Popular Science

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Despite the understated profile, these headphones pack stamina: up to 25 hours of calls and 120 hours of music on Evolve3 85 with ANC/busylight off (22/110 on Evolve3 75), plus a 10-minute fast charge for up to 10 more hours, and wireless charging for desk-drop life. One-touch voice access is integrated for GenAI prompts and high-accuracy transcription. Bluetooth 5.4 with LC3 codec is made for the playlists that fuel productivity. For IT teams, there’s secure Bluetooth Low Energy with a pre-paired adapter included, UC-certified virtual meeting platform variants, Bluetooth Native for direct device connections, and centralized fleet control through Jabra Plus Management; users get personal tweaks through the Jabra Plus app (with a desktop version planned for later in 2026). Replaceable batteries and parts, recycled/bio-circular materials, and TCO generation 10 certification round out the “one device you only buy once” mindset.

The higher coverage helps keep cold air and powder where it belongs, and “GORE-TEX 3L” in the name is a solid signal this is meant for nasty weather days, not just fair-weather laps.

Who says hybrid work has to be messy? Evolve3 85 and 75 in Black arrive March 1, 2026, for $649 and $463 (list price at launch), with Warm Gray landing in April.

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The post Jabra transforms headsets into headphones with new Evolve3 75 & 85 appeared first on Popular Science.

The swinging sex lives of Alaska’s beluga whales

Laura Baisas — Wed, 21 Jan 2026 00:00:00 -0500

Among marine mammals, beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) are particularly difficult to study in their icy habitat. To better understand and protect this endangered species, scientists must piece together bits of their lives from fragments, including one of the most important behaviors of any species—mating.

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One small population of beluga whales living in southwest Alaska’s Bristol Bay appears to have a surprising strategy. Over several years, both male and female belugas mate with multiple partners. This method may reduce the risk of inbreeding in the group of just 2,000 whales and help maintain genetic diversity. The findings are detailed in a study published today in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science.

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A surprising strategy

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Over 13 years, scientists collected genetic samples from 623 beluga whales in Bristol Bay, while simultaneously observing their ages and social groupings. The largely isolated population has little or no mixing with other populations elsewhere in the Arctic and subarctic. This degree of isolation gives biologists a unique opportunity to study them as a distinct population.

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The team wanted to determine which mating style this population of beluga engaged in—polygynous, polyandrous, or polygynandrous. In polygynous mating, one male mates with multiple females, as seen in many bird species. In polyandrous animals, one female mates with multiple males, similar to what female mice do. Polygynandrous mating is when both males and females have multiple mates.

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Since belugas live 30 to 50 years on average—with some living as long as 80 years—the team focused on what happens during one mating season instead of over a whole lifetime.

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The team found that this beluga whale population engages in a polygynandrous system, where both males and females mate with multiple partners over several years. Instead of reproductive success being dominated by a few individuals, it is more spread out. This mate switching also results in many half-sibling offspring and few full-sibling offspring and could reduce the risk of inbreeding and help maintain genetic diversity in the small population.

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An aggregation of adult beluga whales in a bay during the summer in the High Arctic. Image: Greg O’Corry-Crowe and Cortney Watt, Arctic Whale Research Program – FAU/DFO.

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According to the team, these findings upend scientists’ earlier notions about beluga mating. Since males are much larger than females and are not frequently seen with mothers and calves, researchers thought that the whales were highly polygynous. In these settings, males spend significantly more time competing for mates and only a few dominant males end up fathering most of the calves.

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“Our findings tell a very different story,” Greg O’Corry-Crowe, a study co-author and biologist at Florida Atlantic University, said in a statement. “In the short term, males are only moderately polygynous. One explanation we think lies in their incredible longevity—belugas can live perhaps 100 years or more. Rather than competing intensely in a single season, males appear to play the long game, spreading their reproductive efforts over many years. It appears to be a ‘take your time, there’s plenty of fish in the sea’ strategy.”

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Mating matters

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The findings also indicate that female belugas have their own equally fascinating reproductive strategy. Instead of sticking with one partner, they frequently switch mates from one breeding season to the next. This could be a form of risk management, allowing the females to avoid pairing with low-quality males and increasing the likelihood of creating healthy and genetically diverse offspring.

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“It’s a striking reminder that female choice can be just as influential in shaping reproductive success as the often-highlighted battles of male-male competition,” O’Corry-Crowe added. “Such strategies highlight the subtle, yet powerful ways in which females exert control over the next generation, shaping the evolutionary trajectory of the species.”

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Two beluga whale cow-calf pairs in a shallow river estuary in the High Arctic. Image.
Greg O’Corry-Crowe and Cortney Watt, Arctic Whale Research Program – FAU/DFO.

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According to the team, these findings underscore how important understanding mating systems is for conservation methods, particularly in small or isolated populations like the Bristol Bay Belugas. In polygynandrous systems like these, mate choice, partner switching, and shared reproductive opportunities is what spreads genes more evenly. This maintains genetic diversity, limits inbreeding, and offsets the devastating impacts a small population size can have.

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“Understanding these dynamics matters for conservation. If only a few males father most calves, the effective population size becomes much smaller than the number of whales actually present,” said O’Corry-Crowe.

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The Indigenous communities of Bristol Bay were key in getting this study together. They helped study these elusive whales, melding scientific research with Indigenous knowledge to protect the belugas in a changing Arctic and subarctic.

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“We cannot afford to be complacent. Small populations still face the dangers of genetic erosion,” concluded O’Corry-Crowe. “But we can be optimistic that beluga whale mating strategies provide evidence of nature’s resilience and offers hope for those working to save and recover small populations of any species.”

The post The swinging sex lives of Alaska’s beluga whales appeared first on Popular Science.

13 gorgeous black-and-white images of the animal kingdom

Popular Science Team — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 20:04:00 -0500

While our world is filled with brilliant colors, seeing it in monochrome can be striking.

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The 2025 Nature Photography Contest celebrates the “enduring power of black and white photography” and its ability “to deepen our connection with the natural world,” according to a press release. This year’s contest welcomed submissions from 82 countries and the winners include stunning and intimate photographs of wildlife, all in black and white.

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“Emperors”
Emperor penguin family together after feeding the chick.
Credit: Risto Raunio / Exposure One Awards – 2025 Nature Photography Contest

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Photographer Lidija Novković earned top honors in the Professional category for a powerful image of a horse (seen below). Janet Gustin won the Non-Professional category for a playful photo of a fox kit nipping at its mother. Visit Exposure One for a full gallery of the honorees. (Click to expand images to full screen.)

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“Zacudno”
Credit: Lidija Novković / Exposure One Awards – 2025 Nature Photography Contest

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“Ouch!”
While siblings nurse below, one kit fox pup demands attention the only way he knows how – by gently biting mom’s face. The tender chaos of motherhood captured in a single frame. Even in the wild, kids compete for affection, and sometimes getting noticed means being a little bit bold.
Credit: Janet Gustin / Exposure One Awards – 2025 Nature Photography Contest

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“A Sea of Horns”
I took this photo on my iPhone as I was helping my sister move goats around the yards….the dust billowed up so much one could hardly see!
Credit: Rachael Ryan / Exposure One Awards – 2025 Nature Photography Contest

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“The Dive”
Credit: Fabi Fregonesi / Exposure One Awards – 2025 Nature Photography Contest

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“Deadly Fluff”
Thick fur hides claws and power. The bear’s paws show both strength and comfort, made to endure the endless winter.
Credit: Wouter Van Hofwegen / Exposure One Awards – 2025 Nature Photography Contest

Rain shells & wind layers

“Ghost of the Savannah”
In the moonlit stillness of Kenya’s Shompole wilderness, a hyena emerges from the darkness – its silhouette etched in dust and backlight. The photograph captures the raw, nocturnal spirit of the African savannah, where every sound and shadow tells a story of survival.
Credit: Caesar Sengupta / Exposure One Awards – 2025 Nature Photography Contest

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“Holy Waters”
The iconic Christ of the Abyss statue lies in ~30′ of water off Key Largo. For decades, divers scrubbed it clean, but several years back, that became illegal, and set out for this shoot after several years of coral growth – not too much, not too little.
Credit: Chris Gug / Exposure One Awards – 2025 Nature Photography Contest

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“The Sardine Run”
The sardine run in Mexico is a feeding frenzy, sea lions, striped marlins, whales and the list goes on and on. The ocean truly alive.
Credit: Frederico Cerdeira / Exposure One Awards – 2025 Nature Photography Contest

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“Flight Lines”
Photographed above Lake Magadi, flamingos lift off, their bodies forming loose diagonals across dark water. In flight, the flock becomes a study in rhythm—wings catching light in brief, alternating intervals crossing the frame. Movement becomes pattern, rendered in stark contrast from the air.
Credit: Holly Kirkland / Exposure One Awards – 2025 Nature Photography Contest

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“Under a Veil of Algae”
Credit: Jana Hejzlarova / Exposure One Awards – 2025 Nature Photography Contest

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“Naturally Unfolding”
At the foot of Wyoming’s Tetons the waning day brings a cast of characters together to mingle for a moment of refreshingly untouched nature.
Credit: Michael Paul / Exposure One Awards – 2025 Nature Photography Contest

The post 13 gorgeous black-and-white images of the animal kingdom appeared first on Popular Science.

How to really spot AI-generated images, with Google’s help

David Nield — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 16:09:44 -0500

It’s harder than ever to tell AI-generated images from real photographs and illustrations produced by flesh-and-blood human beings. And in recent years, the fakery produced by AI models has become a lot more realistic and a lot more convincing. We’re now firmly past the uncanny valley.

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However, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to spot AI pictures: There are still signs to watch out for, checks you can make, and tools you can use to distinguish the genuine from the synthetic. As is the case with AI-generated video, you don’t have to give up just yet.

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You may not be able to definitively determine this one way or the other each and every time, but in a lot of cases you can make a pretty educated guess. And in an age of disinformation and AI slop, being able to make the distinction is a skill that’s worth honing.

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Use AI spotting tools

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Some chatbots are now putting hidden watermarks into their image outputs, identifying them as AI-generated. While these watermarks aren’t difficult to remove—a simple screenshot of the image will do it—they’re a good place to start when it comes to trying to tell if an image has been made by AI.

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Anything produced by Google Gemini, for example, will have what’s called a SynthID watermark embedded somewhere in it. To test the authenticity of an image, you can upload a picture to Gemini on the web, and simply ask “was this image made by AI?”. Gemini will be able to find the SynthID watermark, if it’s there.

