Credit: ARÚ Prague

The tires are fat-tire lite—20 by 3 inches with custom tread—which makes for a more cushioned ride with the front suspension fork. The improved Shimano Altus gearing and an in-house-designed torque sensor mean less furious pedaling than other models to get up to top speeds. Lectric lists the standard step-over at $1,300 (there are also step-thru and long-range variations), but you can often find it on sale for a grand—and yet, it still has hydraulic brakes, which are a rarity at this price point. The XP4 also comes stock with many nice commuter extras, like integrated lights, front and rear fenders, and a monster rear rack that can hold up to 150 pounds. Lectric offers a ton of accessories, including a passenger seat for light riders (e.g., kids). It now features a TFT LCD color display with a USB-C charging port.

For most people, the Lectric will meet their folding e-bike needs, but it’s not perfect. Lectric, more than many brands, makes you well aware of cords. While the wiring up front is well-organized, nothing is internally threaded. It folds at two points—at mid-frame and the handlebars—and it frankly takes some practice to align pedals, handlebars, and wheels just right. You’ll also need a bungee cord (or something similar) to keep everything nice and tight if you want to move the bike while folded (see below). But it does get small enough to go into a typical car trunk—not a Miata, let’s not get crazy. It is, however, a heavy 62 pounds (69 unless you scrap the battery).

Lectric

“We know that these were not just ordinary proteins, but proteins from the top of the food chain,” Danielisová said in a university statement.

Best for urban and multimodal commuters: Brompton Electric G Line

- - - - - -

- -

Heather Kuldell-Ware

“The teeth of this community have an interesting pattern. This indicates a specific diet and also that people used their teeth as tools,” explained ARÚ Prague anthropologist Jiří Šneberger.

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The post In ancient Arabia, people dined on sharks and stingrays appeared first on Popular Science.

Don’t pick up frozen iguanas

Laura Baisas — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 09:20:36 -0500

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+ +

CREDIT: Florida Lad.

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“When that happens, they may lose their grip and fall from the trees,” said AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham. “It’s a unique cold-weather hazard in Florida.”

+ + + +

Instead, it’s best to just leave the iguana alone. It will usually be fine once it gets over 50 degrees again.

The post Don’t pick up frozen iguanas appeared first on Popular Science.

Why do cats lick you? An expert explains.

Sarah Durn — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 09:00:00 -0500

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So, why do some cats lick their owners? Are they trying to clean you, too? We asked an animal behaviorist and cat expert to help us sort out exactly what is going on when your cat licks you.

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Mama cats regularly groom their babies

+ + + +

- - - - See It - - -

- Pros

- -

One of the most compact folding bikes
Equipped for commuting with integrated front and rear lights, fenders with mudflaps, rear rack, and a bell
Balance and handling like a full-size bike
Removable battery pack for easy charging or secure storage
Excellent for multi-modal commuters
Comes in three frame sizes to fit riders from 5’ to 6’6”
Available in three colors: adventure orange, forest green, traildust white (shown)
Optional app

- Cons

- -

Rocker-style display controls for PAS aren’t immediately intuitive
Larger wheels mean folding takes more practice
No throttle and no suspension, so plan to pedal and expect vibration on rougher roads
Pricey for casual commuters

- Specs

- -

- - Folded size: - - - 28.3 inches deep × 26.2 inches tall × 16 inches wide -
- - Motor: - - - 250W rear-hub motor -
- - Battery: - - - 345Wh capacity, charges to 100% in 4-5 hours -
- - Removeable battery: - - - Yes (housed in front-mounted bag) -
- - Compliance: - - - UL 2849 certified -
- - Riding range: - - - 20 to 45 miles -
- - Class: - - - 1 -
- - Top assisted speed: - - - 20 mph -
- - Throttle: - - - No -
- - Drivetrain: - - - 4-speed -
- - Brakes: - - - Tektro hydraulic disc -
- - Tires: - - - 20-inch Schwalbe G-One Allround 54-406 tan wall -
- - Bike weight: - - - About 43 pounds w/ battery bag (35 lbs. bike only) -
- - Connectivity: - - - Brompton Electric app (iOS and Android) -

- +

Cats learn to groom from their mothers. Image: DepositPhotos

The Brompton Electric G Line doesn’t look like your average e-bike—and that’s the point. This is the electrified version of Brompton’s iconic folding bike, designed for people who need a compact ride that’s easy to stash indoors or carry onto public transit. It folds down smaller than anything else in this roundup, and hides its motor and battery inside a clever front-mounted bag that clicks on and off the frame. It’s a refined solution for riders who live in apartments, juggle multi-leg commutes, or just don’t have a safe spot to lock up a full-sized bike.

But grooming also helps a mother cat strengthen her relationship with her kittens, says Vitale. A mother licking her babies is “one of the kitten’s first forms of social interaction.”

At about 43 pounds, the Electric G Line is heavy for Brompton but very light for an e-bike, especially a folding one. Its signature tri-fold is among the fastest folding bikes: pivot the rear wheel under, collapse the main frame, and fold down the handlebars. The whole process only takes a couple of minutes, and the rear rack has wheels that let you roll the folded bike rather than lug it around. Skilled unfolders can kinda flick the bike open, but my short stature never got the hang of it—or it could be the G Line’s larger 20-inch wheels. Still, for people who go from bike ride to subway, the whole package rolls easily through a station and can slide under a desk once you get to an office.

It’s essentially a way for mothers to say, “I love you and I care for you.”

Despite its small size and quirky looks, the G Line rides like a much bigger bike. The 250W rear hub motor is quiet and natural-feeling, giving a smooth assist that enhances your pedaling without ever lurching forward. It’s paired with a 345Wh battery and a four-speed drivetrain that shifts cleanly—even if you might wish for an extra gear when really pushing. The high-volume Schwalbe tires soak up most road chatter, and the stretched frame geometry gives it a stable, planted feel. On paved streets and smooth trails, it feels confident and composed. Gravel is more of a backup plan; the G Line can handle light dirt or hardpack, but without suspension, rougher terrain sends vibration straight to your hands.

How grooming shifts for cats in adulthood

The cockpit is minimal, and that can be a blessing or a quirk depending on your style. The small color display looks great, and you change pedal assist level by rocking the screen up or down. However, so many control units use physical buttons or touchscreens that this movement isn’t necessarily intuitive. You can also change assist levels from the battery bag or via the Brompton app, but neither is a fast mid-ride adjustment. On a full battery with max assist, it delivered over 27 miles of city and trail riding in testing, and it steps down its support gradually as the battery drains. Even fully unpowered, the bike is easy to ride thanks to its well-balanced frame and drivetrain.

The G Line isn’t a casual purchase—it starts around $4,950—but it’s not built for casual needs. It’s a splurge for riders who want the convenience of a folding bike with the ride feel of something much larger, and who plan to use it as part of everyday life. If your bike lives inside with you, travels on trains, or gets folded twice a day, this one earns its keep. As we explained in our full review, the G Line makes few compromises for something this compact, and still manages to be fun, functional, and unexpectedly fast.

Heather Kuldell-Ware

Wild cats lick each other, too

Best for off-road adventures: HeyBike Mars 3.0

- - - - - -

- -

Heather Kuldell-Ware

- - - - See It +

Like domestic cats, lions will lick their feline buddies. Video: Lions Cuddling and Licking Each Other/ DerpDerp

- - -

- Pros

- -

750 W (1,400 W peak) motor with serious torque
Full suspension and fat tires for comfort and traction
Multiple security layers: NFC cards, PIN, app, and key
High-capacity battery for longer ranges
Comes with built-in electronic horn, brake lights, and turn signals
Comes in three colors: orange, blue and black

- Cons

- -

Stiff center hinge can make removing the battery or folding a two-person affair
Dynamic battery gauge can be hard to predict
Hard to secure to a bike rack without a long, flexible chain
It folds, but it still requires larger vehicles for transport
It’s easy to forget the key required for riding

- Specs

- -

- - Folded size - - - 38.2 inches tall x 19.7 inches wide x 33.1 inches deep -
- - Motor - - - 750 W (1,400 W peak) rear hub with 95 Nm torque -
- - Battery - - - 624 Wh -
- - Removable - - - Yes, lockable -
- - Compliance - - - UL 2849 -
- - Range - - - Up to 65 miles -
- - Class - - - Ships as Class 2, can be changed to 1 or 3 -
- - Top speed - - - Unlock up to 30 mph -
- - Throttle - - - Yes -
- - Tires - - - 20″ × 4″ fat tires -
- - Suspension - - - Front hydraulic fork with 65mm travel and rear Horst-link -
- - Drivetrain - - - Shimano Altus 8-speed -
- - Weight - - - about 70 lb -
- - Frame size - - - One, fits riders from 4’11” to 6’2” -
- - Connectivity - - - HeyBike app -

+ + +

+ + + +

Cats lick humans to strengthen your relationship

+ + + +

So why, then, do some cats licks their owners? In general, if your cat licks you, it’s them saying (in so many licks) that they love you.

+ + + +

What if your cat doesn’t lick you?

+ + + +

Vitale has three cats, and of the three she says only one licks her, “very, very sparingly, like once or twice a month.”

+ + + +

So, don’t worry, whether they’re a licker or not, your cat loves you. They might just have a different way of showing it.

+ + + +

The post Why do cats lick you? An expert explains. appeared first on Popular Science.

The best folding electric bikes for 2026, tested and reviewed

Heather Kuldell-Ware — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 15:40:04 -0500

+ + +

+ + + +

Best overall: Lectric XP4
Best for urban and multimodal commuters: Brompton Electric G Line
Best for off-road adventures: HeyBike Mars 3.0
Best for long-range rides: Velotric Fold 1 Plus
Best lightweight: Urtopia Carbon Fold 1
Best value: Ride1Up Portola

The Heybike Mars 3.0 is built for weekend wanderers, RV adventurers, and anyone who’d rather be bouncing down a trail than weaving through traffic. With 4-inch fat tires and full suspension, it turns cracked pavement and chunky gravel into something closer to a suggestion than a challenge. It’s less about fitting into tight spaces and more about blasting out into wide-open ones.

How we selected the best folding electric bikes

Twist the throttle or tap the pedals, and the Mars 3.0 surges forward like it’s been waiting for a greenlight at a race track. In Eco mode, pedaling feels effortless, and hills practically vanish. Kick it into Boost, and pedaling becomes optional. The plush suspension softens every hit, giving even rough trails a floaty, playful vibe. It’s the kind of ride that makes you seek out the bumpy route just for the fun of it.

Yes, it folds, but you’ll need to mean it. At around 70 pounds, the Mars 3.0 is hefty, and the folding process—collapsing the frame and dropping the handlebars—is made trickier by its bulk and a center hinge that started out pretty stiff. There’s a built-in stand to keep stress off the drivetrain, but lifting it into a car is a two-person job for most people. It fit in a hatchback, barely, and would be more at home rolling into an RV or the back of a pickup.

You’ll also need to keep track of the required key, and in fact, the Mars 3.0 features a multilayered security system that lets you choose between unlocking the bike with the app, PIN code, or NFC card. It feels like overkill until you remember this bike is basically a joyride machine, and Heybike clearly doesn’t want it rolling away without you.

The best folding electric bikes: Reviews & Recommendations

If you think of folding as a way to bring your bike to the trail—not necessarily store it under your desk—this one makes a strong case. As we explained in our full review, the Mars 3.0 trades sleekness for capability, and for the right kind of rider, that’s exactly the point.

Heather Kuldell-Ware

Best for long-range rides: Velotric Fold 1 Plus

+ + + +

Best overall: Lectric XP4

@@ -1095,15 +2916,15 @@

- +

Heather Kuldell

Lectric

@@ -1113,7 +2934,7 @@ - + See It @@ -1125,17 +2946,17 @@ Pros

Option to switch between torque and cadence sensors
Speed customization available
Fully equipped for commuting with fenders, rear rack, 130 lux front light with adjustable angle, and rear brake light with turn signals
Comfy ride with front suspension and cushy saddle
Long-range and powerful 750W motor
Telescoping handlebars
Simple, company fold with stand to keep from putting weight on delicate components
USB-C plug for phone charging
Integrated Apple Find My
Velotric app connectivity
Comes in four colors: Mango, Electric Blue (the model tested), Stone Gray, and Pearl White
Front oil suspension fork
Rear rack that can hold up to 150 pounds
Five levels of pedal assist plus throttle
Front and rear 602 hydraulic brakes
Integrated headlights and rear lights
Front and rear fenders
Removable battery
External charging port
Slime-lined tires to prevent flats
Multiple mounting points for additional accessories
1-year warranty

@@ -1143,11 +2964,9 @@ Cons

May not fit easily in standard car trunks
Battery can be a little tricky to slide in and out of the frame
Folding pedals feel unintuitive at first
Motor gets noticeably louder on higher mode and assist combos
Not for subway/train commuters
Long-range battery available for extra
Well-organized, but external wires and cords
Nothing to secure the bike when folded

@@ -1158,59 +2977,66 @@

+ Unfolded bike: + + + 66 inches long by 18.5 inches wide by 45 inches tall +
+ Folded bike: - 37.8 inches long x 19.7 inches wide x 33.5 inches high + 37 inches by 17 inches wide by 29 inches tall
Motor: - 750W (up to 1,100 W peak) rear hub + 500W hub motor with 55Nm of torque (750W option available)
Battery: - 624Wh, IPX7 and UL 2271 Certified + 672Wh lithium-ion
Riding range: - Up to 68 miles (pedal assist), up to 45 miles (throttle only) + Up to 50 miles using pedal assist or up to 20 using throttle only (Long-range 85-mile version available)
Class: - 1, 2, or 3 (adjustable) + 1, 2, or 3
Top speed: - 28 mph (adjustable) + 28 mph
Bike weight: - 63 pounds + 62 pounds without battery (7 lbs.)
Carrying capacity: - 450 pounds total (up to 120 pounds on rear rack) + 330 pounds (combining rider and passenger/cargo)

@@ -1220,31 +3046,23 @@ -

The Velotric Fold 1 Plus answers the question, “Can a bike be chill and still haul?” with a confident yep. Its 750W rear hub motor (1,100W peak) rockets you off the line, while a 624Wh battery delivers an eyebrow-raising 68 miles on pedal assist. That’s “all-day adventure” territory—without the sore legs.

- - - -

One size really does fit all here (as our full review reveals): the ultra-low step-through frame welcomes riders from 4’9” to 6’5” and keeps cargo (up to 120 pounds on the rear rack) stable and steady. The ride is pure cush—front suspension, plush saddle, upright stance, and chunky 20×3-inch puncture-resistant tires soak up bumps so you can focus on grinning.

- - - -

Commuter cred? Fully earned. Full fenders, a 130-lux aimable headlight, brake-activated rear light with turn signals, hydraulic disc brakes, and even a USB-C port to juice your phone mid-ride. It folds to 37.8 x 19.7 x 33.5 inches—compact enough for SUVs and RVs—while a built-in stand and velcro strap keep the package neat. Though it would be bulky if you’re trying to go from trail to train.

Here’s the kicker: you can tune it to your mood. Swap between torque and cadence sensors, tweak top speed up to 28 mph (or dial it down for the kids), and track every ride through the Velotric app—with Apple Find My as your digital safety net.

Fast, comfy, and ridiculously versatile, the Fold 1 Plus isn’t just a folding bike—it’s your ticket to go farther, faster, and have more fun doing it. A do-it-all folder for riders of almost any size, this e-bike aims to (and mostly does) fit nearly everyone’s needs.

Heather Kuldell

Lectric

Best lightweight: Urtopia Carbon Fold 1

Best for urban and multimodal commuters: Brompton Electric G Line

@@ -1256,15 +3074,15 @@

- +

Tony Ware

Heather Kuldell-Ware

@@ -1274,7 +3092,7 @@ - + See It @@ -1286,17 +3104,14 @@ Pros

Carbon fiber frame means exceptionally lightweight
No assembly required
Colorful, crisp display
Short wheelbase means nimble handling
Nice large chainring means it doesn’t feel like you’re peddling furiously
Hydraulic disc brakes
Integrated headlight/tailight
Front and rear fenders
Removable battery clearly placed in seat post
Very fast two-step fold, with magnetic fasteners to keep things compact during transport
Latches feel rigid and secure when in play
One of the most compact folding bikes
Equipped for commuting with integrated front and rear lights, fenders with mudflaps, rear rack, and a bell
Balance and handling like a full-size bike
Removable battery pack for easy charging or secure storage
Excellent for multi-modal commuters
Comes in three frame sizes to fit riders from 5’ to 6’6”
Available in three colors: adventure orange, forest green, traildust white (shown)
Optional app

@@ -1304,9 +3119,10 @@ Cons

Carbon fiber isn’t cheap
Max range may be more optimistic than realistic
Carbon fiber absorbs a fair amount of road, but it can’t replace the comfort of actual suspension
Rocker-style display controls for PAS aren’t immediately intuitive
Larger wheels mean folding takes more practice
No throttle and no suspension, so plan to pedal and expect vibration on rougher roads
Pricey for casual commuters

@@ -1317,59 +3133,101 @@

- Folded bike: + Folded size: - 800 mm x 680mm + 28.3 inches deep × 26.2 inches tall × 16 inches wide
Motor: - 500W peak rear hub motor w/ 42Nm torque + 250W rear-hub motor
Battery: - 252Wh lithium-ion + 345Wh capacity, charges to 100% in 4-5 hours +
+ + Removeable battery: + + + Yes (housed in front-mounted bag) +
+ + Compliance: + + + UL 2849 certified
Riding range: - Up to 40 miles + 20 to 45 miles
Class: - 2 + 1
- Top speed: + Top assisted speed: 20 mph
+ Throttle: + + + No +
+ + Drivetrain: + + + 4-speed +
+ + Brakes: + + + Tektro hydraulic disc +
+ + Tires: + + + 20-inch Schwalbe G-One Allround 54-406 tan wall +
+ Bike weight: - 29 pounds + About 43 pounds w/ battery bag (35 lbs. bike only)
- Maximum rider weight: + Connectivity: - 220 pounds + Brompton Electric app (iOS and Android)

@@ -1379,31 +3237,31 @@ -

The Urtopia Carbon Fold 1 is a shockingly delightful but diminutive Shimano Altus 8-speed commuter that folds up fast and rides even faster. Thanks to its brightly painted carbon fiber frame and fork (the company’s signature material, Saffron Yellow colorway shown above), this bike weighs just 29 pounds. That makes it light enough to toss into small car trunks or an RV for road trips, camping, or other overlanding adventures. And makes it a dream if you live in a multi-story walkup and/or need to factor subway rides into your commute. Despite its compact build (which arrives fully assembled), it can support riders from 5’1’’ to 6’1’’ and up to 220 pounds in total weight, though taller or long-legged riders may feel somewhat cramped.

Little details make a big difference: Built-in magnets keep the bike securely folded while you move it around—no awkward flopping. Heavy-duty latches lock it back into riding position. Cable management is clean. A central cutout serves as a handle and place to thread your chain, so no one can fold the bike off its lock.

Out on the road, the 500W peak rear hub motor and 42Nm of torque provide quick, zippy acceleration, allowing you to reach speeds of up to 20mph. Its low standover height makes it super-easy for frequent stopping and standing during city rides. It also has a short wheelbase, making it excessively nimble—great for dodging cars illegally parked in the bike lane and weaving through potholes, cones, or people staring at their phones. Plus, the TEKTRO hydraulic disc brakes are responsive. It’s surprisingly fun for something whose main function is to be practical.

The 252Wh battery is cleverly hidden in the seat post (which can be fully removed for charging/storing … or to deter thieves, because a bike with no seat is just an extremely inconvenient scooter). It powers the motor, but also the color screen and integrated headlight/taillight. It feels like it’s designed for several short jaunts rather than significant mileage; however, as the published 40-mile range seems optimistic, especially on assist levels above Eco (Touring mode felt closer to the 20s).

My version two wishlist includes a more sensitive torque sensor and a bigger battery, but for anyone short on space—or anyone who wants a travel bike without messing with a rack—the Carbon Fold is a blast. The Carbon Fold 1’s recommended retail price is $2,500, but it has been consistently on sale for $1,600.

Urtopia

Heather Kuldell-Ware

Best value: Ride1Up Portola

Best for off-road adventures: HeyBike Mars 3.0

@@ -1415,10 +3273,16 @@

- +

- + +

Heather Kuldell-Ware

@@ -1427,7 +3291,7 @@ - + See It @@ -1439,16 +3303,12 @@ Pros

Five pedal assist modes plus throttle
Front suspension fork
Dual-piston hydraulic brakes
Front and back fenders
Rear rack holds up to 130 pounds
Integrated front and rear bikes
Folding pedals
Chainguard stay
Short velcro strap to hold the bike together when folded
1-year warranty
750 W (1,400 W peak) motor with serious torque
Full suspension and fat tires for comfort and traction
Multiple security layers: NFC cards, PIN, app, and key
High-capacity battery for longer ranges
Comes with built-in electronic horn, brake lights, and turn signals
Comes in three colors: orange, blue and black

@@ -1456,9 +3316,11 @@ Cons

Long-range battery available for extra
Well-organized, but external wires and cords
Taller riders may find leg extension lacking
Stiff center hinge can make removing the battery or folding a two-person affair
Dynamic battery gauge can be hard to predict
Hard to secure to a bike rack without a long, flexible chain
It folds, but it still requires larger vehicles for transport
It’s easy to forget the key required for riding

@@ -1469,66 +3331,108 @@

- Unfolded bike: + Folded size + + + 38.2 inches tall x 19.7 inches wide x 33.1 inches deep +
+ + Motor + + + 750 W (1,400 W peak) rear hub with 95 Nm torque +
+ + Battery - 66.2 inches long by 19 inches wide by 44.4 inches tall + 624 Wh
- Folded bike: + Removable - 33 inches long by 19 inches wide by 29.5 inches tall + Yes, lockable
- Motor: + Compliance - 750W geared hub motor with 65Nm torque + UL 2849
- Battery: + Range - 500Wh + Up to 65 miles
- Riding range: + Class - Up to 40 miles + Ships as Class 2, can be changed to 1 or 3
- Class: + Top speed - Switchable to 1, 2 or 3 + Unlock up to 30 mph
- Top speed: + Throttle - 28 mph + Yes
- Bike weight: + Tires - 59 pounds + 20″ × 4″ fat tires
- Carrying capacity: + Suspension - 300 pounds + Front hydraulic fork with 65mm travel and rear Horst-link +
+ + Drivetrain + + + Shimano Altus 8-speed +
+ + Weight + + + about 70 lb +
+ + Frame size + + + One, fits riders from 4’11” to 6’2” +
+ + Connectivity + + + HeyBike app

@@ -1538,262 +3442,212 @@ -

The Ride1Up Portola has a big ol’ motor—750W, the largest of this roundup. It also features a front suspension fork, 8-speed drivetrain, hydraulic brakes, and a muscular welded rear rack that can hold up to 130 pounds. These details are surprising to find on a folding e-bike and downright shocking to find on one that costs less than a grand.

- - - -

The Portola offers a lot to like, especially at the price point. Sturdy 20-inch by 3-inch tires and a front suspension fork work together to keep the rider relatively comfortable. There’s only one frame size, which Ride1Up calls “one size fits most,” or in this case, means riders from 4’10” to 6’4”—though taller riders or long-legged ones note they’d like a little more extension when they pedal.

- - - -

The Portola initially starts with a 10.4Ah battery, but an upgrade to 13.4Ah is only $100 more. With five pedal-assist levels and a throttle, you might want the extra juice. The range is up to 40—or 45 with the larger battery. The e-bike also can be switched between Class 1, 2, or 3, depending on whether you want to limit or unleash a potential top speed of 28 mph. And here’s one very simple but very nice touch that many folding bike makers overlook: The Portola has a small velcro strap to secure the bike when it’s folded. It takes some fussing to get the wheels and handlebars just right, but folding bike owners frequently add their own bungees or straps because nothing was included.

- - - -

What to consider when searching for the best folding electric bikes

- - - -

Usually, a search for an e-bike begins with sticker shock, especially if you don’t ride other bicycles. You can find budget electric bikes under $1,000, though models quickly get into the multiple thousands. Expect to find more powerful motors with more torque, larger batteries, and frames made of higher-quality, often lighter-weight materials as the price climbs. They’re like cars: You can find a reasonably priced, reliable model or spend serious bucks on high-end components, luxury features, and eye-grabbing designs. While the options may be daunting, there is a model out there to suit your tastes and budget, whether you’re looking for the best electric commuter bike or the best fat tire electric bike.

- - - -

It’s also worth checking whether your state offers tax credits or rebates for e-bikes to encourage adoption.

- - - -

E-bike classes: What they mean for folding bikes

- - - -

E-bike classes help define how fast your bike can go with motor assist and where you’re legally allowed to ride. This matters a lot if you plan to ride on bike paths, public trails, or shared-use routes. However, the rules will vary from state to state and from locality to locality. Before buying, check your local laws because some states treat e-bikes like regular bikes, while others (like Alaska and New Mexico) regulate them more like mopeds. (Check out the non-profit advocacy group People for Bikes’ guide for state laws.)

- - - -

To make this even muddier, many e-bikes allow the owners to change classes through the display or an app. This is usually called “unlocking,” but it’s a simple setting that lets you set a top speed of 20 or 28 miles per hour. Similarly, some e-bikes have throttles that can be enabled, disabled, or totally removed.

- - -

Class	How it works	Assist limit	What it means for you
Class 1	Pedal-assist motor only	Stops assisting at 20 mph	Usually allowed on bike paths and trails
Class 2	Throttle and pedal assist	Stops assisting at 20 mph	Throttle use may be restricted in some areas
Class 3	Pedal-assist motor only	Stops assisting at 28 mph	Sometimes banned from shared-use paths and may have age and/or helmet rules

- - -

Hub motor vs. mid-drive: What’s the difference?

- - - -

Most folding e-bikes use hub motors, usually built into the rear wheel. They’re simple, affordable, and beginner-friendly. The power comes on smoothly—more like a steady push than a sudden surge—which makes them great for casual riders or flat city commutes.

- - - -

Mid-drive motors, which sit at the cranks, are more efficient and offer better torque for climbing hills or hauling loads. They feel more like traditional cycling because they work with your gears. You’ll find them less often on folding bikes due to their cost and complexity, but if you do, it’s a premium upgrade.

- - - -

Motor power is usually measured in watts, ranging from 250W to the legal U.S. max of 750W. More watts can mean more speed and stronger acceleration, but torque is what really helps with hill climbs and quick takeoffs. If you’re in a hilly area or want zippier starts, look for motors with high torque ratings.

- - - -

Batteries: Range, charging, and what really matters

- - - -

Range is one of those features e-bike makers love to hype—and it’s getting better all the time. These days, even folding models often boast 60, 70, or even 85 miles on a single charge without needing a second battery. But actually hitting those numbers? That depends.

- - - -

Published ranges usually list a minimum and a maximum, and the real-world number lives somewhere in between. Terrain, rider weight, cargo, temperature, tire pressure, and how hard you push the motor (pedal assist vs. throttle, low vs. max level) all make a difference. For example, my commute in the summer takes a quarter of my fully charged battery, but in extreme headwinds or freezing temps, it can easily eat up more than half of my battery. Same ride, same battery, different conditions. If your planned ride is 15 miles round-trip, don’t buy a bike with a 15-mile max and hope for the best—get something with some buffer.

- - - -

Removable batteries are especially helpful for folding bikes. You can charge them inside, swap in a spare for long rides, or remove them for storage. Integrated batteries keep things sleek and tamper-resistant, but mean bringing the whole bike to an outlet. Bigger batteries weigh more, but they also give you more flexibility and less range anxiety.

- - - -

One last thing: battery safety isn’t optional. Look for certifications like UL 2849 (entire system), UL 2271 (battery only), or EN 15194 (European standard). These show that the battery’s been tested against overheating, impact, and general misuse.

- - - -

FAQs

- - -

Q: What are the downsides of folding electric bikes?

Folding e-bikes can be game-changers for commuters, but they come with a few trade-offs. They’re usually more expensive than non-electric bikes and heavier than standard folders. You’ll also need a place to charge—or look for a model with a removable battery you can charge indoors. Over time, batteries degrade and need to be replaced. And while most bike shops can service standard parts, proprietary systems or wiring may need brand-specific help. Folding frames also introduce additional wear points, such as hinges, latches, and clamps, which may loosen over time and with repeated use.

Q: Can folding e-bikes go long distances?

Yes. Many folding e-bikes advertise up to 40 to 80 miles of range, but real-world numbers depend on terrain, assist level, rider and cargo weight, and weather. If you ride mostly flat roads on low assist, your battery will stretch much farther than if you’re using throttle up steep hills. As for comfort, smaller wheels and minimal suspension mean you’ll feel more of the road, so “long distance” might come with more bumps.

Q: How much do folding electric bikes weigh?

Folding e-bikes generally weigh between 35 and 70 pounds. Lighter models made with carbon fiber or smaller motors can dip below 35, while more powerful or accessory-loaded models hit the upper end. They’re still easier to maneuver than traditional e-bikes thanks to their compact shape and smaller wheels—but lifting one into a trunk or up stairs? That’s where the real test comes in.

Q: Are folding e-bikes allowed on trains and buses?

In most cities, yes. Transit systems usually allow folding bikes on board, especially if they’re compact and folded before boarding. Just be prepared to carry or roll it quickly, and avoid peak commute times if the bike takes up space. Always check local transit rules—some systems restrict e-bikes by weight, battery size, or class.

- - -

Final thoughts on the best folding electric bikes

- - - -

Best overall: Lectric XP4
Best for urban and multimodal commuters: Brompton Electric G Line
Best for off-road adventures: HeyBike Mars 3.0
Best for long-range rides: Velotric Fold 1 Plus
Best lightweight: Urtopia Carbon Fold 1
Best value: Ride1Up Portola

- - - -

Folding electric bikes are a funny sort of transportation. They’re purpose-built to be easy to transport or store, which may mean some compromises in riding comfort. However, this category of bikes has come a long way, incorporating fatter tires, more suspension systems, and hydraulic brakes for superior stopping power, along with more options than ever before. Find the model that fits—literally—into your apartment, car, or commute, and enjoy the ride.

The post The best folding electric bikes for 2026, tested and reviewed appeared first on Popular Science.

Black hole space volcano erupts after 100 million year nap

Andrew Paul — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 14:58:16 -0500

A supermassive black hole is reawakening inside a distant galaxy cluster—and after almost 100 million years of slumber, astronomers now say it’s making up for lost time. According to a study published today in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, J1007+3540 is erupting like a volcano and spewing plasma across interstellar space.

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A black hole isn’t constantly devouring its unfortunate galactic neighbors. In fact, it can lay dormant for eons. But when one of these gargantuan entities finally reawakens, the resulting display isn’t only impressive—it illustrates the chaotic battle between its own cosmic forces and the pressures of the universe around it.

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One of the most striking glimpses of such an event was recently captured by a team led by Shobha Kumari at India’s Midnapore City College. Supermassive black holes rarely emit magnetized, radio-emitting plasma, but according to Kumari, J1007+3540 is especially unique. After analyzing data collected by the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) in the Netherlands and India’s Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope (uGMRT), researchers say there is undeniable evidence of multiple eruptions stretching deep into the universe’s past.

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“It’s like watching a cosmic volcano erupt again after ages of calm—except this one is big enough to carve out structures stretching nearly a million light-years across space,” Kumari said in a statement.

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The same images with labels showing the compressed northern lobe, curved backflow signature of plasma and the inner jet of the black hole. Credit: LOFAR / Pan-STARRS / Kumari et al.

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Radio imaging revealed a small, bright interior jet indicative of J1007+3540’s internal forces revving back up. But surrounding this illumination is an older layer of fading, distorted plasma from previous active eras.

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“This dramatic layering of young jets inside older, exhausted lobes is the signature of an episodic [active galactic nucleus]—a galaxy whose central engine keeps turning on and off over cosmic timescales,” added Kumari.

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The supermassive black hole’s forces are unfathomably strong, but the influences of the giant galaxy cluster around it can’t be ignored either. The surrounding plumes of incredibly hot gas exert their own pressure, in this case even higher than most other radio galaxies. These cosmic regions then mangle and distort J1007+3540’s plasma jets as they race outward. For example, LOFAR’s imaging depicts a compressed northern lobe that is curving to one side due to the galactic gas. Complimentary data from uGMRT reveals a very steep radio spectrum indicative of old, weakened plasma particles.

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“J1007+3540 is one of the clearest and most spectacular examples of episodic AGN with jet-cluster interaction, where the surrounding hot gas bends, compresses, and distorts the jets,” added Surajit Paul, a study coauthor and astronomer at the Manipal Center for Natural Sciences in India.

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Moving forward, Kumari, Paul, and their collaborators hope to employ higher-resolution equipment to peer into J1007+3540’s core. In doing so, researchers can better chart how the black hole’s reignited jets travel through the galaxy cluster, as well as how often such events actually occur.

The post Black hole space volcano erupts after 100 million year nap appeared first on Popular Science.

Congress trying to make it easier to unsubscribe (again)

Andrew Paul — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 12:05:00 -0500

Two elected officials hope their new bipartisan bill will help finally put an end to the mountains of unwanted subscription renewal fees plaguing everyday consumers. Mark Takano, D-Calif. and Mark Amodei, R-Nev. reintroduced the Unsubscribe Act this week, which aims to ban companies from employing unnecessarily complex and obtuse cancellation policies.

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“Subscription traps have become an accepted inconvenience for American consumers. Too many companies rely on deceptive business models that force people to jump through hoops just to cancel,” Representative Amodei said in a joint statement. “We all live busy lives, and remembering to cancel after a free trial shouldn’t be another item on the to-do list.”

Surprise subscription renewal fees are difficult enough to track in everyday life, but passing legislation to rein in the costly annual expenditures seems even harder to accomplish. After years of bipartisan lobbying efforts, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) finally announced a “click-to-cancel” rule in 2023. However, courts nullified the FTC ruling on a technicality in July 2025–just days before it was set to go into effect. Since then, the fight has continued to fix a broken system that regularly costs households as much as $200 a year in sneaky, unwanted subscriptions.

“During a time when everything is more expensive, corporations are cashing in subscription models that rely on a consumer forgetting to cancel a free trial,” Rep. Takano added. “Corporations haven’t put into place commonsense reforms like ending a subscription just as easily as signing up for one.”

If enacted, the new law would require all companies to receive explicit opt-in confirmations from customers before charging them full price after the end of a free or discount-rate trial. The sign-up process must also “clearly and conspicuously” explain subscription terms, and make it as easy to cancel as it was to initially enroll.

As The Guardian first reported on January 13,, Rep. Takano has regularly advocated for similar legislative action since 2017. His most recent attempt in 2021 only garnered Democratic support in the House, although a companion Senate bill has had bipartisan backing for years.

Heather Kuldell-Ware

So far under the Trump administration, the FTC has selectively enforced certain subscription fee-related actions, such as a $7.5 million settlement with the ed-tech company Chegg in September 2025. Comprehensive reforms have yet to materialize, however. The FTC quietly published a consumer group-led click-to-cancel petition in December 2025, and accepted public comments on it until January 2, 2026.

Best for long-range rides: Velotric Fold 1 Plus

With the Unsubscribe Act, legislators hope to bypass the ongoing regulatory hold-up.“This time…there’s interest across the aisle,” explained Rep. Takano.

The post Congress trying to make it easier to unsubscribe (again) appeared first on Popular Science.

Mummified cheetahs could help save the critically endangered big cats

Laura Baisas — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 11:00:00 -0500

Seven naturally-mummified cheetahs are more than just an exciting paleontological find. The specimens discovered in five caves near the city of Arar in northern Saudi Arabia offer a glimpse of hope for reintroducing the species to the Arabian Peninsula. The findings are described in a study published today in the journal Communications Earth & Environment.

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Cheetahs once lived in much of Africa, and Western and Southern Asia, but their range in Asia has decreased by 98 percent over the past several thousand years. As a whole, cheetahs only occupy nine percent of the territory they used to. On the Arabian Peninsula (Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait) cheetahs were found as recently as 1977, when a hunter in Oman killed an adult female cheetah. However, the animals are now considered locally extinct in the region. There are five cheetah subspecies, and the Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) is believed to have been the only subspecies that lived in present-day Saudi Arabia. The Asiatic cheetah is currently considered critically endangered, with only one small wild population remaining in Iran. Whether or not cheetahs could be reintroduced in the area is debated, largely due to continued habitat destruction.

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Heather Kuldell

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+ Pros

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Option to switch between torque and cadence sensors
Speed customization available
Fully equipped for commuting with fenders, rear rack, 130 lux front light with adjustable angle, and rear brake light with turn signals
Comfy ride with front suspension and cushy saddle
Long-range and powerful 750W motor
Telescoping handlebars
Simple, company fold with stand to keep from putting weight on delicate components
USB-C plug for phone charging
Integrated Apple Find My
Velotric app connectivity
Comes in four colors: Mango, Electric Blue (the model tested), Stone Gray, and Pearl White

+ Cons

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May not fit easily in standard car trunks
Battery can be a little tricky to slide in and out of the frame
Folding pedals feel unintuitive at first
Motor gets noticeably louder on higher mode and assist combos
Not for subway/train commuters

+ Specs

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+ + Folded bike: + + + 37.8 inches long x 19.7 inches wide x 33.5 inches high +
+ + Motor: + + + 750W (up to 1,100 W peak) rear hub +
+ + Battery: + + + 624Wh, IPX7 and UL 2271 Certified +
+ + Riding range: + + + Up to 68 miles (pedal assist), up to 45 miles (throttle only) +
+ + Class: + + + 1, 2, or 3 (adjustable) +
+ + Top speed: + + + 28 mph (adjustable) +
+ + Bike weight: + + + 63 pounds +
+ + Carrying capacity: + + + 450 pounds total (up to 120 pounds on rear rack) +

During digs in five caves in 2022 and 2023, field biologist Ahmed Boug from Saudi Arabia’s National Center for Wildlife and his team uncovered skeletal remains of 54 other cats and seven naturally-mummified cheetahs. In desert regions, natural mummification is common due to the dry conditions where fungi and bacteria can’t thrive on a decomposing corpse. Deserts also have the right mineral content in the sand for preservation.

The oldest of the cat skeletal remains date back about 4,000 years ago. The mummified cheetah remains were much younger—ranging from only 130 to 1,870 years ago.

They also extracted complete genome sequences from three of the seven mummified cheetahs. According to the team, this is the first time that this kind of genetic material extraction has been done on naturally-mummified big cats. While the most recent specimen is genetically closest to the Asiatic cheetah, the two older specimens are more similar to the Northwest African cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus hecki). This critically endangered species is found in the Sahara and several countries in northwestern Africa.

One of the mummified cheetahs as it was found in situ in a cave in northern Saudi Arabia. Image: National Center for Wildlife – Saudi Arabia

The authors say that their results indicate that cheetah subspecies could support the re-establishment of cheetahs in Saudi Arabia. An increased available genetic pool from other subspecies would make rewilding efforts more feasible, as subspecies can generally interbreed and create fertile offspring that further the population. The team also suggests that their method shows that ancient DNA records from similar specimens can inform future reintroduction plans for other endangered species.

The post Mummified cheetahs could help save the critically endangered big cats appeared first on Popular Science.

Amazon has just about every Anker docking station, power bank, and portable power station on sale right now

Heather Kuldell-Ware — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 09:43:27 -0500

I’ve been doing my work at a local coffee shop lately, which has helped me kick some of the winter blues by getting me out of the house. It’s a great spot, but it lacks outlets, which means I’ve been relying heavily on portable chargers and other backup devices. The Anker Prime Pro power bank has been a go-to for me, but there are currently a ton of other Anker products on sale at Amazon right now, so stock up and never run out of juice again. You can even score huge deals on Solix portable power stations and solar generators.

Heather Kuldell

Editor’s picks

Best lightweight: Urtopia Carbon Fold 1

Anker Prime Docking Station (14-Port, 160W Max, Dual 4K) $169.99 (37% off)

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Tony Ware

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+ Pros

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Carbon fiber frame means exceptionally lightweight
No assembly required
Colorful, crisp display
Short wheelbase means nimble handling
Nice large chainring means it doesn’t feel like you’re peddling furiously
Hydraulic disc brakes
Integrated headlight/tailight
Front and rear fenders
Removable battery clearly placed in seat post
Very fast two-step fold, with magnetic fasteners to keep things compact during transport
Latches feel rigid and secure when in play

+ Cons

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Carbon fiber isn’t cheap
Max range may be more optimistic than realistic
Carbon fiber absorbs a fair amount of road, but it can’t replace the comfort of actual suspension

+ Specs

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+ + Folded bike: + + + 800 mm x 680mm +
+ + Motor: + + + 500W peak rear hub motor w/ 42Nm torque +
+ + Battery: + + + 252Wh lithium-ion +
+ + Riding range: + + + Up to 40 miles +
+ + Class: + + + 2 +
+ + Top speed: + + + 20 mph +
+ + Bike weight: + + + 29 pounds +
+ + Maximum rider weight: + + + 220 pounds +

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If your laptop is doing its best impression of a desktop every day, this is the kind of dock that makes the whole setup feel intentional. You get a ton of ports in one box, dual 4K monitor support, and up to 160W of power delivery so you can park your laptop, plug in, and stop juggling dongles.

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Anker Prime MagSafe Charger (3-in-1 Charging Station, Qi2 25W) $160.99 (30% off)

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Anker

- - The built-in handle and wheels make it easy to lug just about anywhere. - -

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This is the move for people who are fully integrated into the Apple ecosystem. It’s a 3-in-1 stand that does Qi2 wireless charging (up to 25W) plus spots for your earbuds and watch. It’s the sort of thing that makes nightly charging feel less like a scavenger hunt.

Urtopia

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Best value: Ride1Up Portola

Anker SOLIX F2000 Portable Power Station (Powerhouse 767) $899.00 (55% off)

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For outages, tailgates, or job sites, a big power station is basically a silent generator you can lug anywhere. The SOLIX F2000 has a huge 2,048Wh-class battery and enough output to run appliances and tools then recharge your smaller gadgets on top. This is one of the steepest discounts in the list, so it’s worth a look if you’ve been waiting for a real price drop.