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Google’s SynthID can be used to label AI content. Image: Google

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There’s another standard way of labeling AI images, which is developed by the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA): the labeling itself is called C2PA, and it’s supported by companies including OpenAI, Adobe, and Google. If you head to a C2PA checking website such as Content Credentials, you can upload an image and get it analyzed for evidence of AI creation.

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If an image passes these checks, it’s not a guarantee that it’s genuine—but it’s worth running through them anyway, because they will catch some AI generations, and even tell you which model was used to make the picture in many cases. If you’re still not sure, you can move on to looking at the context around an image.

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Check the context

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No image is an island: It will have come from somewhere, and been shared by someone. You can rely on respected publications (such as the one you’re reading) to honestly label images that have been generated by AI, and properly attribute other images that haven’t. You’ll know exactly what you’re looking at.

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On the wilds of social media of course, the lines are much more blurred. Here, content is posted and reposted without context or attribution, and it’s much more likely that something on Facebook or X has been faked. That’s especially true if the picture is designed to attract engagement, through controversy or cuteness or any of the other emotional levers that get pulled.

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Imagine getting six near-identical kittens to actually line up like this. Image: AI generated, Gemini Made with Google AI

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Another trick you can try, especially when it comes to images associated with news stories, is to look for complementary pictures taken from different angles. Are the pictures consistent? Do the details match up from different viewpoints and across different time periods? For illustrations and graphic art, you can again check to see if any credits have been applied: See if what you’re looking at has a link back to the artist and their portfolio.

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A reverse image search can sometimes reveal where an image has come from, and help you find other copies on the web: TinEye is perhaps the best resource for this. If there are no other matches, that points towards AI—especially if it’s been posted without context on social media, and especially via an account trying to monetize or sell something.

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Look for the signs

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We know AI bots aren’t actually taking any photographs or sketching any pictures: They’re producing approximations of images based on prompts and their training data (which is vast amounts of creative work done by people). That approach can lead to a certain generic sheen that gives away a lot of AI-generated content.

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Anime characters look like generic anime characters, trees look like generic trees, and city streets look like generic city streets. There’s even a recognizable ChatGPT font that the AI bot reverts to whenever you ask for some text without any specific style—like an average of all the fonts ever created—and you’ll recognize it if you try and generate a few pictures with text in ChatGPT.

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A generic boy on a generic street, with a newspaper showing the standard ChatGPT font. Image: AI generated, ChatGPT

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Physics is still a problem, though the errors aren’t as egregious as they used to be. Try rendering a view of a castle or a vast office block interior in an AI bot and you’ll notice turrets appear in pointless places, staircases lead to nowhere, and elevator doors don’t actually lead to elevators. There are often logical inconsistencies, because AI doesn’t really understand buildings or interior space, just how to create a decent simulation of them in visual form.

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We may be past the point of six fingers on hands, but faces and limbs regularly look squished and unnatural, and details are often fuzzy and blurred. Sometimes these problems will be easier to spot than others, but with a little practice and a few test renders of your own, you should get better at being able to identify them.

The post How to really spot AI-generated images, with Google’s help appeared first on Popular Science.

Amazon is blowing out Cuddl Duds base layers and and thermal underwear just in time for frigid temperatures

Stan Horaczek — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 14:42:40 -0500

Cold weather is mostly a physics problem: your body makes heat, and winter tries to steal it via wind, convection, and damp fabric. A decent base layer helps by trapping warm air close to your skin and keeping you more comfortable whether you’re shoveling, walking the dog, working in an unheated garage, or hiking. Right now, Amazon has solid deals on Cuddl Duds base-layer sets and lounge-ready pajamas. These are more versatile than outdoor-specific base layers, so you can wear them on the hill or on the couch.

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The fleece lining helps hold warmth against your core and legs, which is exactly what you want when the wind is doing its best to blast every bit of warmth away from your body.

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You can wear this under pretty much any outfit. The fleece lining adds noticeable warmth without forcing you into bulky outerwear, which matters if you still need to move around (walking, commuting, or doing anything that requires bending your knees).

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If you’re shopping by price first, this is another solid pick from the batch, and it’s the easiest way to make standing outside less miserable.

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The post Amazon is blowing out Cuddl Duds base layers and and thermal underwear just in time for frigid temperatures appeared first on Popular Science.

Scottish distillery wants to bottle whisky in aluminum, not glass

Andrew Paul — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 14:31:53 -0500

Scotland’s smallest whisky distillery also hopes to be one of the most innovative in time for its first batch’s debut. But with only around two years until Sterling Distillery’s inaugural liquor matures, it remains to be seen if the company can ditch traditional glass bottles for a material associated more with cheap beer than fine whisky—aluminum.

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Any serious distillery uses glass bottles for the good stuff. The reason is as much about aesthetics as it is about chemistry. From a psychological standpoint, the hefty, translucent glass implies the painstaking artisanal craft required to produce an elevated batch of whisky (the “whiskey” spelling is generally only used by Irish and American distillers). The material also is guaranteed to not interact with a whisky’s delicate flavor profile, that can only be achieved after years or even decades of aging.

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There are serious sustainability problems with the industry’s reliance on glass. Most glass manufacturing still requires vast amounts of energy at a major environmental cost. What’s more, all those heavy whisky bottles then ramp up pollution and other problems as they’re transported around the world. Once a bottle is finally empty, recycling is harder than you might think. Manufacturers have long offered popular drinks—both with and without alcohol—in much more sustainable aluminum containers. So why haven’t distilleries made the leap?

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Sterling Distillery recently approached chemical scientists at Scotland’s Heriot-Watt University to provide some answers. Researchers spent months analyzing how aluminum can affect the liquor’s chemical composition and flavor profile. Using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, the team first measured how alcohol and metal atoms interacted when whisky is stored in aluminum. While they found that contact with the metal often reduced or eliminated important compounds like gallic acid, volunteer taste testers didn’t differentiate between whisky housed in glass and aluminum bottles.

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From there, the team used plasma mass spectrometry to measure the actual metal levels in the whisky. The small samples used for the taste test were comparatively safe, but they soon determined a potentially major branding issue: no one wants metal poisoning from their whisky dram.

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“We know that certain organic acids naturally present in matured whisky can react with aluminum, which can lead to aluminum entering the liquid,” Dave Ellis, a chemist at Heriot-Watt University, said in a statement. “If we stir samples with aluminum metal, the levels were well above what would be considered acceptable for drinking water.”

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The reason this isn’t an issue in other aluminum containers like soup cans is due to their linings. For decades, soup cans and other products featured a transparent coating as much as 10 micrometers thick made from various epoxy resins and Bisphenol A (BPA) plastics. Because BPA plastic has plenty of its own health and environmental issues, industries have slowly switched to alternative liners—but it remains to be seen if any of them can hold up to a potent whisky.

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“Any innovation has to respect the craft of whisky making while meeting the highest standards of safety,” added Annie Hill, a researcher at Heriot-Watt’s International Center for Brewing and Distilling. “In this case, the liner within the can wasn’t sufficient to prevent aluminum from passing into the spirit.

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The team added that aluminum whisky bottles aren’t impossible in the future. However, distillers and scientists still need to find a lining that could withstand years—and sometimes decades—on a whisky aficionado’s shelf. Sterling Distillery wants to have aluminum bottling ready for the debut of its first matured whisky in 2027, so it still has some time to locate a liner. But if there’s one thing whisky teaches you, it’s that you can’t rush a good thing.

The post Scottish distillery wants to bottle whisky in aluminum, not glass appeared first on Popular Science.

Dinosaur bones found underneath parking lot in Dinosaur, Colorado

Andrew Paul — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 13:11:01 -0500

For a place named Dinosaur, it’s been a while since the small Colorado town revealed any actual fossils. But after a 101 year lull in discoveries, work was paused on a new parking lot near Dinosaur National Monument, after construction crews uncovered a section of unexpected sandstone. Park staff and paleontologists soon examined the find, and identified sauropod bones most likely belonging to Diplodocus—a massive, long-necked dinosaur from the Late Jurassic period.

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Located on the Colorado-Utah border at the meeting of the Green and Yampa rivers, Dinosaur National Monument was established as a federally protected site in 1915. Its nearly 330 square miles of land encompasses over 800 separate paleontological sites dating back 150 million years to the Jurassic era. The Carnegie Museum oversaw the very first excavations from 1909 to 1922, followed by projects from the Smithsonian Museum and the University of Utah in 1923 and 1924.

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The region is largely arid desert landscape today. However, over 150 million years ago, a vast river bed regularly received the remains of dinosaurs as they floated downstream. These bones slowly fossilized in the sandstone and conglomerate rock, resulting in one of the continent’s best preserved and diverse collections of ancient megafauna. Today, the nearby national monument offers visitors a glimpse at the range of species that once roamed North America such as Allosaurus, Deinonychus, and Stegosaurus.

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After identifying the new Diplodocus bones in a parking lot, paleontologists worked with park staff, the Utah Conservation Corps, and local volunteers between September and October 2025 to remove around 3,000 pounds of rocks and fossils. The finds were then moved to the Natural History State Park Museum in Vernal, Utah, where they can be viewed in the institution’s public fossil preparation lab. Additional examples are already on display at the Dinosaur National Monument’s Quarry Exhibit Hall. Also known as the Wall of Bones, the exhibit hall is situated over an intact section of the original Carnegie quarry dig showcasing an estimated 1,500 dinosaur fossils still embedded in rock.

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Researchers are now continuing to clean and examine the parking lot discoveries that broke the century-long dry spell for Dinosaur, Colorado. That said, the town wasn’t always so aptly named. Originally known as Baxter Springs, the location was eventually retitled Artesia during an oil rush in the 1940s oil boom. In 1966, the small hub finally received its current Dinosaur designation.

The post Dinosaur bones found underneath parking lot in Dinosaur, Colorado appeared first on Popular Science.

This deadly dog ‘spaghetti’ has ancient origins

Laura Baisas — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 12:00:00 -0500

Every year, millions of dogs come face-to-face with a life threatening parasite coiled up inside one of their vital organs—heartworm. The spaghetti-looking parasite can be fatal when left untreated.

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New research into the widespread canine parasite suggests that heartworm has a deeper and more complex history than scientists previously believed and some may have originated in Australian dingoes. The findings are detailed in a study published today in the journal Communications Biology.