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Wall chargers and travel adapters

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Anker 100W Max USB-C Charger Block (3-Port GaN, Silver) $59.99 (14% off)
Anker Prime Charger (100W 3-Port GaN, Foldable) $59.99 (14% off)
Anker Nano Charger (70W 3-Port USB-C, White, Cable Included) $39.99 (20% off)
Anker Charger (65W 3-Port Fast Compact Foldable) $25.99 (35% off)
Anker Nano Travel Adapter (5-Port, 1 AC + 2 USB-A + 2 USB-C) $25.99

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Power strips and desktop charging stations

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Anker Prime Charging Station (240W 8-in-1 USB-C Power Strip) $89.99 (31% off)
Anker Prime 6-in-1 USB-C Charging Station (140W) $59.99 (45% off)
Anker Charging Station (100W) 9-in-1 USB-C Power Strip (300J) $39.99
Anker Power Strip Surge Protector (2100J, 12 Outlets + USB) $28.99

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Power banks

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Anker Prime Power Bank (26,250mAh, 300W Max) $199.99 (13% off)
Anker Prime Power Bank (20,100mAh, 220W Max) $149.99 (17% off)

+ Pros

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Five pedal assist modes plus throttle
Front suspension fork
Dual-piston hydraulic brakes
Front and back fenders
Rear rack holds up to 130 pounds
Integrated front and rear bikes
Folding pedals
Chainguard stay
Short velcro strap to hold the bike together when folded
1-year warranty

+ Cons

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Long-range battery available for extra
Well-organized, but external wires and cords
Taller riders may find leg extension lacking

+ Specs

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+ + Unfolded bike: + + + 66.2 inches long by 19 inches wide by 44.4 inches tall +
+ + Folded bike: + + + 33 inches long by 19 inches wide by 29.5 inches tall +
+ + Motor: + + + 750W geared hub motor with 65Nm torque +
+ + Battery: + + + 500Wh +
+ + Riding range: + + + Up to 40 miles +
+ + Class: + + + Switchable to 1, 2 or 3 +
+ + Top speed: + + + 28 mph +
+ + Bike weight: + + + 59 pounds +
+ + Carrying capacity: + + + 300 pounds +

Anker MagGo Power Bank (Qi2 15W, 10,000mAh, Stand; iPhone 15/14/13/12) $71.99 (20% off)

Anker MagGo Power Bank (Qi2 15W, Ultra-Slim 10,000mAh) $79.86

Anker Nano Power Bank (Qi2 15W, 5,000mAh, Magnetic) $54.99

USB-C hubs and docking stations

What to consider when searching for the best folding electric bikes

Anker Prime TB5 Docking Station (14-in-1 Thunderbolt 5) $399.99

Anker Prime Docking Station (14-Port, 160W Max, Dual 4K) $169.99 (37% off)

It’s also worth checking whether your state offers tax credits or rebates for e-bikes to encourage adoption.

Anker Laptop Docking Station (13-in-1 USB-C, Triple Display) $199.99

E-bike classes: What they mean for folding bikes

Anker Laptop Docking Station (14-in-1 USB-C Hub, Triple Display) $48.99 (30% off)

Anker USB-C Hub (11-in-1 Docking Station, Dual Monitor) $53.99 (22% off)

Anker 555 USB-C Hub (8-in-1, 4K HDMI, 10Gbps, Ethernet) $49.99

Class	How it works	Assist limit	What it means for you
Class 1	Pedal-assist motor only	Stops assisting at 20 mph	Usually allowed on bike paths and trails
Class 2	Throttle and pedal assist	Stops assisting at 20 mph	Throttle use may be restricted in some areas
Class 3	Pedal-assist motor only	Stops assisting at 28 mph	Sometimes banned from shared-use paths and may have age and/or helmet rules

Hub motor vs. mid-drive: What’s the difference?

Anker 6-in-1 USB-C Hub (65W PD, 4K HDMI, Ethernet) $31.99 (29% off)

Anker USB-C Hub (5-in-1, 4K HDMI, 90W PD) $12.99 (35% off)

Anker USB-C to HDMI Adapter (4K@60Hz) $11.99 (40% off)

Anker USB-C Adapter (2 Pack) USB-C to USB-A $8.99 (44% off)

Batteries: Range, charging, and what really matters

Qi2 wireless chargers and MagSafe-style stations

Anker Prime MagSafe Charger (3-in-1 Charging Station, Qi2 25W) $160.99 (30% off)

Anker MagGo 3-in-1 Charging Station (Qi2 15W, Foldable) $89.99 (17% off)

Anker MagGo UFO 3-in-1 Charger (Qi2 15W, Foldable Travel Pad) $61.98 (31% off)

Anker MagSafe Charger Stand (3-in-1 Cube, 30W USB-C Charger Included) $97.49 (35% off)

FAQs

Anker Zolo Magnetic Wireless Charger (2-Pack, Qi2 15W) $25.99 (35% off)

Q: What are the downsides of folding electric bikes?

Q: Can folding e-bikes go long distances?

Q: How much do folding electric bikes weigh?

Q: Are folding e-bikes allowed on trains and buses?

Anker MagSafe Charger Pad (Qi2 15W, Adapter Included) $24.99 (11% off)

Final thoughts on the best folding electric bikes

Car charging

Best overall: Lectric XP4

Anker Prime MagSafe Car Mount Charger (Qi2 25W, TEC Cooling) $67.49 (25% off)
Best for urban and multimodal commuters: Brompton Electric G Line
Anker Nano Magnetic Wireless Car Charger (Qi2 15W, Adjustable Mount) $39.99 (33% off)
Best for off-road adventures: HeyBike Mars 3.0
Anker USB-C Car Charger (75W Max, Retractable Cable) $24.98 (38% off)

Best for long-range rides: Velotric Fold 1 Plus

Portable power stations and off-grid gear

Best lightweight: Urtopia Carbon Fold 1

Anker SOLIX C300 Portable Power Station (288Wh) $214.94 (28% off)
Best value: Ride1Up Portola

Anker SOLIX C300 DC Power Bank Station (288Wh) $249.99

The post The best folding electric bikes for 2026, tested and reviewed appeared first on Popular Science.

Black hole space volcano erupts after 100 million year nap

Stan Horaczek — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 14:58:16 -0500

Anker 521 Portable Power Station (256Wh) $149.99 (25% off)

Anker SOLIX C1000 Portable Power Station (1,056Wh) $449.00 (44% off)

Anker SOLIX C1000 Gen 2 Portable Power Station (1,024Wh) $469.99 (41% off)

Anker SOLIX C2000 Gen 2 Portable Power Station (2,048Wh) $719.10 (52% off)

The same images with labels showing the compressed northern lobe, curved backflow signature of plasma and the inner jet of the black hole. Credit: LOFAR / Pan-STARRS / Kumari et al.

Anker SOLIX F2000 Portable Power Station (Powerhouse 767) $899.00 (55% off)

Anker SOLIX F3000 Portable Power Station (3,072Wh) $1,299.99 (23% off)

Anker SOLIX F3800 Plus Portable Power Station (3,840Wh) $2,699.00 (31% off)

Anker SOLIX EverFrost 2 58L Cooler (Road Trip Kit) $749.99

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The post Amazon has just about every Anker docking station, power bank, and portable power station on sale right now appeared first on Popular Science.

Anker Prime Power Bank (20K, 200W) review: Plenty of power for laptops and more

Andrew Paul — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 09:25:11 -0500

A typical power bank is meant to resurrect a dead smartphone or extend tablet usage through a long flight. But laptops fall into an entirely different category when it comes to backup power. The same goes for other power-hungry devices like drones and even high-end cameras. I’ve been testing the Anker Prime Power Bank (20K, 200W) for several weeks with a number of different devices. In that time, I’ve found it to be powerful, simple to use, and full of welcome features that make it enjoyable to use. It’s not perfect, but if you want one battery pack that can keep up with modern USB-C gear—and you’re willing to carry it—this is a great option.

The post Black hole space volcano erupts after 100 million year nap appeared first on Popular Science.

Congress trying to make it easier to unsubscribe (again)

Andrew Paul — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 12:05:00 -0500

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Review: Anker Prime Power Bank (20K, 200W)

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- - The coffee shop is where this powerful backup battery shines. - -

Stan Horaczek

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- Pros

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Real laptop output: Up to 140W on a single USB-C port, with 220W total available across ports.
Fast to refill: 100W input means it can recharge in under an hour with the right charger and cable.
Actually useful smarts: The on-device display gives real-time wattage and time estimates; the app is there if you want deeper tweaks.

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Price: It’s an investment, especially if you add accessories like the charging base.
Weight: It’s “pocketable” on paper, but at over a pound you’ll feel it.
Capacity reality check: This is a 20K-class pack (about 72Wh), not a full replacement for a laptop battery.

Design and Build

The Anker Prime 20K is roughly the size of one of those skinny Diet Coke cans, but it’s a squared-off soda can with real heft. It measures 1.73 × 1.99 × 5.79 inches and weighs 1.12 lbs (510 g), which makes it easy to stash in a backpack or camera bag—and a little silly to carry in a jacket pocket unless you’re committed.

Build quality is a standout. It’s a dense block of hardware rather than a hollow plastic shell, which matters when you’re throwing it into bags, bouncing between locations, or generally living the clumsy reality of travel.

Anker’s display is also genuinely helpful. Instead of the old system of four mystery LEDs, you get clear readouts for charge level, real-time wattage in/out, and time-to-empty or time-to-full estimates. When you’re trying to decide whether you have enough juice for a flight, a shoot, or a long coffee shop session, that kind of clarity is the difference between guessing and knowing. The shiny surface on the front of the device does pick up smudges and fingerprints easily, but that doesn’t matter much to me.

With the Unsubscribe Act, legislators hope to bypass the ongoing regulatory hold-up.“This time…there’s interest across the aisle,” explained Rep. Takano.

The post Congress trying to make it easier to unsubscribe (again) appeared first on Popular Science.

Mummified cheetahs could help save the critically endangered big cats

Laura Baisas — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 11:00:00 -0500

Port layout is straightforward and practical: two USB-C ports and one USB-A across the top. In day-to-day use, I found it easier to lay it flat with the screen facing up so it’s less likely to tip if a stiff cable gets bumped.

How I tested Anker’s Prime Power Bank

In the several weeks I spent with this device, I used it to fuel my 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M3 Max chip inside. I also used it to charge an iPhone 17 Pro Max, a DJI drone, a Canon R5 Mark II camera, and other devices. In each case, I was able to hit maximum charging speeds with each device and even keep up with the MacBook Pro output during high-intensity tasks like exporting files from Adobe Lightroom.

The “System” Approach

You can absolutely buy the battery by itself and be happy. The main story here is that it refills fast enough (up to 100W input) that it’s easy to keep topped off between sessions—plug it in while you eat lunch, and you’ll get a meaningful chunk of capacity back.

The oldest of the cat skeletal remains date back about 4,000 years ago. The mummified cheetah remains were much younger—ranging from only 130 to 1,870 years ago.

If you want a cleaner workflow that’s always ready, Anker also sells a separate $99 charging base that uses pogo pins and charges the bank at the same 100W rate. It’s not required, but if this power bank is part of your daily desk kit, docking it like a gadget from the future is undeniably convenient.

Performance

One of the mummified cheetahs as it was found in situ in a cave in northern Saudi Arabia. Image: National Center for Wildlife – Saudi Arabia

The “220W” in the name is the combined ceiling across ports. In practical terms, it means you can run a laptop at serious speed and still charge other devices without everything collapsing into “slow charge” mode.

The post Mummified cheetahs could help save the critically endangered big cats appeared first on Popular Science.

Amazon has just about every Anker docking station, power bank, and portable power station on sale right now

Stan Horaczek — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 09:43:27 -0500

Single port: One USB-C port can deliver up to 140W (PD 3.1), which is enough to charge a MacBook Pro at full speed.

Editor’s picks

Multi-device: With 220W total available, you can keep a laptop happy while also topping off a phone, tablet, camera, or accessory—without feeling like you have to “schedule” charging.

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Anker Prime Docking Station (14-Port, 160W Max, Dual 4K) $169.99 (37% off)

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+ + Finally get all your desk cords under control with this burly docking station. + +

Thermals are solid, too. High-wattage power banks often get uncomfortably warm when they’re actually delivering big power for long stretches. This one stayed surprisingly composed during sustained use, which inspires more confidence than raw spec-sheet bragging ever could. It felt noticeably warm to the touch when it was charging up its own internal batteries, but it never got hot.

Anker

+ + Power up an iPhone, AirPods, and an Apple Watch all at once. + +

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The companion app is a nice touch, but I didn’t find myself using it all that often during normal use. The built-in screen typically told me what I needed to know.

At this price point, I would have liked an integrated cable and possibly wireless charging as it requires a separate cable to input and output power. That’s not super common with models in this class, so it’s not a point against this model, but both features would have been welcome.

Comparison: Anker Prime 20K vs. The Competition

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Anker Prime MagSafe Charger (3-in-1 Charging Station, Qi2 25W) $160.99 (30% off)

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Anker

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The Anker Prime 20K sits in a sweet spot: smaller and lighter than the max-capacity carry-on limit bricks, but far more capable than the average travel power bank.

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Feature	Anker Prime 20K (220W)	EcoFlow RAPID Pro (27,650mAh)	Shargeek Storm 2	Anker 737 (24K, 140W)
Capacity	20,100mAh (~72Wh)	27,650mAh (99.54Wh)	25,600mAh (93.5Wh)	24,000mAh
Max Output	220W total (140W single USB-C)	300W total (up to 140W single)	100W (single-port fast charge class)	140W max total
Max Input	100W	320W (with matching station)	100W in/out	140W two-way charging class
Ports	2× USB-C, 1× USB-A	4 total (incl. built-in retractable USB-C cable)	USB-C + USB-A + DC + more	2× USB-C, 1× USB-A
Weight	1.12 lb (510g)	699.4g	591.3g	630g
Unique Feature	Optional pogo-pin charging base + strong on-device display	Built-in retractable cable + modular accessories	“Gadget-core” transparent design + DC output	More affordable entry to 140W-class charging

The Specs

Category	Specification
Model	Anker Prime Power Bank (20K, 220W)
Capacity	20,100mAh (~72Wh) Carry-on compliant under 100Wh
Ports	2× USB-C, 1× USB-A
Single USB-C Max	Up to 140W
Combined Max Output	Up to 220W total
Recharge Speed	Up to 100W (USB-C) / Up to 100W (charging base)
Connectivity	Bluetooth (Anker app)
Dimensions	1.73 × 1.99 × 5.79 inches
Weight	1.12 lb (510g)

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Anker SOLIX F2000 Portable Power Station (Powerhouse 767) $899.00 (55% off)

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+ + The built-in handle and wheels make it easy to lug just about anywhere. + +

Verdict

Anker

How pilots avoid thunderstorms—and what happens when they can’t

+ + + + See It + +

If you’re truly a power user—or you just have a laptop that laughs at most power banks—this Anker Prime makes a compelling case. The headline isn’t just big number wattage. It’s that the wattage shows up in real use: no slow-charger warnings, no weird throttling, and no all-night recharge penalty once you’ve drained it.

If you only need to charge a phone, this is unnecessary weight and money. But for photographers, frequent travelers, and anyone trying to keep a MacBook and a few other devices alive away from the wall, the Prime 20K feels like the first power bank that actually behaves like it belongs in a modern USB-C workflow.

The post Anker Prime Power Bank (20K, 200W) review: Plenty of power for laptops and more appeared first on Popular Science.

Is turbulence really like Jello-O? Pilots weigh in.

Cat Rainsford — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 09:02:00 -0500

A young woman pushes a balled-up piece of napkin into a cup of Jell-O, asking the viewer to imagine that it is an airplane, high in the air.

Wall chargers and travel adapters

“That is you flying through the sky,” she tells the camera. “There’s pressure from the bottom, pressure from the top, from the sides, pressure coming from everywhere.”

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She taps the top of the Jell-O, making the suspended napkin ball quiver.

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“This is what happens when there’s turbulence,” she says. “You feel the plane shaking, but [it] is not just going to fall down.”

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The video is by Australian TikToker Anna Paul. Just days after she uploaded it in June 2022, it had accumulated more than 15 million views and thousands of comments from people saying it had cured their fear of flying. Paul says she got the tip “from a real pilot.”

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But how accurate is the analogy? Is turbulence really like Jell-O?

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@anna..paull
Fear of flying tip
♬ original sound – Anna Paul

Power strips and desktop charging stations

The origins of the Jell-O analogy

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The Jell-O analogy is the brainchild of former airline captain Tom Bunn, who is now a licensed therapist and founder of the SOAR program, which helps people overcome their fear of flying. Over years of listening to clients express their worries, Bunn realized that explaining the science of flight was often not enough to reassure people that flying was truly safe.

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“Clients would say they look up in the sky and see a plane and it doesn’t look like it should be there,” he says. “It should fall because they don’t see anything holding it up.”

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Because these nervous flyers lacked understanding of the forces holding a plane in the air, they would feel the jolts during turbulence and panic, imagining the plane was about to drop from the sky. To help them overcome this fear, Bunn looked for an analogy that would convince the emotional part of their brains that the plane was not going to fall.

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He found it by asking them to recall the familiar sense of air resistance growing as speed increases.

Power banks

“If you walk across the room, air doesn’t slow you down,” he says. However, “if you’re in a car and push forward with your hand out the window, it feels about the same as putting your hand in a swimming pool and pushing against the water.”

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Appealing to this logic, Bunn would ask his clients to imagine the air getting thicker as the plane accelerated down the runway. By the time they were in the air, it was the consistency of Jell-O, supporting them on all sides.

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Bunn acknowledges that the analogy is not completely accurate scientifically. But it is an emotionally resonant way of visualizing the forces that hold a plane up during flight.

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“Technically, it involves Bernoulli’s theorem,” he says. “It has to do with the fact that the bottom of the wing is pretty much flat and the top is curved.”

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If you’ve ever put your hand out of the window in a car, you’ve felt the same kind of pressure that helps keep planes in the air when they fly. Image: DepositPhotos

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The science that keeps planes flying

USB-C hubs and docking stations

Daniel Bernoulli was an 18th-century Swiss mathematician and physicist who formulated several key concepts in fluid dynamics. The most famous is Bernoulli’s principle, which states that an increase in the speed of a fluid decreases the pressure exerted by the fluid.

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In a river, for example, water speeds up as it passes through narrower sections. The water pressure is lower in these constricted areas, as the acceleration is caused by higher pressure behind the constriction than within it.

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Air behaves much like a fluid. When it encounters an obstacle, it compresses or speeds up as it flows around the object in its path.

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“When the plane runs into the air, the air that goes across the top of the wing has to catch up,” Bunn explains. Because of the curve on the wing’s top, the air “has to take a longer route, so the molecules spread out slightly. So, they don’t push as much on the top of the wing as on the bottom.”

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As Paul says in her TikTok video, there is pressure coming from the air above and below the airplane. But the wing’s design means that the air pressure is greater below it than in the faster-moving air above it, pushing the wing upwards. This is the phenomenon known in aerodynamics as “lift.”

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“The faster you go, the more powerful the Bernoulli effect,” Bunn explains. This is why, as a plane flies through the air at nearly 600 miles an hour, the pressure under the wings holds it in the sky as securely as a napkin ball in Jell-O.

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Turbulence happens when blocks of air rub past each other at different temperatures, pressures or speeds. It can have many different causes, from thunderstorms to the centrifugal force of the earth’s rotation, which pushes bands of air outwards. Its strength ranges from mild, causing little more discomfort than a slight trembling, to severe, in which passengers or flight crew can be thrown around the cabin and risk injury if not wearing seatbelts.

Anker 6-in-1 USB-C Hub (65W PD, 4K HDMI, Ethernet) $31.99 (29% off)

- -

- Related 'Ask Us Anything' Stories

- -

Why do our ears pop on a plane? An audiologist explains.

Why do we put seatbacks up for landing? An aviation expert explains.

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Turbulence is less scary than it feels

Anker USB-C to HDMI Adapter (4K@60Hz) $11.99 (40% off)

But while strong turbulence can feel alarming, Patrick Smith, a commercial pilot and writer of the Ask the Pilot blog, says that “people tend to have a very exaggerated sense of what the airplane is actually doing.”

Anker USB-C Adapter (2 Pack) USB-C to USB-A $8.99 (44% off)

“Airplanes have what we call positive stability,” he says. “When they’re disturbed from their position in space, by their nature they want to return to where they were.”

Qi2 wireless chargers and MagSafe-style stations

During turbulence, every jolt down is matched by an equivalent jolt up, holding the plane steady on its course—as if it were suspended in Jell-O.

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“There has never been a plane crash from turbulence,” Paul says in her video. Is this true?

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Bunn recalls one incident in the 1960s when a flight departing Japan’s Tokyo airport encountered severe turbulence off the side of Mount Fuji, causing it to suffer structural damage and crash into a forest. But, he emphasizes, such an incident would never happen today. For one, commercial jets would never fly so close to a mountain, knowing that these can disrupt air flows and cause strong forms of turbulence close to solid ground, where planes are naturally most vulnerable.

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For another, improvements in airplane technology mean that planes are now much better constructed to withstand even the strongest forms of turbulence.

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During testing of modern airliners, “you can almost bend the wing double [in half] and it won’t break,” Bunn says. In real situations, “you never see even a tenth that much wing flex.”

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So, is turbulence really like Jell-O? Not exactly. But if you’re a nervous flyer, perhaps the image can help reassure you that the only real dangers from turbulence can be solved by simply wearing a seatbelt.

Anker MagSafe Charger Pad (Qi2 15W, Adapter Included) $24.99 (11% off)

As Paul says: “You can just chill there. You’re just wriggling in jelly.”

Car charging

Anker Prime MagSafe Car Mount Charger (Qi2 25W, TEC Cooling) $67.49 (25% off)

The post Is turbulence really like Jello-O? Pilots weigh in. appeared first on Popular Science.

Wikipedia’s 25 most popular entries of all time

Andrew Paul — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 03:30:00 -0500

It’s hard to imagine the internet without Wikipedia. But in the immediate years following its debut in 2001, many critics scoffed at the idea that a free, volunteer-run online encyclopedia could ever be considered a reputable source of information. If you were in high school or college during the early 2000s, you probably remember a teacher or two forbidding students from even using Wikipedia for their research projects.

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January 15th marks the 25th anniversary of Wikipedia’s premiere, and the digital landscape around it is nearly unrecognizable. After two-and-a-half decades, the free encyclopedia encompasses over 7.1 million entries in English alone, most still written, edited, fact-checked, and maintained by tens of thousands of volunteers around the world. There are still plenty of issues with a website that runs under those parameters, but more often than not, a Wiki entry can serve as a starting point towards finding other helpful sources.

Anker USB-C Car Charger (75W Max, Retractable Cable) $24.98 (38% off)

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But what are most Wikipedia visitors interested in learning about? The website’s parent organization, the Wikimedia Foundation, provided Popular Science with a list of the top 25 most searched Wikipedia subjects of all time. While the Wikimedia Foundation says its data only goes back to 2008, it’s safe to say these remain the highest trafficked topics across the millions of entries.

Subject	Page Views
1. List of Deaths by Year	647,025,321
2. United States	328,501,200
3. Donald Trump	325,397,973
4. Elizabeth II	253,385,102
5. India	210,779,909
6. Cristiano Renaldo	209,262,818
7. Barack Obama	200,619,072
8. Elon Musk	197,557,694
9. World War II	196,185,039
10. United Kingdom	180,986,829
11. Lionel Messi	169,027,752
12. Michael Jackson	168,519,508
13. Game of Thrones	166,648,136
14. Adolf Hitler	163,955,099
15. Eminem	159,866,098
16. Taylor Swift	157,243,638
17. World War I	156,010,435
18. The Beatles	153,857,741
19. Dwayne Johnson	141,840,884
20. List of presidents of the United States	138,880,465
21. Canada	137,871,236
22. Lady Gaga	137,724,118
23. Academy Awards	137,543,219
24. Freddie Mercury	134,515,769
25. List of highest-grossing films	133,992,783

Portable power stations and off-grid gear

As it turns out, a lot of people wonder who died recently. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the list is mostly a mix of politics, pop culture, sports, and history—but it’s still more than enough to get you up to speed for your next trivia night.

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As AI slop continues to flood search engines and generative media blurs the lines between reality and fiction, human-centric endeavors like Wikipedia are becoming increasingly critical for staying informed on everything from biomedical research and historical events, to…the Fraternal Order of Real Bearded Santas.

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Wikipedia still faces its fair share of critics, some with very valid issues. Instead of a lack of sources, certain detractors are now claiming (without much evidence) that the encyclopedia is filled with supposed political biases. But as Wikipedia has shown so far, it’s probably up to the task of proving the naysayers wrong. There’s even a well-sourced entry about it.

The post Wikipedia’s 25 most popular entries of all time appeared first on Popular Science.

Without forests, mosquitoes turn to human blood

Stan Horaczek — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 -0500

If you’re someone who mosquitoes just adore, we feel your pain. Unfortunately, new data indicates the number of mosquito species that feed on humans is increasing—and it’s likely to get worse.

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Dr. Sérgio Lisboa Machado, a microbiologist from the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, is the co-author of a study published today in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution on a potential link between deforestation and mosquitoes’ increasing preference for human blood.

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Whose blood is it anyway?

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In the study, Machado and his colleague Dr. Jeronimo Alencar examined the feeding habits of several mosquito species in the Atlantic Forest, a moist broadleaf forest that stretches along the eastern coast of South America.

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According to Machado, the project began as an attempt to figure out which local animals these mosquitoes were feeding on.

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“When we started our research, our main goal was to find the preferred blood source that some species of female mosquitoes use for reproduction,” Machado tells Popular Science

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The process of identifying the blood in the creatures’ stomachs was time-consuming. The first step was identifying which of the region’s roughly 40 mosquito species were biting. This involved careful scrutiny of the creatures with a stereoscope.

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“The identification itself is not complicated,” Machado says, “but there is a shortage of entomologists to perform it.”

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+ +

The post Amazon has just about every Anker docking station, power bank, and portable power station on sale right now appeared first on Popular Science.

Anker Prime Power Bank (20K, 200W) review: Plenty of power for laptops and more

Tom Hawking — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 09:25:11 -0500

This fact, along with the need to transport the mosquitoes back to Rio de Janeiro for analysis, meant by the time the samples were analyzed, the DNA and RNA inside of them had started to break down. Even with these difficulties, the analysis provided Machado with a pretty good idea of which mammal species the mosquitoes in question preferred for dinner. In several cases, this blood was human.

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Review: Anker Prime Power Bank (20K, 200W)

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+ + The coffee shop is where this powerful backup battery shines. + +

“This was something we didn’t expect,” Machado says. “Since we were in a forest reserve, we expected to find DNA from vertebrates in the local fauna.”

Stan Horaczek

Scientists engineer mosquito STD to combat malaria

+ + + + See It -

- -

- Related Mosquito Stories

Mosquitoes can barely see–but a male’s vision perks up when they hear a female

Mosquitos seem to like beer drinkers who recently had sex

What would a world without mosquitoes look like?

+ +

+ Pros

+ +

Real laptop output: Up to 140W on a single USB-C port, with 220W total available across ports.
Fast to refill: 100W input means it can recharge in under an hour with the right charger and cable.
Actually useful smarts: The on-device display gives real-time wattage and time estimates; the app is there if you want deeper tweaks.

+ Cons

+ +

Price: It’s an investment, especially if you add accessories like the charging base.
Weight: It’s “pocketable” on paper, but at over a pound you’ll feel it.
Capacity reality check: This is a 20K-class pack (about 72Wh), not a full replacement for a laptop battery.

Shifting tastes

So why so much human blood? The researchers hypothesize that the Atlantic Forest’s changing environment has led these species to develop a taste for human blood.

Design and Build

“We believe it’s a matter of opportunity given the lack of a preferred food source,” Machado says. “It seems that if mosquitoes can’t find their preferred blood source, they seek out whatever is available.”

As biodiversity declines and animal species go extinct, more mosquito food sources are disappearing. However, unlike many of the animals on which they feed, mosquitoes are adaptable creatures. There’s almost always a ready-made alternative, including humans.

While this might be good news for the mosquitoes, it risks being terrible news for humans. As an increasing number of mosquito species develop a taste for humans, so too does the risk that species which have not been particularly problematic in the past could act as new vectors for blood-borne diseases.

Once mosquitoes acquire a new food source, they tend to develop a preference for that particular blood—and humans are one species whose availability is most definitely not declining. Today, the Atlantic Forest occupies barely a quarter third of its former area, and it’s not alone. With every passing year, more wilderness is lost to human incursion.

The answer seems to be first arresting, and then reversing, this process of deforestation and habitat destruction. But it’s not altogether clear that the damage is so easily reversible. Humans certainly aren’t going anywhere, so who’s to say that the mosquitoes won’t just keep feeding merrily on us regardless?

How I tested Anker’s Prime Power Bank

Machado expresses cautious optimism on how we can address how deforestation affects what mosquitoes eat.

“We believe this is a reversible process, but this will require restoring the biome while simultaneously continuing our study. We are still seeking more evidence that [these] mosquitoes have a preferred food source. For now, we are observing that there is a possibility that they are adapting to different sources and do not [prefer] human blood.”

The “System” Approach

Jumping species

Nevertheless, humanity continues to play with fire as it pushes further and further into previously unspoilt ecosystems. A landmark 2001 study found that new diseases are twice as likely to be zoonotic—transmissible between animals and humans—than existing ones. The danger posed by such diseases was exemplified by COVID-19, which jumped from bats to humans to catastrophic effect.

While disastrous scenarios surrounding a novel pathogen spread by mosquitoes are hypothetical, there are also very real dangers linked to deforestation. For instance, the malaria parasite in the Amazon is largely spread by the Anopheles darlingi mosquito. It was thought to have been eradicated in the 1960s, but re-emerged in the 1990s, and is now common. Another study found that cleared forest patches had created a perfect breeding environment for the insect, helping its return.

Performance

Ultimately, Machado stresses that it’s important to control the emergence of new disease vectors and thus mitigate further risks.

“The re-establishment of ecosystems will certainly contribute to this and should minimize the climate changes we are experiencing,” he says. “We need to learn that our actions today, however small, will always have global repercussions in the future.”

The post Without forests, mosquitoes turn to human blood appeared first on Popular Science.

Australian police smash e-bikes in crackdown on unruly teens

Stan Horaczek — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 17:00:00 -0500

Australian police are cracking down on groups of unruly teenagers who they say are using deceptively speedy e-bikes and scooters to engage in “antisocial riding behavior.” Their solution: confiscate the popular micromobility devices and crush them.

Single port: One USB-C port can deliver up to 140W (PD 3.1), which is enough to charge a MacBook Pro at full speed.

The roundup, dubbed Operation Moorhead, began last week in the suburbs of Perth in southwestern Australia. Police reportedly received complaints about menacing youths riding recklessly, evading officers, and “intimidating members of the public.”

Multi-device: With 220W total available, you can keep a laptop happy while also topping off a phone, tablet, camera, or accessory—without feeling like you have to “schedule” charging.

In some cases, the teens hurled objects at other vehicles and posted videos of their pranks on social media. One of those clips reportedly shows a 12-year-old zipping by on an e-bike capable of reaching speeds approaching 50 miles per hour. The ensuing crackdown led to the arrests of 25 youths between the ages of 11 and 18 and the seizure of 36 e-rideables. Western Australia (WA) police are now reportedly planning to ramp up e-bike seizures across the state.

A video posted on Facebook by Western Australian police shows several seized e-bikes and electric scooters being grabbed by an excavator’s claw and crushed flat. The claw then releases the broken bikes and pounds them down once more for good measure. What remains of the mangled metal is then chucked into a large pile of scrap.

The companion app is a nice touch, but I didn’t find myself using it all that often during normal use. The built-in screen typically told me what I needed to know.

“WA police will not tolerate anti-social behaviour that targets our community,” Joondalup police Acting Inspector Scott Gillis said during the press release. “It’s totally unacceptable.”

Comparison: Anker Prime 20K vs. The Competition

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The Anker Prime 20K sits in a sweet spot: smaller and lighter than the max-capacity carry-on limit bricks, but far more capable than the average travel power bank.

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Feature	Anker Prime 20K (220W)	EcoFlow RAPID Pro (27,650mAh)	Shargeek Storm 2	Anker 737 (24K, 140W)
Capacity	20,100mAh (~72Wh)	27,650mAh (99.54Wh)	25,600mAh (93.5Wh)	24,000mAh
Max Output	220W total (140W single USB-C)	300W total (up to 140W single)	100W (single-port fast charge class)	140W max total
Max Input	100W	320W (with matching station)	100W in/out	140W two-way charging class
Ports	2× USB-C, 1× USB-A	4 total (incl. built-in retractable USB-C cable)	USB-C + USB-A + DC + more	2× USB-C, 1× USB-A
Weight	1.12 lb (510g)	699.4g	591.3g	630g
Unique Feature	Optional pogo-pin charging base + strong on-device display	Built-in retractable cable + modular accessories	“Gadget-core” transparent design + DC output	More affordable entry to 140W-class charging

E-bikes, electric scooters, and other micromobility devices have surged in popularity as a convenient, easy way to navigate cities that lack reliable public transportation. But their relatively high maximum speeds—compared with traditional bicycles—have also led to a major uptick in accidents and sparked backlash from critics who argue they should be treated and regulated more like motorcycles.

The Specs

Category	Specification
Model	Anker Prime Power Bank (20K, 220W)
Capacity	20,100mAh (~72Wh) Carry-on compliant under 100Wh
Ports	2× USB-C, 1× USB-A
Single USB-C Max	Up to 140W
Combined Max Output	Up to 220W total
Recharge Speed	Up to 100W (USB-C) / Up to 100W (charging base)
Connectivity	Bluetooth (Anker app)
Dimensions	1.73 × 1.99 × 5.79 inches
Weight	1.12 lb (510g)

Micromobility-related injuries are also on the rise, and not just Down Under. A 2024 U.S. A Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) survey found injuries, both for riders and pedestrians, involving the devices increased nearly 21 percent between 2021 and 2022. A separate study published in the American Journal of Public Health estimates e-bike and scooter injuries increased by a staggering 293 percent and 88 percent respectively between 2019 and 2022. That data notably doesn’t specify how many of the injuries involved rampaging teens.

Verdict

Injuries both for riders and pedestrians, involving the devices increased nearly 21 percent between 2001 and 2002. Image: Western Australia Police.

Cops are cracking down on e-bikes

The post Anker Prime Power Bank (20K, 200W) review: Plenty of power for laptops and more appeared first on Popular Science.

Is turbulence really like Jello-O? Pilots weigh in.

Mack DeGeurin — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 09:02:00 -0500

A young woman pushes a balled-up piece of napkin into a cup of Jell-O, asking the viewer to imagine that it is an airplane, high in the air.

Local governments in the U.S. are beginning to pass new laws aimed at reining in potentially dangerous riders. Last month, Houston’s City Council voted unanimously to approve an ordinance putting in place a curfew that restricts e-scooter use between 8 p.m. and 4 a.m. South Carolina also recently enacted a law allowing police to fine e-bike riders up to $500 if they are caught pushing the devices past 12 miles per hour. Police in New York City have likewise increased penalties for e-bike–related offenses, a move some critics fear could disproportionately target delivery drivers who have embraced the devices.

“That is you flying through the sky,” she tells the camera. “There’s pressure from the bottom, pressure from the top, from the sides, pressure coming from everywhere.”

Back in Australia, Willis says part of the problem, at least when it comes to teens, stems from the vehicles’ deceptive appearance. Parents unfamiliar with modern advances in e-rideable technology buy their children bikes and scooters without realizing they are capable of reaching such high speeds. They are also often unaware of laws already on the books that restrict where and how the devices can be used.

She taps the top of the Jell-O, making the suspended napkin ball quiver.

“We would like to remind the community that e-rideables are a type of vehicle so all road laws that apply to vehicles apply to e-rideable as well, unless expressly excluded.”

The post Australian police smash e-bikes in crackdown on unruly teens appeared first on Popular Science.

Deer markings actually glow

Laura Baisas — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 16:04:00 -0500

Animals see the world around them in ways that we humans can only imagine. Arctic reindeer’s eyes change color with the season to help them find food, while giant squid have eyes the size of dinner plates. Many species take advantage of seeing ultraviolet (UV) light that’s invisible to humans—including deer.

“This is what happens when there’s turbulence,” she says. “You feel the plane shaking, but [it] is not just going to fall down.”

The woodland mammals appear to be using UV as a way of communicating. Their scrapes—markings they make in the dirt or on wood and fill with secretions—glow under UV light that they can see and we can’t. The same goes for their rubbings, or the secretion-filled marks their antlers make on trees and fence posts. According to the findings published in the journal Ecology & Evolution, the photoluminescence is potentially a way for the mammals to find a mate.

“People have been hypothesizing about if this glow exists in the environment, but nobody had gone out yet to try and connect it to the deer until now,” Daniel DeRose-Broeckert, a study co-author and ecologist at the University of Georgia’s Deer Lab, said in a statement. “As we got closer to breeding season, those markings increased in visibility as deer prepared for it.”

But how accurate is the analogy? Is turbulence really like Jell-O?

Over three months, the Deer Lab team searched for white-tailed deer markings in Whitehall Forest near Athens, Georgia, during the day. By night, they investigated them with UV lights. They analyzed 109 antler rubs on trees and 37 urine-marked acres across 800 acres of forest.

@anna..paull
Fear of flying tip
♬ original sound – Anna Paul

The glowing deer rubs and scrapes look unassuming during the day. Image: Daniel DeRose-Broeckert.

The origins of the Jell-O analogy

“Their vision is vastly different from ours. Once the sun is slightly gone around dusk and dawn, the UV light dominates for deer since it’s not being washed out by the visible light spectrum from the sun,” said DeRose-Broeckert.

The team believes that rubs’ glow may be made from a combination of plant and tree sap and secretions from the animal’s forehead glands. The scrapes’ glow is likely from urine.

“Clients would say they look up in the sky and see a plane and it doesn’t look like it should be there,” he says. “It should fall because they don’t see anything holding it up.”

“In the process of scraping the bark off a tree with their antlers, they are depositing glandular secretions. Likewise, when they make a scrape, a different gland is also between their toes,” added study co-author and ecologist Gino D’Angelo. “Deer have lots of ways to interact with the environment, and they are leaving those signatures out there to smell and glow.”

The researchers believe the glow may help deer to leave messages for potential mates. Image: Daniel DeRose-Broeckert.

He found it by asking them to recall the familiar sense of air resistance growing as speed increases.

Earlier studies suggest that other mammals also glow under UV light, but the reasons why have been vague. Deer use the same scrapes as a way to communicate through scent, so the team on this study believes that the glow offers a visual way for deer to communicate

“The scrapes become a communication hub where other deer will visit it after it’s created and contribute to it. It’s like a phone booth out in the city when trying to make nighttime plans at a meeting point,” D’Angelo said.

During deer mating season from mid-October through December, marking is particularly important.

Bunn acknowledges that the analogy is not completely accurate scientifically. But it is an emotionally resonant way of visualizing the forces that hold a plane up during flight.

“We’ve known that there’s an olfactory component, but now we know the deer are also getting stimulated in two senses, both olfactory and visually,” said DeRose-Broeckert. “Both males and females utilize scrapes to advertise their presence in the environment and their breeding status and fitness level.”

The post Deer markings actually glow appeared first on Popular Science.

Iron Age teeth reveal the hidden lives of ancient Italians

Andrew Paul — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 14:00:00 -0500

Archaeologists often focus on what skeletal remains can tell about how and when ancient peoples died. But an individual’s final moments are far from their complete life story. By analyzing features like their teeth, researchers can better understand not only the person as an adult, but how they developed over the course of their life.

“Technically, it involves Bernoulli’s theorem,” he says. “It has to do with the fact that the bottom of the wing is pretty much flat and the top is curved.”

In Italy, a team at Rome’s Sapienza University has conducted the first dental study of its kind for an Iron Age community 35 miles south of present-day Naples. After analyzing the microscopic makeup of teeth from ancient Italians, it appears that the people living near Pontecagnano enjoyed a diverse diet that reflected a time of increased interactions with nearby Mediterranean societies. Their findings are detailed in a study published today in the journal PLOS One.

If you’ve ever put your hand out of the window in a car, you’ve felt the same kind of pressure that helps keep planes in the air when they fly. Image: DepositPhotos

Archaeological records at Pontecagnano span multiple cultures and date as far back as the Copper Age (3500–2300 BCE). By the 7th century, the region was home to the Etruscans, who occupied the area until the Roman Empire’s arrival in the late 4th century. The Etruscans often interred their deceased in necropolises, which is where the Sapienza University team recovered 30 teeth from 10 individuals who died during the 7th and 6th centuries.

The science that keeps planes flying

“The teeth of Pontecagnano’s Iron Age inhabitants opened a unique window onto their lives: we could follow childhood growth and health with remarkable precision,” study co-author and archaeologist Roberto Germano said in a statement.

They analyzed the growth patterns displayed in dental tissues, and then compared the resultant data between canines and molars to contextualize the first six years of each person’s life. This revealed minor stress events linked to dietary shifts, often between the ages of one and four. According to researchers, the changing sources of nutrition likely made the young children susceptible to diseases, which left lingering evidence in their teeth.

However, their diets were incredibly diversified by the time of adulthood. Dental plaque examinations showed remnants from an array of foods, including legumes and cereals as well as “abundant carbohydrates and fermented foods.” These chemical traces are supported by the existing historical understanding of the era, which featured increased trade with other societies around the Mediterranean.

Air behaves much like a fluid. When it encounters an obstacle, it compresses or speeds up as it flows around the object in its path.

The team believes that their approach represents a proof-of-concept for using dental analysis to offer personalized insights into the individual lives of ancient peoples. While not intended as findings representative of the larger Etruscan region, the analysis illustrates a more intimate look at Iron Age existence.

“The study…makes it possible to go beyond the narrow focus on the period close to their death, and brings to the forefront the life of each of them during their early years,” explained study co-author Alessia Nava.

The post Iron Age teeth reveal the hidden lives of ancient Italians appeared first on Popular Science.

100 mystery sounds under review for signs of extraterrestrial life

Cat Rainsford — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 11:56:00 -0500

After reviewing almost 30 years of signals, University of California Berkeley researchers have identified 100 mysterious, deep-space radio blips they want to review for signs of extraterrestrial life. And they couldn’t have done it without 11 years of volunteer work from millions of PC owners around the world.