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Heartworm disease is caused by the parasite Dirofilaria immitis. It is spread to dogs by mosquitoes and can be fatal. Adult worms live in the blood vessels of the heart and lungs and can grow up to 11.8 inches long (30 centimeters). Dog owners and veterinarians often report that worms can look like a strand of spaghetti in the heart.

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Heartworms taken from a dog’s heart. Image: University of Sydney.

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In the new study, an international team of researchers looked at over 100 heartworm genomes collected from pet dogs and wild canids from around the world. They used whole-genome sequencing to compare heartworms found in different regions, which helped them reconstruct population histories and track how the parasites diverged over time. They then pinpointed distinct regional heartworm populations that were shaped by the how and when ancient canids moved across the earth during ice ages.

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They found that ancient canid hosts such as wolves and dingoes played a pivotal role in shaping how heartworms have been distributed across the globe for thousands of years.

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“For decades, we assumed heartworms were spread mainly through recent human activity,” Dr. Rosemonde Power, a study co-author and University of Stockholm paleogeneticist, said in a statement. “What we’re seeing instead is evidence of deep co-evolution between heartworms and their canine hosts, even before humans were part of the picture.”

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One of the study’s most interesting findings relates to Australia. Genetic signatures in Australian heartworms suggest that they might share ancestry with parasites found in Asia. According to the team, this raises the possibility that heartworm may have arrived in Australia with the continent’s first dingoes. The wild canids are believed to have migrated from Asia thousands of years ago.

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However, the team cautions that the evidence is not conclusive. Heartown also may have been introduced to Australia more recently, following European colonization.

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“While our data suggest an ancient link between Australian and Asian heartworms, the sample size means we need to be careful about drawing firm conclusions,” said study co-author and University of Sydney veterinarian Jan Slapeta. “What we can say with confidence is that heartworm evolution is far older and more complex than a simple story of parasites hitchhiking with modern dogs.”

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Graphic showing canid migrations and heartworm specimen sites. Image: University of Sydney.

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Despite being separated by thousands of years, understanding how these ancient parasites evolved does have implications for animals living today. Like with antibiotics, resistance to common heartworm treatments and prevention methods is growing.

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“Understanding where heartworms come from and how different populations are related helps us respond more effectively to disease and drug resistance,” added Slapeta. “Heartworms are not the same everywhere, and local history matters.”

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In future studies, more sampling, particularly from regions that are more underrepresented regions could help explain more about the parasite, including that mystery of where Australia’s heartworm first originated.

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The post This deadly dog ‘spaghetti’ has ancient origins appeared first on Popular Science.

A robot bat sheds new light on how they hunt in darkness

Stan Horaczek — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 09:00:00 -0500

Biologists and engineers have joined forces to build a new robot bat that’s helping us understand how real bats use echolocation to hunt for food. By creating a robot that can echolocate, the team mimicked a bat’s flight path and explained how bats can quickly determine whether or not their prey is on a leaf. This new bat’s eye view is detailed in a study recently published in the Journal of Experimental Biology

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The study was led in part by bat scientist and Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute research associate Inga Geipel. In fact, the robot’s performance largely confirmed Geipel’s hypothesis about real bats. While she expected these results, she still found them gratifying, not so much for herself, but for her furry subjects.

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“I’m always Team Bat,” Geipel tells Popular Science. “They always trick me, they always outsmart me.”

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Bats use echolocation to find their way and hunt for prey. The winged mammals emit rapid clicking sounds from their mouths and listen for the echoes as those sounds bounce off nearby objects, which could include potential meals. By interpreting the timing and strength of those returning echoes, bats can build a detailed acoustic picture of their surroundings.

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That sonar-based perception process is somewhat akin to the way autonomous vehicles use LiDAR sensors to create a mini map of the world around them. But while self-driving cars rely on dozens of cameras and sensors working in concert, bats accomplish the same task intuitively, with just two ears and a mouth.

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Though scientists have long known that bats used echolocation, it was still unclear exactly how they utilize it in the real world, especially in densely packed jungles and rainforests where there are virtually unlimited empty leaves vying for a hungry bat’s attention.

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Common big-eared bat (Micronycteris microtis) eating a freshly-caught dragonfly. Image:
Christian Ziegler.

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Entering a bat’s world

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To fly into a bat’s world, the team built on Geipel’s nearly 20 years of research. She says her fascination began when she glimpsed one of the flying mammals deftly fluttering through a lightless night sky. Also a lifelong admirer of music and sound, Geipel was captivated by the notion that these creatures could use those senses to “see” in ways humans can’t comprehend. She hoped her future work would shed some light on that intellectual darkness.

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“Seeing the world through sound is a sensory system that is alien to us,” Geipel said. “I find it highly fascinating that bats can fly in total darkness.”

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The new robot bat study is something of a spiritual “sequel” to Geipel’s PhD research on bat foraging. That earlier work showed that big-eared bats (Micronycteris microtis) initially approach leaves at a specific angle so that their sonar clicks reflect off smooth forest leaves like an echolocation mirror. Leaves with objects on them, such as insects, scatter the sonar, resulting in the bat receiving a stronger return pulse. From the bat’s perspective, stronger echoes can mean a tasty lunch.

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But while that basic theory makes intuitive sense, it also presents a practical problem. For the proposed system to work, bats would seemingly need to know the orientation and position of every leaf they pass, whether or not it holds potential prey. In a forest, a hungry bat would be overwhelmed by the need to constantly analyze a cacophony of echoes from countless leaves muddying its sonar. The bat would essentially spend all its time toiling over the correct angle of approach.

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“Behavioral experiments had already suggested how these bats might solve the problem of finding prey-occupied leaves, but we wanted to know whether that explanation was actually sufficient to make the behavior work,” paper co-author and University of Cincinnati associate professor of biology, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering Dieter Vanderelst said in a statement.

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That’s where the idea for the robot came into play. The robo-bat was designed to function as a mechanical stand-in for the real thing, allowing researchers to analyze how the winged mammals approach leaves with and without prey. To do that, the team brought together experts from both biology and engineering in pursuit of a common goal—an interdisciplinary collaboration that isn’t all that common. Geipel says the team drew on the combined knowledge of biologists like herself and engineers capable of modeling the physical world through robotics.

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“By building the bat’s hypothesized foraging strategy into a robot and testing it in the physical world, we could ask whether a simple, elegant solution can succeed under complex acoustic conditions, ” Vanderelst added.

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Designing a bat robot

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When designing the robot, the team wanted a system that closely modeled a bat’s natural foraging technique without adding unnecessary complexity. The resulting bat robot” prioritizes function over form. It consists of a robotic arm with a built-in sonar emitter meant to mimic the chirps a bat produces. At the end of the arm are binaural microphones that serve as the robot bat’s “ears.”

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The entire apparatus is mounted on a 9.8-foot -long (or three meters) linear track, which functions as a highly condensed flight path. The track is so condensed that it fits in what looks like a small office.

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Common big-eared bat (Micronycteris microtis) approaching a katydid resting on a leaf. Image: Inga Geipel, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.

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The robot performs the tasks necessary to collect crucial research data, but it certainly wouldn’t fool anyone into thinking it was a true doppelganger of its biological inspiration. Personally, Geipel says she would have favored adding googly eyes, but they ultimately passed on the idea for the sake of professionalism.

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The “leaves” in this case were 3D-printed cardboard. Some of them had a roughly 3.5-inch-long (nine-centimeters) 3D-printed cardboard dragonfly pinned to their centers to represent potential prey. During the experiment, the robot moved along the track, emitting successive sonar pulses with about a 0.5-second delay between them. The resulting signal data formed what the researchers call an “echo envelope,” which was then wirelessly sent back to the computer controlling the robot arm.

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Robotic arm equipped with a sonar head searching and finding an artificial dragonfly on artificial leaves. The laser indicates where the SONAR head is looking. CREDIT: Dieter Vanderelst, University of Cincinnati

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In total, the team conducted more than 45 trials of the robo-bat flying past various leaf configurations, both with and without prey. The system performed remarkably well. The robot successfully detected leaves with a pinned dragonfly 98 percent of the time and falsely identified prey on empty leaves only 18 percent of the time.

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Critically, the bat robot achieved these results without first assessing the orientation or angle of the leaves, one of the primary questions the researchers aimed to answer. The bat appeared to follow a simple framework: track strong, stable echoes above a certain threshold and ignore those that don’t meet it.

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While this work specially looks at big-eared bats (Micronycteris microtis), the researchers are hopeful they could apply it to other species.

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Bat inspired robots come in several shapes and sizes

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Bats have inspired other robots in past studies. In 2017, engineers at Tel Aviv University developed Robat the Robot, a first-of-its-kind autonomous, wheeled device that navigated and explored its surroundings solely using echolocation. Although it couldn’t fly, Robat was equipped with an ultrasonic speaker that emitted bat-like chirps every 30 seconds. It processed the returning echoes through an onboard machine-learning model, which allowed it to identify and avoid obstacles in real time.

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Before that, researchers from Caltech and the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign designed Bat Bot, a bat-inspired robot with soft, articulating wings that weighed just 3.2 ounces (93 grams). The major innovation there was the creation of synthetic wings capable of changing shape as they flap, much like those of a real bat. The team achieved this by developing a custom-made, ultra-thin silicone membrane for the wings.

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The robot Geipel and her colleagues helped create, by contrast, might be less visually impressive than these two earlier examples. However, its function arguably provides researchers with richer data to actually understand with better detail how real living and breathing bats operate.

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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

Mack DeGeurin — 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.

Looking ahead, Geipel says she and her team hope to expand the research to include a wider range of bat species and see if they can understand more clearly how bats distinguish between different kinds of possible prey clinging to leaves. When it comes to studying bats more broadly, she adds, there is still plenty left to uncover.

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.

“We are just scratching the surface here,” Geipel said.

The post A robot bat sheds new light on how they hunt in darkness appeared first on Popular Science.

This weirdly shaped pillow might help you sleep better and it’s 40% off at Amazon right now

Stan Horaczek — Mon, 19 Jan 2026 20:51:53 -0500

A pillow is a very personal choice. But, if it has been a while since you replaced yours—or you have been waking up with a sore neck or shoulder—it’s probably time to upgrade. Right now, Amazon has this uniquely shaped neck support pillow for its lowest price ever. Not only does it do a better job of supporting your neck than a typical flat pillow, it has a dedicated place for your arm, which is crucial for side sleepers like me. I’ve been using a similar pillow for the past few weeks and it has seemingly made a difference, especially in the shoulder I usually squish while I’m sleeping.