What is SETI@home?

Even with today’s advanced computers, the world’s most complex data problems can’t be solved by a single machine. Instead, it’s far more efficient to break up tasks among many separate computers. For decades, however, the technology to handle even these distributed responsibilities was relegated to well-funded companies and government institutions. But with the rise of personal computers (PCs), UC Berkeley researchers like David Gedye and David Anderson realized that the untapped pool of citizen scientists could be a vital asset. And what bigger data pool was there to draw from than the vastness of interstellar space?

In 1999, the computer scientists teamed with astronomers Eric Korpela and Dan Werthimer to launch SETI@home. The project relied on individuals downloading a client program to their home PC designed to parse data passively collected by a 984-foot-wide radio telescope at the now-shuttered Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. Although Arecibo’s line of sight only encompassed about a third of the entire sky, that still included most stars in the Milky Way galaxy.

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“We [were], without doubt, the most sensitive narrow-band search of large portions of the sky, so we had the best chance of finding something,” Korpela said in a recent UC Berkeley profile.

Turbulence is less scary than it feels

Before launching SETI@home, project organizers estimated they’d receive around 50,000 volunteers. In only a few days, they surpassed 200,000 participants from over 100 countries. By the program’s one-year anniversary, the SETI@home client had been downloaded onto over 2 million PCs.

SETI@home relied on the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, which collapsed in 2020. Credit: Deposit Photos

“Airplanes have what we call positive stability,” he says. “When they’re disturbed from their position in space, by their nature they want to return to where they were.”

Looking for ET

During turbulence, every jolt down is matched by an equivalent jolt up, holding the plane steady on its course—as if it were suspended in Jell-O.

The data itself wasn’t collected by simply aiming Arecibo at a section of space and listening for ET whisperings. Earth is constantly moving around the sun, and the same likely goes for any source of alien life. This required Korpela and colleagues to design a protocol to mathematically reconfigure frequency clips to account for any Doppler drifts.

“There has never been a plane crash from turbulence,” Paul says in her video. Is this true?

“We actually had to look at a whole range of possible drift rates—tens of thousands—just to make sure that we got all possibilities. That multiplies the amount of computing power we need by 10,000,” said Anderson. “The fact that we had a million home computers available to us let us do that. No other radio SETI project has been able to do that.”

By the time SETI@home officially ended in 2020, the team was staring down around 12 billion signals of interest. Combing through those files ultimately required enlisting the help of a supercomputer—in this case an installation at Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics. From there, researchers could winnow down their suspects to a couple million signals, then rank them by likelihood of ET origin after accounting for radio frequency interferences from sources like orbital satellites, TV broadcasts, and even kitchen microwaves.

For another, improvements in airplane technology mean that planes are now much better constructed to withstand even the strongest forms of turbulence.

Korpela and Werthimer eventually settled on about 100 final contenders worth additional examinations. Since July 2025, they have used China’s Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) to collect new data from these sections of sky. The approach was detailed in two studies published last year in The Astronomical Journal, and showcases both the project’s highlights and places where future endeavors can improve on their work.

During testing of modern airliners, “you can almost bend the wing double [in half] and it won’t break,” Bunn says. In real situations, “you never see even a tenth that much wing flex.”

“Some of our conclusions are that the project didn’t completely work the way we thought it was going to. And we have a long list of things that we would have done differently and that future sky survey projects should do differently,” explained Anderson. “[But] if we don’t find ET, what we can say is that we established a new sensitivity level. If there were a signal above a certain power, we would have found it.”

The power of crowdsourcing

As Paul says: “You can just chill there. You’re just wriggling in jelly.”

However, Anderson and the others aren’t holding their breath. According to Korpela, Arecibo’s limited field-of-view and a lack of any particularly striking radio blips so far means a sudden ET revelation isn’t likely just yet.

“There’s a little disappointment that we didn’t see anything,” he said. “In order to probe farther distances, you need bigger telescopes and longer observing times. It’s always best if you are able to control the telescope for your project. We weren’t able to control what the telescope was doing.”

The post Is turbulence really like Jello-O? Pilots weigh in. appeared first on Popular Science.

Wikipedia’s 25 most popular entries of all time

Andrew Paul — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 03:30:00 -0500

Regardless, SETI@home speaks to the power of both crowdsourcing and citizen science. When combined with all of the PC advancements since 1999, there’s a chance that an heir to the project may finally find that extraordinary, history-altering space signal.

“I think it still captures people’s imagination to look for extraterrestrial intelligence,” said Korpella. “I think that you could still get significantly more processing power than we used for SETI@home and process more data because of a wider internet bandwidth.”

The post 100 mystery sounds under review for signs of extraterrestrial life appeared first on Popular Science.

14,000-year-old woolly rhinoceros DNA extracted from wolf’s stomach

Andrew Paul — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 10:32:00 -0500

Towards the end of the last ice age, an ancient wolf feasted on a young woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis). When the wolf died, it ended up buried in Siberian permafrost for about 14,000 years until it was uncovered by paleontologists in 2015. Luckily for scientists, some woolly rhinoceros tissue remained inside of the wolf’s stomach. Now, these genetic detectives analyzed the woolly rhino’s genome and found that the species likely went extinct due to rapid population collapse and not a slow decline as Earth’s climate warmed. The findings are detailed in a study published today in the journal Genome Biology and Evolution.

“Sequencing the entire genome of an Ice Age animal found in the stomach of another animal has never been done before,” Camilo Chacón-Duque, a study co-author and paleogenomicist at Stockholm University in Sweden, said in a statement. “Recovering genomes from individuals that lived right before extinction is challenging, but it can provide important clues on what caused the species to disappear, which may also be relevant for the conservation of endangered species today,” he said.

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An illustration of what a woolly rhinoceros would have looked like. Image: ДиБгд via WikimediaCommons CC By 4.0

Frozen in time

The post Wikipedia’s 25 most popular entries of all time appeared first on Popular Science.

Without forests, mosquitoes turn to human blood

Laura Baisas — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 -0500

The woolly rhino lived from 5.3 million to about 8,700 years so in present-day Europe, North Africa, and Asia. The large mammals had two large horns towards the front of the skull, and a thick coat of hair. Stone Age painters frequently included the woolly rhino in their work, including on cave paintings in France’s Chauvet–Pont d’Arc dating back about 30,000 years.

The woolly rhinoceros DNA found inside of the ice age wolf was discovered in permafrost near the village of Tumat in Siberia. When scientists performed an autopsy on the ancient wolf, they identified a small fragment of preserved woolly rhino tissue inside of its stomach. Radiocarbon dating indicated that the tissue was about 14,400 years old, making it one of the youngest specimens of woolly rhinoceros ever discovered.

Whose blood is it anyway?

A permafrost-preserved woolly rhinoceros (not part of this paper) in Yakutsk, Russia. Image: Mammoth Museum of North-Eastern Federal University.

Since genetic material degrades over time, mapping the genome of animals like these that died thousands of years ago is incredibly difficult. The wolf’s own DNA also further complicates the analyses.

According to Machado, the project began as an attempt to figure out which local animals these mosquitoes were feeding on.

“It was really exciting, but also very challenging, to extract a complete genome from such an unusual sample,” added Sólveig Guðjónsdóttir, a study co-lead author, who carried out the work as part of her master’s thesis at Stockholm University.

“When we started our research, our main goal was to find the preferred blood source that some species of female mosquitoes use for reproduction,” Machado tells Popular Science

Comparing genomes

To get a sense of how genome diversity, inbreeding levels, and harmful mutations changed throughout the last ice age, the team then compared the Tumat rhinoceros’ genome with two other high-quality genomes from older specimens. Both of these specimens were older, dating back to about 18,000 and 49,000 years ago.

“The identification itself is not complicated,” Machado says, “but there is a shortage of entomologists to perform it.”

They did not find any signs of genetic deterioration due to a lack of suitable mates as the woolly rhinos approached its extinction. This indicates that the species as a whole probably maintained a stable and relatively large population until just before it disappeared around 8,700 years ago.

The piece of woolly rhino tissue found inside the stomach of the Tumat-1 puppy. Note that the small cut marks are from the DNA sampling done at the Centre for Palaeogenetics in Stockholm. Image: Love Dalén.

“This was something we didn’t expect,” Machado says. “Since we were in a forest reserve, we expected to find DNA from vertebrates in the local fauna.”

“Our analyses showed a surprisingly stable genetic pattern with no change in inbreeding levels through tens of thousands of years prior to the extinction of woolly rhinos,” said study co-author and paleogenomicist Edana Lord.

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Additionally, there was no evidence of a long-term gradual population decline within the genome. The extinction appears to have occurred relatively quickly, likely due to global warming at the end of the ice age.

Shifting tastes

“Our results show that the woolly rhinos had a viable population for 15,000 years after the first humans arrived in northeastern Siberia, which suggests that climate warming rather than human hunting caused the extinction,” concluded study co-author and evolutionary genomicist Love Dalén.

The post 14,000-year-old woolly rhinoceros DNA extracted from wolf’s stomach appeared first on Popular Science.

Why is okra so slimy? Blame the mucilage.

Tom Hawking — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 09:02:00 -0500

Okra is one of those vegetables with a polarizing reputation. Whether you call it slimy, gooey, sticky, or slippery, if you’ve eaten okra, you probably have an opinion about its unique texture, which is more properly described as “mucilaginous.”

So why so much human blood? The researchers hypothesize that the Atlantic Forest’s changing environment has led these species to develop a taste for human blood.

Some okra recipes strive to minimize slime; others celebrate and embrace the thickening it provides to dishes like Louisiana gumbo. But did you ever wonder why okra is so gooey? What’s the source, and what purpose does it serve for the okra plant?

Mucilage protects okra seeds

The edible part of okra is the plant’s immature seedpods, which contain high levels of a substance called mucilage. Food science writer Harold McGee described mucilage in his book On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen as “a complex mixture of long, entangled carbohydrate molecules and proteins that helps plants and their seeds retain water.” Basically, mucilage is the watery slime around the okra seeds. As the seeds develop, their moist coating protects them from drying out.

Okra likely evolved its slime (or, more accurately, mucilage) as a water-conserving adaptation for growing in hot, dry climates. McGee notes that the okra plant “originated in either southwest Asia or eastern Africa, and came to the southern United States with the slave trade.” Today, okra is popular in many tropical and subtropical regions of the world, and is known for its high tolerance to heat and drought when compared with other crops.

Mucilage is found across the plant world

Okra is not the only plant with goo-producing levels of mucilage. It’s a common feature of desert plants like cacti and succulents, which have a similar need to store water. Other edible examples include some seaweeds, and leafy greens such as Malabar spinach, native to Asia, and molokhia, popular in parts of Africa and the Middle East.

Machado expresses cautious optimism on how we can address how deforestation affects what mosquitoes eat.

Mucilage is actually produced in smaller quantities by almost all plants, as well as by some microorganisms. Single-celled protists like amoebas propel themselves on a trail of mucilage, similar to the slime trail of a snail. Japanese natto, made from fermented soybeans, gets its signature stretchiness from bacterial cultures.

Japanese natto, made from fermented soybeans, takes advantage of mucilage to get its signature stretch. Image: DepositPhotos

Jumping species

“The majority of plants produce mucilage from the seed coat,” according to a 2021 research review. However, the way that mucilage keeps seeds moist can vary. While okra seeds grow inside a mucilage coating, in other plants, mature seeds that have been shed produce mucilage by absorbing water from their surroundings. You can see this yourself when you soak chia seeds to make a chia pudding, or flaxseeds to make a “flax egg” for vegan baking. Each tiny seed sucks up water to form a layer of mucilage, creating a gel-like texture.

There are also other ways plants use mucilage beyond water conservation. Carnivorous sundews use droplets of mucilage as glue traps for insects. Sierra Mixe or olotón, an heirloom variety of corn from Oaxaca, Mexico, has exposed roots that drip with mucilage. This slime shelters symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria. As a result, says a 2020 UC Davis report, “Sierra Mixe corn receives much of the nitrogen it needs from the atmosphere,” and thrives in nitrogen-poor soil.

People have many uses for mucilage, too

Ultimately, Machado stresses that it’s important to control the emergence of new disease vectors and thus mitigate further risks.

The human uses for mucilage go far beyond food. Historically, plant mucilage was used as a natural hair gel, and as an adhesive for paper stamps and labels. In medicine, mucilage can act as a demulcent, a substance that soothes irritated mucus membranes by forming a protective layer over them. Examples include slippery elm tea for sore throat and aloe ointment for sunburn. Mucilage is also the active ingredient in fiber supplements such as psyllium husk, and is found in some cosmetics.

The post Without forests, mosquitoes turn to human blood appeared first on Popular Science.

Australian police smash e-bikes in crackdown on unruly teens

Andrew Coletti — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 17:00:00 -0500

Scientists also increasingly look to mucilage for industrial purposes. A 2021 research review describes plant mucilage as “a renewable and cost-effective source of plant-based compounds” that are both biodegradable and environmentally friendly. In the case of okra specifically, its mucilage has been used to make biodegradable food packaging film and for filtering particles from wastewater.

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How to handle mucilage when cooking okra

Some cultures actively celebrate mucilage as a part of the culinary experience. In Japan, the texture of ingredients like okra and natto, known as neba-neba, is prized. In Nigeria, dishes made with okra and other viscous ingredients are called “draw soups,” because they’re so thick they draw back into the pot on their own when lifted. However, some don’t like the slimy texture, which is why there are many methods to make okra less slimy in the kitchen, rather than more so.

“WA police will not tolerate anti-social behaviour that targets our community,” Joondalup police Acting Inspector Scott Gillis said during the press release. “It’s totally unacceptable.”

Science writer Jared Levan noted in a 2018 article for Food Republic that “mucilage’s viscosity increases when heat is applied.” Short cooking preparations of okra, such as frying or sauteeing, release less mucilage than long ones, such as stewing. Adding acidic ingredients like tomatoes to okra also helps reduce the slime. And because the mucilage is concentrated in the center of the okra pods, chopping or slicing them releases more slime than cooking them whole.

Even if you’re not a fan of okra’s mucilage, there are still many ways to enjoy the vegetable without it. Or perhaps mucilage will go down a little easier when you remember just how useful it is, for both plants and people.

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The post Why is okra so slimy? Blame the mucilage. appeared first on Popular Science.

Medieval plague victims likely found in mass grave in Germany

Mack DeGeurin — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 15:48:08 -0500

The Black Death (Yersinia pestis) killed as much as half of Europe’s total population between 1346 and 1353, so there are a lot of bodies buried across the continent. For example, contemporary accounts from Thuringia—a state in central Germany—report that about 12,000 plague victims died around Erfurt amid the city’s outbreak in 1350. But despite multiple accounts attesting to this devastation, none of the 11 mass graves could be pinpointed for centuries.

Now, an archaeological team including researchers from Leipzig University believe they have finally located one of those infamous burial sites. According to their study recently published in the journal PLOS One, land near the deserted medieval village of Neuses contains clear evidence of human remains, as well as the hastily mixed soil that covered the bodies.

“Our results strongly suggest that we have pinpointed one of the plague mass graves described in the Erfurt chronicles,” explained study co-author and Leipzig University geographer Michael Hein.

Injuries both for riders and pedestrians, involving the devices increased nearly 21 percent between 2001 and 2002. Image: Western Australia Police.

The suspected burial plot is fascinating not only for what it contains, but how it was identified. Instead of accidentally discovering archaeological evidence amid a construction project (as is often the case), Hein and colleagues used interdisciplinary techniques to seek out the potential Black Death burials. To do this, the team analyzed the ground beneath them using a process called electrical resistivity mapping. Every type of geologic material possesses some degree of electrical conductivity, which can be charted by firing currents into the earth and measuring resultant voltages. This allows researchers to correlate voltage to various soil and rock types.

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At one location, Hein’s team identified a roughly 33 by 49 by 11.5 foot site with noticeably disturbed subsurface sediment distributions. Subsequent drilled core samples produced mixed geologic materials along with the fragments of human remains. Additional radiocarbon dating indicated the remnants dated back to the 14th century. Taken altogether, it strongly suggests a medieval mass grave.

Apart from the bodies, the sediment composition itself supports the Black Death burial theory. The village of Neuses was likely settled in part due to its fertile soils known as chernozems. However, the grave pit is located in a drier region near a valley edge of the Gera River. It stands to reason that instead of interring Black Death victims in wetter soils closer to the town, the residents of Neuses opted to place them in drier conditions far outside the village walls.

“This finding aligns with both modern soil science and the medieval ‘miasma theory,’ which held that diseases spread through ‘bad air’ and ‘vapours’ arising from decaying organic matter,” said study co-author Martin Bauch of the Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe.

“We would like to remind the community that e-rideables are a type of vehicle so all road laws that apply to vehicles apply to e-rideable as well, unless expressly excluded.”

The post Australian police smash e-bikes in crackdown on unruly teens appeared first on Popular Science.

Deer markings actually glow

Andrew Paul — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 16:04:00 -0500

The team’s hypothesis won’t be confirmed without an actual excavation at the site, but until then, their novel approach paves the way for additional searches. This technique isn’t relegated to plagues of the distant past, however. Hein, Bauch, and their collaborators believe similar approaches can be applied to various other archaeological searches.

The post Medieval plague victims likely found in mass grave in Germany appeared first on Popular Science.

Amazon is blowing out LEVOIT air purifiers so you can filter out irritants

Laura Baisas — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 14:30:00 -0500

If your sinuses are staging a revolt or your living room smells suspiciously like last night’s stir-fry, it’s probably time to call in a serious air purifier. LEVOIT’s lineup routinely tops our lists because models cover everything from compact bedroom workhorses to family-room heavy hitters, and these Amazon deals are a chance to upgrade your home air quality before the next wave of wildfire smoke, pet shedding, or pollen hits. And there are also humidifiers on sale. Fewer particulates can make a huge difference in your home’s comfort level, and saving money can do wonders for your mood. You’re spending more time indoors anyway, so buy now and breathe easier all winter.

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The glowing deer rubs and scrapes look unassuming during the day. Image: Daniel DeRose-Broeckert.

The LEVOIT Core 300S-P Smart Air Purifier (up to 1,051 ft²) won’t dominate your room, but it will own your air quality, making it perfect for bedrooms, nurseries, and home offices that still want serious clean-air punch. It pairs 3-stage filtration with AirSight Plus real-time air quality sensing, plus Smart Wi-Fi controls through the VeSync app (schedules, timers, and remote tweaks) and voice control with Alexa or Google Assistant so you can adjust air on autopilot. It’s also impressively low-key: QuietKEAP can drop noise to 22 dB, making it the kind of purifier you forget is running—until you notice you’re breathing easier.

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The team believes that rubs’ glow may be made from a combination of plant and tree sap and secretions from the animal’s forehead glands. The scrapes’ glow is likely from urine.

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The LEVOIT Core 600S-P Smart Air Purifier (up to 2,933 ft²) is the go-big-or-go-back-outside option in the Core series. Designed for truly large spaces, it combines a 3-in-1 filter with HEPA Sleep Mode, an onboard PM2.5 monitor, Smart WiFi, and Alexa compatibility so you can see and control your air quality in real time. It’s AHAM VERIFIDE, so you’re not just guessing that it’s working—and when wildfire season or city smog rolls in, this is the kind of coverage you want on your side.

The researchers believe the glow may help deer to leave messages for potential mates. Image: Daniel DeRose-Broeckert.

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The LEVOIT EverestAir-P Air Purifier (up to 2,655 ft²) is the “I want it all” flagship, built for big rooms and bigger allergy problems. A 3-channel air quality monitor gives you at-a-glance feedback, while the washable pre-filter and HEPA Sleep Mode help tackle pet hair, dust, smoke, and everyday funk. With Alexa control and an AHAM VERIFIDE rating, it’s a smart, set-and-forget solution if you want cleaner air on autopilot in open-plan spaces.

During deer mating season from mid-October through December, marking is particularly important.

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Iron Age teeth reveal the hidden lives of ancient Italians

Andrew Paul — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 14:00:00 -0500

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More of the best LEVOIT deals

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The post Iron Age teeth reveal the hidden lives of ancient Italians appeared first on Popular Science.

100 mystery sounds under review for signs of extraterrestrial life

Tony Ware — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 11:56:00 -0500

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What is SETI@home?

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“We [were], without doubt, the most sensitive narrow-band search of large portions of the sky, so we had the best chance of finding something,” Korpela said in a recent UC Berkeley profile.

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Is it illegal to own an axolotl? It depends.

Andrew Paul — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 13:55:00 -0500

The axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) is a confusing creature, and not simply because it looks like a real-life Pokémon. Despite its cultural prominence, even the most optimistic conservationists estimate that less than 1,000 of the foot-long amphibians can be found living in a single location—Mexico City’s Lake Xochimilco. At the same time, captive-bred axolotls are an increasingly popular exotic pet in the United States. But due to their status on the IUCN Red List and potential problems as an invasive species, it can be difficult to determine when, where, or even if it’s okay to adopt your own axolotl pal.

SETI@home relied on the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, which collapsed in 2020. Credit: Deposit Photos

A good example of the ongoing amphibian conundrum recently occurred at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. According to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) social media post earlier this month, inspectors flagged a shipment containing “smuggled” axolotls inside a commercial import of live fish intended for pet resale. Already listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), regulators also added them to the Lacey Act in 2025 an “injurious species” because of their potential to spread disease to native amphibians if released. Despite this, comments from both impassioned axolotl fans and wary observers quickly inundated the FWS.

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“These are commonly bred in captivity. Why the fuss?” one user asked. Another claimed that, “Making them illegal was a mistake. They will still be bought and sold everywhere.”

The tiny axolotls were seized within a larger illegal shipment, according to FWS. Credit: Amanda Dickson/USFWS

Many others noted another mixed message from the FWS, this time in the post’s accompanying photo. Unlike Mexico’s dark-colored amphibians, these pinkish-white axolotls appeared to be leucistic, meaning they lacked their standard pigmentation. Leucistic axolotls are routinely bred in captivity—you may have even seen some in a local pet store. So, what’s the deal? Can or can you not own axolotls?

“Even though wild axolotls are imperiled, many of these animals are bred in captivity to be sold as pets. These animals are often cross bred with other species (such as tiger salamanders) and may be both genetically and behaviorally different than wild populations,” FWS senior public affairs specialist Christina Meister tells Popular Science.

Meister explains that while they are illegal to own in some states, that isn’t the case everywhere. At the same time, the axolotl’s recent addition to the Lacey Act’s injurious species list makes it illegal to import the amphibians into the U.S. It’s also unlawful to transport them from the continental U.S. to either the District of Columbia or any U.S. territories without a proper permit. And because Meister says the Lacey Act “broadly prohibits” the sale or transfer of basically any wildlife in violation of federal, state, tribal, or foreign law, that means that you really need to check the fine print before acquiring your axolotl.

Axolotl ownership legality depends on where you live in the US. Credit: Amanda Dickson/USFWS

The power of crowdsourcing

In the case of the recent incident at O’Hare Airport, the FWS clarified the exotic pets were part of a larger shipment that violated the Lacey Act, and included, “other wildlife that was not properly declared or labeled, violating both the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Lacey Act’s trade provisions.”

Axolotl demand now goes beyond pet owners, however. Meister says animal traffickers are particularly attracted to them due to their “unique appearance and inability to defend themselves make them a relatively easy target.” Meanwhile, they’re coveted by many researchers—particularly in the biomedical industries—because the critically endangered amphibians possess a remarkable ability to regenerate limbs and even certain organs.

So although they aren’t illegal everywhere in the U.S., Meister highly recommends people consult both federal and state wildlife laws before considering purchasing an axolotl. And when you do, be sure to buy them from reputable vendors and not those trying to sneak them through airports.

The post Is it illegal to own an axolotl? It depends. appeared first on Popular Science.

Father and son reclaim Guinness World Record for fastest quadcopter drone

Andrew Paul — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 11:55:19 -0500

A YouTuber and his father have once again reclaimed the Guinness World Record for fastest quadcopter drone. Soaring through the air at an average speed of 408 miles per hour, Luke and Mike Bell’s Peregrine 4 highlights the latest intersection between engineering, creativity, and 3D-printing technology. The Bells’ achievement arrives barely a month after Australian aerospace engineer Ben Biggs and his Blackbird drone set the now-previous world record at 389 mph.

The post 100 mystery sounds under review for signs of extraterrestrial life appeared first on Popular Science.

14,000-year-old woolly rhinoceros DNA extracted from wolf’s stomach

Andrew Paul — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 10:32:00 -0500

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According to Luke Bell’s recent video update, he and his father have spent the past five months improving “every aspect” of their Peregrine design through a combination of simulation runs, stress tests, and equipment experimentation. This time around, they built much of their drone frame using a Bambu Lab H2D dual-extruder 3D-printer. This allowed them to print Peregrine 4’s main body, camera mount, and landing system as a single, unified component.

An illustration of what a woolly rhinoceros would have looked like. Image: ДиБгд via WikimediaCommons CC By 4.0

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“That gave us smoother aerodynamics and a much higher surface finish quality than before,” Luke explained.

Frozen in time

Other alterations included upgrading to four, 900 kV T-Motor 3120 brushless motors—an increase of 100 kV over their previous motor choices. The Peregrine 4’s frame is also slightly larger than earlier models, but that clearly didn’t seem to affect its overall performance.

As in past verification trials, Guinness World Record officials followed the industry-standard rubric of averaging two flight runs in opposing directions to offset any windspeed influences.

It remains to be seen how long the Bells can hold on to their title now. The title has shifted multiple times over the past few years. After topping their own initial achievement in April 2024, two other inventors increased the drone speed records twice more before the duo set the bar even higher in June 2025. After supplanting Biggs’ subsequent efforts, this now marks the Bells’ third time as Guinness World Record holders. Like the drones themselves, the speed at which bragging rights changes hands seems to be constantly accelerating.

The post Father and son reclaim Guinness World Record for fastest quadcopter drone appeared first on Popular Science.

Abandoned pigs rescued on Tennessee’s Looney Islands

Laura Baisas — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 10:38:00 -0500

A team from the Young-Williams Animal Center in Knoxville recently rescued two pigs stranded on a group of islands in the Tennessee River. After receiving multiple calls about the animals that appeared to be abandoned on Looney Islands, the team worked with the Knoxville Fire Department and Knox County Rescue to get to the islands.

A permafrost-preserved woolly rhinoceros (not part of this paper) in Yakutsk, Russia. Image: Mammoth Museum of North-Eastern Federal University.

After some searching, the two pigs were found together and rescued thanks to a bit of patience and the team’s “pig whisperer.” This pig whisperer is Mary Nussbaum, the Young-Williams Animal Center’s Director of Medical Operations. Nussbaum has over 30 years of experience in veterinary medicine, including working at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine and its Veterinary Medical Center.

“She also is passionate about the care and protection of animals. Since the pigs were stranded on Looney Islands in January, available food resources were scarce, and the rescue team was able to lure the pigs with a whole lot of patience and several snacks,” Janet Testerman, CEO of the Young-Williams Animal Center tells Popular Science. “As soon as Mary started offering them food, they approached and were comfortable coming to her.”

Comparing genomes

The pigs were brought back to the rescue center and received a medical evaluation. As of now, it is not clear how they made it to the islands. If an owner comes forward to reclaim the pigs, Young-Williams will inquire further. If no one claims ownership, the duo will be made available for adoption.

The municipal no-kill shelter takes in over 10,000 animals every year, primarily stray cats and dogs. “But we also see our share of roosters, chickens, rabbits, hamsters, gerbils, snakes, turtles, and pigs,” says Testerman.

The two-year-old facility accepts animals no matter the severity of sickness or injury and is considered a “no-kill” shelter. According to the Animal Human Society, in order to be considered a no-kill, a shelter or rescue must have an at least a 90 percent animal placement rate.

“The story of the pigs is but one of thousands of calls we have responded to in less than two years that have led to better options for the community and our animals,” says Testerman.

The post Abandoned pigs rescued on Tennessee’s Looney Islands appeared first on Popular Science.

In medieval France, murderous pigs faced trial and execution

Laura Baisas — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 09:01:00 -0500

It’s a common scene in many films set in medieval Europe: a wooden cart wheeling its way through a jeering crowd of townsfolk, taking a condemned prisoner to the gallows.

The post 14,000-year-old woolly rhinoceros DNA extracted from wolf’s stomach appeared first on Popular Science.

Why is okra so slimy? Blame the mucilage.

Anne Ewbank — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 09:02:00 -0500

However, reality is sometimes stranger than fiction. Because sometimes the criminal wheeled about town wasn’t human. Occasionally, the prisoner at the end of the rope was a pig, hung upside down until dead. In medieval Europe, pigs went to trial—and the gallows—surprisingly often.

Most of us don’t live on farms today, so it can be easy to forget how dangerous domesticated animals can be. Cows can trample people to death, horses can deliver fatal kicks, and those are just the herbivores. Pigs, on the other hand, are omnivorous. Throughout history, this made them useful as they could be fed kitchen scraps and waste. Yet a pig allowed to wander freely could easily overpower a small child, and as a result, there are hundreds of records of pigs killing and eating children across medieval Europe.

Mucilage protects okra seeds

Medieval pigs could and would kill children

In 1379, a group of pigs in the village of Saint-Marcel-lès-Jussey in eastern France killed a swineherd’s child. In 1386, a sow in Falaise, Normandy, savaged a young boy, who died of his injuries. In 1457, a sow killed five-year-old Jehan Martin in the village of Savigny in Burgundy. Gruesomely, the sow’s six piglets were nearby, covered in blood.

“We are used to this pink, fluffy, or quite chubby animal that would be quite slow, but pigs in the Middle Ages were much closer to the wild boar,” says Sven Gins, a historian and a researcher at the University of Groningen, as well as the author of Casting Justice Before Swine: Late Mediaeval Pig Trials as Instances of Human Exceptionalism. “So they were very fast, very strong, and they ate everything, including human meat sometimes.”

Mucilage is found across the plant world

In the Middle Ages, pigs were more like wild boars. Image: Public Domain

Some pigs even went to trial for their crimes

In France, these incidents often resulted in trials, with the pig treated almost as a human defendant. “A lot of the records are saying, ‘This pig went to jail. This pig was transported in a cart. We got an executioner from Paris, and we paid him,’” says Gins. “These are very serious legal proceedings, in many cases. Almost mundane, actually. To us, it’s sensational that they would put a pig on trial, but to people at the time, it seemed [like] an ordinary thing to do.”

Japanese natto, made from fermented soybeans, takes advantage of mucilage to get its signature stretch. Image: DepositPhotos

Gins notes that, as wild as pig trials sound, their purpose may have been practical. “One thing that is often not mentioned is that justice in general at the time was very much focused on reconciliation between the two parties,” he says. Sometimes, all it took was a payment from one side to the other to resolve an issue. “But then if a child is killed, that’s quite major, and money isn’t always going to cut it. So in that case, it helps if the law steps in and says, ‘We’ll take over from here.’”

Taking a pig to trial gave authorities a chance to dig deeper. “They sometimes wanted to know, was there any ill-intent present in this? If you know that a pig is dangerous, why would you let it wander about in the presence of young children? Sometimes even the parents themselves were suspect. They wanted to know if it was an unwanted child that they had left near the pigs, or if it was simply the owner who had been neglectful,” says Gins. “I would say that the court really stepped in to gain clarity and provide a coherent narrative for everyone.”

Some pig trials even went before local dukes

People have many uses for mucilage, too

Sometimes, higher authorities would get involved in local pig trials. In the 1379 case, a group of pigs, some belonging to the local abbey, were charged with killing a swineherd’s son.

The abbey, Gins says, wrote to the Duke, Philip the Bold. Gins sums up the letter: “Can you please let our pigs go? Because we are sure that they were not involved in the killing. They are well-behaved pigs.” The Duke listened, and wrote a letter of pardon for the abbey’s pigs.

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There’s more to the pig trials than meets the eye

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In recent centuries, writers and historians have looked back on the trials of pigs and other animals as senseless revenge by crude peasants. However, animal trials could also serve a cold political purpose for local authorities, as the right to execute criminals and even build a gallows was considered a privilege.

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How to handle mucilage when cooking okra

One homicidal pig in the 15th century, Gins notes, ended up in jail for five years before its execution. “That doesn’t scream petty rage to me. There were formal letters sent to the Duke asking, ‘Can we please build a gallows to execute this animal?’” It was quite a victory for the local lord, he adds, that Duke John the Fearless finally acquiesced. Not only did the lord get to show off his power by building a gallows of his own, but he was finally able to get the pig out of his jail and stop paying for its feed.

Dr. Damian Kempf, a senior lecturer at the University of Liverpool, is an expert on medieval European monsters. He says animal trials were also “about restoring order when there has been chaos.” Despite popular belief, he notes, humans often weren’t put to death for crimes—such punishments were reserved for the most wicked deeds, such as infanticides.

“For medieval people, the world was created by God in a very logical way, with animals created first, in order to serve and help human beings who were created in the image of God,” Kempf explains. A trial and public execution, even of a pig, was considered a surefire way “to restore what was broken.” A pig eating a child was an unbearable inversion of the natural order, one that courts in medieval France would not let go unpunished.

In That Time When, Popular Science tells the weirdest, surprising, and little-known stories that shaped science, engineering, and innovation.

The post In medieval France, murderous pigs faced trial and execution appeared first on Popular Science.

Get a 4-pack of these UGREEN Air Tracker tags for just $23—less than the price of one Apple AirTag

Andrew Coletti — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 23:41:53 -0500

I lose my keys every couple days. Last time, I found them under the dog bed for some reason. If you’re often losing things, these UGREEN tracker tags could save you a lot of time and aggravation. Right now, Amazon has a four-pack of them for just $23, which is cheaper than a single Apple AirTag. I’ve also included a bunch more UGREEN deals as the company has a wide range of electronic accessories on discount right now.

UGREEN FineTrack Air Tracker Tags (iOS Only) $23 (was $35)

The post Why is okra so slimy? Blame the mucilage. appeared first on Popular Science.

Medieval plague victims likely found in mass grave in Germany

Andrew Paul — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 15:48:08 -0500

UGREEN FineTrack (iOS only) is a 4-pack of Bluetooth trackers that integrates with Apple Find My tech. You pair it with an iPhone or iPad and manage it from the Items tab; when it’s nearby you can play a sound, and when it’s out of range it can surface a last-known location via the Find My network. It also supports lost-item alerts, Lost Mode (with contact info), and location sharing with family on iOS 17+. Power comes from a replaceable battery rated up to 2 years. It’s Apple MFi certified with end-to-end encryption claims, and it’s not compatible with Android (macOS viewing only).

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“Our results strongly suggest that we have pinpointed one of the plague mass graves described in the Erfurt chronicles,” explained study co-author and Leipzig University geographer Michael Hein.

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The post Medieval plague victims likely found in mass grave in Germany appeared first on Popular Science.

Amazon is blowing out LEVOIT air purifiers so you can filter out irritants

Tony Ware — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 14:30:00 -0500

UGREEN Steam Deck Dock (9-in-1, 4K60, Ethernet) adds the ports you actually want—HDMI for the TV, Ethernet for more stable downloads, and extra USB for controllers and accessories. It’s a simple way to go from “handheld” to “couch mode” without a bunch of adapters. It’s $41.99 (was $59.99).

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LEVOIT Core 200S-P Smart Air Purifier $69 (was $95)

KVM switches and capture cards

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The post Amazon is blowing out LEVOIT air purifiers so you can filter out irritants appeared first on Popular Science.

Is it illegal to own an axolotl? It depends.

Andrew Paul — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 13:55:00 -0500

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“These are commonly bred in captivity. Why the fuss?” one user asked. Another claimed that, “Making them illegal was a mistake. They will still be bought and sold everywhere.”

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The tiny axolotls were seized within a larger illegal shipment, according to FWS. Credit: Amanda Dickson/USFWS

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Axolotl ownership legality depends on where you live in the US. Credit: Amanda Dickson/USFWS

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The post Is it illegal to own an axolotl? It depends. appeared first on Popular Science.

Father and son reclaim Guinness World Record for fastest quadcopter drone

Andrew Paul — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 11:55:19 -0500

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“That gave us smoother aerodynamics and a much higher surface finish quality than before,” Luke explained.

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As in past verification trials, Guinness World Record officials followed the industry-standard rubric of averaging two flight runs in opposing directions to offset any windspeed influences.

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The post Father and son reclaim Guinness World Record for fastest quadcopter drone appeared first on Popular Science.

Abandoned pigs rescued on Tennessee’s Looney Islands

Laura Baisas — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 10:38:00 -0500

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“The story of the pigs is but one of thousands of calls we have responded to in less than two years that have led to better options for the community and our animals,” says Testerman.

The post Abandoned pigs rescued on Tennessee’s Looney Islands appeared first on Popular Science.

In medieval France, murderous pigs faced trial and execution

Stan Horaczek — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 09:01:00 -0500

It’s a common scene in many films set in medieval Europe: a wooden cart wheeling its way through a jeering crowd of townsfolk, taking a condemned prisoner to the gallows.

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Medieval pigs could and would kill children

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In the Middle Ages, pigs were more like wild boars. Image: Public Domain

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Adorama just dropped prices on Canon cameras and lenses by up to 30%

Anne Ewbank — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 22:39:14 -0500

Photography is fun no matter what camera you’re using. But, it’s a lot more fun when you have fancy camera gear. Right now, Adorama (one of the country’s biggest electronics and camera retailers) has literally dozens of Canon cameras and lenses on sale for prices that match—and sometimes beat—last year’s best prices. So, grab a new mirrorless camera, or even a classic DSLR and go make some great photos and videos.

Some pig trials even went before local dukes

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Sometimes, higher authorities would get involved in local pig trials. In the 1379 case, a group of pigs, some belonging to the local abbey, were charged with killing a swineherd’s son.

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If you want one camera that can credibly handle everything from personal work to serious action, this full-frame mirrorless body is a sweet spot. It’s quick, offers impressive autofocus, and has enough controls to grow with you without feeling like a science project.

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In That Time When, Popular Science tells the weirdest, surprising, and little-known stories that shaped science, engineering, and innovation.

The post In medieval France, murderous pigs faced trial and execution appeared first on Popular Science.

Get a 4-pack of these UGREEN Air Tracker tags for just $23—less than the price of one Apple AirTag

Stan Horaczek — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 23:41:53 -0500

- - This is a classic telephoto zoom lens that’s great for sports, portraits, and lots more. - -

Canon

- - - - - - - - - See It - - +

UGREEN FineTrack Air Tracker Tags (iOS Only) $23 (was $35)

This is classic glass for sports, events, and portraits. The bright f/2.8 aperture helps in dim gyms and late-day light, and it’s the kind of lens you’ll keep even if you upgrade bodies later. It’s also smaller than the previous DSLR versions.

Canon camera deals

Editor’s picks

Pick a series below and jump straight to the bundles and bodies that match your budget and how you shoot.

For the person who’s done fighting for laptop ports

Full-frame mirrorless (EOS R5 / R6 / R8 / RP)

EOS R5 Mark II

For the person who hoards giant files (and wants them to move faster)

Canon EOS R5 Mark II Mirrorless Camera Body $3,999.00 (11% off)

Canon EOS R5 Mark II Mirrorless Camera Body + accessory kit $3,999.00 (11% off)

For the person who wants their Steam Deck to act like a real console

Canon EOS R5 Mark II Mirrorless Camera Body, Black $3,999.00 (11% off)

Canon EOS R5 Mark II Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens $4,999.00 (9% off)

USB-C hubs and docking stations

Canon EOS R5 Mark II Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens $4,499.00 (10% off)

UGREEN USB-C to USB-A Hub (4x USB 3.0, 0.5 ft) $9.48 (was $14.99)

EOS R5

UGREEN Revodok 1071 7-in-1 USB-C Hub (HDMI, 100W, SD/TF) $16.99 (was $22.99)

Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless Camera Body $2,599.00 (21% off)
UGREEN USB-C Hub (4-port, 10Gbps data-only) $18.99 (was $29.99)
Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless Camera (Included Value Accessory Kit) $2,599.00 (21% off)
UGREEN Revodok Pro 8-in-1 USB-C Hub (4K60 HDMI, 100W) $19.98 (was $29.99)
Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless Camera, Bundle with Accessories $2,599.00 (21% off)
UGREEN Revodok Pro 210 Dock (10-in-1, dual HDMI) $37.99 (was $59.99)
Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless Camera with Control Ring Mount Adapter EF-EOS R $2,599.00 (21% off)
UGREEN Steam Deck Dock (9-in-1, 4K60, Ethernet) $41.99 (was $59.99)
Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless Camera, Bundle with Accessory Kit $2,762.88 (20% off)
UGREEN 12-in-1 Triple-Display Dock (2xHDMI + DP) $45.59 (was $64.99)
Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless Camera with Control Ring Mount Adapter EF-EOS R and Canon Log $2,838.00 (20% off)
UGREEN DisplayLink Dock (9-in-1, dual 4K60) $109.98 (was $169.99)
Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens $3,849.00 (15% off)
UGREEN Revodok Pro 314 Dock (14-in-1, triple monitor) $159.99
Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens + accessory kit $3,849.00 (15% off)
UGREEN Thunderbolt 4 Dock (13-in-1, 40Gbps) $227.98 (was $299.99)

EOS R6 Mark II

NVMe enclosures and drive tools

Canon EOS R6 Mark II Mirrorless Camera Body $1,999.00 (13% off)
UGREEN 20Gbps Dual-Bay NVMe Cloner Enclosure $59.99 (was $69.99)
Canon EOS R6 Mark II Mirrorless Camera, Black $1,999.00 (13% off)
UGREEN 40Gbps NVMe SSD Enclosure (aluminum heatsink) $69.99 (was $99.99)
Canon EOS R6 Mark II Camera Bundle with Essentials + accessory kit $1,999.00 (13% off)
UGREEN NVMe Docking Station Hub (10-in-1 w/ M.2 slot) $79.99
Canon EOS R6 Mark II Mirrorless Camera with Stop Motion Firmware Upgrade $2,099.00 (13% off)
UGREEN 40Gbps Dual-Bay NVMe Cloner (RAID, w/ fan) $139.99
Canon EOS R6 Mark II Camera with RF 24-105mm L IS USM Lens + essentials bundle $2,299.00 (12% off)
UGREEN 80Gbps NVMe SSD Enclosure (USB4/TB, w/ fan) $199.99 (was $299.99)

Canon EOS R6 Mark II Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens $2,299.00 (12% off)

KVM switches and capture cards

Canon EOS R6 Mark II Mirrorless Camera with 256GB Memory Card + accessory kit $2,308.98 (11% off)

UGREEN 1080p Capture Card (HDMI to USB 2.0) $18.99 (was $23.99)
Canon EOS R6 Mark II Camera with Stop Motion Firmware Upgrade + bundle $2,276.99 (12% off)
UGREEN HDMI KVM Switch (2 computers, 1 monitor) $29.99 (was $37.99)
Canon EOS R6 Mark II Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens $2,558.00 (10% off)
UGREEN 4K30 Capture Card (HDMI to USB 3.0, loop out) $29.99 (was $39.99)
Canon EOS R6 Mark II Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens + bundle $2,685.99 (10% off)
UGREEN USB-C + HDMI KVM Switch (2 computers, 1 monitor) $79.99 (was $99.99)

Canon EOS R6 Mark II Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens + accessory kit $3,249.00 (8% off)

Audio adapters and Bluetooth upgrades

Canon EOS R6 Mark II Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens (Kit) $3,498.00 (8% off)

UGREEN 3.5mm Headphone Extension Cable (TRS, 3.3 ft) $6.64 (was $6.99)
Canon EOS R6 Mark II Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens + hard case bundle $3,675.99 (8% off)

UGREEN 3.5mm Headphone Extension Cable (TRRS w/ mic, 3.3 ft) $6.99 (was $7.99)

EOS R8

UGREEN 3.5mm Headset Splitter (mic + audio) $9.99

Canon EOS R8 Mirrorless Camera Body $1,299.00 (13% off)
UGREEN AUX-to-Bluetooth Receiver (built-in mic) $11.99 (was $13.99)
Canon EOS R8 Mirrorless Camera, Black $1,299.00 (13% off)
UGREEN USB-A to 3.5mm Headphone/Mic Adapter $13.99
Canon EOS R8 Mirrorless Camera Body + accessory kit $1,299.00 (13% off)
UGREEN USB-C to RCA Audio Cable (5 ft) $13.99
Canon EOS R8 Content Creator Kit $1,749.00 (17% off)
UGREEN USB-C to 3.5mm Audio Adapter (hi-res) $16.99
Canon EOS R8 Content Creator Kit with Included Accessories $1,749.00 (17% off)
UGREEN Bluetooth Car Adapter (hands-free, noise cancelling) $16.99 (was $18.99)
Canon EOS R8 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-50mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM Lens $1,499.00 (14% off)
UGREEN 3.5mm to dual 1/4-inch Y-splitter (6.6 ft) $17.99
Canon EOS R8 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-50mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM Lens + accessory kit $1,499.00 (14% off)
UGREEN Airplane Bluetooth Transmitter/Receiver (2-in-1) $17.99 (was $27.99)
Canon EOS R8 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens $2,699.00 (10% off)
UGREEN USB-C Splitter (USB-C audio + 60W PD) $18.99 (was $21.99)
Canon EOS R8 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens + accessory kit $2,699.00 (10% off)
UGREEN Airplane Bluetooth Adapter (dual 3.5mm) $19.99 (was $29.99)
Canon EOS R8 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens $1,749.00 (12% off)
UGREEN Bluetooth Car Receiver (LDAC, 3.5mm) $19.99 (was $25.99)

Canon EOS R8 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens + accessory kit $1,749.00 (12% off)

Display cables and video adapters

UGREEN VESA-certified DisplayPort 1.4 Cable (6.6 ft) $7.99 (was $9.99)
UGREEN DisplayPort to HDMI Cable (6.6 ft) $9.99 (was $12.99)
UGREEN DisplayPort 2.1 Cable (6.6 ft) $15.99 (was $19.99)
UGREEN USB-C to DisplayPort 1.4 Cable (6.6 ft) $25.99 (was $28.99)
UGREEN USB-C to DisplayPort 2.1 Cable (6.6 ft) $32.99 (was $39.99)

EOS RP

Desk accessories and input gear

Canon EOS RP Mirrorless Full-Frame Camera $799.00 (30% off)
UGREEN MagSafe Airplane Phone Holder $9.97 (was $14.99)
Canon EOS RP Mirrorless Camera, Bundle with Included Accessories $799.00 (30% off)
UGREEN MagSafe Phone Stand (height-adjustable) $9.99 (was $13.99)
Canon EOS RP Mirrorless Camera Body $799.00 (27% off)
UGREEN Vertical Ergonomic Mouse (BT 5.4 + 2.4G) $16.99 (was $27.58)
Canon EOS RP Mirrorless Camera with Essentials Kit $977.99 (26% off)
UGREEN Vertical Laptop Stand (adjustable) $17.99 (was $22.99)
Canon EOS RP Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens $1,099.00 (24% off)
UGREEN K551 Slim Quiet Wireless Keyboard (78-key) $19.99 (was $26.99)
Canon EOS RP Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens + accessory kit $1,099.00 (24% off)
UGREEN Vertical Ergonomic Wireless Mouse (BT + 2.4G) $19.99 (was $29.99)

EOS R3

Starlink and networking

Canon EOS R3 Mirrorless Camera Body $3,899.00 (11% off)
UGREEN Starlink Cable (50 ft, Cat6, IP67) $21.99 (was $59.99)
Canon EOS R3 Mirrorless Camera Body + accessory kit $3,899.00 (11% off)
UGREEN Starlink Cable (150 ft, Cat6, IP67) $59.99 (was $79.99)

Canon EOS R3 Mirrorless Camera with Essentials Kit $4,089.00 (11% off)

Canon EOS R3 Mirrorless Camera with Flash Kit $4,099.00 (10% off)

Best USB hubs

APS-C mirrorless (EOS R7 / R10 / R50 / R100)

Best USB-C hubs

EOS R7

Best ergonomic mouse

Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera Body $1,819.00 (15% off)
How to connect two sets of headphones to one phone
Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-150mm Lens $1,819.00 (15% off)
Best travel headphones for 2026
Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera Body + accessory kit $1,819.00 (15% off)
Best monitors for dual-screen setups
Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-150mm Lens + accessory kit $1,899.00 (14% off)
Anker docking station deal roundup

The post Get a 4-pack of these UGREEN Air Tracker tags for just $23—less than the price of one Apple AirTag appeared first on Popular Science.

Adorama just dropped prices on Canon cameras and lenses by up to 30%

Stan Horaczek — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 22:39:14 -0500

Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-150mm Lens (Kit) $1,899.00 (14% off)

Editor’s picks

Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens $2,999.00 (9% off)

+ +

Canon EOS R6 Mark II Mirrorless Camera Body — $1,999.00 (13% off)

+ + + + +

+ +

+ + With advanced features and a burly build, this is worthy of hard photo work. + +

Canon

+ + + + + See It + +

Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens + accessory kit $2,999.00 (9% off)

Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens $1,499.00 (12% off)

Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens + accessory kit $1,499.00 (12% off)

+ +

Canon EOS RP Mirrorless Full-Frame Camera — $799.00 (30% off)

+ + + + +

+ +

+ + This older model gets you a full-frame camera for a lot less money than a newer model. + +

Canon

+ + This is a classic telephoto zoom lens that’s great for sports, portraits, and lots more. + +

+ + + + See It + +

Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-150mm Lens + accessory kit (Bundle) $1,999.00 (9% off)

- -

EOS R10

+ +

Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens — $2,499.00 (17% off)

+ + + + +

+ +

Canon

- - The roll-top design adds weather resistance and allows for customizable capacity. -

+ + + + See It -

Canon EOS R10 Mirrorless Camera Body $979.00 (17% off)

Canon EOS R10 Mirrorless Camera Body + accessory kit $979.00 (17% off)

Canon EOS R10 Content Creator Kit $1,199.00 (14% off)

Canon camera deals

Canon EOS R10 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens $1,099.00 (12% off)

Pick a series below and jump straight to the bundles and bodies that match your budget and how you shoot.

Canon EOS R10 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-150mm Lens $1,099.00 (11% off)

Full-frame mirrorless (EOS R5 / R6 / R8 / RP)

Canon EOS R10 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-150mm Lens (Alt Deal) $1,449.00 (6% off)

EOS R5 Mark II

Canon EOS R10 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens + accessory kit $1,099.00 (12% off)

Canon EOS R5 Mark II Mirrorless Camera Body $3,999.00 (11% off)
Canon EOS R10 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-150mm Lens + accessory kit $1,099.00 (11% off)
Canon EOS R5 Mark II Mirrorless Camera Body + accessory kit $3,999.00 (11% off)
Canon EOS R10 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens $1,299.00 (11% off)
Canon EOS R5 Mark II Mirrorless Camera Body, Black $3,999.00 (11% off)
Canon EOS R10 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens + accessory kit $1,299.00 (11% off)
Canon EOS R5 Mark II Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens $4,999.00 (9% off)
Canon EOS R10 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens $2,299.00 (8% off)
Canon EOS R5 Mark II Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens $4,499.00 (10% off)

EOS R50

EOS R5

Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera, Black (Body Only) $679.00 (13% off)
Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless Camera Body $2,599.00 (21% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera, White Body $679.00 (13% off)
Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless Camera (Included Value Accessory Kit) $2,599.00 (21% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera Body $679.00 (13% off)
Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless Camera, Bundle with Accessories $2,599.00 (21% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera, Black with Included Accessories $679.00 (13% off)
Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless Camera with Control Ring Mount Adapter EF-EOS R $2,599.00 (21% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera, White (Included Accessories) $679.00 (13% off)
Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless Camera, Bundle with Accessory Kit $2,762.88 (20% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens $599.00 (14% off)
Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless Camera with Control Ring Mount Adapter EF-EOS R and Canon Log $2,838.00 (20% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens (Alt Deal) $799.00 (11% off)
Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens $3,849.00 (15% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens + accessory kit $679.00 (11% off)
Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens + accessory kit $3,849.00 (15% off)

Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens, White $799.00 (11% off)

EOS R6 Mark II

Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens, White + accessory kit $799.00 (11% off)

Canon EOS R6 Mark II Mirrorless Camera Body $1,999.00 (13% off)
Canon EOS R50 Content Creator Kit $799.00 (16% off)
Canon EOS R6 Mark II Mirrorless Camera, Black $1,999.00 (13% off)
Canon EOS R50 Content Creator Kit (Alt Deal) $979.00 (13% off)
Canon EOS R6 Mark II Camera Bundle with Essentials + accessory kit $1,999.00 (13% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera & RF-S 10-18mm Lens Content Creator Kit $979.00 (13% off)
Canon EOS R6 Mark II Mirrorless Camera with Stop Motion Firmware Upgrade $2,099.00 (13% off)
Canon EOS R50 V Mirrorless Camera Body $569.00 (21% off)
Canon EOS R6 Mark II Camera with RF 24-105mm L IS USM Lens + essentials bundle $2,299.00 (12% off)
Canon EOS R50 V Mirrorless Camera Body + Bag & bundle $569.00 (21% off)
Canon EOS R6 Mark II Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens $2,299.00 (12% off)
Canon EOS R50 V Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 14-30mm Lens $699.00 (13% off)
Canon EOS R6 Mark II Mirrorless Camera with 256GB Memory Card + accessory kit $2,308.98 (11% off)
Canon EOS R50 V Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 14-30mm Lens + accessory kit $699.00 (13% off)
Canon EOS R6 Mark II Camera with Stop Motion Firmware Upgrade + bundle $2,276.99 (12% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera, Pink (Body Only) $679.00 (13% off)
Canon EOS R6 Mark II Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens $2,558.00 (10% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens, Pink $799.00 (11% off)
Canon EOS R6 Mark II Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens + bundle $2,685.99 (10% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera, Black with Essentials Kit $771.95 (11% off)
Canon EOS R6 Mark II Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens + accessory kit $3,249.00 (8% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera, White + accessory kit (Bundle) $679.00 (11% off)
Canon EOS R6 Mark II Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens (Kit) $3,498.00 (8% off)
Canon EOS R50 V Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 14-30mm Lens (Alt Deal) $799.00 (16% off)
Canon EOS R6 Mark II Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens + hard case bundle $3,675.99 (8% off)

Canon EOS R50 V Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 14-30mm Lens + accessory kit (Alt Deal) $799.00 (16% off)

EOS R8

Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens + accessory kit (Alt Deal) $679.00 (11% off)

Canon EOS R8 Mirrorless Camera Body $1,299.00 (13% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens, White (Alt Deal) $679.00 (13% off)
Canon EOS R8 Mirrorless Camera, Black $1,299.00 (13% off)
Canon EOS R50 V Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 14-30mm Lens (Bundle) $799.00 (13% off)

Canon EOS R8 Mirrorless Camera Body + accessory kit $1,299.00 (13% off)

EOS R100

Canon EOS R8 Content Creator Kit $1,749.00 (17% off)

Canon EOS R100 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens $499.00 (17% off)
Canon EOS R8 Content Creator Kit with Included Accessories $1,749.00 (17% off)
Canon EOS R100 Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens + accessory kit $499.00 (27% off)
Canon EOS R8 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-50mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM Lens $1,499.00 (14% off)
Canon EOS R100 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens + 128GB card $599.00 (25% off)
Canon EOS R8 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-50mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM Lens + accessory kit $1,499.00 (14% off)
Canon EOS R100 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens + 128GB card + accessory kit $599.00 (25% off)
Canon EOS R8 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens $2,699.00 (10% off)
Canon EOS R100 Mirrorless Camera with RF 28mm Lens + accessory kit $1,249.00 (7% off)
Canon EOS R8 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens + accessory kit $2,699.00 (10% off)
Canon EOS R100 Mirrorless Camera with RF 100-500mm Lens (Bundle) $2,599.00 (16% off)
Canon EOS R8 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens $1,749.00 (12% off)
Canon EOS R100 Mirrorless Camera with RF 100-500mm Lens + accessory kit $2,599.00 (16% off)
Canon EOS R8 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens + accessory kit $1,749.00 (12% off)

Canon EOS R100 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens + accessory kit (Alt Deal) $499.00 (24% off)

EOS RP

Canon EOS R100 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens + 128GB card + accessory kit (Alt Deal) $599.00 (25% off)

Canon EOS RP Mirrorless Full-Frame Camera $799.00 (30% off)
Canon EOS R100 Mirrorless Camera with RF 100-500mm Lens, Bundle with Filter Kit $2,599.00 (16% off)

Canon EOS RP Mirrorless Camera, Bundle with Included Accessories $799.00 (30% off)

DSLR camera deals

Canon EOS RP Mirrorless Camera Body $799.00 (27% off)

EOS 5D Mark IV

Canon EOS RP Mirrorless Camera with Essentials Kit $977.99 (26% off)

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV DSLR Camera $1,799.00 (28% off)
Canon EOS RP Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens $1,099.00 (24% off)
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV DSLR with Free Accessory Kit $1,799.00 (28% off)
Canon EOS RP Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens + accessory kit $1,099.00 (24% off)

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV DSLR Camera with Tripod Kit $1,849.00 (27% off)

EOS R3

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV DSLR Body with Canon Log $1,899.00 (27% off)

Canon EOS R3 Mirrorless Camera Body $3,899.00 (11% off)
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV DSLR Camera with EF 24-105mm f/4L Lens $2,299.00 (12% off)

Canon EOS R3 Mirrorless Camera Body + accessory kit $3,899.00 (11% off)

Rebel & entry-level DSLRs

Canon EOS R3 Mirrorless Camera with Essentials Kit $4,089.00 (11% off)

Canon EOS Rebel T7 DSLR Camera with 18-55mm Lens $439.00 (12% off)
Canon EOS R3 Mirrorless Camera with Flash Kit $4,099.00 (10% off)

Canon EOS Rebel T7 DSLR Camera with 18-55mm Lens + accessories $439.00 (12% off)

APS-C mirrorless (EOS R7 / R10 / R50 / R100)

Canon EOS Rebel T7 DSLR Camera 2-Lens Kit $639.00 (9% off)

EOS R7

Canon EOS Rebel T7 DSLR Camera 2-Lens Kit + accessory kit $639.00 (9% off)

- +

Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera Body $1,819.00 (15% off)

Point-and-shoot & compact cameras

Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-150mm Lens $1,819.00 (15% off)

Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III Digital Camera $749.00 (6% off)
Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera Body + accessory kit $1,819.00 (15% off)
Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III Digital Camera, Black $749.00 (6% off)
Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-150mm Lens + accessory kit $1,899.00 (14% off)
Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III Digital Camera, Silver $749.00 (6% off)
Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-150mm Lens (Kit) $1,899.00 (14% off)
Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III Digital Camera + accessory kit $749.00 (6% off)

Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens $2,999.00 (9% off)

Canon lens deals

Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens + accessory kit $2,999.00 (9% off)

These are the lenses that actually change what your camera can do—wide, long, fast, and weird.

Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens $1,499.00 (12% off)

RF lenses

Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens + accessory kit $1,499.00 (12% off)

Standard zooms

Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-150mm Lens + accessory kit (Bundle) $1,999.00 (9% off)

Canon RF 28-70mm f/2.8 IS STM Lens $1,049.00 (16% off)
Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-150mm Lens + accessory kit (Bundle) $1,999.00 (9% off)

Canon RF 28-70mm f/2.8 IS STM Lens + accessory kit $1,049.00 (16% off)

EOS R10

Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens $1,999.00 (17% off)

Canon EOS R10 Mirrorless Camera Body $979.00 (17% off)
Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens + accessory kit $1,999.00 (17% off)
Canon EOS R10 Mirrorless Camera Body + accessory kit $979.00 (17% off)
Canon RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens $299.00 (15% off)
Canon EOS R10 Content Creator Kit $1,199.00 (14% off)
Canon RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens + accessory kit $299.00 (15% off)
Canon EOS R10 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens $1,099.00 (12% off)
Canon RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens $1,099.00 (15% off)
Canon EOS R10 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-150mm Lens $1,099.00 (11% off)
Canon RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens + accessory kit $1,099.00 (15% off)

Canon EOS R10 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-150mm Lens (Alt Deal) $1,449.00 (6% off)

Ultra-wide zooms

Canon EOS R10 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens + accessory kit $1,099.00 (12% off)

Canon RF 15-30mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM Lens $489.00 (23% off)
Canon EOS R10 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-150mm Lens + accessory kit $1,099.00 (11% off)
Canon RF 15-30mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM Lens + accessory kit $489.00 (23% off)
Canon EOS R10 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens $1,299.00 (11% off)
Canon RF 14-35mm f/4 L IS USM Lens $1,299.00 (17% off)
Canon EOS R10 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens + accessory kit $1,299.00 (11% off)
Canon RF 14-35mm f/4 L IS USM Lens + accessory kit $1,299.00 (17% off)
Canon EOS R10 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens $2,299.00 (8% off)

Canon RF 15-35mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens $2,099.00 (19% off)

EOS R50

Canon RF 15-35mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens, Bundle + accessory kit $2,099.00 (19% off)

Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera, Black (Body Only) $679.00 (13% off)
Canon RF 16-28mm f/2.8 IS STM Lens $1,049.00 (16% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera, White Body $679.00 (13% off)
Canon RF 16-28mm f/2.8 IS STM Lens, Bundle + accessory kit $1,049.00 (16% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera Body $679.00 (13% off)
Canon RF 10-20mm f/4 L IS STM Lens $2,099.00 (16% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera, Black with Included Accessories $679.00 (13% off)
Canon RF 10-20mm f/4 L IS STM Lens + accessory kit $2,099.00 (16% off)

Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera, White (Included Accessories) $679.00 (13% off)

Telephoto zooms

Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens $599.00 (14% off)

Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens $2,499.00 (17% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens (Alt Deal) $799.00 (11% off)
Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens with Tripod Kit $2,499.00 (17% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens + accessory kit $679.00 (11% off)
Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens, Bundle with Filter Kit $2,499.00 (17% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens, White $799.00 (11% off)
Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens, Bundle + accessory kit $2,499.00 (17% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens, White + accessory kit $799.00 (11% off)
Canon RF 70-200mm f/4 L IS USM Lens $1,299.00 (13% off)
Canon EOS R50 Content Creator Kit $799.00 (16% off)
Canon RF 70-200mm f/4 L IS USM Lens, Bundle + accessory kit $1,299.00 (13% off)
Canon EOS R50 Content Creator Kit (Alt Deal) $979.00 (13% off)
Canon RF 100-400mm f/5.6-8 IS USM Lens $549.00 (15% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera & RF-S 10-18mm Lens Content Creator Kit $979.00 (13% off)
Canon RF 100-400mm f/5.6-8 IS USM Lens + accessory kit $549.00 (15% off)
Canon EOS R50 V Mirrorless Camera Body $569.00 (21% off)
Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Z Lens, Black $3,099.00 (6% off)
Canon EOS R50 V Mirrorless Camera Body + Bag & bundle $569.00 (21% off)
Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Z Lens, White $3,099.00 (6% off)
Canon EOS R50 V Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 14-30mm Lens $699.00 (13% off)
Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Z Lens, Black + accessory kit $3,099.00 (6% off)

Canon EOS R50 V Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 14-30mm Lens + accessory kit $699.00 (13% off)

Super-telephoto (400mm+)

Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera, Pink (Body Only) $679.00 (13% off)

Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 L IS USM Lens $2,599.00 (16% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens, Pink $799.00 (11% off)
Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 L IS USM Lens + accessory kit $2,599.00 (16% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera, Black with Essentials Kit $771.95 (11% off)
Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 L IS USM Lens, Bundle with Filter Kit $2,599.00 (16% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera, White + accessory kit (Bundle) $679.00 (11% off)
Canon RF 600mm f/4 L IS USM Lens $11,999.00 (8% off)
Canon EOS R50 V Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 14-30mm Lens (Alt Deal) $799.00 (16% off)
Canon RF 600mm f/4 L IS USM Lens + accessory kit $11,999.00 (8% off)
Canon EOS R50 V Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 14-30mm Lens + accessory kit (Alt Deal) $799.00 (16% off)
Canon RF 800mm f/5.6 L IS USM Lens $15,999.00 (6% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens + accessory kit (Alt Deal) $679.00 (11% off)
Canon RF 800mm f/5.6 L IS USM Lens + accessory kit $15,999.00 (6% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens, White (Alt Deal) $679.00 (13% off)
Canon RF 1200mm f/8 L IS USM Lens $19,999.00 (5% off)
Canon EOS R50 V Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 14-30mm Lens (Bundle) $799.00 (13% off)

Prime lenses

EOS R100

Canon RF 50mm f/1.2 L USM Lens $1,899.00 (14% off)
Canon EOS R100 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens $499.00 (17% off)
Canon RF 50mm f/1.2 L USM Lens + accessory kit $1,899.00 (14% off)
Canon EOS R100 Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens + accessory kit $499.00 (27% off)
Canon RF 50mm f/1.8 STM Lens $159.00 (20% off)
Canon EOS R100 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens + 128GB card $599.00 (25% off)
Canon RF 50mm f/1.8 STM Lens + accessory kit $159.00 (20% off)
Canon EOS R100 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens + 128GB card + accessory kit $599.00 (25% off)
Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM Lens $449.00 (15% off)
Canon EOS R100 Mirrorless Camera with RF 28mm Lens + accessory kit $1,249.00 (7% off)
Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM Lens, Bundle + accessory kit $449.00 (15% off)
Canon EOS R100 Mirrorless Camera with RF 100-500mm Lens (Bundle) $2,599.00 (16% off)
Canon RF 85mm f/1.2 L USM Lens $2,399.00 (14% off)
Canon EOS R100 Mirrorless Camera with RF 100-500mm Lens + accessory kit $2,599.00 (16% off)
Canon RF 85mm f/1.2 L USM Lens + accessory kit $2,399.00 (14% off)
Canon EOS R100 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens + accessory kit (Alt Deal) $499.00 (24% off)
Canon RF 24mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM Lens $549.00 (20% off)
Canon EOS R100 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens + 128GB card + accessory kit (Alt Deal) $599.00 (25% off)
Canon RF 24mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM Lens, Bundle + accessory kit $549.00 (20% off)
Canon EOS R100 Mirrorless Camera with RF 100-500mm Lens, Bundle with Filter Kit $2,599.00 (16% off)

Canon RF 24mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM Lens with Filter Kit $598.00 (19% off)

DSLR camera deals

Macro & specialty lenses

EOS 5D Mark IV

Canon RF 100mm f/2.8 L Macro IS USM Lens $1,149.00 (15% off)
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV DSLR Camera $1,799.00 (28% off)
Canon RF 100mm f/2.8 L Macro IS USM Lens + accessory kit $1,149.00 (15% off)
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV DSLR with Free Accessory Kit $1,799.00 (28% off)
Canon RF 5.2mm f/2.8 L Dual Fisheye Lens $1,999.00 (9% off)
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV DSLR Camera with Tripod Kit $1,849.00 (27% off)
Canon RF 5.2mm f/2.8 L Dual Fisheye Lens + accessory kit $1,999.00 (9% off)
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV DSLR Body with Canon Log $1,899.00 (27% off)
Canon RF 200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens $1,999.00 (9% off)
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV DSLR Camera with EF 24-105mm f/4L Lens $2,299.00 (12% off)

Canon RF 200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens + accessory kit $1,999.00 (9% off)

Rebel & entry-level DSLRs

Canon RF 600mm f/11 IS STM Lens $799.00 (11% off)

Canon EOS Rebel T7 DSLR Camera with 18-55mm Lens $439.00 (12% off)
Canon RF 600mm f/11 IS STM Lens + accessory kit $799.00 (11% off)
Canon EOS Rebel T7 DSLR Camera with 18-55mm Lens + accessories $439.00 (12% off)
Canon RF 800mm f/11 IS STM Lens $899.00 (10% off)
Canon EOS Rebel T7 DSLR Camera 2-Lens Kit $639.00 (9% off)
Canon RF 800mm f/11 IS STM Lens + accessory kit $899.00 (10% off)
Canon EOS Rebel T7 DSLR Camera 2-Lens Kit + accessory kit $639.00 (9% off)

Canon RF 200-800mm f/6.3-9 IS USM Lens $1,899.00 (5% off)

Point-and-shoot & compact cameras

Canon RF 200-800mm f/6.3-9 IS USM Lens + accessory kit $1,899.00 (5% off)

Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III Digital Camera $749.00 (6% off)
Canon RF 20mm f/1.4 L VCM Lens $1,499.00 (6% off)
Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III Digital Camera, Black $749.00 (6% off)
Canon RF 20mm f/1.4 L VCM Lens + accessory kit $1,499.00 (6% off)

Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III Digital Camera, Silver $749.00 (6% off)

RF-S lenses (APS-C)

Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III Digital Camera + accessory kit $749.00 (6% off)

+ -

Canon RF-S 7.8mm f/4 STM Dual Lens $409.00 (20% off)

Canon lens deals

Canon RF-S 7.8mm f/4 STM Dual Lens, Bundle + accessory kit $409.00 (20% off)

These are the lenses that actually change what your camera can do—wide, long, fast, and weird.

Canon RF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM Lens $249.00 (17% off)

RF lenses

EF & EF-S lenses (DSLR-era)

Standard zooms

Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM Lens $329.00 (55% off)
Canon RF 28-70mm f/2.8 IS STM Lens $1,049.00 (16% off)
Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM Lens + accessory kit $329.00 (55% off)
Canon RF 28-70mm f/2.8 IS STM Lens + accessory kit $1,049.00 (16% off)
Canon EF 35mm f/1.4 L II USM Lens $1,699.00 (26% off)
Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens $1,999.00 (17% off)
Canon EF 35mm f/1.4 L II USM Lens with Filter Kit $1,699.00 (26% off)
Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens + accessory kit $1,999.00 (17% off)
Canon EF 16-35mm f/4 L IS USM Lens $1,149.00 (21% off)
Canon RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens $299.00 (15% off)
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS III USM Lens $1,799.00 (14% off)
Canon RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens + accessory kit $299.00 (15% off)
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 L Macro IS USM Lens $1,299.00 (10% off)
Canon RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens $1,099.00 (15% off)
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L II USM Lens $1,499.00 (12% off)
Canon RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens + accessory kit $1,099.00 (15% off)

Canon EF 200-400mm f/4 L IS USM Extender 1.4x Lens $9,999.00 (19% off)

Ultra-wide zooms

Canon EF 300mm f/2.8 L IS II USM Lens $5,999.00 (14% off)

- +

Canon RF 15-30mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM Lens $489.00 (23% off)

Adapters & accessories

Canon RF 15-30mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM Lens + accessory kit $489.00 (23% off)

Canon Control Ring Mount Adapter EF-EOS R $149.00 (38% off)
Canon RF 14-35mm f/4 L IS USM Lens $1,299.00 (17% off)
Canon EF-EOS R Drop-In Filter Mount Adapter with Circular Polarizer $259.00 (28% off)

Canon RF 14-35mm f/4 L IS USM Lens + accessory kit $1,299.00 (17% off)

Backcountry is blowing out hiking bags, backpacks, and luggage for up to 65% off during this clearance sale

Stan Horaczek — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 21:05:53 -0500

A good bag is your best friend out on the trail or during your travels. Right now, Backcountry.com has more than 100 hiking backpacks, luggage, and commuter bags for up to 65% off. The sale includes extremely popular outdoor brands like Osprey, Patagonia, Dakine, and more. This is a clearance sale, so if you see a color and style you want, grab it quickly so you don’t miss out. Then, enjoy lugging your stuff around no matter where you’re going.

Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens $2,499.00 (17% off)

If you think a rugged bag might be overkill for your needs, just remember what happens to a suitcase when you check it.

Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens with Tripod Kit $2,499.00 (17% off)

Editor’s picks

Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens, Bundle with Filter Kit $2,499.00 (17% off)
Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens, Bundle + accessory kit $2,499.00 (17% off)

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Osprey Arcane WP Roll Top 18L Pack $84 (65% off)

- - - - -

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- - The 90L capacity makes it great for longer trips, even if you’re flying. -

- - - - See It +

Canon RF 70-200mm f/4 L IS USM Lens $1,299.00 (13% off)

- -

Canon RF 70-200mm f/4 L IS USM Lens, Bundle + accessory kit $1,299.00 (13% off)

Osprey Arcane WP Roll Top 18L Pack is down to $84.00 (65% off). The roll-top design is built for quick access and a little extra flexibility when you overpack, and the “WP” in the name is there for a reason when the sky decides to get dramatic.

Canon RF 100-400mm f/5.6-8 IS USM Lens $549.00 (15% off)

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Eagle Creek Cargo Hauler 90L Duffel Bag $75.60 (60% off)

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Canon RF 100-400mm f/5.6-8 IS USM Lens + accessory kit $549.00 (15% off)

- - - - See It - -

Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Z Lens, Black $3,099.00 (6% off)

Eagle Creek Cargo Hauler 90L Duffel Bag is down to $75.60 (60% off). Ninety liters is the ‘throw it all in and go’ size—ideal for road trips, car camping, or lugging awkward gear to the gym without playing Tetris.

Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Z Lens, White $3,099.00 (6% off)

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Db Ramverk Pro 32L Backpack $147.58 (60% off)

- - - - -

- -

Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Z Lens, Black + accessory kit $3,099.00 (6% off)

- - It’s built like a camera bag so it’s great for lugging gadgets and gear. -

- - - - - - - - - See It - - +

Super-telephoto (400mm+)

Db Ramverk Pro 32L Backpack is down to $147.58 (60% off). At 32 liters, it’s big enough for a laptop, a lunch, and a light jacket (or a change of clothes for a weekend), without feeling like you’re hauling a suitcase on your back.

Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 L IS USM Lens $2,599.00 (16% off)

Shop the Backcountry bag deals

Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 L IS USM Lens + accessory kit $2,599.00 (16% off)

Everyday & commuter backpacks

Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 L IS USM Lens, Bundle with Filter Kit $2,599.00 (16% off)

Black Diamond

Canon RF 600mm f/4 L IS USM Lens $11,999.00 (8% off)

Black Diamond Distance 8L Backpack $116.97 (35% off)

Canon RF 600mm f/4 L IS USM Lens + accessory kit $11,999.00 (8% off)

Cotopaxi

Canon RF 800mm f/5.6 L IS USM Lens $15,999.00 (6% off)

Cotopaxi Tapa Cada Dia 22L Backpack $55.00 (45% off)
Canon RF 800mm f/5.6 L IS USM Lens + accessory kit $15,999.00 (6% off)
Canon RF 1200mm f/8 L IS USM Lens $19,999.00 (5% off)

Dakine

Prime lenses

Dakine 365 21L Backpack (DAK008W) $15.00 (70% off)
Canon RF 50mm f/1.2 L USM Lens $1,899.00 (14% off)
Dakine 365 21L Backpack (Alt listing) $25.00
Canon RF 50mm f/1.2 L USM Lens + accessory kit $1,899.00 (14% off)
Dakine Campus M 25L Backpack (DAK01NA) $29.25 (55% off)
Canon RF 50mm f/1.8 STM Lens $159.00 (20% off)
Dakine Campus M 25L Backpack (Alt listing) $35.75 (52% off)
Canon RF 50mm f/1.8 STM Lens + accessory kit $159.00 (20% off)
Dakine Campus Premium 28L Backpack $50.00 (57% off)
Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM Lens $449.00 (15% off)
Dakine Class 25L Backpack $29.40 (40% off)
Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM Lens, Bundle + accessory kit $449.00 (15% off)
Dakine Essentials 26L Backpack $32.00 (60% off)
Canon RF 85mm f/1.2 L USM Lens $2,399.00 (14% off)
Dakine Infinity Toploader 27L Backpack $36.00 (55% off)
Canon RF 85mm f/1.2 L USM Lens + accessory kit $2,399.00 (14% off)
Dakine June 25L Backpack $33.75 (61% off)
Canon RF 24mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM Lens $549.00 (20% off)
Dakine Method 25L Backpack $35.00 (50% off)
Canon RF 24mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM Lens, Bundle + accessory kit $549.00 (20% off)
Dakine Method 32L Backpack (DAKZ7SW) $32.00 (60% off)
Canon RF 24mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM Lens with Filter Kit $598.00 (19% off)

Dakine Method DLX 28L Backpack (DAKZ7SX) $33.25 (65% off)

Macro & specialty lenses

Dakine Motive 30L Backpack $108.50 (30% off)

Canon RF 100mm f/2.8 L Macro IS USM Lens $1,149.00 (15% off)
Dakine Motive Rolltop 25L $60.75 (55% off)
Canon RF 100mm f/2.8 L Macro IS USM Lens + accessory kit $1,149.00 (15% off)
Dakine Packable 22L Backpack $39.00 (40% off)
Canon RF 5.2mm f/2.8 L Dual Fisheye Lens $1,999.00 (9% off)
Dakine Urban Mission 18L Backpack $27.50 (45% off)
Canon RF 5.2mm f/2.8 L Dual Fisheye Lens + accessory kit $1,999.00 (9% off)
Dakine Verge 25L Backpack (DAKZ7MG) $72.00 (40% off)
Canon RF 200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens $1,999.00 (9% off)
Dakine Wander 25L Backpack $34.00 (60% off)
Canon RF 200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens + accessory kit $1,999.00 (9% off)
Dakine Wednesday 21L Backpack $23.10

Canon RF 600mm f/11 IS STM Lens $799.00 (11% off)

Db

Canon RF 600mm f/11 IS STM Lens + accessory kit $799.00 (11% off)

Db Hugger Base 15L Backpack $62.53 (55% off)
Canon RF 800mm f/11 IS STM Lens $899.00 (10% off)
Db Hugger Base Backpack 15L (DBCA02G) $64.50 (50% off)
Canon RF 800mm f/11 IS STM Lens + accessory kit $899.00 (10% off)
Db Ramverk 26L Backpack $129.48 (50% off)
Canon RF 200-800mm f/6.3-9 IS USM Lens $1,899.00 (5% off)
Db Ramverk 26L Backpack (single color) (DBCA00Q) $87.13 (65% off)
Canon RF 200-800mm f/6.3-9 IS USM Lens + accessory kit $1,899.00 (5% off)
Db Ramverk 21L Backpack (Alt listing) $114.48 (50% off)
Canon RF 20mm f/1.4 L VCM Lens $1,499.00 (6% off)
Db Ramverk 21L Backpack (DBCA00P) $103.03 (55% off)
Canon RF 20mm f/1.4 L VCM Lens + accessory kit $1,499.00 (6% off)

Eastpak

RF-S lenses (APS-C)

Eastpak Padded Pak’R Backpack $42.50 (50% off)

Canon RF-S 7.8mm f/4 STM Dual Lens $409.00 (20% off)

Exped

Canon RF-S 7.8mm f/4 STM Dual Lens, Bundle + accessory kit $409.00 (20% off)

Exped Cloudburst 25L Backpack $65.00 (35% off)
Canon RF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM Lens $249.00 (17% off)

Granite Gear

EF & EF-S lenses (DSLR-era)

Granite Gear Scurry 24L Daypack $39.98 (60% off)

Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM Lens $329.00 (55% off)

Herschel

Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM Lens + accessory kit $329.00 (55% off)

Herschel Classic Backpack $35.74
Canon EF 35mm f/1.4 L II USM Lens $1,699.00 (26% off)
Herschel Classic XL Backpack $42.24
Canon EF 35mm f/1.4 L II USM Lens with Filter Kit $1,699.00 (26% off)
Herschel Gibson 18L Messenger Tech Bag $55.00 (50% off)
Canon EF 16-35mm f/4 L IS USM Lens $1,149.00 (21% off)
Herschel Heritage 24L Backpack $51.99 (35% off)
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS III USM Lens $1,799.00 (14% off)
Herschel Little America 25L Backpack $84.49
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 L Macro IS USM Lens $1,299.00 (10% off)
Herschel Little America 17L Mid Backpack $77.99 (35% off)
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L II USM Lens $1,499.00 (12% off)
Herschel Pop Quiz 22L Backpack $61.74 (35% off)
Canon EF 200-400mm f/4 L IS USM Extender 1.4x Lens $9,999.00 (19% off)
Herschel Retreat 19.5L Backpack $71.49 (35% off)
Canon EF 300mm f/2.8 L IS II USM Lens $5,999.00 (14% off)

Herschel Retreat 15L Small Backpack $51.99

Adapters & accessories

Herschel Seymour 26L Backpack $64.99 (35% off)

Canon Control Ring Mount Adapter EF-EOS R $149.00 (38% off)
Herschel Survey 17.5L Backpack $58.49 (35% off)
Canon EF-EOS R Drop-In Filter Mount Adapter with Circular Polarizer $259.00 (28% off)

Herschel Ultralight 22L Backpack $62.99 (30% off)

Backcountry is blowing out hiking bags, backpacks, and luggage for up to 65% off during this clearance sale

Stan Horaczek — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 21:05:53 -0500

Mystery Ranch District 24L Backpack $92.92 (45% off)

- +

If you think a rugged bag might be overkill for your needs, just remember what happens to a suitcase when you check it.

NEMO

Editor’s picks

NEMO Resolve 25L Endless Promise Backpack $125.96 (30% off)

+ +

Osprey Arcane WP Roll Top 18L Pack $84 (65% off)

+ + + + +

+ +

+ + The roll-top design adds weather resistance and allows for customizable capacity. +

+ + + + See It -

NEMO Resolve 15L Backpack $87.97 (45% off)

+ +

NEMO Vantage Endless Promise 30L Backpack $114.98 (50% off)

NEMO Vantage Endless Promise 20L Backpack $89.98 (50% off)

+ +

Eagle Creek Cargo Hauler 90L Duffel Bag $75.60 (60% off)

+ + + + +

+ +

+ + The 90L capacity makes it great for longer trips, even if you’re flying. +

+ + + + See It -

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+ +

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+ +

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+ + + + +

+ +

+ + It’s built like a camera bag so it’s great for lugging gadgets and gear. +

A rare South American bird took a wrong turn towards Florida

+ + + + See It -

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+ +

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Helly Hansen

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Osprey

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Thule

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- +

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Slings, crossbodies & small carry

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KAVU

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Gregory

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Dakine

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Herschel

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+ -

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Rab

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The post Backcountry is blowing out hiking bags, backpacks, and luggage for up to 65% off during this clearance sale appeared first on Popular Science.

600-year-old Viking shipwreck is the largest of its kind

Andrew Paul — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 16:32:00 -0500

Archaeologists in Denmark say a sunken Viking ship near Copenhagen is the largest boat of its kind ever discovered—and that’s saying something. At nearly 92 feet long, the 600-year-old vessel is also one of the best preserved examples of a cog, a “super ship” whose advanced design and carrying capacity helped transform trade in medieval Europe.

“The find is a milestone for maritime archaeology,” excavation lead Otto Uldum said in a statement, adding the boat now offers a “unique opportunity to understand both the construction and life on board the biggest trading ships of the Middle Ages.”

Thule

Named after the channel in which it resides, Svælget 2 was longer than two school buses and nearly as wide as one. Archaeologists analyzed tree rings in its timber to estimate that Viking artisans constructed the cog in the Netherlands around 1410 CE. Almost 40 feet of sand and silt had buried the ship since it sank centuries ago, protecting much of it from underwater conditions that normally destroy similar relics. Svælget 2 is so well-preserved that it still contains evidence of its rigging.

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A 3D elevation map showing the remains of Svælget 2. Credit: Viking Ship Museum

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“It is extraordinary to have so many parts of the rigging. We have never seen this before, and it gives us a real opportunity to say something entirely new about how cogs were equipped for sailing,” said Uldum.

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Details like Svælget 2’s rigging will help archaeologists better understand how its comparatively small crew controlled such a large ship during its many voyages throughout the region.

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“The finds show how something as complex as the rigging was solved on the largest cogs,” Uldum added. “Rigging is absolutely central to a medieval ship, as it makes it possible to control the sail, secure the mast and keep the cargo safe. Without ropes and rigging, the ship would be nothing.”

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In addition to these materials, researchers are now finally able to confirm that some Viking cogs featured tall wooden platforms at both the bow and stern known as castles. Although historical illustrations have long suggested these structural features existed, no clear archeological evidence substantiated the artwork.

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“We have plenty of drawings of castles, but they have never been found because usually only the bottom of the ship survives,” said Uldum. “This time we have the archaeological proof.”