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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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This one is trying to solve two common problems at once: neck support and overheating. The contoured shape is meant to “catch” your head and neck instead of letting you crank sideways all night, and the cooling angle is nice if you’re the kind of sleeper who flips the pillow to find the cold side. It’s $35.98 (40% off), which is about as low-risk as these specialty pillows get.

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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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.

If you want the “cooling cervical pillow” idea without overthinking it, this is a straightforward pick at $35.99 (40% off). A contoured pillow can be especially helpful for side sleepers who need a consistent gap-fill between shoulder and head. If you’re trying to stop waking up with that stiff, “what did I do yesterday?” neck feeling, this is a reasonable place to start.

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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.”

Not everyone wants a “cooling” cover, and not every bedroom needs more specialty fabric. This one is a simpler cervical-style option that still aims for better alignment, and it’s $39.98 (29% off). If you’re experimenting with contour pillows for the first time, pay attention to whether your chin feels pushed up or down—either one is a sign the loft isn’t right for you.

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Cervical pillows on sale

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The post This weirdly shaped pillow might help you sleep better and it’s 40% off at Amazon right now appeared first on Popular Science.

British soldier’s long-lost memoir rediscovered in Cleveland

Andrew Paul — Mon, 19 Jan 2026 13:00:00 -0500

A long-lost second memoir penned by a famed 19th-century British soldier named Shadlock Byfield resurfaced in a rather unexpected place—Cleveland, Ohio. As explained in a study recently published in the Journal of British Studies, Byfield’s second book depicts a very different war veteran than the one described in his first autobiography written 11 years earlier.

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Who was Shadrack Byfield?

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Although he may not be a household name, many early American history buffs are well acquainted with Shadrack Byfield. The British soldier served at Fort George near the Niagara River during the War of 1812, fighting in multiple battles over the course of the roughly three year-long conflict.

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At one point, a musket ball wound forced doctors to amputate Byfield’s left forearm—without anesthesia. After learning his limb had been tossed into a “dung-heap,” the recuperating soldier reportedly retrieved it himself so he could bury it in a makeshift coffin.

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Byfield returned to England after the war, but his disability prevented him from going back to his previous job as a weaver. After dreaming of an “instrument” to solve the problem, Byfield asked a nearby blacksmith to build the tool for him. In 1840, the veteran published A Narrative of a Light Company Soldier’s Service, a memoir detailing these and other experiences.

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A new chapter

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For over 200 years, historians believed the 1840 book to be Byfield’s only manuscript. However, Cambridge University historian Eamonn O’Keeffe recently discovered the only known copy of an entirely separate book in the Western Reserve Historical Society’s library in Cleveland, Ohio. But unlike Byfield’s first publication, his 1851’s History and Conversion of a British Soldier tells his life story from a very different angle.

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“In the 1840 narrative, Byfield sought to impress wealthy patrons by presenting himself as a dutiful soldier and deserving veteran,” O’Keeffe said in an accompanying statement. “The 1851 memoir, by contrast, was a spiritual redemption story, with Byfield tracing his progress from rebellious sinner to devout and repentant Christian.”

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The second book is also far more confessional. Where A Narrative explored the experiences of a Byfield “comfortably” supporting his family for almost 20 years after receiving his prosthetic forearm, History and Conversion describes his chronic pain and everyday difficulties due to the injury.

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“It now pleased the Lord to afflict me with a violent rheumatic pain in my right shoulder, from which the [musket] ball was cut out,” Byfield writes in the latter book. “I was in this condition for nearly three years…oftentimes I was not able to lift my hand to my head, nor a tea-cup to my mouth.”

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Other memories were more unflattering, such as abandoning his army duties to engage in a plundering excursion with other soldiers.

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“Such unflattering incidents are conspicuously absent from Byfield’s earlier accounts of his military service,” said O’Keeffe. “In the 1851 memoir, the veteran also dwells on periods of indebtedness, illness and unemployment after returning to England.

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New details of resilience

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Byfield’s difficulties didn’t end after publishing History and Conversion. In 1853, fellow church parishioners accused him of injuring a rival’s eye and face using his prosthetic’s iron hook. The dispute was part of a larger entanglement over rightful control of the village chapel, which eventually grew to include arson, vandalism, and even a riot. Although never convicted of a crime, Byfield and his supporters eventually lost the fight and his job at the time.

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By 1856, Byfield was a widower and returned to his hometown. While he married a second wife, he continued to sometimes struggle financially. In 1867, he published another personal narrative, The Forlorn Hope, and died at the age of 84 in 1874. No copies of this third and final book are known to exist.

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“Uncovering these new details about his life provides remarkable insight into the suffering and resilience of Britain’s homecoming soldiers,” said O’Keeffe. “Byfield’s 1851 memoir emphasises the challenges of post-war reintegration, especially for veterans with disabilities, in the decades after the Napoleonic Wars.”

The post British soldier’s long-lost memoir rediscovered in Cleveland appeared first on Popular Science.

Veronika the Cow shocks scientists by using a tool

Laura Baisas — Mon, 19 Jan 2026 11:00:00 -0500

The smart animal club continues to add new members, and the newest might surprise you. A pet cow in Austria named Veronika picks up sticks with her mouth and uses them to scratch herself—which a team at University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna in Austria believes is tool use. Veronika and her ground-breaking scratching are detailed in a study published today in Current Biology.

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“The findings highlight how assumptions about livestock intelligence may reflect gaps in observation rather than genuine cognitive limits,” Alice Auersperg, a study co-author and cognitive biologist at the university, said in a statement.

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Veronika uses different scratching techniques on different body areas. Image: Antonio J. Osuna Mascaró.

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Why tool use is a big deal

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In biology, tool use is defined using an external object to achieve a goal through mechanical means. It is used by both biologists and anthropologists as a key indicator of a species’ brain and cognitive development. In humans, the Oldowan tool kit—three specific stone tools that date back roughly 2.9 million years—is considered the earliest known example of our species using stone tools.

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Elsewhere in the animal kingdom, chimpanzees use sticks as tools to access bugs and honey, while crows also use sticks to probe for hidden sources of food. Humpback whales catch fish using “bubble nets,” which some scientists also consider to be a type of tool use.

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Meet Veronika

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Veronika is a 13-year-old Swiss Brown cow that is not farmed for meat or milk. She belongs to organic farmer and baker Witgar Wiegele as a companion. Over 10 years ago, Witgar noticed that Veronika would occasionally grab sticks and use them to scratch. Study co-author and animal cognition researcher Antonio Osuna-Mascaró tells Popular Science that Witgar said Veronika was very clumsy at first, but has improved her technique considerably over the years.

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Witgar recorded a video of the behavior and shared it with Auersperg.

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“When I saw the footage, it was immediately clear that this was not accidental,” she recalls. “This was a meaningful example of tool use in a species that is rarely considered from a cognitive perspective.”

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The wonderful Veronika. Image: Antonio J. Osuna Mascaró.

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Along with Osuna-Mascaró, Auersperg conducted systematic behavioral tests with Veronika. In a series of controlled trials, they presented the cow with a deck brush that was positioned on the ground in random spots. They then recorded which end Veronika selected and which body region she targeted.

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Across repeated sessions, they found that her choices were consistent and functionally appropriate for the body regions she targeted.

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“We show that a cow can engage in genuinely flexible tool use,” added Osuna-Mascaró. “Veronika is not just using an object to scratch herself. She uses different parts of the same tool for different purposes, and she applies different techniques depending on the function of the tool and the body region.”

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Researchers observed that Veronika typically prefers to use the bristled end of a deck brush when scratching the broad, firm areas of her body such as her back. However, when targeting the softer and more sensitive regions of her lower body, she switches over to the smooth stick end.

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She also adjusts how she handles the tool. When scratching her upper body, Veronika uses more wide and forceful movements, while her lower-body scratching is slower, more careful, and highly controlled.

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What makes Veronika tick?

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The team believes that Veronika’s actions meet the standard definition of tool use, but also go one step further. They describe her scratching as flexible, multi-purpose tool use, meaning that she uses different features of the same object to achieve a different outcome. Multi-purpose tool use like this is extraordinarily rare. Outside of our species, it has only previously been documented convincingly in chimpanzees.

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“Because she is using the tool on her own body, this represents an egocentric form of tool use, which is generally considered less complex than tool use directed at external objects,” said Osuna-Mascaró. “At the same time, she faces clear physical constraints, as she must manipulate tools with her mouth. What is striking is how she compensates for these limitations, anticipating the outcome of her actions and adjusting her grip and movements accordingly.”

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Veronika using the broom with the bakery as background. Image: Antonio J. Osuna Mascaró.

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Importantly, the authors note that Veronika’s life circumstances may have played a major role in the emergence of this behavior. Most cows do not live to 13 or spend their days in open and complex environments. They are also rarely given the opportunity to interact with a variety of manipulable objects. Her long lifespan, daily contact with humans, and access to an engaging physical landscape likely created favorable conditions for her to explore and innovate.

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The team plans to investigate which environmental and social conditions allow these kinds of behaviors to pop up in livestock species, and see how many similar cases may have gone unnoticed simply because no one was looking for them.

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“Because we suspect this ability may be more widespread than currently documented,” Osuna-Mascaró said, “we invite readers who have observed cows or bulls using sticks or other handheld objects for purposeful actions to contact us.”

The post Veronika the Cow shocks scientists by using a tool appeared first on Popular Science.

Tyrannosaurus rex took 40 years to reach full size

Stan Horaczek — Mon, 19 Jan 2026 08:00:00 -0500

Tyrannosaurus rex is arguably the world’s most famous dinosaur, yet paleontologists are still learning more about this giant “tyrant lizard king.” T. rex roamed the western United States during the Cretaceous Period about 145 to 66 million years ago, and was likely alive when the meteor that kicked off all non-avian dinosaur’s extinction struck.

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Based on the annual growth rings (like those on trees) within fossilized leg bones, scientists estimate that T. rex usually reach adulthood at around 25 years old. However, new research argues that their growth phase lasted significantly longer. They may have become fully grown—approximately eight tons—after 40 years. The paper was recently published in the journal PeerJ.

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What were books like in ancient Greece and Rome?

Margherita Bassi — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 11:01:00 -0500

This article originally appeared in The Conversation.

To produce an updated timeline of tyrannosaur growth, scientists studied 17 tyrannosaur specimens of all ages.

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

“We came up with a new statistical approach that stitches together growth records from different specimens to estimate the growth trajectory of T. rex across all stages of life in greater detail than any previous study,” Nathan Myhrvold, a mathematician and paleobiologist at Intellectual Ventures and co-author of the new study said in a statement. “The composite growth curve provides a much more realistic view of how Tyrannosaurus grew and how much they varied in size.”

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:

The team then studied bone slices from the specimens with a type of light that unveils previously overlooked growth rings within the bones. The T. rex bone slices—or cross sections—only consist of the animal’s most recent one to two decades.

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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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“Examining the growth rings preserved in the fossilized bones allowed us to reconstruct the animals’ year-by-year growth histories,” said Holly Woodward, a study co-author and a professor of anatomy at Oklahoma State University.

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.

Together, with co-author and Chapman University paleontologist Jack Horner, Myhrvold and Woodward, assembled a large T. rex data set. From all of this data, it appears that the iconic beast followed the tortoise’s advice—it grew more slowly and steadily than what researchers thought.

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”.

A graph showing how the Tyrannosaurus rex may have grown Image: Dr. Holly Woodward Ballard.

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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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What’s more, the dinosaur’s long growth period might have enabled it to carry out diverse ecological roles before becoming fully grown, Horner explained. This also might be one of the reasons why they ruled at the top of the food chain toward the end of the Cretaceous Period.

Engraving of Aulus Gellius (1706). Image: Public Domain

The study also indicates that some of the 17 tyrannosaur specimens might actually not be T. rexes, joining other research suggesting the misidentification of some T. rex specimens. For example, a 2025 study argues that some small fossils, which some researchers thought were young T. rexes, actually belonged to a smaller relative, Nanotyrannus.

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.

According to the team, these earlier propositions are still controversial and heavily debated. However, their study highlights the possibility that two famous specimens, dubbed Jane and Petey, might not be the same species, as well as other potential reasons why their growth curves are statistically incompatible. Interestingly, these are the same specimens that other recent research categorized as two different Nanotyrannus species.

The post Tyrannosaurus rex took 40 years to reach full size appeared first on Popular Science.

Amazon has this 262-piece Craftsman Mechanic Tool set for just $129 (down from $249)

Konstantine Panegyres / The Conversation — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 23:12:36 -0500

If your tool situation is currently “one decent drill, three mismatched sockets, and a growing sense of regret,” these CRAFTSMAN deals are a solid excuse to get organized. There are a few big-ticket upgrades here (cordless kits and rolling storage), plus the cheap-but-useful stuff (blades, bits, and sockets) that makes weekend projects go a lot smoother.

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.

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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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

Stan Horaczek — 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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The post Amazon has this 262-piece Craftsman Mechanic Tool set for just $129 (down from $249) appeared first on Popular Science.

Toyota is drag racing hydrogen-powered trucks in the Arizona desert

Margherita Bassi — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 13:00:00 -0500

Filling up a hydrogen tank is much like filling up a gas-powered car in both the basic experience and in the time it takes. That’s been a major barrier for EVs thus far; adding 20 minutes or more for each recharge on a road trip is not nearly as appealing as pulling up to a Chevron station and getting out of there in a few minutes. However, hydrogen hasn’t yet caught on as a large-scale solution largely due to funding, even though even the US Department of Energy says it has “several benefits over conventional combustion-based technologies currently used in many power plants and vehicles.”

In December, Toyota announced its intention to amp up US hydrogen infrastructure by investing in FirstElement Fuel, the largest retail hydrogen fueling infrastructure provider in California. The automaker has spent the last 30 years researching and developing hydrogen fuel cells; in fact, Toyota has a full campus in Gardena, California, dedicated just to hydrogen research. While it has been refining hydrogen fuel-cell technologies since 2001, the campus was just renamed the Toyota North American Hydrogen Headquarters (which it calls H2HQ), in 2024.

Toyota debuted the hydrogen-powered Mirai sedan back in 2015, but so far it’s only available in California, the only place in the country where hydrogen pumps are available for passenger cars. At its Arizona proving grounds, Toyota also tests its heavy-duty class 8 hydrogen fuel-cell trucks, racing them against their diesel siblings. I had the chance to ride shotgun in the FCEV and diesel-powered semi on two separate test runs, and the hydrogen truck is vastly cleaner, quicker, and spits water from its tailpipe instead of noxious fumes. However, getting the rest of the country to adopt H2 is a long game.

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.

Toyota has been researching and testing hydrogen-powered vehicles for the last three decades. Image: Nissan

“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

Bearing the symbol H and atomic number 1, hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant element in the universe. It can be produced via steam methane reformation, electrolysis, and biomass gasification and hydrogen separation. Fuel cells generate electricity through an electrochemical reaction, not combustion, and are used to provide power for homes, businesses, and transportation. They don’t need to be periodically recharged like batteries, just access to a source of more fuel.

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

Kristin Shaw — 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).

A fuel cell is composed of an anode, cathode, and an electrolyte membrane. According to the D.C.-based Fuel Cell & Hydrogen Energy Association, this is how the process works:

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.

Hydrogen atoms enter at the anode while oxygen passes through the cathode.

What is the silent arm bug?

A catalyst strips atoms of their electrons, separating the protons.

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

Positively charged protons pass through the porous electrolyte membrane to the cathode, and negatively charged electrons are forced through a circuit, generating electricity.

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.

After passing through the circuit, the electrons combine with the protons and oxygen from the air to generate the fuel cell’s byproducts: water and heat

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.

“I think a lot of folks think it’s a very complex system, but it’s just a battery with an anodic cathode; the chemical reaction happens silently as you add hydrogen to the system,” says Debby Byrne, an executive program manager at Toyota North America. “There’s no moving parts, so you get that benefit as well. You’re not taking it into the dealership for oil changes, and you get less wear and tear compared to a piston-driven engine.”

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.

Oil- and gas-fueled vehicles aren’t a risk-free process either. Gasoline tanks can be dangerous if they’re not made with high-quality materials and processes, and even though the safety measures have come a long way you’ll still see warnings about static electricity on gas pumps across America. Oil is expensive to collect, too, but the infrastructure and support is well established.

Fixes you can try

Toyota uses the same level of detail and attention to safety when it comes to building its hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles as it does for its gas and hybrid cars, trucks, and SUVs. Plus, hydrogen sensors detect a leak or a collision, Toyota says; in case of an accident, the hydrogen tank valves are designed to close, preventing any additional hydrogen from escaping.

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

Hydrogen fueling is not widely available yet, but Toyota hopes to change that. Image: Toyota

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.

Convincing the skeptics

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.

Hydrogen is a clean energy that may be produced using solar power, wind, and biowaste. Toyota and Connecticut-based FuelCell Energy launched the first-of-its-kind “Tri-gen” system in 2023, which uses biogas from a nearby wastewater treatment facility to produce renewable electricity, renewable hydrogen, and usable water. These products are used for port vehicle processing operations at Toyota Logistic Services Long Beach. .

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.

Toyota says the use of renewable electricity helps reduce more than 9,000 tons of anticipated CO2 emissions per year, while unused electricity is returned to the local utility. Every day, the Tri-gen facility produces up to 1,200 kilograms of hydrogen daily for fuel-cell electric vehicles, including large class 8 semi trucks, and it recycles about 1,400 gallons of water every day.

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.

That recycled H2O is used to wash vehicles just arriving from the plant in Japan prior to delivery, which reduces water waste from the local plant. Notably, Toyota and FuelCell’s Tri-gen facility was honored with the US Department of Energy’s 2025 Better Project Award in May. The Better Project Award recognizes innovation in energy, water, and waste reduction efficiency.

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.

Toyota sees it as a “game changer” for the world, but it has its fair share of skeptics and naysayers. Toyota hosted me and a select group of journalists for a tour of its 12,000-acre testing ground in Arizona recently, and Caleb Jacobs from The Drive entered a skeptic and emerged enlightened, if not completely convinced about hydrogen power. It became clear, he says, that Toyota views hydrogen as a solution for a future not yet clear to the everyday person.

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.

Toyota’s H2-Overlander concept truck was built to show how H2 emissions could be put to use as a non-potable water source while camping. Image: Toyota

Alternative alarm apps

Take Toyota’s H2-Overland concept, unveiled at the SEMA show in November, which collects and filters water produced by the fuel cell. Users can then use that replenishing water supply for non-potable functions like washing hands or dishes.

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

“Imagine that same idea,” Jacobs says, “but with industrial generators and power supplies.”

The post Toyota is drag racing hydrogen-powered trucks in the Arizona desert appeared first on Popular Science.

Female mice often have multiple sexual partners—for survival

David Nield — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 10:17:00 -0500

If a female house mouse mates with multiple male house mice, her litter could have multiple fathers. Polyandry, as this mating practice is called, is common for various species. Yet scientists are still investigating its purpose and the potential benefits of birthing half siblings within the same litter.

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.

“Such multiply-sired litters have been suggested to produce benefits in low-quality environments that may be masked in higher-quality environments,” the researchers write in a study recently published in BMC Ecology and Evolution. “So far, however, the effect of environmental quality has only been tested in birds with equivocal evidence.”

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.

Within this context, two researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Germany investigated polyandry in western house mice (Mus musculus domesticus). The team put hundreds of mice in each of a number of enclosures mimicking wild habitats. For four years, they gave the mice in some of the enclosures a high-quality diet. The others received a typical, less nutritious diet.They then tracked the mice’s mating behaviors and the results to shed light on reproduction methods in the face of this resource variable.

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.

Ultimately, around one-third of litters in both the high-quality and lower-quality food habitats had more than one father. However, larger litters (the benefit of polyandry quantified by the study) only came from the lower-quality food habitats, with mothers birthing large litters in high-quality food habitats no matter the number of fathers. This indicates that the benefit of polyandry likely depends on the environment, particularly the food quality for the mother.

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

Margherita Bassi — 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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+ Related Mouse Stories

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Editor’s picks

“Our results suggested that polyandry provides greater lifetime fitness benefits when resources are of poorer quality,” the team explains in the study. “In other words, polyandry potentially yields its greatest advantages when resources are a limiting factor, but contributes little when conditions are already favourable.”