Duffels & gear haulers

Despite its size, the cog required a relatively small crew to pilot. Credit: Viking Ship Museum

Db

In the case of the stern (or back) castle, archaeologists identified details of a covered deck that provided shelter and protection for the cog’s crew. Compared to previous shipwrecks, Svælget 2 features an estimated 20 times as much material to analyze.

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“It is not comfort in a modern sense, but it is a big step forward compared to Viking Age ships, which had only open decks in all kinds of weather,” Uldum explained.

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Although its discovery doesn’t revise researchers’ understanding of medieval seafaring trade, Svælget 2 illustrates just how much funding, resources, and technological knowledge was required to construct such a vessel.

Eagle Creek

“We now know, undeniably, that cogs could be this large—that the ship type could be pushed to this extreme,” said Uldum.

The post 600-year-old Viking shipwreck is the largest of its kind appeared first on Popular Science.

Test your apple farming skills with this free video game

Andrew Paul — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 15:01:00 -0500

New research gathered with the help of a free-to-play video game indicates most people are happy to help their fellow neighbors, even if it costs them a bit of cash. According to the designers of Race Against Rot, their social experiment suggests that some new strategies to address longstanding issues facing both small-scale farmers and their nearby communities could be beneficial.

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Environmentalists and sustainable food system advocates alike have long stressed the importance of supporting small farms, but it’s easier said than done. Despite the clear health and environmental sustainability benefits, shopping local generally means spending much more money—often at seasonal markets. Overall, this makes it especially difficult for low-income families and those living in food deserts to access quality ingredients.

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The cost problem isn’t from price-gouging farmers, but the state of the overall industry. The vast majority of farms in the United States are struggling. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates around 88 percent of the industry falls under the “small operation” designation, meaning they earn less than $350,000 annually in gross sales. Factor in costs, and less than half of U.S. small farms actually generate any profit at all.

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A sample round during the game Race Against Rot. Credit: University of Vermont

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In 2023, researchers at the University of Vermont built a simulation game called Race Against Rot to illustrate the uphill battles facing farmers. In the game, players took on the role of a small apple orchard operation and worked to maintain profitability through multiple policy scenarios. These included opting for farmers market or wholesale distribution options, paying a universal basic income to their workers, and supporting localized food hubs.

Helly Hansen

To incentivize the over 1,000 people who participated in the game, players could earn actual cash payouts of $1 per every $40,000 of orchard profits. But instead of walking away with the most pocket change possible, most Race Against Rot players opted to make less money in order to help supply their neighbors with healthy fruit. They called this concept of fostering local wellbeing “community nourishment.”

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“We found that there was a very, very strong commitment to a value structure around community nourishment,” principal project investigator Amy Trubek explained in a recent university profile.

Herschel

Food systems researcher Carolyn Hricko, co-author of a recent policy report based on the team’s findings, said it was “very heartening” to see random players adopt altruistic practices even during a simulated experience.

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“When they walked in the shoes of a farmer, [they] came out the other side saying they’re willing to support community nourishment alongside their ability to stay in business, theoretically,” she said.

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Trubek and Hricko know that reality is far more complicated than a video game simulation. People often behave more selfishly when consequential amounts of money—not to mention livelihoods—are on the line, and the global agricultural industry can’t be distilled down to a hypothetical apple orchard. At the same, most of today’s food distribution systems aren’t designed with this concept of community nourishment in mind. By beginning to consider the social implications of a game like Race Against Rot, policy makers could discover new and effective ways.

Mountain Hardwear

“Equitable food systems solutions can only emerge from questions posed and data gathered that honestly reflect the structure and function of both our current food system and any vision for a better one,” the policy report authors wrote.

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Thanksfully, that vision of a better system is something most people want to see realized.

Mystery Ranch

“The public really cares about community well-being and the success and livelihoods of farmers. That’s great news,” added Hricko.

The post Test your apple farming skills with this free video game appeared first on Popular Science.

Snow fleas use their tail to jump around the ice

Laura Baisas — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 14:05:00 -0500

Not eating yellow snow is obviously wise advice, but how about snow that looks like a poppy seed bagel? You should also avoid that too, because those “seeds” may actually be tiny critters commonly called snow fleas.

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Mystery Ranch Mission 55L Duffel Bag $119.40 (40% off)

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Mystery Ranch Mission Stuffel 30L Bag $70.82 (35% off)

As a video taken at the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge in Massachusetts shows, these little black specks bounce across the snow. While technically called springtails, snow fleas (Hypogastruna nivicola) are a springtail species active during winter. Snow fleas are generally found in groups and their dark-colored bodies are easily noticed against white snow. These ancient insects have been around 410 million years—making them older than dinosaurs.

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Springtails are found in habitats all over the world. According to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, they typically show up on top of snow because colder temperautres slow their speeds down “just enough for us to notice their chaotic parkour routine.” That hopping move is done with a forked tail called a furcula that launches the bugs into the air. This long tail is typically tucked underneath the abdomen. However, if a springtail is disturbed or threatened, it will use the furcula to launch its body into the air like a spring. Their acrobatics are so impressive that they have inspired designs for leaping robots.

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They can also be found in soil, feasting on fungi, pollen, algae, or decaying organic matter, according to the University of Minnesota Extension. When they move through the soil, they create little pockets of air that help give plant roots oxygen, which helps keep them healthy. Eating decaying plant material helps break down organic matter into nutrients that the soil can use.

NEMO

Indoors, the jumpy critters are often found in areas with excess moisture, such as near plumbing leaks or poor drainage systems.

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Fortunately, the arthropods are harmless. They don’t sting, bite, or suck your blood since they are much more interested in chomping up all of that nutritious plant matter.

The post Snow fleas use their tail to jump around the ice appeared first on Popular Science.

Dead star emits perplexing shock wave for 1,000 years

Andrew Paul — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 11:54:00 -0500

A star spends its entire life influencing the cosmos across billions of miles in all directions. In certain circumstances, the surrounding gas and dust plumes will even interact to generate powerful, observable shockwaves. However, once its nuclear fuel is completely expended, a star is often reduced to a dense, inactive core that floats through space with little impact on its surroundings. So when astronomers detected shock waves emanating from a dead stellar object 730 light-years from Earth, they were understandably perplexed.

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“We found something never seen before and, more importantly, entirely unexpected,” explained Simone Scaringi, a researcher at Durham University in the United Kingdom.

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As Scaringi and her team describe in a study published today in the journal Nature Astronomy, they first noticed curious signals from the white dwarf RXJ0528+2838 while analyzing images taken by Spain’s Isaac Newton Telescope. A white dwarf is what remains after the death of a low-mass star, and sometimes exists in a binary system with another stellar object. In this case, RXJ0528+2838 is orbited by a still-living star similar in size to our sun.

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Osprey

In such cases, material from the active star is usually siphoned to the white dwarf to form a disk of debris around it. Some of this energy is then also hurled into space in what are known as outflows. But RXJ0528+2838 doesn’t feature a disk, so the dead star shouldn’t create such a curved, “bow shock” outflow or its resultant nebula—yet it does. What’s more, the white dwarf’s outflow has billowed for at least 1,000 years.

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“Our observations reveal a powerful outflow that, according to our current understanding, shouldn’t be there.” added Krystian Iłkiewicz, a study co-author at Poland’s Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center.

Patagonia

To further investigate the cosmic anomaly, the team used the Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) inside the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope. MUSE helped the researchers construct a detailed map of the bow shock and its composition, which they traced back to RXJ0528+2838 instead of an unrelated dust cloud or nebula.

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The team confirmed that RXJ0528+2838 also possesses a strong magnetic field that allows it to gather material from its companion. While more examinations are needed, they believe it’s this magnetic field that can help explain the dead star’s strange behavior.

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“Our finding shows that even without a disc, these systems can drive powerful outflows, revealing a mechanism we do not yet understand,” said Iłkiewicz, adding that their new study now “challenges the standard picture of how matter moves and interacts in these extreme binary systems.”

Tote packs & hybrids

There are still many unanswered questions about this never-before-seen cosmic relationship. Importantly, the magnetic field Scaringi calls the white dwarf’s “mystery engine” doesn’t seem strong enough to generate the observed bow shock. Instead, the current field should power an outflow that only lasts a few hundred years. But with additional investigation, the astronomers hope to one day solve the discovery that no one saw coming.

Osprey

“The surprise that a supposedly quiet, discless system could drive such a spectacular nebula was one of those rare ‘wow’ moments,” said Scaringi.

The post Dead star emits perplexing shock wave for 1,000 years appeared first on Popular Science.

A giant-footed bird showed up in a Massachusetts backyard. It didn’t belong there.

Margherita Bassi — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 11:00:00 -0500

A winter storm blew an unexpected visitor from the south into a backyard in New Bedford, Massachusetts—a purple gallinule (Porphyrio martinica). These gorgeously colored birds with shockingly large feet, live in marshes from the southeastern United States through South America. These long-legged avians can walk across lily pads, and they eat seeds, aquatic plants, and small invertebrates like insects and snails.

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Upon seeing this unique bird, an unidentified woman called the New England Wildlife Center in Weymouth, Massachusetts. The organization had never received a purple gallinule before. Priya Patel, wildlife medical director at the wildlife center, tells Popular Science that in Massachusetts, purple gallinules are exceptionally infrequent, with “a few reports of one or two up here in the last 10 years or so.”

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According to the New England Wildlife Center, southern birds sometimes end up in Massachusetts. “During periods of strong storm systems and shifting low pressure these birds can get pushed off course and carried north along the coast,” the center writes.

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The purple gallinule in question, whom the staff did not name to avoid getting attached, arrived at the wildlife center majorly underweight and in a precarious condition. Thankfully, however, the team didn’t find any major injuries in their initial examination and X-rays.

Slings, crossbodies & small carry

While it may seem that the best thing to do upon finding a struggling bird is feeding it as much food as possible, that is a dangerous move. If a starving animal eats a lot of food all at once, it can cause refeeding syndrome—when the stomach draws the limited remaining resources from the most vital organs, like the heart, brain, and lungs, too fast. This could lead to serious consequences, such as heart arrhythmias or brain seizures. This is why, among other reasons, the New England Wildlife Center doesn’t want the public to feed found animals before they have undergone an exam.

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Purple gallinules use their long legs to walk across lily pads. Image: New England Wildlife Center.

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“This is why food must be introduced slowly to the animal so the organs have time to respond,” Patel says. “The best thing to do for these cases is fluid therapy, and rehydrating the patient often by giving injectable fluids.”

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As the purple gallinule’s health improved, they collaborated with partners to decide how to best return the bird to its habitat. On January 8, the purple gallinule landed in South Carolina aboard a small private plane piloted and co-piloted by New England Wildlife Center volunteers, explains Patel. It made the journey with another fellow purple gallinule found in Vermont. After landing, the birds were picked up by Carolina Wildlife Rehabilitation Center volunteers.

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While the team in Massachusetts doesn’t know specifically when the volunteers will release the birds, Patel says that the plan is for the volunteers there to briefly monitor them to make sure they are okay before letting them travel further south.

The post A giant-footed bird showed up in a Massachusetts backyard. It didn’t belong there. appeared first on Popular Science.

How pilots avoid thunderstorms—and what happens when they can’t

Stan Horaczek — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 09:00:00 -0500

In the 2023 movie Plane starring Gerard Butler, a commercial aircraft is caught in a terrible storm. Dark purple thunderclouds suffocate the sky. The plane shakes and the lights go out. Turbulence throws an unbelted passenger across the cabin. Eventually a lightning strike cuts the plane’s power, forcing it to crash land in a warzone, where the movie’s story really begins.

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In reality, plane crashes in thunderstorms are extremely rare—largely because pilots seldom fly into thunderstorms in the first place.

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“You’re never going to intentionally fly into a thunderstorm, because thunderstorms contain the roughest air, as well as other hazards,” says Patrick Smith, an airline captain and writer of the Ask the Pilot blog.

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How pilots track thunderstorms

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Avoiding thunderstorms, Smith explains, involves close collaboration between meteorologists, air traffic control, and the flight crew, both before and during the flight.

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“We receive reports and forecasts before every flight indicating where storms might occur,” he says, referring to detailed satellite mapping provided by meteorologists. “But if you’re on a 12-hour flight, the information you have at the beginning is only so valuable. What you’re really relying on are the real-time tools.”

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Part of the job of Smith and other pilots is to constantly monitor the plane’s onboard radar and Weather Avoidance System (WAS), which show “where storms are, how high they are, how fast they’re moving, the direction they’re moving and so on,” he says.

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“[The radar] sends a signal out from the airplane and it bounces off the water in the clouds and comes back,” former pilot Tom Bunn explains. “The more water, the more intense the thunderstorm.”

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Another key source of information comes from other pilots

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“There might be 20, 30, 40 airplanes that [air traffic] control is watching at a certain altitude range,” Bunn says. “Everybody’s on the same frequency, you can hear each other. If you have turbulence, you’re supposed to announce it.”

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This combination of radar and information-sharing allows pilots to track storms and rough air up to a couple of hundred miles ahead. They can then ask air traffic control for a change of altitude to avoid turbulence, or a change of route to bypass a storm. Most airlines recommend that pilots keep a minimum of 10 to 20 miles distance from thunderstorms, depending on their severity.

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“You see with your radar, it’s color-coded,” Bunn says. “The green is the edge of the thunderstorm, that’s bumpy, but it’s not severe. The yellow would be pretty severe and then there’s red. You just want to stay out of that.”

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Advanced weather radars in planes show pilots what parts of a storm to avoid. Video: Amazing Lighting show – How MASSIVE thunderstorms look on airliner radar scope!/ DIY with Michael Borders

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How planes fly through storms

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When flying through scattered thunderstorms, pilots may sometimes choose to chart a course through the gaps between the storms, rather than deviate too far from their planned path. In these conditions, the 20-mile distance guideline can provide an important buffer against unpredictable shifts in the weather.

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“It can change very quickly and you can be in an area where a storm moves or morphs a certain way where that amount of clearance is impossible,” Smith says. “You won’t fly into the heart of the storm, but you may be skirting the edge of it from time to time.”

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For the same reason, he says, it is usually not advised to fly over the top of storms—as the unfortunate pilot Brodie Torrance (Gerard Butler) attempts in the movie Plane.

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“Thunderstorms can extend well into what we call the flight levels, upwards of 40 or even 50,000 feet,” he says. Although flying over the top of a thunderstorm can be smooth and safe, they can billow up quickly, making it safer to go around them than above them.

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Despite such strenuous efforts at avoidance, both Smith and Bunn agree that flying into a thunderstorm is rarely as perilous as the movies might suggest—although it could make for an uncomfortable ride.

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600-year-old Viking shipwreck is the largest of its kind

Cat Rainsford — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 16:32:00 -0500

“Probably the worst thing that can happen is you get hailstones, they make little tiny dents on the wing,” Bunn says. “If you dent the edge of the wing, it’s not going to be quite as efficient.” More severe hail can even crack the plane’s windscreen, although the vast majority of hail damage to airplanes is more a financial concern to the plane’s owner than a safety threat to passengers.

Thunderstorms are often also accompanied by heightened turbulence, which can be uncomfortable and frightening for passengers, but rarely unsafe. The pilot’s protocol is simply to set the autopilot to the optimum Turbulence Penetration Speed—calibrated to maintain stability while minimizing aerodynamic stresses—and ride out the bumps.

Why pilots avoid landing in storms

A 3D elevation map showing the remains of Svælget 2. Credit: Viking Ship Museum

The one circumstance in which turbulence can be dangerous is when it occurs close to the ground, which is why pilots are particularly eager to avoid landing during thunderstorms.

“One of the big concerns is windshear,” Smith says. “Windshear is a sudden change in the speed and/or direction of the wind, which can be dangerous to planes at low altitudes.”

Details like Svælget 2’s rigging will help archaeologists better understand how its comparatively small crew controlled such a large ship during its many voyages throughout the region.

He explains that modern aircraft are equipped with windshear avoidance systems, and airports also have alerting systems for the phenomenon. If windshear is detected above the runway, “you may enter a holding pattern somewhere and wait for the weather to improve, or you may divert to an alternate airport.”

“Those decisions are made usually between the pilots and the dispatchers on the ground,” he says. “Ultimately, it’s the captain’s decision, but in practice it’s a collaborative thing.��

And what about the greatest fear of many nervous flyers, a direct lightning strike like the one that takes out the aircraft’s power systems in Plane?

“We have plenty of drawings of castles, but they have never been found because usually only the bottom of the ship survives,” said Uldum. “This time we have the archaeological proof.”

Despite its size, the cog required a relatively small crew to pilot. Credit: Viking Ship Museum

Planes are designed to withstand lightning strikes. Video: Lightning hits plane leaving BC airport/ @globalnews

“It’s not a problem,” Bunn says. “The average plane gets hit, I’m told, twice a year.” The electrical systems of commercial aircraft are designed to withstand these shocks, with backup systems that take over in the rare event of failure.

“It is not comfort in a modern sense, but it is a big step forward compared to Viking Age ships, which had only open decks in all kinds of weather,” Uldum explained.

“It’s like if lightning hits your car, it just follows the skin,” he explains. “Doesn’t do anything to people inside the car. Same with the airplane. If you get hit by lightning, you just have a flash and a loud noise.”

The post How pilots avoid thunderstorms—and what happens when they can’t appeared first on Popular Science.

3D map of Easter Island takes you places visitors aren’t allowed

Andrew Paul — Sun, 11 Jan 2026 15:01:00 -0500

Nestled in the South Pacific Ocean, some 6,000 people live on the most isolated, inhabited island in the world: Rapa Nui. Known to many as Easter Island, a name Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen coined after landing on the island on Easter Sunday 1722, Rapa Nui is roughly double the size of Disney World, or 63.2 square miles. And every year, some 100,000 people visit the remote island to see the famed 13-foot-tall moai statues or Easter Island heads.

“We now know, undeniably, that cogs could be this large—that the ship type could be pushed to this extreme,” said Uldum.

The post 600-year-old Viking shipwreck is the largest of its kind appeared first on Popular Science.

Test your apple farming skills with this free video game

Sarah Durn — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 15:01:00 -0500

As you might expect, visiting the remote island isn’t easy. To combat overtourism to the small island, only a limited number of flights travel to Rapa Nui each week. That means flights can book up quickly, especially during the busy season between December and March. But now, thanks to the work of an intrepid team of geographers and researchers, you can view the impressive moai statues from the comfort of home.

The team, which included faculty from Binghamton University and the State University of New York, just launched the first-ever high-resolution 3D model of Rano Raraku, one of the major quarries on Rapa Nui. The model includes nearly 1,000 carefully rendered moai statues. It also lets viewers explore the Rano Raraku quarry, which is located in a steep volcanic crater that visitors to the island can’t explore due to safety concerns.

“You can see things that you couldn’t actually see on the ground. You can see tops and sides and all kinds of areas that [you] just would never be able to walk to,” said team member and Binghamton University anthropologist Carl Lipo in a statement. Lipo is also the lead author of a new paper on the model and statues published in PLOS One in November 2025.

A sample round during the game Race Against Rot. Credit: University of Vermont

Three-dimensional model of Rano Raraku quarry produced through Structure-from-Motion photogrammetry. This comprehensive digital documentation, derived from 11,686 UAV images, reveals the complex spatial organization of production activities distributed across multiple workshops. areas. Image: Carl Lipo

In addition to providing researchers with a detailed 3D replica of Rano Raraku quarry, Lipo also hopes the model will help more people experience the island.

“We’re documenting something that really has needed to be documented, but in a way that’s really comprehensive and shareable.” So go get busy exploring Rano Raraku! As Lipo said, “the quarry is like the archeological Disneyland.” But one you can now visit from the comforts of home.

The post 3D map of Easter Island takes you places visitors aren’t allowed appeared first on Popular Science.

Ornate medieval ring discovered in Norway’s oldest town

Andrew Paul — Sun, 11 Jan 2026 13:30:00 -0500

Last summer, Linda Åsheim found a ring so beautiful it looks like it could have been made yesterday. But Åsheim is an archaeologist, and she found the rare artifact while excavating in a Norwegian town believed to be the oldest in the country. The gorgeous golden ring is decorated with a gemstone and filigree décor—and is over 800 years old.

“We found that there was a very, very strong commitment to a value structure around community nourishment,” principal project investigator Amy Trubek explained in a recent university profile.

“When I first saw the ring when I was digging, I couldn’t believe that it was gold, but it immediately had the shine that gold has even if it has been in the ground for hundreds of years,” Åsheim, who works at the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage, tells Popular Science.

She unearthed it while on a dig in Tønsberg, a town in southeastern Norway dating back to about 871 CE.

“I was the only archaeologist out on the dig that day, so there wasn’t anybody to confer with,” she explains “I was a bit uncertain if it was a genuine medieval ring, but the more I looked at it, the more certain I became.”

Archeologist Linda Åsheim found the ring in a town believed to be the oldest in Norway. Image: Johanne Torheim, NIKU.

While it’s difficult to understand the ring’s age from its decoration, the layer that Åsheim found the artifact in is directly beneath one that dates back to 1167-1269 CE, according to radiocarbon dating.. As such, the ring must be older than that date range. If the layer above that of the ring had had any “disruptions,” the question of the ring’s age might have been uncertain, Åsheim explains.

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“The ring is quite little in size, and is a ring worn by a woman of high social status,” she continues. “Rings of this type [are] not at all common, so it is natural to assume it had to be a person of some wealth that owned it.”

“The public really cares about community well-being and the success and livelihoods of farmers. That’s great news,” added Hricko.

The post Test your apple farming skills with this free video game appeared first on Popular Science.

Snow fleas use their tail to jump around the ice

Margherita Bassi — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 14:05:00 -0500

The ring’s discovery is important because it sheds major light on early Tønsberg’s social structure, Åsheim adds. While researchers presume that the wealthy class stayed elsewhere, the ring indicates that they also frequented the region of the excavation. Archeologists believe that this region is where commoners such as tradesmen lived. Åsheim says it is also possible that someone from the upper class was “just passing through.”

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Because the ring may have been imported, it could also provide insight into ties with Europe . Researchers are unsure if the jewelry’s stone is colored glass or a sapphire, so Åsheim and her team will continue investigating the ring’s ocean-colored centerpiece.

The post Ornate medieval ring discovered in Norway’s oldest town appeared first on Popular Science.

Nature could take over an abandoned NYC surprisingly quickly

Laura Baisas — Sun, 11 Jan 2026 11:02:00 -0500

New York City is one of the noisiest cities in the world. With a population of eight and a half million people, the city is a nonstop symphony of car honks, yelling, and ambulance sirens.

Now, imagine if all that noise and all those people suddenly disappeared overnight. Just how quickly would nature move into abandoned apartments? Well in a new episode of Popular Science’s Ask Us Anything podcast, we explore just that. We even talk to special guest Les Stroud, the multi-award winning film producer of over 130 documentaries, including the beloved series Survivorman.

Ask Us Anything answers your most outlandish, mind-burning questions—from the everyday things you’ve always wondered to the bizarre things you never thought to ask. So, yes, there’s a reason cats love boxes and no, hot workout classes usually aren’t better. If you have a question for us, send us a note. Nothing is too silly or simple.

Indoors, the jumpy critters are often found in areas with excess moisture, such as near plumbing leaks or poor drainage systems.

This episode is based on the Popular Science article “In a world without people, how fast would NYC fall apart? Here’s the timeline.”

Fortunately, the arthropods are harmless. They don’t sting, bite, or suck your blood since they are much more interested in chomping up all of that nutritious plant matter.

The post Snow fleas use their tail to jump around the ice appeared first on Popular Science.

Dead star emits perplexing shock wave for 1,000 years

Andrew Paul — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 11:54:00 -0500

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“We found something never seen before and, more importantly, entirely unexpected,” explained Simone Scaringi, a researcher at Durham University in the United Kingdom.

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Full Episode Transcript

Sarah Durn: Imagine the ceaseless cacophony of New York City suddenly stopped. No sirens wailed, no cars zoomed. No subways rumbled beneath sidewalks, all because the eight and a half million New Yorkers have disappeared overnight. Now imagine what would happen next. If no one’s around to sweep the sidewalks weed Central Park or turn the power grid on, nature would move in and quick.

Dandelions would spring up from asphalt cracks. Raccoons would move into abandoned apartments. Sidewalk trees would outgrow their planters, but just how swiftly would the city return to a natural state? We talk to architects and urban ecologists to map out a potential timeline.

Welcome to Ask Us Anything from the editors of Popular Science, where we answer your questions about our weird world from what is going on when you shiver to how do snakes actually move? No question is too zany or humdrum. I’m Sarah Durn, an editor at Popular Science.

Annie Colbert: And I’m Annie Colbert, editor-in-chief at Popular Science.

SD: We thrive on curiosity here at Popular Science. The stranger, the question, the more we need to answer it.

AC: And this week our curiosity has led us to the somewhat bleak but fascinating question of what would happen if people suddenly abandoned New York City.

SD: And just how quickly would nature move in.

“The surprise that a supposedly quiet, discless system could drive such a spectacular nebula was one of those rare ‘wow’ moments,” said Scaringi.

The post Dead star emits perplexing shock wave for 1,000 years appeared first on Popular Science.

A giant-footed bird showed up in a Massachusetts backyard. It didn’t belong there.

Margherita Bassi — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 11:00:00 -0500

AC: As a perpetually paranoid New Yorker, I must know.

SD: Yeah. Honestly, I was surprised just how quickly nature would move in. First things first, the power goes out. New York City goes instantaneously dark. Within a year, you’d start to see pretty major building deterioration. Single pane windows on brownstones and family homes would crack. And once windows break, moisture seeps in, and then pretty soon plants and animals follow.

After a hundred years without maintenance, the city’s most iconic landmarks, like the Empire State Building or One World Trade Center, would collapse entirely.

AC: Yikes.

SD: All in all, New York City would probably fare worse than the pyramids of ancient Egypt. Many modern skyscrapers and buildings just aren’t designed to last centuries, at least not without continual upkeep.

AC: That’s humbling.

Purple gallinules use their long legs to walk across lily pads. Image: New England Wildlife Center.

SD: Yeah, right. If New York was abandoned, our ancestors might not even know that it was one of the largest cities in the world.

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AC: Broadway, Times Square, pizza rats… all just lost to history. Well, before we dive deep into all the details, we wanna know what questions are keeping you curious.

If there’s something you’ve always wondered, submit your questions through popsci.com/ask. We might even feature it in a future episode.

The post A giant-footed bird showed up in a Massachusetts backyard. It didn’t belong there. appeared first on Popular Science.

How pilots avoid thunderstorms—and what happens when they can’t

Cat Rainsford — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 09:00:00 -0500

SD: Give us your weirdest or simplest ideas.

In reality, plane crashes in thunderstorms are extremely rare—largely because pilots seldom fly into thunderstorms in the first place.

AC: Yeah, we’re not picky, just curious. Up next, we’re gonna get into all the nitty gritty details of just how quickly New York City would fall apart without humans.

SD: From which would collapse first, the Empire State Building or One World Trade Center to which animals would be the first to move in. That’s coming up next after this quick break.

How pilots track thunderstorms

AC: Welcome back! So Sarah, this story is actually something you pitched me last year. So I live in Brooklyn and I used to live in Manhattan, and I don’t know, there’s something kind of peaceful about imagining a city without all of its noise. Like one of my favorite times in New York is when everyone leaves.

Avoiding thunderstorms, Smith explains, involves close collaboration between meteorologists, air traffic control, and the flight crew, both before and during the flight.

Like there’s certain parts of summer where the city is just a little bit quieter. But just a little bit. So I imagine without any people, that would seem peaceful at first, but then also kind of sad and scary and strange and all of the unsettling things.

SD: Yeah, no, definitely.

AC: And, it’s probably kind of inevitable, right? Many cities get abandoned at some point. There’s plenty of real world examples of this.

SD: Oh yeah? Do tell.

Another key source of information comes from other pilots

AC: All right. Well, you know, I love a little history detour on this podcast, and a classic example of this is Pripyat in Ukraine. The city, which had a population of about 50,000 was evacuated in 1986 after the Chernobyl disaster.

Within a few years, trees and shrubs were growing through the streets and buildings, wolves and wild boars started roaming the empty city. It was eerie, but also wild, like nature was there to reclaim what humans had abandoned, even when there were high radioactive levels.

SD: Oh yeah, I’ve seen the photos. It’s very, very, very eerie.

AC: Extremely. And then let’s go back a little bit further into history. There’s the Native American metropolis of Cahokia, which was located near modern day St. Louis. At its peak around the year 1000, it was home to 12,000 people. And it was equal in complexity to contemporary European cities like a London.

SD: Whoa.

Advanced weather radars in planes show pilots what parts of a storm to avoid. Video: Amazing Lighting show – How MASSIVE thunderstorms look on airliner radar scope!/ DIY with Michael Borders

AC: But then by the end of the 1300s, as the climate cooled in the Little Ice Age, the city was abandoned.

How planes fly through storms

SD: Yeah. So those examples, they kind of give us a trailer of what could happen in New York City.

AC: Right? But New York is like a whole different movie, right? It’s bigger, it’s denser, it has more infrastructure. It’s gonna unfold in its own very specific, dramatic way.

SD: So let’s start at the very beginning. Imagine the city is empty. Eight and a half million people gone overnight.

For the same reason, he says, it is usually not advised to fly over the top of storms—as the unfortunate pilot Brodie Torrance (Gerard Butler) attempts in the movie Plane.

AC: Silent streets empty subways.

SD: Right? Peaceful. Manhattan peaceful. And for the purposes of today’s episode, we aren’t going to get into how this might happen or what could have caused everyone to evacuate.

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AC: Needless to say, it’s probably something bad.

SD: Yeah, no, definitely probably something bad.

AC: That’s a segue. So Sarah, what’s the first thing to go?

SD: So, probably the power without anyone monitoring or repairing the grid. Midtown goes dark in just a few days. Without light pollution, the Milky Way would shine over Manhattan

Why pilots avoid landing in storms

AC: Living off a very bright road, I truly cannot imagine. It sounds incredible.

The one circumstance in which turbulence can be dangerous is when it occurs close to the ground, which is why pilots are particularly eager to avoid landing during thunderstorms.

SD: Yeah, no, exactly. And once the lights go out, temperatures inside buildings start to fluctuate wildly. No air conditioning, no heat. Architect Jana Horvat, who I interviewed for the story, told me that mold would start to form inside apartments within a week.

“One of the big concerns is windshear,” Smith says. “Windshear is a sudden change in the speed and/or direction of the wind, which can be dangerous to planes at low altitudes.”

AC: Oh, that’s gross. But also kind of fascinating.

SD: I know. The subways would also fill with water pretty quickly. Every day pumps remove 13 million gallons of water from underground train lines. Without them, the subway tunnels flood. Rats, cockroaches, pigeons, opossums, they’re first to move in near the stairs and platforms.

“Those decisions are made usually between the pilots and the dispatchers on the ground,” he says. “Ultimately, it’s the captain’s decision, but in practice it’s a collaborative thing.”

Plants like mosses, grasses, and hardy weeds would need a little more time to grow, but soon enough, at least where there’s light within the subway tunnels, it would pretty quickly start looking like a wetland.

And what about the greatest fear of many nervous flyers, a direct lightning strike like the one that takes out the aircraft’s power systems in Plane?

AC: Cool. Like little underground jungles.

Planes are designed to withstand lightning strikes. Video: Lightning hits plane leaving BC airport/ @globalnews

SD: Yeah, right. Moving forward in the timeline, all of New York City’s glass buildings would be in trouble. The glass on brownstones and older apartments, like we mentioned earlier, those would crack first, and then the reinforced glass on fancy skyscrapers would crack.

AC: Mm.

SD: And once that happens, water gets in. Apartments turn into humid hot houses. Warm, wet, moldy, perfect for mosquitoes. Water, snakes, fungus, rushes. It’s like a wetland on the second, or you know, 22nd floor.

The post How pilots avoid thunderstorms—and what happens when they can’t appeared first on Popular Science.

3D map of Easter Island takes you places visitors aren’t allowed

Sarah Durn — Sun, 11 Jan 2026 15:01:00 -0500

AC: That sounds creepy. Eerie. Sounds a little bit like The Last Of Us.

SD: Oh my god, love The Last Of Us. Also gave me nightmares for months.

AC: Yes, absolutely.

SD: And after a few years, the streets would be in bad shape too. Especially without maintenance. Asphalt cracks form from freeze thaw cycles, so after a few winters, you’d have pretty major cracks in the asphalt, as well as starting to have cracks in cement. Water would then settle in those cracks. Moss would grow first, but eventually young trees, especially London planetrees, which are the most common trees in the city, actually would start to sprout from the asphalt.

The same process would happen even more quickly in New York City Parks. Central Park would be unrecognizable in five years.

In addition to providing researchers with a detailed 3D replica of Rano Raraku quarry, Lipo also hopes the model will help more people experience the island.

AC: Like a full on forest?

The post 3D map of Easter Island takes you places visitors aren’t allowed appeared first on Popular Science.

Ornate medieval ring discovered in Norway’s oldest town

Margherita Bassi — Sun, 11 Jan 2026 13:30:00 -0500

SD: A young forest, but yeah. And then after 50 years, a totally new ecosystem emerges. As Peter Del Tredici, one of the sources I had, calls it “a novel ecosystem.”

It won’t look like anything humans have ever seen. Crab apple trees, London planetrees, honey locusts, pines, oaks, Norway maples would all start filling the city. Poison ivy and nightshade vines would creep up buildings. Moss would cover skyscrapers.

She unearthed it while on a dig in Tønsberg, a town in southeastern Norway dating back to about 871 CE.

AC: And I’m almost scared to ask, but the animals?

SD: Oh yeah. I mean, there’d be plenty.

Archeologist Linda Åsheim found the ring in a town believed to be the oldest in Norway. Image: Johanne Torheim, NIKU.

AC: Oh, okay.

SD: Deer, rabbits, groundhogs, wild turkeys, they’d all start moving in. Predators would then follow, you know, their prey. You’d have copperhead snakes, even black bears, and bobcats. Birds would move in pretty quickly. They would start nesting in hollowed out buildings. You’d have peregrine falcons and bald eagles and red-tailed hawks and great horned owls.

AC: So it’s like a zoo, but with skyscrapers.

SD: Yeah. I mean like, just nature. But yeah, there’s lots of animals.

The post Ornate medieval ring discovered in Norway’s oldest town appeared first on Popular Science.

Nature could take over an abandoned NYC surprisingly quickly

Popular Science Team — Sun, 11 Jan 2026 11:02:00 -0500

New York City is one of the noisiest cities in the world. With a population of eight and a half million people, the city is a nonstop symphony of car honks, yelling, and ambulance sirens.

AC: Nice.

SD: And eventually even the city’s skyscrapers would fail. Annie, what do you think would last Longer? Newer skyscrapers, like Hudson Yards or older skyscrapers, like the Empire State Building.

AC: Ooh, a quiz! Pop quiz. Um, I’m gonna go with the newer ones, right? More building regulations, fancier building materials, all that.

SD: Yes, yes. It’s an excellent guess. But the newest high rises, like 10 Hudson Yards, 111 West 57th Street, they would actually collapse first.

AC: Ah, wrong.

This episode is based on the Popular Science article “In a world without people, how fast would NYC fall apart? Here’s the timeline.”

SD: So yeah, with those newer skyscrapers, once their reinforced glass facades crack, water would seep in and eventually corrode the steel beams that keep newer skyscrapers upright.

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AC: Oh, so what about the older skyscrapers?

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SD: Yeah, older ones, like the Empire Step building or Chrysler Building, would actually last longer thanks to thick masonry and overbuilt steel frames. Basically when they were first building skyscrapers, they over-engineered them so that they were even stronger than they needed to be.

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AC: Gotcha.

Full Episode Transcript

SD: So they’re sort of reinforced. At the end of the day, you’re looking at 10 Hudson Yards might last a century without upkeep and the Empire State Building would maybe last 150 years potentially. But eventually everything’s coming down.

AC: Gotcha. So what replaces them?

SD: A forest.

AC: Hmm.

Annie Colbert: And I’m Annie Colbert, editor-in-chief at Popular Science.

SD: After a century, you could have trees over a hundred feet tall. Soil regenerates, concrete dissolves. The Hudson and East River parks become wetlands teeming with egrets and turtles and eels, beavers, muskrats.

SD: We thrive on curiosity here at Popular Science. The stranger, the question, the more we need to answer it.

AC: Wow. But yet, even with all of that rewilding, some human traces survive. Tell me it survives a little bit, right?

AC: And this week our curiosity has led us to the somewhat bleak but fascinating question of what would happen if people suddenly abandoned New York City.

SD: They will.

SD: And just how quickly would nature move in.

AC: Okay.

AC: As a perpetually paranoid New Yorker, I must know.

SD: Yeah. No, they will. There will be things for archeologists to discover if there’s still archeologists in this weird future we are imagining. You’d have rusted steel beams of skyscrapers that would stick around for a couple hundred years.

The stones and bricks from townhouses and older skyscrapers like the Empire State Building would make big rubble piles for future archeologists to decode. The New York Public library’s cracked marble lions might last a thousand years or more.

After a hundred years without maintenance, the city’s most iconic landmarks, like the Empire State Building or One World Trade Center, would collapse entirely.

AC: So, you know, it’s really fascinating to visualize the ruins of New York City.

AC: Yikes.

Yeah. To kind of like think about it in your mind of what would this look like. I think we all have, you know, visions of TV shows or movies, but realistically, humans probably wouldn’t disappear all at once, right?

SD: Yeah. Right. If we look at history, most cities get abandoned slowly over time.

AC: That’s humbling.

AC: Yeah.

SD: Yeah, right. If New York was abandoned, our ancestors might not even know that it was one of the largest cities in the world.

All of this makes you think, though, what do we need to do to survive? Can we survive? Like are there any basic techniques we should all know?

AC: Broadway, Times Square, pizza rats… all just lost to history. Well, before we dive deep into all the details, we wanna know what questions are keeping you curious.

SD: Yeah. Well, Annie, lucky you ask because I actually spoke to the Survivorman, about just that.

If there’s something you’ve always wondered, submit your questions through popsci.com/ask. We might even feature it in a future episode.

AC: Yes, the Discovery Channel Survivorman?

SD: Give us your weirdest or simplest ideas.

SD: Uhhuh. Yeah. We’re just gonna take a quick break and then I’ll be back with Les Stroud!

AC: Yeah, we’re not picky, just curious. Up next, we’re gonna get into all the nitty gritty details of just how quickly New York City would fall apart without humans.

And we’re back with Les Stroud. Les is often credited as the creator of the survival TV genre through his groundbreaking, much beloved survival series Survivorman. Les is a multi-award winning film producer with over 130 documentaries to his name, an author of four bestselling and award-winning books, and is even a celebrated and award-winning singer songwriter.

SD: From which would collapse first, the Empire State Building or One World Trade Center to which animals would be the first to move in. That’s coming up next after this quick break.

Les say, you’re in New York City, everyone disappeared. What would it take to survive in an abandoned New York City?

Les Stroud: Ah, see, that’s one of my favorite questions. For one thing, let’s remember, we’re gonna want to help our fellow neighbor. We’re not all going to be, “It’s me or die.” You know, that’s Hollywood. You know, if, if Sarah, you and your family came to me and I had supplies or goods, I’m going to want to help you.

I’m not gonna be like, “Go away.” You know, that stuff is silly. So the reality of how you survive something like this is number one, is to remember that you’re not going to all of a sudden overnight become cold hearted. Yes, you’re gonna be protecting your family with your life, but you’re not gonna become cold hearted to other people who need help.

SD: Yeah, no, definitely.

So that’s, that’s a big one. And so when I look at city survival after it hits the fan, regardless of what “it” is, with maybe the exception of nuclear fallout, and you’re stuck in New York City, then you need to think about all of the resources that are available. And it is astonishing how many resources will be available.

AC: And, it’s probably kind of inevitable, right? Many cities get abandoned at some point. There’s plenty of real world examples of this.

And yes, it will look like a Hollywood movie set. There’ll be garbage everywhere, and there’ll be dilapidation and things will be falling into ruin and so forth. But nonetheless, there’s supplies everywhere and knowing where those supplies are, that I think a lot of people think, because I’m Survivorman, that it’s always gonna be about, you know, making a bow and arrow and going out into the Central Park and hunting deer.

SD: Oh yeah? Do tell.

It’s like, that’s silly. What I’m going to do is I’m going to go and figure out where all the industrial buildings are and what supplies they have because they’re abandoned. I’m going to assume at this point it’s more about where can I find the things I need to get to the next day or even make it for the next few months. And you have, in some ways anyway, there’s, I don’t wanna say ample supply, but a lot of opportunity.

SD: Yeah. Do you think, just to widen this out a little bit, do you think people should have a survival go bag with essentials?

Les Stroud: No.

SD: Oh yeah, I’ve seen the photos. It’s very, very, very eerie.

SD: Why?

Les Stroud: I’d love to just leave that right there. Survivorman says “no,” and people freak out.

SD: Whoa.

I think that is one of the kitchiest things, you know? It’s like, “oh, I got my go bag.” I think better that you have the knowledge of where everything is in your house and the ability to pack something together quickly, put it in the trunk and go. You know it, it’s all about the situation and the variables.

AC: But then by the end of the 1300s, as the climate cooled in the Little Ice Age, the city was abandoned.

SD: Yeah.

SD: Yeah. So those examples, they kind of give us a trailer of what could happen in New York City.

Les Stroud: But this concept of “I’ve got my go bag, I’m set for the apocalypse.” It’s like, nah, no you’re not, you know, let alone having the strong skillsets of organization. Of survival methods and techniques, fire starting, water acquisition, food gathering. I can’t give you a perfect, in great shape, expensive compound bow and say, now go get us a deer.

AC: Right? But New York is like a whole different movie, right? It’s bigger, it’s denser, it has more infrastructure. It’s gonna unfold in its own very specific, dramatic way.

It’s not going to happen. Right? So those things are Hollywood. What’s gonna happen is we’re all gonna be scared and you’re going to be pulling from everything that you’ve got in your cupboards. So if you’ve got a larger supply, that is good. I don’t wanna talk that down too much, but it’s also overplayed.

SD: So let’s start at the very beginning. Imagine the city is empty. Eight and a half million people gone overnight.

SD: Yeah. Okay. What are basic survival techniques you think everyone should know?

AC: Silent streets empty subways.