The results also highlight that a specific reproductive behavior can result from particular situations. In times of lower quality resources, females might engage in polyandry in a way that raises the probability of some babies’ survival. This strategy is called bet-hedging, and it might not be as needed when there is lots of food. However, females still usually engage in it, pointing toward another inquiry—why?

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Duluth Trading

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The study paves the way for future research into how and why shifts in ecological pressures impact animal mating behaviors, potentially furthering our understanding of certain differences among species in changing habitats.

The post Female mice often have multiple sexual partners—for survival appeared first on Popular Science.

A huge iceberg becomes a deadly trap for penguins

Yook JiHun — Sun, 18 Jan 2026 08:00:00 -0500

A massive iceberg has triggered a catastrophic die-off of Emperor Penguin chicks in Antarctica, blocking thousands of parents from reaching their young. The event claimed the lives of approximately 14,000 chicks at the Coulman Island colony in the Ross Sea, the region’s largest breeding ground.

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According to a research team led by Dr. Jeong-hoon Kim of the Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI), survival rates at the colony plummeted by 70 percent. Satellite analysis and drone surveys reveal that the population of new chicks fell from roughly 21,000 last year to just 6,700 this season.

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.

A geographical trap

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Duluth Trading

The primary cause of this event was an iceberg, spanning nearly 14 kilometers. Field observations by KOPRI researchers Jong-U Kim and Youmin Kim confirmed that the ice had obstructed the critical gateway connecting the breeding ground to the open ocean.

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Satellite analysis indicates the iceberg calved from the Nansen Ice Shelf in March 2025. It drifted northward before grounding against Coulman Island. By late July, this blockage had effectively cut off the penguins’ migration route.

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.

An overview of the geographical blockade. The massive iceberg is shown obstructing the inlet between the Ross Sea and Coulman Island, effectively sealing off the Emperor Penguin colony. Image: Provided by KOPRI

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The obstruction occurred at a critical phase in the breeding cycle. Under normal conditions, females depart to forage at sea after laying their eggs in June, leaving males to incubate the clutch. The survival of the hatchlings relies on the mothers returning 70 to 80 days later to deliver the first meal.

Duluth Trading

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This year, however, returning females were intercepted by an ice mass roughly the size of 5,000 soccer fields. The iceberg formed a deceptive trap. while its seaward face offered a gentle slope that allowed the penguins to ascend with ease, the side facing the inland colony dropped off into a sheer vertical cliff. Upon reaching the crest, the mothers found themselves stranded, unable to descend to the breeding ground below.

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.

“The iceberg’s seaward approach has a gentle gradient, making it accessible, but the edge facing the breeding ground forms a precipitous cliff,” Dr. Kim explained. “Mothers following their usual route over the sea ice were suddenly confronted by this insurmountable barrier.”

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Drone imagery captured a scene of desperate frustration. Hundreds of adult penguins were massed at the base of the ice cliff, pacing nervously as the topography barred them from the colony. The surrounding ice was heavily scarred with guano, evidence that the birds had been stranded there for a prolonged period.

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.

For the males waiting above, the blockade was catastrophic. Having already fasted for more than 70 days to incubate their young, they were pushed to their physiological breaking point.

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”Males must survive to ensure future breeding opportunities,” Dr. Kim explains, outlining the brutal calculus of nature. ”It is highly likely they were eventually compelled to abandon the chicks and retreat to the ocean, unable to endure the starvation any longer.”

Outerwear and big warm layers

Researchers estimate that the surviving 30 percent of chicks were fed by mothers who managed to find alternative routes around the blockage. ”If the iceberg clears before the next breeding season, there is potential for recovery,” Dr. Kim said. ”But if the blockage persists, we may see long-term impacts, including the forced relocation of the entire colony.”

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Carcasses of Emperor Penguin chicks have been discovered at the Coulman Island colony. The presumed cause is starvation. Image: Provided by KOPRI

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Penguins pushed to the brink

Women’s AKHG Puffin Parka Jacket $83.97 (50% off)

The Ross Sea serves as a vital sanctuary for Emperor Penguins. Whereas areas like the Antarctic Peninsula have struggled with early ice breakup and chick fatalities, the Ross Sea has remained comparatively stable. Sheltered deep within the continent, it benefits from robust sea ice and protection from rapid temperature shifts.

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However, the arrival of this iceberg introduces a volatile new threat to their survival. The incident was an anomaly. After calving from the Nansen Ice Shelf, the iceberg collided with drift ice near Coulman Island, a crash that diverted its path and sealed off the colony’s entrance. KOPRI researchers warn that this is not an isolated event but a harbinger of things to come. As global warming accelerates, frequent iceberg calving increases the risk that such blockades will occur again.

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Icebergs of similar magnitude are still frequently observed in the region, traveling along drift paths that intersect with other Emperor Penguin habitats. While icebergs from the Nansen Ice Shelf typically follow established routes, analysis suggests this specific iceberg veered off course after striking underwater terrain or other ice masses—a deviation that led it straight to the colony.

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Adult Emperor Penguins blocked by the iceberg’s sheer cliff face. The black dots visible at the top and bottom of the frame represent individual penguins unable to descend. Image: Provided by KOPRI

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The team also noted that 14km iceberg also skirted Cape Washington, another major breeding ground. Researchers warn that if a future iceberg were to collide with this site and block its migration corridor, it could trigger another mass mortality event.

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Dr. Jin-ku Park, who analyzed the satellite data, expressed concern about the wider implications. “The trajectories of icebergs calving from the Nansen Ice Shelf frequently traverse other major habitats,” he said. “This indicates that the disintegration of ice shelves poses a latent but potent threat to Emperor Penguins and other Antarctic wildlife.”

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KOPRI plans to submit these findings to international bodies next year, including the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). Although discussions to designate the Emperor Penguin as a ’Specially Protected Species(SPS)’ are ongoing, progress has been blocked by objections.

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“Objective, scientific evidence is a prerequisite for designating a species as protected,” Dr. Kim emphasized. “The Coulman Island case will serve as critical empirical proof of just how specific and lethal the threats posed by climate change are to the Emperor Penguin.”

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Since 2017, KOPRI has monitored the Antarctic ecosystem as part of a Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries initiative focused on the Ross Sea Marine Protected Area. The institute aims to use the data from this incident to refine its remote sensing techniques and accelerate Antarctic conservation efforts.

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“This catastrophe underscores the unpredictable dangers climate change poses to the Antarctic ecosystem” said Dr. Hyoung-chul Shin, President of KOPRI “We plan to intensify satellite monitoring and field surveys during the next breeding season and continue investigating the impact of climate change on this fragile environment.”

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The story was produced in partnership with our colleagues at Popular Science Korea.

The post A huge iceberg becomes a deadly trap for penguins appeared first on Popular Science.

Backcountry.com’s 3-day clearance flash sale dropped jackets, hoodies, fleeces, and more up to 70% off

Stan Horaczek — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 14:54:37 -0500

If you’re looking for outdoor gear, Backcountry.com is a great spot to find just about everything. The site just dropped a 3-day flash sale with discounts up to 70 percent on jackets, snow pants, hoodies, fleeces, base layers, and just about everything else you could need to spend time outside. There are even some great deals on summer gear if you’re trying to stock up for when the weather gets warm.

Men’s AKHG Ursa Major Waterproof Down Jacket $175 (42% off)

If you’re looking for new shades, go check out these Backcountry sunglasses deals up to 70 percent off.

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

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Editor’s picks

Midlayers and fleeces

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Men’s pick: Cotopaxi Fuego Hooded Down Jacket — $88.50 (was $295.00) (70% off)

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+ + It doesn’t matter how bad you are at snowboarding, your butt will stay dry in these. + +

Women’s AKHG Midnight Sun Short Sleeve Dress $24.99 (70% off)

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

Cotopaxi

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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)

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Men’s pick: Backcountry Cardiac GORE-TEX 3L Bibs — $207.60 (was $519.00) (60% off)

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Backcountry

+ + This lightweight jacket is easy to pack. + +

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Women’s AKHG Crosslayer Fleece Hoodie $62.97 (30% off)

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Men’s AKHG Blackburn Standard Fit 1/4 Zip Mock $43.97 (51% off)

The higher coverage helps keep cold air and powder where it belongs, and “GORE-TEX 3L” in the name is a solid signal this is meant for nasty weather days, not just fair-weather laps.

Women’s AKHG Blackburn Pullover Mock $43.97 (51% off)

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Women’s pick: Outdoor Research Helium Rain Jacket — $44.99 (was $179.95) (75% off)

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Outdoor Research

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Men’s AKHG Blackburn Standard Fit Full Zip Hoodie $48.97 (51% off)

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Women’s AKHG Blackburn Full Zip Hoodie $48.97 (51% off)

This one is easy to justify at this price. Chuck it in a daypack, keep it in the car, or pack it for travel so a surprise downpour doesn’t turn into a soggy, miserable afternoon.