Les Stroud: As I said, number one: the ability to get a fire going anywhere, anytime, in any weather, using varying supplies, possibly without a match or a lighter. Number two: in a wilderness situation I would say the next one is knowing how to, how to signal people.

SD: Right? Peaceful. Manhattan peaceful. And for the purposes of today’s episode, we aren’t going to get into how this might happen or what could have caused everyone to evacuate.

SD: Hmm.

AC: Needless to say, it’s probably something bad.

Les Stroud: How to signal for rescue. But if that’s not needed and everybody knows what’s going on, then I, I think number two for me would be a skillset about knowing how to organize for movement. I’ve seen people try to go somewhere quickly, you know, with paper bags of groceries, it’s not gonna work. You know, a great way to know how to do that is to go backpacking.

SD: Yeah, no, definitely probably something bad.

You learn really quickly how to travel over land on foot with a heavy pack. That organizational skill is incredibly helpful. First aid, you know, having a skillset of knowing how to treat and be conscientious of that, which is going to lead into, of course, knowing how to procure water and then eventually food.

AC: That’s a segue. So Sarah, what’s the first thing to go?

But, so there you go. That’s where it starts. The top fire. The ability to move and know how to logistically handle that. Medical skill sets, procuring water and shelter, those are vital. Without those, you’re, you’re really stuck.

SD: So, probably the power without anyone monitoring or repairing the grid. Midtown goes dark in just a few days. Without light pollution, the Milky Way would shine over Manhattan

SD: Yeah. Yeah. For sure. Well, thank you so much, Les.

AC: Living off a very bright road, I truly cannot imagine. It sounds incredible.

Les Stroud: Okay, well that’s great. Well, thanks so much guys for reaching out to me for this.

SD: Bye. This was fun. Thank you, Les.

AC: Oh, that’s gross. But also kind of fascinating.

AC: Oh wow. Les is such a cool guy, but I’m gonna admit now I’m kind of nervous if I would survive New York City.

SD: Yeah, I don’t know how I would get out. It’s a good thing I don’t live there. Sorry, Annie.

AC: It’s not good.

AC: Cool. Like little underground jungles.

SD: Oh, I know. He was so cool. It was so wild to talk to him after watching him on SurvivorMan growing up.

AC: Yes, absolutely also loved that show.

AC: Mm.

SD: Oh, it’s so good. And that’s it for this episode. Please follow or subscribe to Ask Us Anything by Popular Science wherever you enjoy your podcasts. And if you like our show, leave a reading and a review.

AC: We care what you think. Please tell us. Our theme music is from Kenneth Michael Reagan, and our producer is Alan Haburchak.

AC: That sounds creepy. Eerie. Sounds a little bit like The Last Of Us.

SD: This week’s episode was also produced by me, Sarah Durn, and is based on an article I wrote for Popular Science.

SD: Oh my god, love The Last Of Us. Also gave me nightmares for months.

AC: Please check out Sarah’s full story in the show notes.

AC: Yes, absolutely.

SD: And thanks to our whole podcast team and special thanks to you all.

AC: And one more time. If you want to have your own question explained on a future episode, go to popsci.com/ask. Until next time, keep the questions coming. And good luck surviving.

The same process would happen even more quickly in New York City Parks. Central Park would be unrecognizable in five years.

SD: Yeah, hopefully this helps.

AC: Like a full on forest?

The post Nature could take over an abandoned NYC surprisingly quickly appeared first on Popular Science.

17 clever Apple Notes tips you might not know

David Nield — Sat, 10 Jan 2026 13:00:00 -0500

Apple Notes is available to you if you buy an iPhone, iPad, or Mac computer—oh, and it’s available on the web too. Introduced with the first iPhone back in 2007, Notes is now one of the most ubiquitous apps. And over the years, it’s added more and more features to its basic note-taking structure.

SD: A young forest, but yeah. And then after 50 years, a totally new ecosystem emerges. As Peter Del Tredici, one of the sources I had, calls it “a novel ecosystem.”

Even if you use Apple Notes every day to make lists, keep on top of your to-dos, or jot down random thoughts, you may not be aware of everything Notes can do for you. It’s an incredibly capable and versatile app, despite its unassuming interface, and you should find at least some of these tips useful.

1. Collaborate on notes

AC: And I’m almost scared to ask, but the animals?

You can collaborate on notes with other people, via iCloud, which is handy for families and work teams. From inside a note, tap the share button (the arrow and square), select Collaborate at the top of the next screen, and you’ll get a link you can send to others.

SD: Oh yeah. I mean, there’d be plenty.

2. Attach tags to notes

AC: Oh, okay.

Tagging is a really effective way of organizing your notes: All you need to do is add the tag with a hashtag (like “#work”) anywhere in the note. You’ll see a list of used tags on the main notes screen, and you can then tap on any hashtag to jump to the matching notes.

3. Add lines and grids

AC: So it’s like a zoo, but with skyscrapers.

You can add lines and grids to every note. Screenshot: Apple

SD: Yeah. I mean like, just nature. But yeah, there’s lots of animals.

If you’re using one of the drawing tools to scribble inside a note—whether it’s sketching or handwriting—lines and grids can be helpful guides. You can drop these into any note when it’s open by tapping the three dots (top right), then choosing Lines & Grids from the menu.

AC: Nice.

4. Drop tables into your notes

SD: And eventually even the city’s skyscrapers would fail. Annie, what do you think would last Longer? Newer skyscrapers, like Hudson Yards or older skyscrapers, like the Empire State Building.

Tables can be a really useful way of getting a note organised. When you’re in text editing mode inside a note, tap the table icon on the toolbar (it looks like four rectangles) to add one in. Tap the handles around the table to add and remove columns and rows as needed.

AC: Ooh, a quiz! Pop quiz. Um, I’m gonna go with the newer ones, right? More building regulations, fancier building materials, all that.

5. Quickly get to attachments

SD: Yes, yes. It’s an excellent guess. But the newest high rises, like 10 Hudson Yards, 111 West 57th Street, they would actually collapse first.

You can attach all sorts to your notes now, including photos, files, and web links. To quickly get to your attachments from the main list of notes, tap the three dots (top right), then pick View Attachments—it can save you a lot of time searching and scrolling.

AC: Ah, wrong.

6. Change the layout

SD: So yeah, with those newer skyscrapers, once their reinforced glass facades crack, water would seep in and eventually corrode the steel beams that keep newer skyscrapers upright.

The default notes layout can be changed. Screenshot: Apple

AC: Oh, so what about the older skyscrapers?

New notes will start with a larger, bold heading by default, but you don’t have to stick with this if you don’t want to. From the main iOS Settings screen, choose Apps then Notes, then New Notes Start With: The available options are Title, Heading, Subheading, and Body.

7. Proofread notes with AI

AC: Gotcha.

Apple Intelligence is now available in Notes, if you need it: From inside a note, tap the Apple Intelligence button on the toolbar (it looks like a pen inside a star shape), then choose Proofread to have the AI check spelling, grammar, and sentence structure.

8. Solve equations

AC: Gotcha. So what replaces them?

Notes can solve basic equations and sums for you, like a calculator app or spreadsheet: You don’t need to do anything special to enable this, just write out your calculations followed by an equals sign. You can also do conversions, like “8 centimeters in inches =”.

SD: A forest.

9. Link notes together

AC: Hmm.

Notes can contain links to other notes. Screenshot: Apple

You can link notes together, Wikipedia style, if you need to. Select some text in a note where you want to create the link, then choose Add Link from the pop-up menu (scroll right if you need to). Next, type the name of the note to create a link to, then select it.

AC: Wow. But yet, even with all of that rewilding, some human traces survive. Tell me it survives a little bit, right?

10. Add scans to notes

SD: They will.

It’s possible to scan all sorts into your notes, if you need to. From inside a note, tap the three dots in the top right corner, then pick Scan and point your camera at whatever it is you want scanning (from documents to artwork). You can annotate your scans too.

AC: Okay.

11. Put your notes into subfolders

Notes supports folders, so you don’t have to have everything in one big bucket. From the main notes screen, tap the back arrow (top left) to see your folders and create new ones (via the new folder icon, top right). You can also make subfolders via the Edit button.

12. Create smart folders

AC: So, you know, it’s really fascinating to visualize the ruins of New York City.

Use smart folders to keep your notes organized. Screenshot: Apple

Smart folders are really handy. Whenever you create a new folder, you have the option to make it a smart folder, then it can be auto-populated using a range of different criteria: Specific tags, what it has inside it, when it was last edited, whether it’s locked, and more.

SD: Yeah. Right. If we look at history, most cities get abandoned slowly over time.

13. Switch to gallery view

AC: Yeah.

You don’t have to settle for the default list view for your notes: On the screen showing all your notes, tap the three dots in the top right corner, then pick View as Gallery from the pop-up menu. Your notes then show as thumbnails, in reverse chronological order.

All of this makes you think, though, what do we need to do to survive? Can we survive? Like are there any basic techniques we should all know?

14. Record voice notes

SD: Yeah. Well, Annie, lucky you ask because I actually spoke to the Survivorman, about just that.

Your notes can have voice clips attached, making this a handy if basic way of keeping audio recordings organized. To add a voice clip, tap the paperclip icon on the floating toolbar, then pick Record Audio. Tap the red record button, and you can start speaking.

AC: Yes, the Discovery Channel Survivorman?

15. Highlight text in a note

SD: Uhhuh. Yeah. We’re just gonna take a quick break and then I’ll be back with Les Stroud!

Text inside notes can be highlighted in a variety of colors. Screenshot: Apple

Highlighting can help certain blocks of text stand out. Highlight any text in a note with a double tap, then tap the pen icon on the floating toolbar to highlight it. Tap the pen again and you can pick from five highlighter colors: Purple, Pink, Orange, Mint, and Blue.

Les say, you’re in New York City, everyone disappeared. What would it take to survive in an abandoned New York City?

16. Make quick notes from anywhere

It’s possible to make a ‘quick note’ from anywhere on iOS: The quick note link is on the share menu (the arrow and rectangle icon), and you can add it to the Control Center too. Any note you create via the quick note overlay can be found inside the Notes app.

17. Lock a note

If there are specific notes you want to make extra sure are kept private, you can lock them with a passcode, Touch ID, or Face ID (whatever you currently use to lock your iPhone). From inside a note, tap the three dots in the top right corner, then tap the Lock icon.

The post 17 clever Apple Notes tips you might not know appeared first on Popular Science.

2026 is off to a hopeful start for these critically endangered whales

Margherita Bassi — Sat, 10 Jan 2026 10:12:00 -0500

While most of us were feasting on holiday foods over the past few weeks, the New England Aquarium was busy counting North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) mom-calf pairs off the coast of Florida, South Carolina, and Georgia.

“Congrats to all of these North Atlantic right whale moms!” reads a social media post by the aquarium highlighting six recent sightings, including Juno—an over 40-year-old mother with her ninth documented calf spotted on December 27.

Juno (Catalog #1612) and her 2026 calf, sighted on December 27, 2025, approximately 7.8nm east of Wassaw Island, Georgia. Image: Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute, taken under NOAA permit #26919. Funded by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.

SD: Yeah. Do you think, just to widen this out a little bit, do you think people should have a survival go bag with essentials?

On January 8, the count jumped up to 18 calves, according to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. Right whale Catalog #4610 and her first known calf spotted east of West Onslow Beach, North Carolina. While Catalog #4610 has not received an official name yet, she was born in 2016 to mother Swerven.

Les Stroud: No.

North Atlantic Right Whales can reach 140,000 pounds, grow as long as 52 feet, and make it to 70 years-old. They also contribute significantly to the marine ecosystem—their poop brings nutrients up to the ocean’s surface, and their dead bodies ultimately feed other creatures.

SD: Why?

In the fall, some right whales migrate from their northern feeding grounds down to the warmer waters off the United States’ southeast coast for calving season, which lasts from mid-November through mid-April. As of now, the 2025-2026 season has seen 16 new mother and calf pairs.

Les Stroud: I’d love to just leave that right there. Survivorman says “no,” and people freak out.

Binary (Catalog #3010) and her 2026 calf, sighted on December 27, 2025, approximately 6 nautical miles east of Blackbeard Island, Georgia. Image: Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute, taken under NOAA permit #26919. Funded by the United States Army Corps of Engineers

While animal mothers with their babies are always an endearing sight to see, it’s particularly uplifting for North Atlantic right whales, as the species is critically endangered. After noticing increased deaths in the small population of whales, researchers in Canada and the U.S. declared an Unusual Mortality Event (UME) in 2017 that continues to this day. Thankfully, the population has been slowly increasing—2024 saw a 2.1 percent increase from 2023’s estimates. As of October2025, last year was also looking good.

SD: Yeah.

“Yes, we’re seeing increases. They’re small, and we still are seeing injuries to animals from human activities. And so, you know, I say that we’re cautiously optimistic,” Heather Pettis, senior scientist at the New England Aquarium, told Popular Science last year.

Right whale Catalog #3593 and calf sighted January 6, 2026 approximately 13.5 nautical miles off Jacksonville Beach, Florida. Image: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, taken under NOAA permit #26919.

There are currently an estimated 384 North Atlantic right whales left, less than 80 of which are females that are actively reproducing. While they have increased since 2020’s recent low, researchers stress that we have to continue protecting the population to save these whales from extinction.

The post 2026 is off to a hopeful start for these critically endangered whales appeared first on Popular Science.

Why does AI suck at making clocks?

Justin Pot — Sat, 10 Jan 2026 08:00:00 -0500

I can’t stop thinking about the website AI World Clocks. The premise is simple: all the major AI models on the market are asked to code a clock, and you get to see the results. The catch: They’re all beautiful disasters.

SD: Yeah. Okay. What are basic survival techniques you think everyone should know?

The numbers seem to be consistently in the wrong place, and sometimes are outside the clock itself. The hands may or may not be in the correct position, and sometimes are floating off in space outside of the clock. Even the clocks that are pretty good look…off, somehow.

“Telling time is a very human thing, very easy thing for us to do, and something you learn at a very young age,” Brian Moore, the artist behind the site, told me in an interview. “It’s kind of fun and funny to turn the tables—to see something a human could do very easily and a computer cannot.”

SD: Hmm.

I’ve kept this site open throughout the process of writing this article and can confirm: It’s very funny. But why is the AI so bad at this?

Well, one thing to keep in mind is that the site limits all models to around 2000 tokens to generate its clocks, and uses the same prompt for all models. You could, given unlimited computing power and a very specific prompt, get a better clock from an AI system. But the question remains: Why is this so hard for AI systems? The reasons point to the way AI systems work.

AI is bad at telling time

AI isn’t just bad at making clocks; it’s also bad at reading them. A 2025 study by technologist Alek Safar suggests that humans are 89.1 percent accurate at telling the time on analogue clocks while the top-rated AI is only 39.4 percent accurate.

SD: Yeah. Yeah. For sure. Well, thank you so much, Les.

That study only hypothesizes about the reasons this might be, but the potential explanations are all interesting. The first is that there simply aren’t enough pictures of clocks in the datasets for AI models to accurately learn to tell time. Another is that images of clocks are difficult to describe using language accurately, which is something large language models require in order to process them.

Les Stroud: Okay, well that’s great. Well, thanks so much guys for reaching out to me for this.

Another 2025 study conducted by the School of Informatics at the University of Edinburgh also found that all major large language models have trouble understanding the time when shown an image of an analogue clock.

SD: Bye. This was fun. Thank you, Les.

“Our findings suggest that successful temporal reasoning requires a combination of precise visual perception, numerical computation, and structured logical inference that current MLLMs have not yet mastered,” says the study.

AC: Oh wow. Les is such a cool guy, but I’m gonna admit now I’m kind of nervous if I would survive New York City.

As I said, neither of these studies claims to completely know why AI isn’t great at these tasks. There are some interesting factors to consider, though, including the datasets that AI systems use to understand the world.

SD: Yeah, I don’t know how I would get out. It’s a good thing I don’t live there. Sorry, Annie.

Something you need to understand is that large language models, the technology referred to as “AI” in contemporary parlance, don’t really do math. This is counterintuitive, because we’re used to thinking about computers as mathematical machines, but modern AI technology is based more on pattern recognition. Clocks are an interesting example of this at work. The systems, instead of calculating the angles or positioning of the hands to tell the time, are attempting to guess the time based on pattern recognition. Which, come to think of it, isn’t that different from how I personally tell time when looking at a clock—AI systems are just bad at this. And there are some interesting reasons why.

AC: It’s not good.

The 10:10 problem

SD: Oh, I know. He was so cool. It was so wild to talk to him after watching him on SurvivorMan growing up.

Go to your image search tool of choice and type “watch,” then keep track of what time you see on the watch faces. You’ll notice quickly that a majority of the analogue watches are set to ten after ten (10:10).

AC: Yes, absolutely also loved that show.

Why that particular time? Because marketing. Watch and clock sellers have long known that setting a watch to 10:10 makes it more attractive to would-be buyers. A 2017 study published in Frontier in Psychology suggests this might be because the two hands angles resembled a human smile. Another consideration is that, at 10:10, the hands don’t cover the logo, brand name, or any complications like the date. It makes for an attractive photo, basically, and has become standard for watch and clock marketing.

One consequence of this: many of the images of watches and clocks on the internet are set to 10:10. This in turn means a major chunk of the clocks in AI datasets are set to that same time. Ask any AI system to draw you a clock and, most of the time, they’ll set it to 10:10—sometimes even if you ask for a different time. Which is part of how Moore ended up making his website of hilariously bad AI clocks.

AC: We care what you think. Please tell us. Our theme music is from Kenneth Michael Reagan, and our producer is Alan Haburchak.

“I asked an image generator to give me an image of a clock at a particular time, and it definitely could not do that,” he told me. “I’d get a lot of 10:10s, even though I gave it a lot of specific prompting.” Moore isn’t alone here—at least one Reddit user noticed this while trying to generate clocks set to a specific time.

SD: This week’s episode was also produced by me, Sarah Durn, and is based on an article I wrote for Popular Science.

This is just one small rabbit hole about clocks and watches, granted, but it points to something about the data AI systems have access to that can affect their abilities. Another theory that comes up in discussions about this: drawing clocks is a common test for dementia, which in turn means there are some very inaccurate drawings of clocks on the internet.

AC: Please check out Sarah’s full story in the show notes.

The people who make AI systems don’t fully understand how they work, so a lot of this is just guessing. And that’s what makes the AI clock website so fun: it’s a glimpse at how these systems work.

The post Why does AI suck at making clocks? appeared first on Popular Science.

Razer gaming gear is on sale at Amazon right now—keyboards, headsets, mics, and controllers up to 50% off

Popular Science Team — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 16:44:03 -0500

This is the year you stop blaming your lackluster gaming skills on your setup. Right now, Amazon has a solid spread of Razer gear discounted, including compact keyboards, lightweight headsets, streamer-friendly mics, and a couple of legit controllers for console and mobile play. If you want to sanity-check categories before you click, PopSci’s guides to the best mechanical keyboards, best gaming headsets, and the best mics for streaming are a good place to start.

SD: And thanks to our whole podcast team and special thanks to you all.

Editor’s picks

AC: And one more time. If you want to have your own question explained on a future episode, go to popsci.com/ask. Until next time, keep the questions coming. And good luck surviving.

SD: Yeah, hopefully this helps.

For the person who wants cleaner voice chat

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Razer BlackShark V2 Pro Wireless PlayStation Gaming Headset (White) $99

- - - - -

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- - Sound plays a surprisingly large role in competitive game sessions. - -

Razer

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The post Nature could take over an abandoned NYC surprisingly quickly appeared first on Popular Science.

17 clever Apple Notes tips you might not know

David Nield — Sat, 10 Jan 2026 13:00:00 -0500

This headset includes a detachable mic, runs wirelessly via a USB-C dongle, and also supports Bluetooth—handy if you bounce between PS5 and a laptop. Razer claims up to 70 hours of battery life, so you can go a long time before you’re hunting for a charging cable.

1. Collaborate on notes

For the person who keeps running out of mouse room

- -

Razer BlackWidow V4 Mini HyperSpeed Wireless 65% Gaming Keyboard $88

- - - - -

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- - Get maximum performance while using up minimal desk space. - -

Razer

- - Get the best possible controller experience. - -

- - - - See It +

- -

2. Attach tags to notes

A 65% layout saves desk space (and your mouse hand’s sanity). It supports both low-latency wireless and Bluetooth, and the hot-swappable design makes it easy to change how the board feels without buying a whole new keyboard. On paper, it can run up to 200 hours between charges depending on how you use the lighting.

For the person who takes controllers personally

- -

Razer Wolverine V2 Pro Wireless Gaming Controller (Black) $130

- - - - -

- -

Razer

3. Add lines and grids

- - - - See It - -

You can add lines and grids to every note. Screenshot: Apple

If you like extra buttons and quicker inputs, this one brings six remappable controls plus hair-trigger options for shooters. It uses Razer’s HyperSpeed wireless connection and is built for PS5 and PC play, so you can keep the same muscle memory whether you’re on console or your desk setup.

All the Razer deals by category

4. Drop tables into your notes

Keyboard deals

Razer Huntsman V3 Pro Mini 60% Esports Gaming Keyboard (Black) $139.99 (22% off)

5. Quickly get to attachments

Razer Huntsman V3 Pro Mini 60% Esports Gaming Keyboard (White) $136.99 (24% off)

Razer BlackWidow V4 Mini HyperSpeed Wireless 65% Gaming Keyboard $87.99 (32% off)

6. Change the layout

PC and multi-platform headset deals

The default notes layout can be changed. Screenshot: Apple

Razer BlackShark V2 X Gaming Headset (Black) $31.99 (47% off)

Razer BlackShark V2 X Gaming Headset (Green) $49.99 (17% off)

7. Proofread notes with AI

Razer BlackShark V2 X Gaming Headset (White) $35.99 (40% off)

Razer BlackShark V2 X Gaming Headset (Quartz Pink) $37.89 (37% off)

8. Solve equations

Razer Kraken V3 X Wired USB Gaming Headset $39.98 (43% off)

Razer Barracuda X Wireless Gaming Headset (Black) $67.29 (33% off)

9. Link notes together

Razer Barracuda X Wireless Gaming Headset (Mercury White) $64.25 (36% off)

Notes can contain links to other notes. Screenshot: Apple

Kraken Kitty headset deals

Razer Kraken Kitty V2 USB Wired Headset (Black) $77.99 (22% off)

10. Add scans to notes

Razer Kraken Kitty V2 USB Wired Headset (White) $79.99 (20% off)

Razer Kraken Kitty V2 USB Wired Headset (Quartz Pink) $74.12 (26% off)

11. Put your notes into subfolders

Razer Kraken Kitty V2 BT Wireless RGB Headset (Black) $89.99 (10% off)

Razer Kraken Kitty V2 BT Wireless RGB Headset (White) $89.99 (10% off)

12. Create smart folders

Razer Kraken Kitty V2 BT Wireless RGB Headset (Quartz Pink) $89.99 (10% off)

Use smart folders to keep your notes organized. Screenshot: Apple

Console headset deals — PlayStation

Razer BlackShark V2 X PlayStation Gaming Headset (Black) $29.99 (40% off)

13. Switch to gallery view

Razer BlackShark V2 X PlayStation Gaming Headset (White) $35.99 (28% off)

Razer BlackShark V2 X PlayStation Gaming Headset (Quartz Pink) $38.29 (23% off)

14. Record voice notes

Razer BlackShark V2 Pro Wireless PlayStation Gaming Headset (Black) $179.99 (10% off)

Razer BlackShark V2 Pro Wireless PlayStation Gaming Headset (White) $99.00 (50% off)

15. Highlight text in a note

Console headset deals — Xbox

Text inside notes can be highlighted in a variety of colors. Screenshot: Apple

Razer BlackShark V2 X Xbox Gaming Headset (Black) $29.99 (25% off)

Razer BlackShark V2 X Xbox Gaming Headset (White) $39.99 (20% off)

16. Make quick notes from anywhere

Razer BlackShark V2 X Xbox Gaming Headset (Quartz Pink) $42.93

Razer BlackShark V2 Pro Wireless Xbox Gaming Headset (Black) $104.97 (48% off)

17. Lock a note

Razer BlackShark V2 Pro Wireless Xbox Gaming Headset (White) $132.02 (34% off)

The post 17 clever Apple Notes tips you might not know appeared first on Popular Science.

2026 is off to a hopeful start for these critically endangered whales

Margherita Bassi — Sat, 10 Jan 2026 10:12:00 -0500

Streaming mic deals

Razer Seiren V3 Mini USB Microphone (Black) $40.99 (32% off)

Razer Seiren V3 Mini USB Microphone (White) $49.99 (17% off)

Razer Seiren V3 Mini USB Microphone (Quartz) $47.01 (22% off)

Razer Seiren V3 Chroma RGB USB Microphone (Black) $100.92 (22% off)

Razer Seiren V3 Chroma RGB USB Microphone (White) $106.69 (18% off)

Razer Seiren V3 Chroma RGB USB Microphone (Quartz Pink) $106.99 (24% off)

Controller deals

Razer Kishi Ultra Gaming Controller $166.43

Razer Wolverine V2 Pro Wireless Gaming Controller (Black) $129.99 (48% off)

The post 2026 is off to a hopeful start for these critically endangered whales appeared first on Popular Science.

Why does AI suck at making clocks?

Stan Horaczek — Sat, 10 Jan 2026 08:00:00 -0500

Razer Wolverine V2 Pro Wireless Gaming Controller (White) $129.99 (48% off)

- +

Charging stand deals

Razer Quick Charging Stand for PlayStation 5 (White) $34.95 (13% off)

I’ve kept this site open throughout the process of writing this article and can confirm: It’s very funny. But why is the AI so bad at this?

Razer Quick Charging Stand for PlayStation 5 (Red) $23.99 (40% off)

Razer Universal Quick Charging Stand for Xbox Series X|S (Black) $23.99

AI is bad at telling time

Razer Universal Quick Charging Stand for Xbox Series X|S (Aqua Shift) $23.99

The 10:10 problem

Best mics for streaming

Best mobile game controllers

Best PS5 controllers

The post Razer gaming gear is on sale at Amazon right now—keyboards, headsets, mics, and controllers up to 50% off appeared first on Popular Science.

REI is clearing out high-end Arc’teryx winter coats, jackets, hoodies, and more during this end-of-season sale

Justin Pot — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 16:01:09 -0500

REI is clearing out a surprisingly deep selection of Arc’teryx gear right now. The deals include everything from everyday insulated hoodies to technical shells, plus pants, base layers, and trail shoes. A lot of these are REI Outlet closeouts, so sizes and colors tend to disappear fast.

Even on sale, Arc’teryx gear isn’t cheap, but you have to look at it as an investment. This is serious gear that’s meant to last a lifetime if you care for it properly.

Quick tip: many of the Outlet listings are showing an extra promo code at checkout. If you’re an REI Co-op member, look for code OUTJAN26 (good through January 12, 2026) and stack it where it applies.

Editor’s note: I’ve added some great REI deals from Patagonia and The North Face to the end of the post, so keep scrolling for more.

The post Why does AI suck at making clocks? appeared first on Popular Science.

Razer gaming gear is on sale at Amazon right now—keyboards, headsets, mics, and controllers up to 50% off

Stan Horaczek — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 16:44:03 -0500

Editor’s picks

For the person who wants cleaner voice chat

Arc'teryx Atom Insulated Hoody – Men's — $255.93 (was $300.00)

Razer BlackShark V2 Pro Wireless PlayStation Gaming Headset (White) $99

- It’s soft, warm, and extremely versatile. + Sound plays a surprisingly large role in competitive game sessions. -

Arc’teryx

Razer

- - See It - -

If you only buy one Arc’teryx piece on clearance, make it an Atom. It’s the classic do-it-all layer. It’s warm enough for cold walks and shoulder-season hikes, breathable enough that you won’t instantly overheat, and easy to wear under a shell when the weather turns. It’s also one of those jackets you’ll end up grabbing for everything from commuting to quick weekend trips.

For the person who keeps running out of mouse room

Arc'teryx Alpha SV Jacket – Men's — $674.93 (was $900.00)

Razer BlackWidow V4 Mini HyperSpeed Wireless 65% Gaming Keyboard $88

- +

- Take care of this jacket and it’ll last basically forever. + Get maximum performance while using up minimal desk space. -

Arc’teryx

Razer

@@ -7529,7 +9527,7 @@ - + See It @@ -7537,28 +9535,29 @@ -

The Alpha SV is the big-ticket shell built for nasty weather and the kind of days where you’re committed no matter what the forecast says. If you’ve been eyeing a true top-tier hardshell for years, this is the rare moment when the price drops into the realm of reasonable.

For the person who takes controllers personally

Arc'teryx Beta Down Parka – Women's — $764.93 (was $1,100.00)

Razer Wolverine V2 Pro Wireless Gaming Controller (Black) $130

- +

- The extra length is great for combatting wind. + Get the best possible controller experience. -

Arc’teryx

Razer

@@ -7568,7 +9567,7 @@ - + See It @@ -7576,2225 +9575,2094 @@ -

This is a serious cold-weather parka with real storm protection baked in. The down insulation handles deep-winter warmth, while the Beta line’s weather-first design is meant for days when snow and wind are part of the plan. If you’ve been trying to upgrade from a basic puffy to something that can handle actual winter, this is one of the strongest discounts in the list.

- - - -

Men’s outerwear

- - - -

Arc’teryx Atom Insulated Hoody – Men’s $255.93 (was $300.00)
Arc’teryx Alpha SV Jacket – Men’s $674.93 (was $900.00)
Arc’teryx Thorium Down Hoody – Men’s $299.93 (was $450.00)
Arc’teryx Thorium Down Jacket – Men’s $315.93 (was $450.00)
Arc’teryx Beta SL Jacket – Men’s $500.00
Arc’teryx Incendo Airshell Hoodie – Men’s $191.93 (was $240.00)

- - - -

Women’s outerwear

- - - -

Arc’teryx Beta Down Parka – Women’s $764.93 (was $1,100.00)
Arc’teryx Thorium Extra-Long Down Parka – Women’s $664.93 (was $950.00)
Arc’teryx Thorium Down Hoody – Women’s $384.93 (was $550.00)
Arc’teryx Allium Insulated Jacket – Women’s $239.73 (was $300.00)
Arc’teryx Gamma MX Hoody – Women’s Currently unavailable at REI

- - - -

Fleece and midlayers

- - - -

Arc’teryx Covert Cardigan – Men’s $144.93 (was $180.00)
Arc’teryx Kyanite Pullover Hoody – Men’s $123.73 (was $170.00)
Arc’teryx Delta Hoody – Men’s $127.93 (was $160.00)
Arc’teryx Delta Half-Zip Fleece Pullover – Men’s $143.93 (was $180.00)
Arc’teryx Delta Jacket – Men’s $169.93 (was $200.00)
Arc’teryx Delta Jacket – Women’s $159.93 (was $200.00)

- - - -

Pants and shorts

- - - -

Arc’teryx Gamma Pants – Men’s $175.93 (was $200.00)
Arc’teryx Levon Pants – Men’s $183.93 (was $230.00)
Arc’teryx Sentinel Pants – Women’s $419.93 (was $600.00)
Arc’teryx Kragg Cotton Pants – Women’s $144.73 (was $180.00)
Arc’teryx Gamma SL 11″ Shorts – Men’s $95.93 (was $120.00)
Arc’teryx Kragg Cotton 9″ Shorts – Men’s $96.73 (was $120.00)
Arc’teryx Gamma Utility 5″ Shorts – Women’s $127.93 (was $160.00)
Arc’teryx Essent Run High-Rise 3.5″ Shorts – Women’s $63.73 (was $80.00)

Arc’teryx Essent High-Rise 8″ Shorts – Women’s $49.73 (was $70.00)

All the Razer deals by category

Base layers

Keyboard deals

Arc’teryx Rho Insulated 3/4 Base Layer Bottoms – Men’s $159.73 (was $200.00)
Razer Huntsman V3 Pro Mini 60% Esports Gaming Keyboard (Black) $139.99 (22% off)
Arc’teryx Rho LT Base Layer Bottoms – Men’s $79.73 (was $100.00)
Razer Huntsman V3 Pro Mini 60% Esports Gaming Keyboard (White) $136.99 (24% off)
Arc’teryx Rho Crew Neck Long-Sleeve Base Layer Top – Women’s $123.73 (was $155.00)
Razer BlackWidow V4 Mini HyperSpeed Wireless 65% Gaming Keyboard $87.99 (32% off)

Men’s active tops

PC and multi-platform headset deals

Arc’teryx Cormac Crew Long-Sleeve Shirt – Men’s $55.93 (was $80.00)
Arc’teryx Cormac Crew Neck Shirt – Men’s $48.93 (was $70.00)
Arc’teryx Cormac Logo T-Shirt – Men’s $48.93 (was $70.00)
Razer BlackShark V2 X Gaming Headset (Black) $31.99 (47% off)
Arc’teryx Cormac Heavyweight Hoody – Men’s $69.93 (was $100.00) — Currently unavailable
Razer BlackShark V2 X Gaming Headset (Green) $49.99 (17% off)
Arc’teryx Cormac Heavyweight Long-Sleeve Shirt – Men’s $62.93 (was $90.00) — Currently unavailable

Razer BlackShark V2 X Gaming Headset (White) $35.99 (40% off)

Women’s active tops

Razer BlackShark V2 X Gaming Headset (Quartz Pink) $37.89 (37% off)

Arc’teryx Taema Hoody – Women’s $44.83 (was $90.00)
Razer Kraken V3 X Wired USB Gaming Headset $39.98 (43% off)
Arc’teryx Taema Thermal Crew Long-Sleeve Shirt – Women’s $62.93 (was $90.00)
Razer Barracuda X Wireless Gaming Headset (Black) $67.29 (33% off)
Arc’teryx Taema Crew Long-Sleeve Shirt – Women’s $64.73 (was $80.00)
Razer Barracuda X Wireless Gaming Headset (Mercury White) $64.25 (36% off)

Arc’teryx Taema Crew Shirt – Women’s $54.73 (was $70.00)

Kraken Kitty headset deals

Arc’teryx Taema Tank Top – Women’s $42.00 (up to 30% off)

Razer Kraken Kitty V2 USB Wired Headset (Black) $77.99 (22% off)
Arc’teryx Norvan Crew Neck Long-Sleeve Shirt – Women’s $69.93 (was $100.00)
Razer Kraken Kitty V2 USB Wired Headset (White) $79.99 (20% off)
Arc’teryx Norvan Tank Top – Women’s $62.73 (was $80.00)
Razer Kraken Kitty V2 USB Wired Headset (Quartz Pink) $74.12 (26% off)
Arc’teryx Motus Crewneck Long-Sleeve Shirt – Women’s $71.73 (was $90.00)
Razer Kraken Kitty V2 BT Wireless RGB Headset (Black) $89.99 (10% off)
Arc’teryx Silene Crew Shirt – Women’s $66.73 (was $90.00)
Razer Kraken Kitty V2 BT Wireless RGB Headset (White) $89.99 (10% off)
Arc’teryx Silene Tank Top – Women’s $64.73 (was $80.00)
Razer Kraken Kitty V2 BT Wireless RGB Headset (Quartz Pink) $89.99 (10% off)

Footwear

Console headset deals — PlayStation

Arc’teryx Norvan LD 4 Trail-Running Shoes – Men’s $126.93 (was $170.00)
Razer BlackShark V2 X PlayStation Gaming Headset (Black) $29.99 (40% off)
Arc’teryx Kragg Shoes – Men’s $95.83 (was $160.00)
Razer BlackShark V2 X PlayStation Gaming Headset (White) $35.99 (28% off)
Arc’teryx Kragg Shoes – Women’s $95.83 (was $160.00)
Razer BlackShark V2 X PlayStation Gaming Headset (Quartz Pink) $38.29 (23% off)
Arc’teryx Vertex Alpine GTX Approach Shoes – Women’s $184.73 (was $250.00)
Razer BlackShark V2 Pro Wireless PlayStation Gaming Headset (Black) $179.99 (10% off)
Razer BlackShark V2 Pro Wireless PlayStation Gaming Headset (White) $99.00 (50% off)

Accessories and packs

Console headset deals — Xbox

Arc’teryx Alpha FL 20 Pack $186.73 (was $250.00)
Razer BlackShark V2 X Xbox Gaming Headset (Black) $29.99 (25% off)
Arc’teryx Aerios 5-Panel Cap $60.73 (was $75.00)
Razer BlackShark V2 X Xbox Gaming Headset (White) $39.99 (20% off)
Arc’teryx Cranbrook Hat $68.73 (was $85.00)
Razer BlackShark V2 X Xbox Gaming Headset (Quartz Pink) $42.93

Razer BlackShark V2 Pro Wireless Xbox Gaming Headset (Black) $104.97 (48% off)

REI Patagonia deals

Razer BlackShark V2 Pro Wireless Xbox Gaming Headset (White) $132.02 (34% off)

+ -

Fleece & midlayers

Streaming mic deals

Patagonia Lightweight Synchilla Snap-T Fleece Pullover – Men’s $104.73 (25% off)
Razer Seiren V3 Mini USB Microphone (Black) $40.99 (32% off)
Patagonia Retro Pile Half-Snap Pullover – Men’s $139.73 (26% off)
Razer Seiren V3 Mini USB Microphone (White) $49.99 (17% off)
Patagonia Synchilla Fleece Shirt Jacket – Men’s $149.73 (25% off)
Razer Seiren V3 Mini USB Microphone (Quartz) $47.01 (22% off)
Patagonia Microdini Half-Zip Pullover – Women’s $96.73 (25% off)
Razer Seiren V3 Chroma RGB USB Microphone (Black) $100.92 (22% off)
Patagonia R1 Jacket – Women’s $117.93 (30% off)
Razer Seiren V3 Chroma RGB USB Microphone (White) $106.69 (18% off)
Patagonia R1 Air Full-Zip Hoody – Women’s $88.83 (50% off)
Razer Seiren V3 Chroma RGB USB Microphone (Quartz Pink) $106.99 (24% off)

Patagonia R1 Thermal Pullover Hoody – Women’s $134.73 (25% off)

Controller deals

Patagonia Better Sweater Quarter-Zip Pullover – Women’s $97.73 (30% off)

Razer Kishi Ultra Gaming Controller $166.43
Patagonia Better Sweater Jacket – Women’s $111.73 (30% off)
Razer Wolverine V2 Pro Wireless Gaming Controller (Black) $129.99 (48% off)
Razer Wolverine V2 Pro Wireless Gaming Controller (White) $129.99 (48% off)

Insulated jackets & vests

Charging stand deals

Patagonia Re-Tool Hybrid Insulated Hoody – Men’s $179.73 (45% off)
Razer Quick Charging Stand for PlayStation 5 (White) $34.95 (13% off)
Patagonia Box Quilted Pullover – Men’s $99.73 (56% off)
Razer Quick Charging Stand for PlayStation 5 (Red) $23.99 (40% off)
Patagonia Re-Tool Hybrid Pullover – Women’s $161.73 (40% off)
Razer Universal Quick Charging Stand for Xbox Series X|S (Black) $23.99
Patagonia Lost Canyon Insulated Vest – Women’s $132.73 (30% off)
Razer Universal Quick Charging Stand for Xbox Series X|S (Aqua Shift) $23.99

Patagonia AlpLight Down Jacket – Women’s $206.73 (31% off)

REI is clearing out high-end Arc’teryx winter coats, jackets, hoodies, and more during this end-of-season sale

Stan Horaczek — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 16:01:09 -0500

Patagonia Stormstride Pants – Men’s $336.73 (25% off)

Even on sale, Arc’teryx gear isn’t cheap, but you have to look at it as an investment. This is serious gear that’s meant to last a lifetime if you care for it properly.

Patagonia Powder Town Pants – Men’s $186.73 (25% off)

Patagonia Insulated Powder Town Snow Pants – Men’s $201.73 (25% off)

Editor’s note: I’ve added some great REI deals from Patagonia and The North Face to the end of the post, so keep scrolling for more.