Women’s Plus AKHG Blackburn Full Zip Hoodie $48.97 (51% off)

Men’s deals

Men’s AKHG Graveltec Standard Fit Full Zip Mock $69.99 (36% off)

Ski & snow jackets, bibs, and pants

Women’s AKHG Northern Light Fleece Mock $38.97 (51% off)

Backcountry Cottonwoods GORE-TEX Shell Bib Pant – Men’s — $224.50 (was $449.00)
Women’s AKHG Northern Light Fleece Vest $31.97 (50% off)
Backcountry Cardiac GORE-TEX 3L Bibs – Men’s — $207.60 (was $519.00)
Men’s AKHG Boundary Line Popover Hoodie $48.97 (51% off)
Backcountry CrestCarver GORE-TEX Shell Pant – Men’s — $174.50 (was $349.00)
Women’s AKHG Boundary Line Popover Hoodie $48.97 (51% off)
Black Diamond Recon Stretch Ski Pant – Men’s — $240.00 (was $400.00)
Men’s AKHG Kindler Pile Fleece Full Zip Jacket $78.97 (47% off)
Black Diamond Recon Insulated Pant – Men’s — $255.00 (was $425.00)
Women’s AKHG Kindler Pile Fleece Full Zip Jacket $78.97 (51% off)

Flylow Chemical Pant – Men’s — $145.98 (was $364.95)

Vests

Helly Hansen Legendary Insulated Pant – Men’s — $100.00 (was $205.00)

Men’s AKHG Blackburn Standard Fit Vest $38.97 (51% off)
Helly Hansen Ullr D Pant – Men’s — $90.00 (was $200.00)
Women’s AKHG Blackburn Vest $38.97 (51% off)
Helly Hansen Elevation Infin Shell Bib Pant – Men’s — $390.00 (was $650.00)
Men’s AKHG Puffin Mock Vest $53.97 (51% off)
Helly Hansen Odin 9 Worlds Infinity 3L Jacket – Men’s — $330.00 (was $600.00)
Women’s AKHG Puffin Mock Vest $53.97 (51% off)
Helly Hansen Victor Insulated Jacket – Men’s — $100.00 (was $200.00)
Women’s AKHG Outer Limit Hybrid Vest $53.98 (51% off)

Outdoor Research Hemispheres II Bib Pant – Men’s — $389.37 (was $648.95)

Pants, bibs, and leggings

Rab Khroma Latok GORE-TEX Jacket – Men’s — $408.00 (was $680.00)

Women’s AKHG Roadless Slim Leg Pants $28.99 (71% off)
Rab Khroma Converge Pant – Men’s — $210.00 (was $525.00)
Women’s AKHG Access Point Pull-On Slim Leg Pants $21.99 (70% off)
Stoic Insulated Snow Pant – Men’s — $53.70 (was $179.00)
Men’s AKHG Stone Run Standard Fit Pants $48.97 (51% off)
Strafe Outerwear Capitol Pant – Men’s — $220.03 (was $488.95)
Men’s AKHG Stone Run Relaxed Fit Pants $48.97 (51% off)
Trew Gear Jefferson Jacket – Men’s — $197.37 (was $349.00)
Men’s AKHG Stone Run Slim Fit Pants $48.97 (51% off)
Trew Gear Powfunk Jacket – Men’s — $207.58 (was $518.95)
Men’s AKHG Free Rein Standard Fit Pants $43.97 (51% off)
Trew Gear Popover Jacket — $129.48 (was $329.00)
Men’s AKHG Free Rein Relaxed Fit Pants $43.97 (51% off)
Trew Gear Jefferson Bib – Men’s — $197.37 (was $349.00)
Men’s AKHG Boundary Line Fleece Pants $48.97 (51% off)
Trew Gear Tatoosh Bib – Men’s — $221.37 (was $419.00)
Women’s AKHG Boundary Line Fleece Pants $48.97 (51% off)
L1 Aftershock Jacket – Men’s — $107.98 (was $269.95)
Women’s AKHG Roadless Pull-On Joggers $43.99 (51% off)
686 Cruiser Pant – Wide – Men’s — $45.50 (was $130.00)
Women’s Plus AKHG Roadless Lined Pants $33.99 (70% off)
Airblaster Trenchover Jacket – Men’s — $103.98 (was $259.95)

Men’s AKHG Roadless Lined Pants $72.99 (30% off)

Rain shells & wind layers

Men’s AKHG Triple Slope Bibs $145 (42% off)

The North Face Antora Jacket – Men’s — $65.11 (was $110.00)
Women’s AKHG Triple Slope Bibs $123.97 (50% off)
Marmot Waypoint GORE-TEX Jacket – Men’s — $151.22 (was $274.95)
Women’s AKHG Trail Tech Leggings $43.98 (51% off)
Sierra Designs Hurricane Rain Jacket – Men’s — $64.98 (was $129.95)
Women’s AKHG Trail Tech Ridge Leggings $46.98 (50% off)

Helly Hansen Vancouver Rain Jacket – Men’s — $72.00 (was $120.00)

Base layers and tops

Outdoor Research Foray II Jacket – Men’s — $123.72 (was $224.95)

Men’s AKHG Mountain Stream Relaxed Fit Short Sleeve Shirt $18.97 (71% off)
Outdoor Research Helium Rain Pant – Men’s — $58.48 (was $129.95)
Women’s Plus AKHG Crosshaul Overshirt $27.99 (70% off)
prAna Encinitas Windbreaker – Men’s — $58.98 (was $117.95)
Men’s AKHG Tun-Dry Standard Fit Long Sleeve T-Shirt $18.97 (52% off)
Columbia Cove Beach Windbreaker – Men’s — $50.00 (was $100.00)

Men’s AKHG Tun-Dry Standard Fit Short Sleeve T-Shirt $16.97 (51% off)

Down & insulated jackets

Men’s AKHG Trailmarker Short Sleeve Crew $16.97 (51% off)

Marmot Guides Down Hooded Jacket – Men’s — $164.97 (was $274.95)
Women’s AKHG Trailmarker Long Sleeve Crewneck $18.97 (52% off)
Cotopaxi Fuego Hooded Down Jacket – Men’s — $88.50 (was $295.00)
Women’s AKHG Renew Bamboo Short Sleeve Tee $18.97 (52% off)
Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer Jacket – Men’s — $181.49 (was $349.99)
Women’s AKHG Renew Bamboo Long Sleeve Tee $21.97 (51% off)
Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer Hooded Jacket – Men’s — $197.99 (was $379.99)
Women’s AKHG Renew Bamboo Long Sleeve Mock $23.97 (52% off)
Mountain Hardwear StretchDown Jacket – Men’s — $161.99 (was $289.99)
Men’s AKHG Renew Bamboo Hoodie $31.97 (50% off)
Mountain Hardwear Temescalborz Down Jacket – Men’s — $107.99 (was $180.00)
Women’s AKHG U.P. Stream Shirt $21.98 (51% off)
Cotopaxi Teca Calido Hooded Jacket – Men’s — $52.50 (was $150.00)
Men’s AKHG Midnight Sun Relaxed Fit Shirt $36.97 (50% off)
Cotopaxi Solazo Down Parka – Men’s — $135.00 (was $300.00)
Men’s AKHG Boar’s Nest Standard Fit Flannel Shirt $41.97 (50% off)
Cotopaxi Solazo Hooded Down Jacket – Men’s — $108.00 (was $240.00)
Men’s AKHG Boar’s Nest Relaxed Fit Flannel Shirt $41.97 (50% off)
Florence Marine X Lava Primaloft Puffer – Men’s — $165.00 (was $330.00)
Men’s AKHG Stone Run Standard Fit Overshirt $69.99 (30% off)
Black Diamond Alpine Start Insulated Hoodie – Men’s — $144.50 (was $289.00)
Men’s AKHG Crosshaul Standard Fit Overshirt $46.97 (50% off)
Men’s AKHG Elk Flats Flannel Shirt Jac $48.97 (51% off)
Rab Xenair Alpine Light Jacket – Men’s — $90.00 (was $225.00)

Shorts, skorts, and swim

Fleece, hoodies & midlayers

Women’s AKHG Outer Limit 3″ Shorts With Liner $18.99 (71% off)
Mountain Hardwear Oakoram Fleece Full-Zip Jacket – Men’s — $34.00 (was $85.00)
Men’s AKHG Lost Lake 11″ Swim Board Shorts $26.98 (51% off)
Marmot Reactor 2.0 Fleece Jacket – Men’s — $57.72 (was $104.95)
Men’s AKHG Wanderwear Performance 8″ Shorts $23.98 (52% off)
Helly Hansen Alpha Zero Fleece Jacket – Men’s — $77.00 (was $140.00)
Men’s AKHG Outer Limit 8″ Shorts $28.98 (51% off)
Helly Hansen Evolved Air 1/2-Zip Midlayer – Men’s — $78.00 (was $130.00)
Men’s AKHG Free Rein 8″ Shorts $38.97 (51% off)
The North Face Tekware Grid Hybrid Full Zip Jacket – Men’s — $78.00 (was $130.00)
Men’s AKHG AlpineFlex Standard Fit 10″ Shorts $38.97 (51% off)
The North Face Glacier Fleece Pullover – Men’s — $51.00 (was $85.00)
Women’s AKHG Roadless 5″ Shorts $38.97 (51% off)
The North Face Re-Grind Denali Jacket – Men’s — $132.00 (was $220.00)
Women’s AKHG Trail Tech Flow Skort $28.98 (51% off)
Helly Hansen Daybreaker Snap Pullover Jacket – Men’s — $40.50 (was $90.00)
Women’s Plus AKHG Access Point Pull-On Skort $31.98 (50% off)
Mountain Hardwear Polartec Power Grid Half-Zip Jacket – Men’s — $83.99 (was $139.99)
Women’s AKHG Access Point Pull-On Skort $31.98 (50% off)
Howler Brothers Allegheny Fleece Overshirt – Men’s — $87.00 (was $145.00)
Women’s AKHG Roadless Skort $33.97 (51% off)
Outdoor Research Essential Fleece Pullover Hoodie – Men’s — $56.23 (was $124.95)
Women’s AKHG Lost Lake Swim Dress $48.98 (51% off)
Outdoor Research Ferrosi Anorak Jacket – Men’s — $34.48 (was $114.95)
Women’s Plus AKHG Lost Lake Swim Dress $48.98 (51% off)
Mountain Hardwear HiCamp Fleece Printed Pullover – Men’s — $58.50 (was $129.99)
Women’s AKHG Lost Lake Swim One-Piece $43.98 (51% off)
Mountain Hardwear Logo M Pullover Hoodie – Men’s — $32.99 (was $64.99)
Women’s Plus AKHG Lost Lake Built-In Bra Tankini $38.98 (51% off)
Airblaster Fleece 1/2-Zip Jacket – Men’s — $44.98 (was $99.95)
Women’s AKHG Lost Lake Built-In Bra Tankini $38.98 (51% off)
KAVU Core Crew Sweatshirt – Men’s — $34.98 (was $99.95)
Women’s Plus AKHG Lost Lake 5″ Swim Shorts $31.98 (50% off)
The North Face 40th Anniversary Mountain Heavyweight Graphic Hoodie – Men’s — $54.00 (was $90.00)
Men’s AKHG Lost Lake 8″ Swim Shorts With Liner $28.98 (51% off)
Florence Marine X Florence Flag Hoodie – Men’s — $37.48 (was $74.95)
Men’s AKHG Lost Lake 10″ Swim Shorts With Liner $31.98 (50% off)
Icebreaker Merino 200 Sonebula Long-Sleeve Crew – Men’s — $60.00 (was $120.00)

Women’s AKHG U.P. Stream Cover-Up Dress $33.98 (51% off)

Hiking pants, joggers & everyday bottoms

Women’s AKHG Outer Limit Easy Tank Dress $28.98 (51% off)

Outdoor Research Ferrosi Pant – Men’s — $59.37 (was $98.95)
Women’s Plus AKHG Trail Tech Flow Dress $46.98 (50% off)
Outdoor Research Zendo Pant – Men’s — $40.03 (was $88.95)
Women’s Plus AKHG Trail Tech 9″ Shorts $33.98 (51% off)

Outdoor Research Tungsten II Pant – Men’s — $179.53 (was $398.95)

Accessories and extras

Outdoor Research Cirque Lite Pant – Men’s — $55.58 (was $138.95)

AKHG About Face Ball Cap (Performance Fit) $13.98 (53% off)
Black Diamond Dawn Patrol Hybrid Pant – Men’s — $178.75 (was $325.00)
AKHG Flex Patch Hat $13.98 (53% off)
Black Diamond Notion Pant – Men’s — $38.00 (was $99.00)
AKHG Knit Beanie $18.98 (52% off)
prAna Stretch Zion Field Pant – Men’s — $48.98 (was $98.00)
AKHG Knit Gaiter $18.98 (52% off)
The North Face Paramount Convertible Pant – Men’s — $54.00 (was $90.00)
Men’s AKHG Bailout Belt $34.99 (30% off)
The North Face Paramount Pro Convertible Pant – Men’s — $75.00 (was $125.00)
Men’s AKHG Dry on the Fly Sport Bullpen 3D Boxer Briefs $23.97 (54% off)

The North Face Cedar Canvas Work Pant – Men’s — $42.00 (was $120.00)

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.