Patagonia Upstride Jacket – Women’s $261.73 (25% off)

Editor’s picks

Patagonia Upstride Pants – Women’s $246.73 (25% off)

+ +

Arc'teryx Atom Insulated Hoody – Men's — $255.93 (was $300.00)

+ + + + +

+ +

+ + It’s soft, warm, and extremely versatile. + +

Arc’teryx

+ + Take care of this jacket and it’ll last basically forever. + +

+ + + + See It -

Patagonia Snowdrifter Jacket – Women’s $336.73 (25% off)

+ +

Patagonia Snowdrifter Bib Pants – Women’s $299.73 (25% off)

Patagonia Stormstride Pants – Women’s $336.73 (25% off)

+ +

Arc'teryx Alpha SV Jacket – Men's — $674.93 (was $900.00)

+ + + + +

+ +

Arc’teryx

+ + The extra length is great for combatting wind. + +

Patagonia Triolet Pants – Women’s $299.73 (25% off)

+ + + + See It + +

Patagonia Powder Town Jacket – Women’s $261.73 (25% off)

+ +

Patagonia Insulated Powder Town Pants – Women’s $201.73 (25% off)

+ +

Arc'teryx Beta Down Parka – Women's — $764.93 (was $1,100.00)

+ + + + +

+ +

Arc’teryx

Earth’s 5 catastrophic mass extinctions, explained

Patagonia 3-in-1 Powder Town Insulated Jacket – Women’s $374.73 (25% off)

+ + + + See It + +

Patagonia Storm Shift Jacket – Women’s $374.73 (25% off)

Patagonia Insulated Storm Shift Jacket – Women’s $411.73 (25% off)

Men’s outerwear

Patagonia Untracked Bib Pants – Women’s $486.73 (25% off)

- +

Arc’teryx Atom Insulated Hoody – Men’s $255.93 (was $300.00)

Shirts & tops

Arc’teryx Alpha SV Jacket – Men’s $674.93 (was $900.00)

Patagonia Capilene Cool Daily Shirt – Men’s $35.93 (20% off)
Arc’teryx Thorium Down Hoody – Men’s $299.93 (was $450.00)
Patagonia Capilene Cool Daily Long-Sleeve Shirt – Men’s $43.93 (20% off)
Arc’teryx Thorium Down Jacket – Men’s $315.93 (was $450.00)
Patagonia Capilene Cool Daily Graphic T-Shirt – Men’s $43.93 (20% off)
Arc’teryx Beta SL Jacket – Men’s $500.00
Patagonia Capilene Cool Daily Graphic Long-Sleeve Shirt – Men’s $51.93 (20% off)
Arc’teryx Incendo Airshell Hoodie – Men’s $191.93 (was $240.00)

Patagonia Capilene Cool Daily Shirt – Women’s $35.93 (20% off)

Women’s outerwear

Patagonia Capilene Cool Daily Long-Sleeve Shirt – Women’s $43.93 (20% off)

Arc’teryx Beta Down Parka – Women’s $764.93 (was $1,100.00)
Patagonia Capilene Cool Daily Graphic T-Shirt – Women’s $37.93 (31% off)
Arc’teryx Thorium Extra-Long Down Parka – Women’s $664.93 (was $950.00)
Patagonia Capilene Cool Daily Graphic T-Shirt – Women’s $37.93 (31% off)
Arc’teryx Thorium Down Hoody – Women’s $384.93 (was $550.00)
Patagonia Capilene Cool Daily Graphic Long-Sleeve Shirt – Women’s $51.93 (20% off)
Arc’teryx Allium Insulated Jacket – Women’s $239.73 (was $300.00)
Patagonia Long-Sleeve Capilene Cool Daily Graphic Shirt – Women’s $44.93 (31% off)
Arc’teryx Gamma MX Hoody – Women’s Currently unavailable at REI

Patagonia Capilene Cool Daily Graphic Hoody – Women’s $51.93 (31% off)

Fleece and midlayers

Patagonia Glorya Hooded Long-Sleeve Top – Women’s $63.73 (25% off)

Arc’teryx Covert Cardigan – Men’s $144.93 (was $180.00)
Patagonia ’73 Skyline Easy-Cut Responsibili-Tee – Women’s $33.73 (25% off)
Arc’teryx Kyanite Pullover Hoody – Men’s $123.73 (was $170.00)
Patagonia Early Rise Stretch Shirt – Women’s $104.73 (25% off)

Arc’teryx Delta Hoody – Men’s $127.93 (was $160.00)

Pants & shorts

Arc’teryx Delta Half-Zip Fleece Pullover – Men’s $143.93 (was $180.00)

Patagonia Outdoor Everyday Pants – Women’s $48.83 (51% off)
Arc’teryx Delta Jacket – Men’s $169.93 (was $200.00)
Patagonia Hampi Rock Pants – Women’s $73.73 (26% off)
Arc’teryx Delta Jacket – Women’s $159.93 (was $200.00)

Patagonia Mountain Utility Pants – Men’s $299.73 (25% off)

Pants and shorts

Patagonia Baggies Longs 7″ Shorts – Men’s $33.83 (51% off)

Arc’teryx Gamma Pants – Men’s $175.93 (was $200.00)
Patagonia Nomader Volley Shorts – Men’s $66.73 (25% off)

Arc’teryx Levon Pants – Men’s $183.93 (was $230.00)

Tights & leggings

Arc’teryx Sentinel Pants – Women’s $419.93 (was $600.00)

Patagonia Maipo 7/8 Tights – Women’s $74.73 (25% off)
Arc’teryx Kragg Cotton Pants – Women’s $144.73 (was $180.00)
Patagonia Pack Out Tights – Women’s $88.73 (25% off)

Arc’teryx Gamma SL 11″ Shorts – Men’s $95.93 (was $120.00)

Cycling apparel

Arc’teryx Kragg Cotton 9″ Shorts – Men’s $96.73 (was $120.00)

Patagonia Landfarer Bike Shorts – Men’s $68.93 (30% off)
Arc’teryx Gamma Utility 5″ Shorts – Women’s $127.93 (was $160.00)
Patagonia Dirt Craft Bike Pants – Men’s $103.93 (30% off)
Arc’teryx Essent Run High-Rise 3.5″ Shorts – Women’s $63.73 (was $80.00)
Patagonia Tyrolean Bike Shorts – Women’s $43.83 (51% off)
Arc’teryx Essent High-Rise 8″ Shorts – Women’s $49.73 (was $70.00)

Running apparel

Base layers

Patagonia Endless Run Shorts – Women’s $59.73 (24% off)
Arc’teryx Rho Insulated 3/4 Base Layer Bottoms – Men’s $159.73 (was $200.00)
Patagonia Strider Pro 3.5″ Shorts – Women’s $47.73 (40% off)
Arc’teryx Rho LT Base Layer Bottoms – Men’s $79.73 (was $100.00)
Patagonia Shadowlite Mid Impact Bra $49.73 (28% off)
Arc’teryx Rho Crew Neck Long-Sleeve Base Layer Top – Women’s $123.73 (was $155.00)

Swimwear & water

Men’s active tops

Patagonia Hydropeak Board Shorts – Men’s 18″ Outseam $36.83 (51% off)
Arc’teryx Cormac Crew Long-Sleeve Shirt – Men’s $55.93 (was $80.00)
Patagonia Hydropeak Board Shorts – Men’s 18″ Outseam $56.73 (24% off)
Arc’teryx Cormac Crew Neck Shirt – Men’s $48.93 (was $70.00)
Patagonia Hydropeak Volley Shorts – Men’s 16″ Outseam $36.83 (51% off)
Arc’teryx Cormac Logo T-Shirt – Men’s $48.93 (was $70.00)
Patagonia Hydropeak Volley Shorts – Men’s 16″ Outseam $56.73 (24% off)
Arc’teryx Cormac Heavyweight Hoody – Men’s $69.93 (was $100.00) — Currently unavailable
Patagonia Hydropeak Hybrid Walk Shorts – Men’s $63.73 (25% off)
Arc’teryx Cormac Heavyweight Long-Sleeve Shirt – Men’s $62.93 (was $90.00) — Currently unavailable

Patagonia Wavefarer Board Shorts – Men’s 19″ Outseam $36.83 (51% off)

Women’s active tops

Patagonia Reversible Extended Break One-Piece Swimsuit – Women’s $109.73 (26% off)

Arc’teryx Taema Hoody – Women’s $44.83 (was $90.00)
Patagonia Sunny Tide One-Piece Swimsuit – Women’s $68.83 (50% off)
Arc’teryx Taema Thermal Crew Long-Sleeve Shirt – Women’s $62.93 (was $90.00)
Patagonia Sunrise Slider Swimsuit Top – Women’s $56.73 (24% off)
Arc’teryx Taema Crew Long-Sleeve Shirt – Women’s $64.73 (was $80.00)
Patagonia Bottom Turn Swimsuit Top – Women’s $56.73 (24% off)
Arc’teryx Taema Crew Shirt – Women’s $54.73 (was $70.00)
Patagonia Sunamee Swimsuit Bottoms – Women’s $48.73 (25% off)
Arc’teryx Taema Tank Top – Women’s $42.00 (up to 30% off)
Patagonia Sunamee Swimsuit Bottoms – Women’s $44.93 (31% off)
Arc’teryx Norvan Crew Neck Long-Sleeve Shirt – Women’s $69.93 (was $100.00)
Patagonia Sunamee Shortie Surf Bottoms – Women’s $58.93 (31% off)
Arc’teryx Norvan Tank Top – Women’s $62.73 (was $80.00)
Patagonia Reversible Cross Shore Swimsuit Bottoms – Women’s $41.83 (51% off)
Arc’teryx Motus Crewneck Long-Sleeve Shirt – Women’s $71.73 (was $90.00)
Patagonia Wave For It Swimsuit Bottoms – Women’s $58.93 (31% off)
Arc’teryx Silene Crew Shirt – Women’s $66.73 (was $90.00)
Patagonia Swell Seeker Crop Rashguard – Women’s $68.93 (30% off)
Arc’teryx Silene Tank Top – Women’s $64.73 (was $80.00)

Bags & packs

Footwear

Patagonia Fieldsmith Hip Pack $44.73 (24% off)
Arc’teryx Norvan LD 4 Trail-Running Shoes – Men’s $126.93 (was $170.00)
Patagonia Fieldsmith Linked Pack $81.73 (25% off)
Arc’teryx Kragg Shoes – Men’s $95.83 (was $160.00)
Patagonia Fieldsmith Lid Pack $89.73 (35% off)
Arc’teryx Kragg Shoes – Women’s $95.83 (was $160.00)
Patagonia Fieldsmith Roll-Top Pack $111.73 (25% off)
Arc’teryx Vertex Alpine GTX Approach Shoes – Women’s $184.73 (was $250.00)

Patagonia Snowdrifter 20L Snow Pack $179.73 (25% off)

Accessories and packs

Patagonia Descensionist Snow Pack $209.73 (25% off)

Arc’teryx Alpha FL 20 Pack $186.73 (was $250.00)

Kids’ clothing

Arc’teryx Aerios 5-Panel Cap $60.73 (was $75.00)

Patagonia Trucker Hat – Kids’ $20.93 (46% off)
Arc’teryx Cranbrook Hat $68.73 (was $85.00)
Patagonia Multi Trails 4″ Shorts – Kids’ $28.83 (51% off)

Patagonia Maipo Tights – Kids’ $33.93 (51% off)

REI Patagonia deals

Patagonia Outdoor Everyday 6″ Shorts – Kids’ $40.93 (31% off)

Fleece & midlayers

Patagonia Refugito Daypack 12 L – Kids’ $51.73 (25% off)

Patagonia Lightweight Synchilla Snap-T Fleece Pullover – Men’s $104.73 (25% off)
Patagonia Refugito 18 L Daypack – Kids’ $54.93 (30% off)
Patagonia Retro Pile Half-Snap Pullover – Men’s $139.73 (26% off)
Patagonia Houdini Jacket – Kids’ $58.93 (31% off)
Patagonia Synchilla Fleece Shirt Jacket – Men’s $149.73 (25% off)
Patagonia Overalls – Kids’ $74.73 (25% off)
Patagonia Microdini Half-Zip Pullover – Women’s $96.73 (25% off)
Patagonia Nano Puff Brick Quilt Insulated Jacket – Kids’ $82.73 (30% off)
Patagonia R1 Jacket – Women’s $117.93 (30% off)
Patagonia Thermawarmth Insulated Jacket – Kids’ $123.73 (38% off)
Patagonia R1 Air Full-Zip Hoody – Women’s $88.83 (50% off)
Patagonia Snow Pile One-Piece Snowsuit – Infants’/Toddlers’ $140.73 (36% off)
Patagonia R1 Thermal Pullover Hoody – Women’s $134.73 (25% off)
Patagonia Powder Town Insulated Jacket – Kids’ $150.73 (37% off)

Patagonia Better Sweater Quarter-Zip Pullover – Women’s $97.73 (30% off)

REI The North Face deals

Patagonia Better Sweater Jacket – Women’s $111.73 (30% off)

Insulated jackets & parkas

Insulated jackets & vests

The North Face Jacket 2000 Insulated Jacket – Men’s $149.73 (25% off)
Patagonia Re-Tool Hybrid Insulated Hoody – Men’s $179.73 (45% off)
The North Face ThermoBall Eco Insulated Hoodie 2.0 – Men’s $174.73 (30% off)
Patagonia Box Quilted Pullover – Men’s $99.73 (56% off)
The North Face MTN Range Down Parka – Men’s $299.73 (25% off)
Patagonia Re-Tool Hybrid Pullover – Women’s $161.73 (40% off)
The North Face First Turn Down Jacket – Women’s $262.73 (25% off)
Patagonia Lost Canyon Insulated Vest – Women’s $132.73 (30% off)
The North Face 1996 Retro Nuptse Down Jacket – Women’s Plus Sizes $229.73 (30% off)
Patagonia AlpLight Down Jacket – Women’s $206.73 (31% off)
The North Face Freedom Insulated Jacket – Women’s $239.73 (25% off)
Patagonia Corduroy Overshirt Jacket – Women’s $134.73 (25% off)

3-in-1 & Triclimate jackets

Wind & rain shells

The North Face Carto Triclimate 3-in-1 Jacket – Men’s $179.73 (40% off)
The North Face Antora Triclimate 3-in-1 Jacket – Men’s $181.73 (30% off)
Patagonia Houdini Jacket – Men’s $86.93 (20% off)
The North Face Sequoia Triclimate 3-in-1 Jacket – Women’s $262.73 (25% off)
Patagonia Houdini Jacket – Women’s $86.93 (20% off)
The North Face ThermoBall Eco Triclimate 3-in-1 Jacket – Women’s $299.73 (25% off)
Patagonia Houdini Stash Half-Zip Jacket – Women’s $40.83 (71% off)

Fleece & softshell jackets

Ski & snow outerwear

The North Face Front Range Fleece Jacket – Men’s $77.73 (40% off)
The North Face Front Range Fleece Half-Zip Pullover – Men’s $65.73 (40% off)
Patagonia Upstride Jacket – Men’s $261.73 (25% off)
The North Face Gordon Lyons Full-Zip Jacket – Men’s $89.73 (25% off)
Patagonia Snowdrifter Jacket – Men’s $336.73 (25% off)
The North Face Gordon Lyons Quarter-Zip Pullover – Men’s $74.73 (25% off)
Patagonia Stormstride Pants – Men’s $336.73 (25% off)
The North Face Denali Jacket – Men’s $114.73 (36% off)
Patagonia Powder Town Pants – Men’s $186.73 (25% off)
The North Face Re-Grind Denali Jacket – Men’s $159.73 (27% off)
Patagonia Insulated Powder Town Snow Pants – Men’s $201.73 (25% off)
The North Face Tekware Grid Hybrid Full-Zip Jacket – Men’s $97.73 (25% off)
Patagonia Upstride Jacket – Women’s $261.73 (25% off)
The North Face Osito Lux Jacket – Women’s $90.73 (30% off)
Patagonia Upstride Pants – Women’s $246.73 (25% off)
The North Face Tekware Grid Hybrid Full-Zip Jacket – Women’s $90.73 (30% off)
Patagonia Snowdrifter Jacket – Women’s $336.73 (25% off)
The North Face Tekware Grid Quarter-Zip – Women’s $79.73 (28% off)
Patagonia Snowdrifter Bib Pants – Women’s $299.73 (25% off)
The North Face Boreas Hike Jacket – Women’s $97.93 (30% off)

Patagonia Stormstride Pants – Women’s $336.73 (25% off)

Hoodies & pullovers

Patagonia Triolet Pants – Women’s $299.73 (25% off)

The North Face Willow Stretch Hoodie – Men’s $105.73 (29% off)
Patagonia Powder Town Jacket – Women’s $261.73 (25% off)
The North Face Willow Stretch Jacket – Men’s $77.73 (29% off)
Patagonia Insulated Powder Town Pants – Women’s $201.73 (25% off)
The North Face Adventure Sun Hoodie – Men’s $37.73 (31% off)
Patagonia 3-in-1 Powder Town Insulated Jacket – Women’s $374.73 (25% off)
The North Face Lightrange Sunriser Quarter-Zip – Men’s $59.73 (25% off)
Patagonia Storm Shift Jacket – Women’s $374.73 (25% off)
The North Face Half Dome Pullover Hoodie – Women’s $39.73 (28% off)
Patagonia Insulated Storm Shift Jacket – Women’s $411.73 (25% off)
The North Face Kikash Quarter-Zip Pullover – Women’s $53.73 (46% off)
Patagonia Untracked Bib Pants – Women’s $486.73 (25% off)

The North Face Willow Stretch Hoodie – Women’s $93.73 (37% off)

Shirts & tops

The North Face Willow Stretch Jacket – Women’s $91.73 (29% off)

- +

Patagonia Capilene Cool Daily Shirt – Men’s $35.93 (20% off)

Rain & wind jackets

Patagonia Capilene Cool Daily Long-Sleeve Shirt – Men’s $43.93 (20% off)

The North Face Reign On Jacket – Men’s $129.73 (28% off)
Patagonia Capilene Cool Daily Graphic T-Shirt – Men’s $43.93 (20% off)
The North Face Driftview Anorak – Men’s $168.73 (25% off)

Patagonia Capilene Cool Daily Graphic Long-Sleeve Shirt – Men’s $51.93 (20% off)

Ski & snow outerwear

Patagonia Capilene Cool Daily Shirt – Women’s $35.93 (20% off)

The North Face Chakal Snow Pants – Men’s $187.73 (25% off)
Patagonia Capilene Cool Daily Long-Sleeve Shirt – Women’s $43.93 (20% off)
The North Face DryVent Mono Shell Bib Pants – Men’s $299.83 (50% off)
Patagonia Capilene Cool Daily Graphic T-Shirt – Women’s $37.93 (31% off)
The North Face Dragline Bib Pants – Men’s $306.73 (25% off)
Patagonia Capilene Cool Daily Graphic T-Shirt – Women’s $37.93 (31% off)
The North Face Dragline Jacket – Women’s $336.73 (25% off)
Patagonia Capilene Cool Daily Graphic Long-Sleeve Shirt – Women’s $51.93 (20% off)
The North Face Dawnstrike GORE-TEX Insulated Snow Pants – Women’s $284.73 (25% off)

Patagonia Long-Sleeve Capilene Cool Daily Graphic Shirt – Women’s $44.93 (31% off)

Shirts & tops

Patagonia Capilene Cool Daily Graphic Hoody – Women’s $51.93 (31% off)

The North Face Adventure Polo Shirt – Men’s $32.73 (27% off)
Patagonia Glorya Hooded Long-Sleeve Top – Women’s $63.73 (25% off)
The North Face Dune Sky Polo Shirt – Men’s $44.73 (25% off)
Patagonia ’73 Skyline Easy-Cut Responsibili-Tee – Women’s $33.73 (25% off)
The North Face Lightrange Shirt – Men’s $62.73 (26% off)
Patagonia Early Rise Stretch Shirt – Women’s $104.73 (25% off)

Pants & joggers

The North Face Easy Wind Pants – Men’s $66.73 (26% off)

Pants & shorts

The North Face Lightstride Pants – Men’s $66.73 (26% off)

Patagonia Outdoor Everyday Pants – Women’s $48.83 (51% off)
The North Face Lightstride Pants – Men’s $56.73 (37% off)
Patagonia Hampi Rock Pants – Women’s $73.73 (26% off)
The North Face Core Sweatpants – Men’s $44.73 (25% off)
Patagonia Mountain Utility Pants – Men’s $299.73 (25% off)
The North Face Boreas Hike Pants – Women’s $76.93 (30% off)
Patagonia Baggies Longs 7″ Shorts – Men’s $33.83 (51% off)
The North Face Tekware Pants – Women’s $79.73 (28% off)
Patagonia Nomader Volley Shorts – Men’s $66.73 (25% off)

The North Face Kikash Joggers – Women’s $72.73 (34% off)

Tights & leggings

The North Face Alpine Polartec 100 Pants – Women’s $66.73 (26% off)

Patagonia Maipo 7/8 Tights – Women’s $74.73 (25% off)
The North Face Aphrodite Joggers – Women’s $55.73 (30% off)
Patagonia Pack Out Tights – Women’s $88.73 (25% off)

Shorts

Cycling apparel

The North Face Westbrake Knit Shorts – Women’s $32.73 (27% off)
The North Face Lightstride 7″ Shorts – Men’s $48.73 (25% off)
Patagonia Landfarer Bike Shorts – Men’s $68.93 (30% off)
The North Face Basin 9″ Shorts – Men’s $54.73 (27% off)
Patagonia Dirt Craft Bike Pants – Men’s $103.93 (30% off)
The North Face Class V Pathfinder Belted 9″ Shorts – Men’s $48.73 (25% off)
Patagonia Tyrolean Bike Shorts – Women’s $43.83 (51% off)

The North Face TNF Easy Wind Shorts – Men’s $48.73 (25% off)

Running apparel

The North Face Wander Shorts 2.0 – Men’s $36.73 (27% off)

Patagonia Endless Run Shorts – Women’s $59.73 (24% off)
The North Face Sunriser 4″ Shorts – Women’s $39.73 (28% off)
Patagonia Strider Pro 3.5″ Shorts – Women’s $47.73 (40% off)
The North Face Aphrodite Motion Shorts – Women’s $30.73 (32% off)
Patagonia Shadowlite Mid Impact Bra $49.73 (28% off)

Hiking & trail-running shoes

Swimwear & water

The North Face Altamesa 300 Trail-Running Shoes – Men’s $94.73 (27% off)
Patagonia Hydropeak Board Shorts – Men’s 18″ Outseam $36.83 (51% off)
The North Face Altamesa 500 Trail-Running Shoes – Men’s $115.73 (25% off)
Patagonia Hydropeak Board Shorts – Men’s 18″ Outseam $56.73 (24% off)
The North Face Hedgehog 3 Waterproof Shoes – Men’s $100.73 (25% off)
Patagonia Hydropeak Volley Shorts – Men’s 16″ Outseam $36.83 (51% off)
The North Face Glenclyffe Low Shoes – Men’s $94.83 (40% off)
Patagonia Hydropeak Volley Shorts – Men’s 16″ Outseam $56.73 (24% off)
The North Face Altamesa 300 Trail-Running Shoes – Women’s $94.73 (27% off)
Patagonia Hydropeak Hybrid Walk Shorts – Men’s $63.73 (25% off)
The North Face Vectiv Taraval Hiking Shoes – Women’s $86.73 (31% off)
Patagonia Wavefarer Board Shorts – Men’s 19″ Outseam $36.83 (51% off)
The North Face Offtrail TR GORE-TEX Trail-Running Shoes – Women’s $133.73 (25% off)
Patagonia Reversible Extended Break One-Piece Swimsuit – Women’s $109.73 (26% off)
The North Face Vectiv Enduris 3 Trail-Running Shoes – Women’s $111.73 (25% off)
Patagonia Sunny Tide One-Piece Swimsuit – Women’s $68.83 (50% off)
The North Face Hypnum Luxe Shoes – Women’s $103.73 (25% off)

Patagonia Sunrise Slider Swimsuit Top – Women’s $56.73 (24% off)

Boots & winter footwear

Patagonia Bottom Turn Swimsuit Top – Women’s $56.73 (24% off)

The North Face NSE Chukka Shoes – Men’s $81.73 (25% off)
Patagonia Sunamee Swimsuit Bottoms – Women’s $48.73 (25% off)
The North Face ThermoBall Lace Up Luxe Waterproof Boots – Women’s $111.73 (25% off)
Patagonia Sunamee Swimsuit Bottoms – Women’s $44.93 (31% off)
The North Face Shellista IV Luxe Waterproof Snow Boots – Women’s $134.73 (25% off)
Patagonia Sunamee Shortie Surf Bottoms – Women’s $58.93 (31% off)
The North Face Nuptse Mule Corduroy Slippers – Women’s $66.73 (25% off)
Patagonia Reversible Cross Shore Swimsuit Bottoms – Women’s $41.83 (51% off)
The North Face Nuptse Mule Denim Slippers – Women’s $66.73 (25% off)
Patagonia Wave For It Swimsuit Bottoms – Women’s $58.93 (31% off)
The North Face Explore Camp Sandals – Women’s $75.73 (31% off)
Patagonia Swell Seeker Crop Rashguard – Women’s $68.93 (30% off)

Bags & packs

The North Face Nuptse Crossbody Bag $51.73 (26% off)
Patagonia Fieldsmith Hip Pack $44.73 (24% off)
The North Face Isabella 3.0 Pack – Women’s $61.93 (30% off)
Patagonia Fieldsmith Linked Pack $81.73 (25% off)
The North Face Nuptse Tote Bag $73.73 (26% off)

Patagonia Fieldsmith Lid Pack $89.73 (35% off)

Hats, gloves & accessories

Patagonia Fieldsmith Roll-Top Pack $111.73 (25% off)

The North Face Classic Cap $16.73 (24% off)
Patagonia Snowdrifter 20L Snow Pack $179.73 (25% off)
The North Face Norm Bucket Hat $20.83 (50% off)
Patagonia Descensionist Snow Pack $209.73 (25% off)

The North Face Oh Mega Headband – Women’s $25.73 (26% off)

Kids’ clothing

The North Face Etip Recycled Gloves – Women’s $33.73 (25% off)

Patagonia Trucker Hat – Kids’ $20.93 (46% off)

Kids’ clothing & gear

Patagonia Multi Trails 4″ Shorts – Kids’ $28.83 (51% off)

The North Face Mudder Trucker Hat – Kids’ $18.93 (37% off)
Patagonia Maipo Tights – Kids’ $33.93 (51% off)
The North Face Shasta Mittens – Girls’ $23.73 (32% off)
Patagonia Outdoor Everyday 6″ Shorts – Kids’ $40.93 (31% off)
The North Face Never Stop Woven Shorts – Boys’ $26.73 (24% off)
Patagonia Refugito Daypack 12 L – Kids’ $51.73 (25% off)
The North Face Amphibious Long-Sleeve T-Shirt – Kids’ $32.73 (27% off)
Patagonia Refugito 18 L Daypack – Kids’ $54.93 (30% off)
The North Face Mini Recon Pack – Kids’ $33.93 (31% off)
Patagonia Houdini Jacket – Kids’ $58.93 (31% off)
The North Face Alpenglow II Boots – Toddlers’ $40.73 (26% off)
Patagonia Overalls – Kids’ $74.73 (25% off)
The North Face ThermoBall Traction Booties – Kids’ $41.73 (24% off)
Patagonia Nano Puff Brick Quilt Insulated Jacket – Kids’ $82.73 (30% off)
The North Face Antora Rain Jacket – Infants’ $52.73 (25% off)
Patagonia Thermawarmth Insulated Jacket – Kids’ $123.73 (38% off)
The North Face Campshire Full-Zip Hoodie – Kids’ $59.73 (25% off)
Patagonia Snow Pile One-Piece Snowsuit – Infants’/Toddlers’ $140.73 (36% off)
The North Face Shellista V Lace Waterproof Snow Boots – Kids’ $71.73 (24% off)
Patagonia Powder Town Insulated Jacket – Kids’ $150.73 (37% off)

The North Face North Down Hooded Jacket – Boys’ $104.93 (30% off)

REI The North Face deals

Insulated jackets & parkas

Everything you need to know about winter jacket tech
The North Face Jacket 2000 Insulated Jacket – Men’s $149.73 (25% off)
The best winter jackets
The North Face ThermoBall Eco Insulated Hoodie 2.0 – Men’s $174.73 (30% off)
The best packable rain jackets
The North Face MTN Range Down Parka – Men’s $299.73 (25% off)
Go on a magical winter hike without hating every step
The North Face First Turn Down Jacket – Women’s $262.73 (25% off)
Dress like an Alaskan to weather the winter cold
The North Face 1996 Retro Nuptse Down Jacket – Women’s Plus Sizes $229.73 (30% off)
The North Face Freedom Insulated Jacket – Women’s $239.73 (25% off)

The post REI is clearing out high-end Arc’teryx winter coats, jackets, hoodies, and more during this end-of-season sale appeared first on Popular Science.

Plastic-free soy sauce container biodegrades in 4 weeks

Mack DeGeurin — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 16:00:00 -0500

Chances are sushi aficionados have left a restaurant take-out in tow and with a handful of adorable, but environmentally problematic, fish-shaped soy sauce packets. These single-use plastic “shoyu-tai” drip bottles are as iconic as they are convenient, but their small size and disposability mean they often end up sliding down sinks and into drains. Eventually, these plastic faux fish make their way to landfills or, worse, the ocean. Once in the big blue, they slowly break down into microplastics that are then eaten by real fish. Ironically, those microplastic-filled fish may one day end up nestled between rice at a sushi bar.

One Australian state has already passed legislation banning the plastic fish-shaped soy sauce packets, and others are reportedly considering following suit. But designers at Heliograf and Australian design studio Vert Design may have found a way to keep the fish packet alive—albeit in a more sustainable form. Their newly designed fish is called Holy Carp! and is made entirely from biodegradable plant fibers. Allegedly, these fibers will completely break down in just four to six weeks, leaving no microplastics behind. The new product is also noticeably heftier than a typical plastic fish, with a liquid capacity of 12 milliliters—a deliberate choice informed by research showing that diners often use more than one packet per meal.

3-in-1 & Triclimate jackets

“The soy fish are cute and convenient, but while they serve their purpose for just a few minutes, they can persist in the environment for hundreds of years,” Heliograf writes in a blog post. The company estimates somewhere between eight to 12 billion plastic fish soy sauce packets may have been discarded since the product’s introduction in the 1950s.

The North Face Carto Triclimate 3-in-1 Jacket – Men’s $179.73 (40% off)

“They’ve become a symbol of a wasteful, linear economy that’s harming both people and the planet,” Heliograf adds.

The North Face Antora Triclimate 3-in-1 Jacket – Men’s $181.73 (30% off)

A traditional plastic fish-shaped soy sauce container (left) with the new biodegradable option (right). Image: Heliograf.

The North Face Sequoia Triclimate 3-in-1 Jacket – Women’s $262.73 (25% off)

A bigger, fresher, fish

The North Face ThermoBall Eco Triclimate 3-in-1 Jacket – Women’s $299.73 (25% off)

Heliograf and Vert Design say they gathered feedback from restaurants to arrive at a design that preserves some of the original fish’s emotional nostalgia, while prioritizing sustainability. The new container is made primarily from bagasse pulp, a byproduct of sugarcane production that has already been proven effective in other biodegradable packaging. When diners squeeze the fish’s engorged belly, soy sauce trickles out through a small dropper near its head. The team says the container is made entirely without PFAS, synthetic compounds that can take thousands of years to degrade, often called forever chemicals .

Fleece & softshell jackets

However, there are some drawbacks. Since the fish containers needs to break down quickly, it can only hold sauce for a maximum of 48 hours. This means restaurants will have to fill the containers individually themselves. Heliograf and Vert Design optimistically suggest that this could result in fresher sauce for customers. It also means more work for store employees.

The North Face Front Range Fleece Jacket – Men’s $77.73 (40% off)

The inventors of Holy Carp! aimed to merge the original plastic fish-shaped design with sustainability. Image: Heliograf.

The North Face Front Range Fleece Half-Zip Pullover – Men’s $65.73 (40% off)

Fish containers warrant’ always made of plastic

The North Face Gordon Lyons Full-Zip Jacket – Men’s $89.73 (25% off)

The plastic fish were reportedly first invented in Japan in 1954 by Teruo Watanabe, the founder of Japanese houseware company Asahi Sogyo.The earliest versions were made of ceramic and glass, but the push for mass production, and the timely advent of inexpensive industrial-grade plastics, led to the creation of the now-iconic polyethylene container. As in so many other cases, the pursuit of scale prompted manufacturers to adopt single-use plastics.

The North Face Gordon Lyons Quarter-Zip Pullover – Men’s $74.73 (25% off)

Like water bottles and plastic grocery bags, these plastic fish are particularly problematic because of how long it takes for them to break down. That’s partly why lawmakers in South Australia passed legislation in 2025 officially banning the fish-shaped containers. Defending the law, government officials noted that the packets were especially troublesome because their petite size caused them to be captured, or missed entirely, by recycling sorting machines.

The North Face Denali Jacket – Men’s $114.73 (36% off)

The new containers are made without dangerous forever chemicals. Image: Heliograf.

The North Face Re-Grind Denali Jacket – Men’s $159.73 (27% off)

Relying too broadly on recycling to reduce plastic waste has proven to be a losing bet. Even as recycling has become more common, the vast majority of single-use plastics are not recycled. A 2023 United Nations report found that nearly half (46 percent) of all plastic waste ends up in landfills, while another 22 percent is mismanaged and becomes litter.

The North Face Tekware Grid Hybrid Full-Zip Jacket – Men’s $97.73 (25% off)

Holy Carp! provides an elegant, though admittedly imperfect solution to the problem. The reality is, plastics are popular for a reason and sustainable alternatives will almost always struggle to match their convenience and functionality. But it’s been that and the more microplastic in the ocean, the real fish would certainly prefer the former.

The post Plastic-free soy sauce container biodegrades in 4 weeks appeared first on Popular Science.

800 ancient Roman blade sharpeners found in Britain

Andrew Paul — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 14:46:00 -0500

At the height of its power, the Roman Empire extended as far away as Britain. Rome didn’t view the region as remote or unimportant to its audacious goals, however. Based on a new trove of archaeological artifacts discovered in northeast England, Britain hosted critical sites that supplied the empire’s vast military complex.

The North Face Osito Lux Jacket – Women’s $90.73 (30% off)

Over six months in 2025, researchers from the United Kingdom’s Durham University excavated the new evidence on the banks of the River Wear not far from Newcastle, England. There, experts located over 800 whetstones—traditional tools used to hone blades and weaponry—the largest deposit of its kind in northwest Europe. Archaeologists then utilized Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) to date the items. OSL is particularly helpful for dating quartz and other minerals that amass miniscule amounts of energy from sunlight.

The North Face Tekware Grid Hybrid Full-Zip Jacket – Women’s $90.73 (30% off)

After focusing heat or light on the material in a controlled environment, scientists can determine how long an item has remained buried in sediment. While the soil below the whetstones dated to 42–184 CE, samples taken from the tools trace back to 104–238 CE, when Romans occupied the island.

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Additional nearby clues support the theory that the area functioned as a military manufacturing hub. Researchers noted a sandstone formation on the other side of the river—a likely sign Romans selected the location to quarry materials for their whetstones. Apart from the small tools, the team also excavated five stone anchors. These, coupled with another six anchors discovered along a neighboring location in 2022, suggest the waterway hosted vessels that carried sandstone across the river.

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Why so many whetstones? The answer likely can be found in their overall condition. All of the artifacts displayed some form of damage, meaning artisans likely tossed them aside because they didn’t meet the Roman army’s required whetstone length requirements. According to Durham University, the military “was particular about the uniformity of its equipment.”

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The archaeological discoveries here didn’t only date to ancient Roman occupation. Other finds within the sediment layers included both a stone and wooden jetty, chisels, a Tudor-era leather shoe, and even cannonballs and ammunition from the English Civil Wars of 1642 to 1651.

The post 800 ancient Roman blade sharpeners found in Britain appeared first on Popular Science.

Mass death paved the way for the Age of Fishes

Laura Baisas — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 14:00:00 -0500

About 445 million years ago, our planet completely changed. Massive glaciers formed over the supercontinent Gondwana, sucking up sea water like an icy sponge. Now called the Late Ordovician mass extinction (LOME), Earth’s first major mass extinction wiped out about 85 percent of all marine species as the ocean chemistry radically changed and Earth’s climate turned bitter cold.

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However, with great biological havoc also comes opportunity. During all of this upheaval, one group evolved to dominate all others—jawed vertebrates. This ultimately put life on a forward path that can be traced up to today, according to a study published today in the journal Science Advances.

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“We have demonstrated that jawed fishes only became dominant because this event happened,” Lauren Sallan, a study co-author and evolutionary biologist at Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology in Japan, said in a statement. “And fundamentally, we have nuanced our understanding of evolution by drawing a line between the fossil record, ecology, and biogeography.”

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Earth’s first mass extinction

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During the Ordovician period (roughly 486 to 443 million years ago) Earth looked very different than it does now. A southern supercontinent called Gondwana, dominated the planet and was surrounded by vast, shallow seas. There was no ice on the North or South Pole and the water was warm due to a greenhouse climate. Small plants and many-legged arthropods began to thrive on the coasts, and the water surrounding them were teeming with lifeforms that looked like something from a science fiction. Large-eyed, lamprey-like conodonts looped around sea sponges. Tiny trilobites scuttled among shelled mollusks. Sea scorpions as big as humans and nautiloids with 16-foot-tall shells scoured the water in search of prey.

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In between these creatures were the ancestors of gnathostomes, or jawed vertebrates. Gnathostomes would eventually dominate animal life on Earth.

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“While we don’t know the ultimate causes of LOME, we do know that there was a clear before and after the event. The fossil record shows it,” explained Sallan.

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The extinction came in two stages. First, the planet rapidly switched from a warmer greenhouse to a much colder icehouse climate. Most of Gondwana was covered with thick ice, drying out shallow ocean habitats. A few million years later, biodiversity began to recover, but the climate flipped again. The cold-adapted marine life drowned in warm, sulfuric, and oxygen-depleted water as the ice caps melted.

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During these waves of mass extinction, most vertebrate survivors were confined to refugia, or isolated biodiversity hotspots separated by large areas of deep ocean. In these zones, surviving jawed vertebrates evidently had an advantage.

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In the new study, the team pulled years of paleontological data about the Ordovician and early Silurian paleontology to build a new database of the fossil record during this dramatic period in Earth’s history.

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“That helped us reconstruct the ecosystems of the refugia,” added study co-author and Ph.D. student Wahei Hagiwara. “From this, we could quantify the genus-level diversity of the period, showing how LOME led directly to a gradual, but dramatic increase in gnathostome biodiversity. And the trend is clear – the mass extinction pulses led directly to increased speciation after several millions of years.”

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Of fish and finches

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With this new database, the team linked the rising jawed vertebrate biodiversity to not only this first mass extinction, but also location. They could trace the movement of species around the world and pinpoint specific refugia that played a role in helping vertebrates diversify.

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“For example, in what is now South China, we see the first full-body fossils of jawed fishes that are directly related to modern sharks,” explained Hagiwara. “They were concentrated in these stable refugia for millions of years until they had evolved the ability to cross the open ocean to other ecosystems.”

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A Promissum conodont, which range from about 2 to 20 inches (5 to 50 centimeters) in length and named after unusual, cone-like teeth fossils, and which are hypothesized to be the ancestors of modern lampreys and hagfishes. Very few conodont species survived the Late Ordovician Extinction Event. Image: Nobu Tamura

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Merging the fossil record with biogeography, morphology, and ecology, can help us better understand the course of evolution.

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“Did jaws evolve in order to create a new ecological niche, or did our ancestors fill an existing niche first, and then diversify?” asks Sallan. “Our study points to the latter. In being confined to geographically small areas with lots of open slots in the ecosystem left by the dead jawless vertebrates and other animals, gnathostomes could suddenly inhabit a wide range of different niches.”

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A similar trend is seen in Darwin’s finches on the Galápagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador. These birds took advantage of new opportunities to diversify their diet to survive. Over time, their beaks evolved into different shapes to better suit their needs.

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The diversity reset cycle

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While jawed fishes were trapped in South China, their jawless relatives continued to evolve in parallel elsewhere. The jawless fish ruled the wider sea for the next 40 million years, diversifying into different types of reef fish. Why jawed fishes—among all other survivors—came to dominate once they spread out from the refugia remains a mystery.

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According to the team, instead of wiping Earth’s ecological slate clean, the Late Ordovician mass extinction triggered a reset. Early vertebrate species stepped into the niches left behind by extinct conodonts and arthropods, rebuilding the same ecological structure, just with new animals. This pattern also repeats across the Paleozoic following other extinction events driven by similar environmental conditions. The team calls this a recurring “diversity-reset cycle,” where evolution restores ecosystems by converging on the same designs.

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“This work helps explain why jaws evolved, why jawed vertebrates ultimately prevailed, and why modern marine life traces back to these survivors rather than to earlier forms like conodonts and trilobites,” said Sallan. “Revealing these long-term patterns and their underlying processes is one of the exciting aspects of evolutionary biology.”

The post Mass death paved the way for the Age of Fishes appeared first on Popular Science.

Zombie fungus, ‘living stones’ among favorite botany discoveries of 2025

Andrew Paul — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 11:56:00 -0500

It’s easy to forget how much we still don’t know about our planet’s ecosystems. Every year, researchers identify thousands of plant and fungi species that were previously unknown to science. While it can be tough to highlight the most striking examples, an international team of scientists led by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (RBG Kew) in London, have offered their personal picks for 2025. The selection of spider-infecting zombie parasites, stone-camouflaged plants, and a “fire demon flower” is certainly worth a closer look.

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In Brazil, botanists described Purpureocillium atlanticum for the first time. This deadly fungus targets the region’s trapdoor spiders that reside in burrows on the rainforest floor. Once infected, P. atlanticum kills the arachnid after covering almost its entire body in fine threads of white root-like structures called mycelium. The fungus then grows a nearly 0.8 inch fruiting body through the trapdoor burrow entry. This extension eventually releases its own spores into a world of unsuspected spiders.

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The entomopathogenic fungus Purpureocillium atlanticum emerges from a spider host in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, its cotton‑white mycelium exposed. Credit: Joao Paulo Machado De Araujo

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Other year-end selections are much larger than a zombie mushroom. In Peru, researchers described an acanth shrub that reaches upwards of 10-feet-tall. These plants feature fiery red, yellow, and orange flowers that reminded scientists of Calcifer, the fire demon in acclaimed animator Hayao Miyazaki’s 2004 classic, Howl’s Moving Castle. With that in mind, Aphelandra calciferi is an ode to the character—one with “great potential as a conservatory ornamental plant,” according to Kew.

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A detailed view of the fiery flowers of Aphelandra calciferi, a newly described Peruvian shrub species. Credit: Rodolfo Vasquez

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Not all species are recognizably plants or fungus, however. Namibia’s woodland savannahs feature a newly described subspecies of lithop (Lithops gracilidelineata subsp. mopane) also known as a “living stone.” The moniker is well-earned, too. Each succulent looks more like a tiny pebble than a plant, and grows a single pair of leaves that collect sunlight through filter-like screens. Unlike other lithops, the mopane is more grayish-white in coloration than other relatives with more brown-pink or cream hues.

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Continuing to scour the world for unknown species is a critical role for today’s botanists, according to Martin Cheek, RBG Kew’s senior research leader for African species.

“It is difficult to protect what we do not know, understand and have a scientific name for,” Cheek said in a statement. “Each identification of a new species to science helps us better understand ecosystems. Without this foundational knowledge, species conservation efforts fail.”

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A new subspecies of ‘living stone’, Lithops gracilidelineata subsp. mopane, blends with its savannah woodland surroundings. Credit: Sebastian Hatt / RBG Kew

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RBG Kew estimates botanists add around 2,500 plants and even more fungi to taxonomic registers every year. Experts believe as many as 100,000 plant species and up to 3 million fungi remain undescribed. It’s a race against time to classify and conserve them—in a 2023 report, RBG Kew calculated as many as 75 percent of all undescribed plants face extinction threats.

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“Wherever we look, human activities are eroding nature to the point of extinction, and we simply cannot keep up with the pace of destruction,” said Cheek. “If we fail to invest in taxonomy, conservation and public awareness of the issues now, we risk dismantling the very systems that sustain our life on Earth.”

The post Zombie fungus, ‘living stones’ among favorite botany discoveries of 2025 appeared first on Popular Science.

Science sleuths think they found Leonardo da Vinci’s DNA

Mack DeGeurin — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 11:03:00 -0500

Scientists are one step closer to pinpointing fragments of Leonardo da Vinci’s elusive DNA.

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A team of researchers from the Leonardo da Vinci DNA Project analyzed samples swabbed from a red chalk drawing possibly attributed to the famed polymath, as well as letters written by one of his known cousins. Buried within that jumble of genetic material were human Y-chromosome sequences that belong to the same genetic grouping, sharing a common ancestry in Tuscany, the region where da Vinci was born. Specifically, they belong to the broad E1b1b lineage on the Y chromosome, which is passed from father to son.

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The findings, presented this week in a preprint paper on the BioRxiv server, suggest that the DNA on the painting may belong to the storied Italian Renaissance man. If so, it would mark the first time scientists have identified his DNA.

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Though the researchers caution that they can’t link the DNA to da Vinci with absolute certainty, the investigative process they describe shows how recent advances in modern genetics could reshape the way the art world thinks about authenticating works. A process currently accomplished by painstakingly poring over brushstrokes and making educated guesses could become more precise by looking for biological signatures like fingerprints left behind by an artist. On a more personal level, the findings mean researchers involved in this work are a step closer to finally identifying da Vinci’s DNA—a journey that began nearly a decade ago.

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“Together, these data demonstrate the feasibility as well as limitations of combining metagenomics and human DNA marker analysis for cultural heritage science, providing a baseline workflow for future conservation science studies and hypothesis-driven investigations of provenance, authentication and handling history,” the team writes in their paper.

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This table depicts “Holy Child,” a letter from da Vinci’s descendants, and two other non-da Vinci art pieces from a similar period that were all swabbed for genetic material. Image: Leonardo da Vinci DNA Project at the J. Craig Venter Institute

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Paper lead author and University of Maryland and microbiologist Norberto Gonzalez-Juarbe, who has worked with the da Vinci DNA project for years, tells Popular Science that he initially started looking for the presence of microbes in art pieces and cultural artifacts for conservation purposes. Successful findings there led him and his colleagues to hypothesize that human biological signatures might also be embedded in those artifacts.

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“Thus, we aimed to present a platform that could be used to study the multi-kingdom DNA present,” Gonzalez-Juarbe says.

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Da Vinci’s lost DNA

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Despite being one of the most widely known figures of the European Renaissance, da Vinci’s genetic history is shrouded in mystery. Researchers in Italy claim to have identified 14 living descendants of his direct relatives, but as far as historians can tell, da Vinci didn’t father any children of his own. Analyzing his own remains also isn’t possible because the church he was buried in fell into ruin following the French Revolution. Researchers have also thus far been denied access to his presumed tomb at The Château d’Amboise in Amboise, France.

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The supposed tomb of Leonardo da Vinci in Saint-Hubert Chapel in Amboise, France. Image: Claudev8 CC by 3.0.

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That left science sleuths to search for trace signs of genetic material the painter may have left on his works. In this case, researchers turned to the chalk drawing titled “Holy Child,” which had been in the private collection of the late art dealer Fred Kline for the past 20 years. Gonzalez-Juarbe says he and his colleagues reached out to Kline about studying drawing before he died.

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After some initial testing to determine the right extraction protocols, Gonzalez-Juarbe gently swabbed the drawing’s surface in April 2024 using a “minimally invasive” technique meant to collect biological signatures without damaging the work. That small swab, similar to the type so many people stick their nostrils for a COVID-19 test, collected hints of half millennia worth of history

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Sorting through genomic history

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Since paper is porous, it absorbs even faint traces of sweat and skin, both of which can carry whispers of DNA. But paper doesn’t discriminate among DNA sources. That’s why researchers can’t simply look for signs of da Vinci’s genetic material on the “Mona Lisa” or “The Last Supper.” In both cases, countless human hands have made contact with these works over the past 500 years, leaving behind a jumble of genetic signatures.

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One of those human hands belonged to Kline. Luckily his wife remembered that he had previously sent a vial of his saliva to the personal genetics company 23andMe. Gonzalez-Juarbe and his colleagues were able to obtain that DNA sequence and effectively eliminate it from the list of possibilities. But that was just a drop in the genetic ocean. In reality, the vast majority of the DNA recovered from “Holy Child” wasn’t of human origin at all: around 99 percent came from bacteria, fungi, and plants.

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Some of that nonhuman DNA proved useful. The researchers discovered that one of the sequences belonged to sweet orange trees (Citrus sinensis), which were known to be cultivated in Medici gardens in central Italy during da Vinci’s era. That clue told the geneticists that they were on the right track. The team also found signs of Plasmodium DNA. The single-celled parasite was endemic to the same region of Italy and was responsible for the death of several Medici family members. DNA fragments from plants and animals known to have been used in art shops at the time were also found.

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“There were non-human sequences that mapped to animals, plants and other microbes that match the type of environment of Tuscany at the time of Leonardo,” Gonzalez-Juarbe says. “For example, the presence of plants such as sweet oranges, known to be a symbol of power to the Medici family and present in their palaces and gardens.”

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However, to narrow down the remaining human DNA, they needed a point of comparison. That’s where his relatives’ correspondence came into play.

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Since researchers knew the corresponding letters had shifted hands between several da Vinci descendants (and was sealed shut with a thumb), they could have confidence that the Y chromosome segments were in his lineages. Y chromosomes are passed down from father to son and remain essentially unchanged through many generations.

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da Vinci’s anatomical study of the arm (c. 1510). Image: Public Domain.

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In this case, the Y chromosome samples in both the drawing and the letters were traced back to a haplogroup labeled E1b1b, which is traced back to Tuscany. This suggests the DNA sequence found in the drawing and in the letters are from the same family lines.

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“The [human] samples had composite profiles that show more than one person handled the piece and having more than one artifact from two different locations showing a similar Y chromosome marker was the interesting observation,” Gonzalez-Juarbe says. “However, this needs to be further validated by additional sampling. We cannot confirm at this stage that the result is the lineage of Leonardo just yet.”

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So we might have Leonardo’s DNA. Now what?

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It is worth noting that all of this is only possible thanks to rapid advances in modern genetics, which allow scientists to read tiny DNA fragments and determine their source. This simply wasn’t feasible until the late 20th century.

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Shotgun genome sequencing, the technique used in this study, lets scientists sequence all the genetic material in a sample at once, rather than targeting one gene at a time. Over the past several decades, researchers have also compiled vast genomic databases, enabling them to quickly cross-reference their results.

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Presumed self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci (c. 1510). Royal Library of Oxfordshire. Image: Public Domain.

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Sequencing da Vinci’s genome could open up numerous possibilities. Most obviously it could shed light on physical features like the inventor’s eye and hair color, as well as height. But could also poetically help answer one theory surrounding his abilities. Some art historians believe da Vinci may have had an innate ability to “see” more frames per second than the average person. If that’s true, analyzing his genome could provide insight into whether there’s a genetic trait linked to that ability.

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And the possibilities don’t stop with da Vinci alone. If geneticists can sequence his genome, researchers could theoretically look for that same biological signature in other works of questionable origin to see if they were truly touched by his hands. There’s no reason the same principle couldn’t be applied to other artists as well. That ability to authenticate artworks could make a real dent in the estimated $4 to 5 billion in art fraud reported each year.

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Moving forward, Gonzalez-Juarbe says he’s hopeful this report will increase their odds of getting access to analyzing additional da Vinci drawings and letters. The end goal of all of that, he says, is to piece together a fuller picture of individuals who left an outsized mark on history.

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”We would like to learn more about his story, about his lineage and about him as a visionary,” Gonzalez-Juarbe adds.

The post Science sleuths think they found Leonardo da Vinci’s DNA appeared first on Popular Science.

BOOM! That time Oregon blew up a whale with dynamite.

Shoshi Parks — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 09:00:00 -0500

When a whale dies in the ocean, an ecosystem grows around its sunken carcass. It’s an epic burial at sea, something researchers call a whale fall. The body is a literal smorgasbord on which deep sea creatures and bacteria feast for years at a time before what’s left transforms into a reef festooned with anemones and sponges.

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A whale that dies stranded on land is something different, a stinking mass of rotting flesh and draining fluids. While scavenging birds might struggle to bust through the corpse’s leathery skin, insects go to town. Little by little, they break the body down as its nutrients ooze into the sand and nearby vegetation.

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It takes about two years for everything but the whale’s skeleton to disappear. But with the unholy stench of a dead, 45-foot-long sperm whale turning stomachs across town after beaching on November 9, 1970, officials in Florence, Oregon couldn’t wait that long. They needed the eight ton carcass gone as soon as possible.

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The State Highway Division, which managed Oregon’s coastline in those days, treated the problem as if it were a giant boulder blocking a lane of traffic. They blew it up with dynamite, igniting “a blubber snowstorm,” as one observer described it. A geyser of blood and muscle shot a hundred feet into the air, falling on spectators stationed a quarter mile away. The reek reportedly lingered on their skin and in their hair for days.

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The explosion

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Ridding a beach of such a colossal problem with dynamite wouldn’t have seemed so unusual in the mid-20th century. There are many “wonderful new uses for dynamite,” a Popular Science article explained back in 1927—and not just on land, but at sea, where shark-leather operations used it to kill a dozen of the predators at once. The sad shark carcasses would bubble up to the surface for easy collection. Even whalers were, at the time, embedding small explosives in the tips of their “killing lances.”

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This whaling station in northwestern Norway captured about 180 whales a year before closing in 1920. The whale carcasses were used to produce cooking oil and fat. Image: Public Domain

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The method did sort of work, says James Heiss, associate professor of environmental, Earth, and atmospheric sciences at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, just “not in the way anyone hoped.”

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On a Monday, shifting tides pushed the bloated whale carcass into the mouth of the Siuslaw River and onto the sand dunes on the southwestern side of Florence, a small town on Oregon’s central coast.

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By Thursday morning, as workmen spent nearly two hours excavating holes under the body to fit 20 50-pound cases of explosives, its fetid reek had become almost unbearable—though that hadn’t stopped a local opportunist from sawing off the whale’s lower jaw for a souvenir sometime over the preceding days.

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Assistant district highway engineer George Thornton’s plan was to strategically place the explosives to blast the whale’s chunks into the river where they’d be gently carried back to the ocean by the tide. Instead, the dynamite’s enormous eruption flung the rotting beast every which way, a three-foot long piece caving in the roof of a car in the beach’s parking lot.

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When the foul rain stopped falling, all that was left at the site of the explosion was a large hole and the whale’s severed tail. “It went exactly right,” Thornton told the press, apparently oblivious to the sheen of blood and bits now covering the beach and everyone on it.

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The stench was reportedly only slightly less offensive than it had been in the first place. A bulldozer moved in to bury the largest hunks left by the dynamite. Seagulls, Thornton expected, would take care of most of whatever was left.

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In 1970, officials exploded a 45-foot-long sperm whale carcass that had washed up along the Oregon Coast in the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. Image: Dougtone / CC BY-SA 2.0

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Ditching the dynamite

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Today, “leaving a [beached] whale in place is the cheapest, easiest, and safest option,” says Heiss. “It also returns nutrients to the food web by serving as a food source for birds, crustaceans, and microbial decomposers.”

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Remote beaches are fewer and farther between than they were 55 years ago. Meanwhile, an increase in whale strandings due to malnutrition, boat collisions, and entanglement in fishing gear sometimes makes it impossible just to leave the carcass be. In those cases, Heiss explains, the standard practice isn’t blowing it up but “bury[ing] it in the beach above the high tide line.”

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There’s some controversy to the approach, including concerns over whether decomposing whales attract sharks and whether chemicals leaching from the body negatively impact water quality. While the answer to the shark question remains uncertain, the results of a study published by Heiss in 2020—a first step towards building a more comprehensive model—did show that buried whales leach chemicals that “are transported seaward in the beach by flowing groundwater and discharged to the ocean near the low tide line.” One compound he examined turned out to be 26 times higher in surf zones with a buried whale than without one—though the concentration could be decreased by interring the body closer to the water line where there’s “less opportunity for chemical reactions to occur.”

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Still, on beaches near human communities, the choice between dynamiting a dead whale into a million stinking pieces or burying those stinking pieces intact, under the sand, is no contest. Florence, Oregon, at least, has a sense of humor about the incident. In 2019, they renamed the notorious stretch of sand Exploding Whale Memorial Park in the whale’s honor.

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The post BOOM! That time Oregon blew up a whale with dynamite. appeared first on Popular Science.

Grab rare deals on Hyperice’s high-end fitness recovery tools including percussion massagers and compression systems

Stan Horaczek — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 18:33:00 -0500

Recovery gear is not a substitute for sleep, smart training, or eating with fitness in mind, but it can make the day-after soreness far less annoying. Hyperice has discounts right now on Normatec compression systems, Hypervolt percussion massagers, and joint-focused heat therapy that’s built for the spots that complain the loudest.

Dress like an Alaskan to weather the winter cold

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The post REI is clearing out high-end Arc’teryx winter coats, jackets, hoodies, and more during this end-of-season sale appeared first on Popular Science.

Plastic-free soy sauce container biodegrades in 4 weeks

Mack DeGeurin — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 16:00:00 -0500

Quick way to choose: go Normatec if you want a one-stop routine for legs/hips, go Hypervolt if you want to target specific tight areas, and go heat therapy if stiffness (especially around joints) responds better to warmth than pounding.

Editor’s picks

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Hypervolt 2 Pro is $299 (14% off)

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- - Get a bunch and use them all at the same time. It won’t make you feel better, but it’ll be funny. - -

Hyperice

“They’ve become a symbol of a wasteful, linear economy that’s harming both people and the planet,” Heliograf adds.

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A traditional plastic fish-shaped soy sauce container (left) with the new biodegradable option (right). Image: Heliograf.

This device goes directly after the problem areas—calves, quads, glutes, upper back—without committing to a full compression setup. A few minutes after training (or after a long desk day) can go a long way.

A bigger, fresher, fish

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Hyperice X Knee is $329 (23% off)

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- - Relax in front of YouTube videos and recover at the same time. - -

- - Knees are a common trouble area for every level of athlete. - -

Hyperice

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If you run, hike, lift heavy, or just have a knee that loves to file complaints after leg day, a dedicated wrap is easier to stick with than a whole-body recovery plan you’ve been putting off since last New Year’s Day.

The inventors of Holy Carp! aimed to merge the original plastic fish-shaped design with sustainability. Image: Heliograf.

Fish containers warrant’ always made of plastic

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Normatec 3 Full Body is $1,349 (13% off)

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Hyperice

Earth’s 5 catastrophic mass extinctions, explained

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The new containers are made without dangerous forever chemicals. Image: Heliograf.

If you train often, travel a lot, or stack workouts back-to-back, full-body compression can make downtime feel like it’s doing something useful instead of just being more couch time.

Shop all Hyperice deals

The post Plastic-free soy sauce container biodegrades in 4 weeks appeared first on Popular Science.

800 ancient Roman blade sharpeners found in Britain

Andrew Paul — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 14:46:00 -0500

Normatec compression systems

Best for full-limb recovery when your legs feel heavy, travel wrecks you, or you want a consistent post-workout routine.

Normatec Elite Legs $999 (9% off)

Normatec Elite Hips $549 (8% off)

Normatec 3 Legs $799 (11% off)

The post 800 ancient Roman blade sharpeners found in Britain appeared first on Popular Science.

Mass death paved the way for the Age of Fishes

Laura Baisas — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 14:00:00 -0500

Normatec 3 Lower Body $999 (13% off)

Normatec 3 Full Body $1,349 (13% off)

Normatec Go $329 (13% off)

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Earth’s first mass extinction

Hypervolt percussion massage guns

Best for targeting specific tight spots, warming up stubborn muscles, or undoing the damage of sitting in one position for too long.

In between these creatures were the ancestors of gnathostomes, or jawed vertebrates. Gnathostomes would eventually dominate animal life on Earth.

Hypervolt 2 Pro $299 (14% off)

“While we don’t know the ultimate causes of LOME, we do know that there was a clear before and after the event. The fossil record shows it,” explained Sallan.

Hypervolt 2 $199 (13% off)

+ +

+ Related Extinction Stories

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Are we in a sixth mass extinction?

Earth’s ‘Great Dying’ killed 80-90% of life. How some amphibians survived.

Crocodile ancestors survived two mass extinctions—here’s how

Hypervolt Go 2 $109 (22% off)

Hypervolt Go 2 (Black) $119 (14% off)

Targeted heat therapy and joint-focused relief

Best when you want warmth and spot treatment, especially around joints and stubborn stiffness.

Hyperice X Knee $329 (23% off)

Of fish and finches

Hyperice X Shoulder $329 (23% off)

Venom Go Pack $149 (20% off)

Bundles

Best if you want broader coverage in one buy instead of piecing together a setup later.

Merging the fossil record with biogeography, morphology, and ecology, can help us better understand the course of evolution.

Normatec Pack $1,013 (15% off)

Legacy Pack $1,228 (14% off)

Core Premium Bundle $159 (20% off)

The diversity reset cycle

Normatec attachments and add-ons

Best for expanding your compression system beyond the basics, especially for upper body and hips.

Normatec Leg Attachments $350 (13% off)

The post Mass death paved the way for the Age of Fishes appeared first on Popular Science.

Zombie fungus, ‘living stones’ among favorite botany discoveries of 2025

Stan Horaczek — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 11:56:00 -0500

Normatec Arm Attachments $350 (13% off)

Normatec Hip Attachment $200 (20% off)

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The entomopathogenic fungus Purpureocillium atlanticum emerges from a spider host in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, its cotton‑white mycelium exposed. Credit: Joao Paulo Machado De Araujo

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The best percussion massagers

A detailed view of the fiery flowers of Aphelandra calciferi, a newly described Peruvian shrub species. Credit: Rodolfo Vasquez

The best neck massagers

Personal care products that solved real problems in 2025

More fitness gear coverage

The post Grab rare deals on Hyperice’s high-end fitness recovery tools including percussion massagers and compression systems appeared first on Popular Science.

Why is this infamous iceberg turning blue?

Andrew Paul — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 15:42:58 -0500

Iceberg A-23A is looking a little blue these days. In late December 2025, NASA and NOAA’s Terra satellite spotted the massive iceberg covered with blue meltwater. A-23A is one of the largest and longest-lived bergs ever tracked by scientists, but is at risk of completely disintegrating as it drifts through warm Southern Atlantic waters.

A new subspecies of ‘living stone’, Lithops gracilidelineata subsp. mopane, blends with its savannah woodland surroundings. Credit: Sebastian Hatt / RBG Kew

The satellite image of iceberg A-23A taken on December 26, 2025. Image: NASA.

In 1986, the flat-topped iceberg broke away from Antarctica’s Filchner Ice Shelf. Back then, it was over 1,500 square miles—almost twice the size of the state of Rhode Island. Today, the United States National Ice Center estimates the iceberg’s area is around 456 square miles. While that is much smaller than its original size, it still makes it bigger than New York City. In July, August, and September of 2025 iceberg A-23A saw some sizable breakups as it moved into the Southern Hemisphere’s relatively warm summer conditions by December.

The post Zombie fungus, ‘living stones’ among favorite botany discoveries of 2025 appeared first on Popular Science.

Science sleuths think they found Leonardo da Vinci’s DNA

Laura Baisas — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 11:03:00 -0500

Scientists are one step closer to pinpointing fragments of Leonardo da Vinci’s elusive DNA.

The MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on the Terra satellite captured this image of what remained on December 26, 2025. An astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) then captured a photograph showing a closer view of the iceberg one day later, with an even bigger melt pool.

A satellite image of the iceberg taken on December 27, 2025. Image: NASA.

The extensive pools of “blue mush” on the iceberg’s surface are likely the result of ongoing disintegration events.

“You have the weight of the water sitting inside cracks in the ice and forcing them open,” he said. “Note also the thin white line around the outer edge of the iceberg seemingly holding in blue meltwater—a ‘rampart-moat’ pattern caused by an upward bending of the iceberg plate as its edges melt at the waterline,” University of Colorado Boulder senior research scientist Ted Scambos explained in a statement.

The blue and white striped patterns are likely due to striations that were put into the ice hundreds of years ago, when the ice was dragged across Antarctic bedrock.

“It’s impressive that these striations still show up after so much time has passed, massive amounts of snow have fallen, and a great deal of melting has occurred from below,” added retired University of Maryland Baltimore County scientist Chris Shuman.

The ailing iceberg may have also sprung a leak. The white area to its left could be the result of what Shuman described as a “blowout.” This occurs when the weight of the water pooling at the top of the iceberg creates enough pressure at the edges to punch through.

“Thus, we aimed to present a platform that could be used to study the multi-kingdom DNA present,” Gonzalez-Juarbe says.

These signs indicate that the iceberg could be just days or weeks from disintegrating completely.

Da Vinci’s lost DNA

“I certainly don’t expect A-23A to last through the austral summer,” said Shuman.

The clearer skies and warmer air and water temperatures during summer in the Southern Hemisphere accelerate the disintegration process in an area known among ice experts as a “graveyard” for icebergs. Climate change is only speeding up this process, as air and water temperatures continue to smash records.

The supposed tomb of Leonardo da Vinci in Saint-Hubert Chapel in Amboise, France. Image: Claudev8 CC by 3.0.

Even as A-23A fades, more enormous icebergs are parked or drifting along the Antarctic shoreline. A-81, B22A, and D15A, are each larger than 500 square miles and could also begin their journey north.

The post Why is this infamous iceberg turning blue? appeared first on Popular Science.

Super smart dogs learn by eavesdropping

Mack DeGeurin — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 14:00:00 -0500

Just like with toddlers, it’s often better to spell out certain words when a dog is nearby. Saying words “park” or “walk” can make the family pet excited the way that the mere mention of a “cookie” will for a young child. By the age of one-and-a-half, toddlers learn new words by listening to other people. And, it turns out, some dogs can also learn by eavesdropping. According to a small study published today in the journal Science, Gifted Word Learner (GWL) dogs can learn the names for various objects by listening to their owners’ interactions,

Learning words

GWL is a fairly new distinction by scientists for dogs that are considered uniquely gifted for their ability to learn the names of various objects. Previous studies have found that these smart canines can categorize objects by function and understand how similar types of toys work, even if the toys don’t look alike. Being a GWL dog is not unique to any particular breed, but border collies and border collie mixes retained a decent amount of words in a 2023 study.

Sorting through genomic history

Toddlers learn new words in many ways, including passively listening to interactions between adults. To do this, they must follow the speakers’ gaze and attention, spot communicative cues, and pick out the target words from a continuous stream of speech. Until now, it was not known if GWL dogs could also learn new object labels when not directly addressed.

Addressing vs. eavesdropping

To learn more, a team from Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary’s Genius Dog Challenge research project tested 10 gifted dogs in two situations.

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+ Related Stories

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The first situation was called an addressed condition, where owners introduced two new toys and repeatedly labeled them while interacting directly with the dog.

However, to narrow down the remaining human DNA, they needed a point of comparison. That’s where his relatives’ correspondence came into play.

The second was an overheard condition, where the dogs sat nearby as their owners spoke with another person about the toys and did not address the dogs.

da Vinci’s anatomical study of the arm (c. 1510). Image: Public Domain.

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During each condition, the dogs heard the name of the new toys for a total of eight minutes over several short exposure sessions. To see if the dogs had learned the new labels, the toys were then placed in a different room. The owners asked the dogs to retrieve each toy by name. For example, an owner would ask a dog “Can you bring Teddy?” and the dog’s actions were recorded.

So we might have Leonardo’s DNA. Now what?

In both conditions, seven out of the 10 dogs learned the new labels. The dog’s performance was also very accurate. During the addressed condition, the choices were correct 80 percent of the time. During the overhearing condition (when the dogs were not directly addressed) they were correct 100 percent of the time. Overall, the GWL dogs performed just as well when learning from speech they overheard as when they were directly taught.

“Our findings show that the socio-cognitive processes enabling word learning from overheard speech are not uniquely human,” Dr. Shany Dror, a study co-author and cognitive researcher and animal trainer, said in a statement. “Under the right conditions, some dogs present behaviors strikingly similar to those of young children.”

Matters of time

Presumed self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci (c. 1510). Royal Library of Oxfordshire. Image: Public Domain.

During a second experiment, the team also found that GWL dogs can overcome one of the key challenges in learning labels. In the experiment called a discontinuity condition, dog owners first showed the dogs the toys and then put the objects inside of a bucket. They only named the toys when they were out of the dogs’ sight. For the dogs, this created a time delay between actually seeing the object and then hearing its name. Despite this, most of the dogs successfully learned the new labels.

“These findings suggest that GWL dogs can flexibly use a variety of different mechanisms to learn new object labels,” added study co-author and ethnologist Dr. Claudia Fugazza.

”We would like to learn more about his story, about his lineage and about him as a visionary,” Gonzalez-Juarbe adds.

The post Science sleuths think they found Leonardo da Vinci’s DNA appeared first on Popular Science.

BOOM! That time Oregon blew up a whale with dynamite.

Laura Baisas — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 09:00:00 -0500

According to the team, these findings suggest a dog’s ability to learn from overheard speech may rely on brain mechanisms shared across species, instead of being tied to human language. However, since GWL dogs are extremely rare, their abilities likely reflect a combination of nature and nurture.

“These dogs provide an exceptional model for exploring some of the cognitive abilities that enabled humans to develop language,” Dror concluded. “But we do not suggest that all dogs learn in this way—far from it.”

If you suspect that your dog knows multiple toy names and could be a GWL dog, researchers from the Genius Dog Challenge research project encourage dog owners to contact them by email (geniusdogchallenge.offcial@gmail.com), Facebook, or Instagram.

The post Super smart dogs learn by eavesdropping appeared first on Popular Science.

New feature turns AirPods into iPhone camera remotes

David Nield — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 11:54:12 -0500

The iOS 26 software update just keeps on giving: Not only has it added upgrades like a favorite places feature in Apple Maps and a battery-saving mode, there’s also something new for your connected AirPods too.

With iOS 26, you’re able to use your AirPods as both remote controls for video recording, and as an external pair of mics too. If you’re recording yourself talking in any scenario, you should end up with a much higher quality result at the end.

The explosion

This also saves you having to pay money to buy separate remote control and mic accessories. Although top-end equipment will certainly work better than your AirPods, the Apple earbuds should be good enough for most casual users and hobbyists.

What you need

This whaling station in northwestern Norway captured about 180 whales a year before closing in 1920. The whale carcasses were used to produce cooking oil and fat. Image: Public Domain

Your AirPods need to be connected for this to work. Screenshot: Apple

First, you need to make sure your iPhone is updated to iOS 26. To check for any pending updates, open Settings on your iPhone, then tap General > Software Update. And after you’ve tried this AirPods trick, check out other new features in iOS 26.

You’ll also need a pair of compatible AirPods. This works with the AirPods Pro 2, the AirPods Pro 3, and the AirPods 4 (either with or without active noise cancellation). If you haven’t yet connected these to your iPhone, then all you need to do is charge up the AirPods in their case, then bring the case and the earbuds close together.

Choose to pair the AirPods with your iPhone when you see the prompt appear on screen, and you should see them connected to each other within a few seconds. If these are brand new AirPods, you might want to wait a few hours before continuing, just so all the latest firmware updates for the earbuds can be found and applied (this happens quietly in the background, so you don’t need to do anything).

How it works

Selecting AirPods as an input. Screenshot: Apple

With the setup out of the way, you should see a new Camera Remote option appear if you tap on your AirPods in iOS Settings. This menu lets you decide whether the remote recording trigger works with a tap on the stem of your AirPods, or with a press and hold on the stem of your AirPods (or you can turn the feature off).

In 1970, officials exploded a 45-foot-long sperm whale carcass that had washed up along the Oregon Coast in the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. Image: Dougtone / CC BY-SA 2.0

When you open up the Camera app, the new feature should be ready to go—and this trick will work with a variety of third-party camera apps too. Just frame the video (or photo) shot as normal, then use the tap or press and hold gesture on your AirPods to start recording or to take a snap.

Ditching the dynamite

To switch to your AirPods for voice input, swipe down from the top right of the display to open Control Center, then tap on the green bar at the top of the screen. Select Audio Input, then choose your AirPods. The multiple recording modes offered by your AirPods will be shown on screen too, so you can choose between them.

What to bear in mind

Camera remote controls will override other gestures. Screenshot: Apple

It’s all very straightforward, and can make a real difference to the quality and professionalism of your video recordings: Just like using AirPods on a video call. Do bear in mind though that your AirPods need to actually be in your ears for this to work (you can’t use them like a Bluetooth remote, for example).

Note that if you do set this up, the other gesture shortcuts for your AirPods will be disabled while you’re recording video or shooting photos. You might lose the ability to skip between media tracks for example, or to activate Siri, but these features will come back once you switch out of the Camera app.

In That Time When, Popular Science tells the weirdest, surprising, and little-known stories that shaped science, engineering, and innovation.

There’s still no way to switch between the cameras on an iPhone when you’re shooting video, so make sure you’ve got the right camera selected to begin with (via the button in the lower right corner). It’s a good idea to get your mic source selected before you start your recording too, so you don’t miss anything.

The post New feature turns AirPods into iPhone camera remotes appeared first on Popular Science.

Duluth Trading’s winter clearance sale drops winter coats, jackets, and outwerwear up to 50% off

Shoshi Parks — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 10:56:41 -0500

A good winter coat is like a free pass for fun winter activities. No matter how cold or snowy it is outside, a solid jacket will keep you dry and warm. Right now, Duluth Trading has just about all of its coats and jackets on sale for 40 or even 50 percent off. I’m a huge Duluth fan—I’m wearing the company’s boxer briefs right now—so I recommend jumping on these deals while they last.

+ +

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Idaho once dropped 76 beavers from airplanes—on purpose

During WWII, a dress-wearing squirrel sold war bonds alongside FDR

Andrew Jackson’s White House once hosted a cheese feeding frenzy

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During WWII, the U.S. government censored the weather

The U.S. tried permanent daylight saving time—and hated it

The 21 grams experiment that tried to weigh a human soul

The post BOOM! That time Oregon blew up a whale with dynamite. appeared first on Popular Science.

Grab rare deals on Hyperice’s high-end fitness recovery tools including percussion massagers and compression systems

Stan Horaczek — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 18:33:00 -0500

Editor’s picks

Ruffer Puffer Expedition Parka $205 (was $350)

Editor’s picks

Hypervolt 2 Pro is $299 (14% off)

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- The fur hood looks cool and keeps your face warm. + Get a bunch and use them all at the same time. It won’t make you feel better, but it’ll be funny. -

Duluth Trading

Hyperice

@@ -9804,7 +11672,7 @@ - + See It @@ -9812,28 +11680,28 @@ -

If your winter plan includes standing around outside—sidelines, ski lodge parking lots, or just supervising someone else’s shoveling—go longer and warmer. This expedition parka is $205.00 (41% off), and the extra coverage can make cold snaps feel a lot less personal.

AKHG Ursa Major Waterproof Down Parka $158 (was $319)

Hyperice X Knee is $329 (23% off)

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- The extra length battles drafts. + Knees are a common trouble area for every level of athlete. -

Duluth Trading

Hyperice

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This is the kind of parka you buy when you’re tired of playing weather roulette. The name tells you the whole story: waterproof on the outside, down warmth on the inside, and built for days when wind + wet snow team up. It’s $158.97 right now (50% off), which is a serious drop for a true winter parka.

Insolator Battery Heated Vest $115 (was $200)

Normatec 3 Full Body is $1,349 (13% off)

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- The battery-powered vest is great for layering. + Relax in front of YouTube videos and recover at the same time. -

Duluth Trading

Hyperice

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Layering works, but sometimes you just want your core to feel like it’s getting preferential treatment. This battery-heated vest is $115.00 (42% off) and is easy to throw over a flannel or under a shell when you don’t want to haul a full parka everywhere.

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Tip: If you’re building a cold-weather system from scratch, prioritize outerwear first (parka/coat), then add lined pants, then fill gaps with a vest or fleece midlayer.

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Men’s Duluth Trading deals

If you train often, travel a lot, or stack workouts back-to-back, full-body compression can make downtime feel like it’s doing something useful instead of just being more couch time.

Parkas & coats

Shop all Hyperice deals

Ruffer Puffer Expedition Parka $205.00 (41% off)

Normatec compression systems

AKHG Ursa Major Parka $190.00 (41% off)

Best for full-limb recovery when your legs feel heavy, travel wrecks you, or you want a consistent post-workout routine.

AKHG Triple Slope 3-in-1 Jacket $205.00 (41% off)

Normatec Elite Legs $999 (9% off)
AKHG Ursa Major Waterproof Down Jacket $175.00 (42% off)
Normatec Elite Hips $549 (8% off)
Whaleback Waterproof Insulated Long Coat $155.00 (40% off)
Normatec 3 Legs $799 (11% off)
Whaleback Waterproof Insulated Parka $140.00 (42% off)
Normatec 3 Lower Body $999 (13% off)
Insolator Parka $115.00 (42% off)
Normatec 3 Full Body $1,349 (13% off)
Storm Heckler Lined Raincoat $115.00 (42% off)
Normatec Go $329 (13% off)

Jackets & shirt jackets

Hypervolt percussion massage guns

No-Rainer Jacket $58.98 (51% off)

Best for targeting specific tight spots, warming up stubborn muscles, or undoing the damage of sitting in one position for too long.

Range Time Cordura Shirt Jac $55.00 (45% off)

Hypervolt 2 Pro $299 (14% off)
AKHG Elk Flats Flannel Shirt Jac $55.00 (45% off)
Hypervolt 2 $199 (13% off)
Flapjack Fleece-lined Relaxed Fit Shirt Jac $55.00 (45% off)
Hypervolt Go 2 $109 (22% off)
Officer’s Slub Sateen Shirt Jac $45.00 (43% off)
Hypervolt Go 2 (Black) $119 (14% off)

Shoreman’s Fleece Gridlock Jacket $65.00 (41% off)

Targeted heat therapy and joint-focused relief

Flapjack Relaxed Fit Hooded Shirt Jac $65.00 (41% off)

Best when you want warmth and spot treatment, especially around joints and stubborn stiffness.

Folklore Flannel Insulated Shirt Jac $65.00 (41% off)

Hyperice X Knee $329 (23% off)
AKHG Puffin Mock Jacket $75.00 (42% off)
Hyperice X Shoulder $329 (23% off)
AKHG Puffin Hooded Jacket $80.00 (43% off)
Venom Go Pack $149 (20% off)

Prudhoe Bay Hooded Action Jac $85.00 (43% off)

Bundles

Fire Hose Lightweight Presentation Jacket $85.00 (43% off)

Best if you want broader coverage in one buy instead of piecing together a setup later.

Fire Hose Trucker Jacket $70.00 (41% off)

Normatec Pack $1,013 (15% off)
AKHG Kindler Pile Fleece Full Zip Jacket $95.00 (40% off)
Legacy Pack $1,228 (14% off)
Sweater Fleece Shirt Jac $50.00 (44% off)
Core Premium Bundle $159 (20% off)

Insolator Jacket $105.00 (42% off)

Normatec attachments and add-ons

Bear Hide Fleece Jacket $85.00 (43% off)

Best for expanding your compression system beyond the basics, especially for upper body and hips.

Sutter’s Mill Jacket $75.00 (42% off)

Normatec Leg Attachments $350 (13% off)
Fire Hose Flannel-Lined Jacket $95.00 (40% off)
Normatec Arm Attachments $350 (13% off)
Whaleback Waterproof Insulated Jacket $125.00 (40% off)
Normatec Hip Attachment $200 (20% off)

Pants

DuluthFlex Fire Hose Relaxed Fit Lined Cargo Pants $50.00 (50% off)
The best percussion massagers
Fire Hose Fleece-Lined Relaxed Fit Pants $55.00 (45% off)
The best neck massagers
DuluthFlex Dry on the Fly Lined Relaxed Cargo Pants $60.00 (43% off)
Personal care products that solved real problems in 2025
AKHG Stone Run Relaxed Fit Fleece Lined Pants $65.00 (43% off)
More fitness gear coverage

The post Grab rare deals on Hyperice’s high-end fitness recovery tools including percussion massagers and compression systems appeared first on Popular Science.

Why is this infamous iceberg turning blue?

Laura Baisas — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 15:42:58 -0500

AKHG Stone Run Standard Fit Fleece Lined Pants $65.00 (43% off)

The satellite image of iceberg A-23A taken on December 26, 2025. Image: NASA.

DuluthFlex Fire Hose Flannel-Lined 5-Pocket Pants $55.00 (42% off)

Whaleback Waterproof Insulated Cargo Pants $110.00 (42% off)

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Bibs & overalls

A satellite image of the iceberg taken on December 27, 2025. Image: NASA.

DuluthFlex Fire Hose HD Lined Bib Overalls $85.00 (43% off)

The extensive pools of “blue mush” on the iceberg’s surface are likely the result of ongoing disintegration events.

Superior Fire Hose Insulated Bib Overalls $125.00 (40% off)

AKHG Triple Slope Bibs $145.00 (42% off)

The blue and white striped patterns are likely due to striations that were put into the ice hundreds of years ago, when the ice was dragged across Antarctic bedrock.

Vests

Shoreman’s Fleece Gridlock Vest $50.00 (44% off)

AKHG Puffin Mock Vest $65.00 (41% off)

These signs indicate that the iceberg could be just days or weeks from disintegrating completely.

Superior Fire Hose Insulated Vest $85.00 (43% off)

“I certainly don’t expect A-23A to last through the austral summer,” said Shuman.

Bear Hide Fleece Vest $70.00 (41% off)

Insolator Vest $85.00 (43% off)

Even as A-23A fades, more enormous icebergs are parked or drifting along the Antarctic shoreline. A-81, B22A, and D15A, are each larger than 500 square miles and could also begin their journey north.

The post Why is this infamous iceberg turning blue? appeared first on Popular Science.

Super smart dogs learn by eavesdropping

Laura Baisas — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 14:00:00 -0500

Insolator Battery Heated Vest $115.00 (42% off)

Learning words

Sutter’s Mill Vest $65.00 (41% off)

Fire Hose Flannel-Lined Hooded Vest $85.00 (43% off)

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Sweaters & warm layers

Addressing vs. eavesdropping

Strongarm 1/4 Zip Mock Sweater $40.00 (46% off)

To learn more, a team from Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary’s Genius Dog Challenge research project tested 10 gifted dogs in two situations.

Strongarm Crew Sweater $40.00 (42% off)

The first situation was called an addressed condition, where owners introduced two new toys and repeatedly labeled them while interacting directly with the dog.

Burly Retirement Crew Waffle Sweater $50.00 (44% off)

Burly Retirement Shawl Collar Waffle Cardigan $55.00 (42% off)

The second was an overheard condition, where the dogs sat nearby as their owners spoke with another person about the toys and did not address the dogs.

Duluth Brigadier Shawl Collar Sweater $55.00 (45% off)
Lambswool Crew Sweater $50.00 (41% off)

Lambswool Fair Isle Crew Sweater $55.00 (42% off)

Strongarm Pullover Hoodie Sweater $50.00 (41% off)

Women’s Duluth Trading deals

Parkas & coats

Matters of time

AKHG Ursa Major Waterproof Down Parka $158.97 (50% off)

Cold Reliable Coat $140.00 (42% off)

Plus Cold Reliable Coat $140.00 (42% off)

Superior Fire Hose Insulated Parka $130.00 (41% off)

“These findings suggest that GWL dogs can flexibly use a variety of different mechanisms to learn new object labels,” added study co-author and ethnologist Dr. Claudia Fugazza.

Cold Reliable Down Coat $130.00 (41% off)

Ruffer Puffer Arctic Down Long Coat $160.00 (41% off)

AKHG Puffin Parka Jacket $100.00 (41% off)

The post Super smart dogs learn by eavesdropping appeared first on Popular Science.

New feature turns AirPods into iPhone camera remotes

David Nield — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 11:54:12 -0500

Plus AKHG Puffin Long Parka $100.00 (41% off)

Nor’Wester Soft Shell Coat $80.00 (43% off)

Plus Nor’Wester Soft Shell Coat $80.00 (43% off)

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What you need

Jackets & shirt jackets

Your AirPods need to be connected for this to work. Screenshot: Apple

AKHG Kindler Pile Fleece Full Zip Jacket $78.97 (50% off)

Down Right Jacket $110.00 (42% off)

Superior Fire Hose Insulated Hooded Jacket $110.00 (42% off)

AKHG Puffin Hoodie Jacket $80.00 (43% off)

How it works

AKHG Puffin Mock Jacket $75.00 (42% off)

Selecting AirPods as an input. Screenshot: Apple

Timberlodge Shirt Jac $55.00 (45% off)

Pants & bibs

Flexpedition Lined Straight Leg Pants $53.97 (51% off)

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What to bear in mind

DuluthFlex Fire Hose Lined Pants $65.00 (41% off)

Camera remote controls will override other gestures. Screenshot: Apple

Duluth Heritage Hi-Rise Lined Straight Leg Jeans $65.00 (41% off)

AKHG Triple Slope Bibs $123.97 (50% off)

Vests

The post New feature turns AirPods into iPhone camera remotes appeared first on Popular Science.

Duluth Trading’s winter clearance sale drops winter coats, jackets, and outwerwear up to 50% off

Stan Horaczek — Thu, 08 Jan 2026 10:56:41 -0500

Plus Duluth Signature Festi-Vest $31.97 (50% off)

Editor’s picks

Down Right Long Vest $85.00 (43% off)

Ruffer Puffer Expedition Parka $205 (was $350)

Cold Reliable Long Vest $100.00 (41% off)

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+ + The fur hood looks cool and keeps your face warm. + +

Duluth Trading

AKHG Puffin Mock Vest $65.00 (41% off)

+ + + + See It + +

Plus AKHG Puffin Mock Vest $65.00 (41% off)

Sweaters & warm layers

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AKHG Ursa Major Waterproof Down Parka $158 (was $319)

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+ + The battery-powered vest is great for layering. + +

Heritage Waffle Stitch Crew Sweater $40.00 (46% off)

+ + The extra length battles drafts. + +

Duluth Trading

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+ + + + See It + +

Plus Heritage Waffle Stitch Crew Sweater $40.00 (46% off)

Heritage Waffle Stitch Cardigan $45.00 (43% off)

Plus Heritage Waffle Stitch Cardigan Sweater $45.00 (43% off)

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Insolator Battery Heated Vest $115 (was $200)

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Duluth Trading