The North Face Sunriser Long-Sleeve Shirt – Men’s — $30.00 (was $60.00)

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 North Face 40th Anniversary Mountain Jacket Heavyweight T-Shirt – Men’s — $30.00 (was $50.00)

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.

Columbia Silver Ridge Utility Lite Plaid Long-Sleeve Shirt – Men’s — $31.50 (was $70.00)

+ -

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.

Shorts, boardshorts & warm-weather staples

Editor’s picks

Florence Marine X Standard Issue Elastic Short – Men’s — $27.65 (was $79.00)
Florence Marine X Airtex Short – Men’s — $42.50 (was $85.00)

- -

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

- - - - -

- -

GOOLOO

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

- - - - See It +

The North Face Lightstride 9in Short – Men’s — $35.75 (was $65.00)

- -

The North Face Lightstride 7in Short – Men’s — $29.25 (was $65.00)

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.

Volcom Frickin Modern Stretch 21 Short – Men’s — $19.23 (was $54.95)

- -

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

- - - - -

- -

GOOLOO

Roark Shorey Boardshort – Men’s — $27.51 (was $69.00)

- - - - See It - -

Roark Passage Boardshort – Men’s — $32.48 (was $65.00)

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.

Roark Passage Hemp Boardshort – Men’s — $34.48 (was $69.00)

- -

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

- - - - -

- -

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

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

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

GOOLOO

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

Unisex / one-size picks

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.

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

Big power jump starters (4000A–6000A)

Women’s deals

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

Ski & snow jackets, bibs, and pants

GOOLOO GT4000S Jump Starter (4000A, 100W fast charging) (Yellow) $99.99 (33% off)
Backcountry Cottonwoods GORE-TEX Shell Bib Pant – Women’s — $269.40 (was $449.00)
GOOLOO GT4000S Jump Starter (4000A, 100W two-way fast charging) $99.98 (33% off)
Backcountry Cottonwoods GORE-TEX Shell Jacket – Women’s — $287.40 (was $479.00)
GOOLOO GT4000 Jump Starter (4000A, 100W, -40°F pre-heating tech) $109.99 (31% off)
Backcountry CrestCarver GORE-TEX Shell Jacket – Women’s — $189.50 (was $379.00)
GOOLOO GP4000 Jump Starter (4000A peak) $79.99 (43% off)
Backcountry CrestCarver GORE-TEX Shell Pant – Women’s — $104.70 (was $349.00)
GOOLOO 4000A Peak Car Jump Starter (Orange) $99.99 (23% off)
Backcountry Cardiac GORE-TEX 3L Bib Pant – Women’s — $207.60 (was $519.00)
GOOLOO GT6000 Jump Starter (6000A, 100W bi-directional fast charge) $129.98 (24% off)

Backcountry Cardiac GORE-TEX 3L Jacket – Women’s — $239.60 (was $599.00)

Mid-range jump starters (2000A–3000A)

Outdoor Research Archangel Bib Pant – Women’s — $244.63 (was $698.95)

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

Outdoor Research Hemispheres II Bib Pant – Women’s — $292.03 (was $648.95)

GOOLOO GP2000 Jump Starter (2000A) $49.99 (38% off)
Outdoor Research Snowcrew Pant – Women’s — $69.63 (original price varies by color/size)
GOOLOO GP2000 Jump Starter (2000A) (Red) $49.98 (38% off)
Outdoor Research Snowcrew Jacket – Women’s — $115.13 (was $348.95)
GOOLOO Upgraded GP3000 Jump Starter (3000A peak) $59.98 (29% off)
Trew Gear Astoria Bib – Women’s — $148.03 (original price varies by color/size)
GOOLOO GP3000 Jump Starter (3000A) $69.99 (30% off)
Trew Gear Chariot Primo Bib – Women’s — $259.48 (was $518.95)
GOOLOO GT3000 Jump Starter (3000A, 65W quick charge) $69.97 (30% off)
Trew Gear Trillium Jacket – Women’s — $184.48 (original price varies by color/size)
GOOLOO G7 Jump Starter (3000A, built-in cable) (Deal A) $59.97 (40% off)
Trew Gear Trillium Bib – Women’s — $184.48 (original price varies by color/size)
GOOLOO G7 Jump Starter (3000A, built-in cable) (Deal B) $66.99 (33% off)

Flylow Foxy Bib Pant – Women’s — $165.25 (was $429.95)

Jump starter + air compressor combos

Flylow Billie Coat – Women’s — $193.48 (was $429.95)

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

Helly Hansen Powderqueen Bib Pant – Women’s — $180.00 (was $300.00)

GOOLOO A5 Jump Starter with Air Compressor (4000A, 160 PSI) $99.99 (47% off)
Helly Hansen Courchevel Stretch Suit – Women’s — $650.00 (was $1300.00)
GOOLOO A3 Jump Starter with Air Compressor (3000A, 150 PSI) $66.48 (40% off)
Roxy Dusk Warmlink Snow Jacket – Women’s — $215.00 (was $430.00)
GOOLOO A7 Jump Starter with Air Compressor (6000A, 160 PSI, inflate/deflate) $149.99 (29% off)
Roxy Chloe Kim Snow Jacket – Women’s — $112.48 (was $374.95)
GOOLOO A2 8-in-1 Jump Starter with Air Compressor (150 PSI) $59.99 (14% off)

Roxy Chloe Kim Snow Pant – Women’s — $73.48 (was $244.95)

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

Roxy Nadia Technical Snow Pant – Women’s — $108.00 (was $180.00)

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

Armada Lunara Insulated Jacket – Women’s — $107.98 (was $269.95)

+ + + +

Armada Sterlet Insulated Jacket – Women’s — $69.99 (was $279.95)

+ + + + +

Rain shells, technical hardshells & weatherproof layers

GOOLOO GT160 Tire Inflator (160 PSI) $49.99 (38% off)
Marmot PreCip Eco Jacket – Women’s — $59.97 (was $99.95)
GOOLOO A6 Gear Tire Inflator (160 PSI) $39.99 (33% off)

Outdoor Research Helium Rain Jacket – Women’s — $44.99 (was $179.95)

OBD2 scanners (turn the dashboard light into actual information)

Outdoor Research Helium Rain Pant – Women’s — $64.98 (was $129.95)

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.

Outdoor Research Aspire II Jacket – Women’s — $67.48 (was $225.00)

GOOLOO DS900 OBD2 Scanner (8″ touchscreen, Bluetooth 5.0) $299.98 (40% off)
Rab Latok Alpine GTX Jacket – Women’s — $330.00 (was $600.00)
GOOLOO DEEPSCAN DS200 OBD2 Scanner (Bluetooth wireless) $59.99 (40% off)
Rab Kangri GTX Jacket – Women’s — $233.75 (was $425.00)
Mammut Alto Guide HS Hooded Jacket – Women’s — $166.05 (was $369.00)

Compressed air dusters (because your keyboard is disgusting)

Insulated jackets, down layers & puffers

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.

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)

+ + + +

Fleece, hoodies & midlayers

GOOLOO F3 Compressed Air Duster (150,000 RPM) $29.98 (40% off)
Mountain Hardwear Oakoram Fleece Full-Zip Jacket – Women’s — $38.25 (was $85.00)
GOOLOO F5 Compressed Air Duster (180,000 RPM, dual removable batteries) $89.99 (31% off)
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)

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

It’s difficult to explain the Blockbuster experience to those who did not get to experience it. If you never visited one of the video rental chain’s over 9,000 locations during the VHS tape heyday, there’s even a good chance it may be impossible to understand the ritual of scouring shelves for the perfect Friday night movie: the smell of hundreds of plastic clamshell cases, the distinctly garish interior designs of the 1990s, and early 2000. It is all but a memory, unless you make a pilgrimage to the last brick-and-mortar locale in Bend, Oregon.

Pants, joggers & everyday bottoms

That’s not to say you can’t recreate at least some of those nostalgic aesthetics. A highly accurate tape case design was first uploaded online in 2024 by programmer Ryan Finnie. At the time, however, making your own sleeves required a fair amount of manual input and adjustment. As spotted by BoingBoing, digital strategist and creator Tex Jernigan recently debuted the streamlined, free-to-use Blockbuster Sleeve Generator. Like the name implies, the website allows anyone to print out customized, highly accurate tape case labels that look nearly identical to the iconic blue-and-yellow slips once seen lining video store aisles. All the customizable elements are also integrated into a single program for any cinephiles yearning for a bit of VHS roleplaying.

The North Face Aphrodite Jogger – Women’s — $48.00 (was $80.00)

“[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.

Fjallraven Keb Curved Trouser – Women’s — $129.22 (was $234.95)

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

Toad&Co Balsam Wide Leg Pant – Women’s — $60.00 (was $120.00)

The generator is also integrated with a film database to automatically fill in backsleeve information like cast, director, summary, release year, and approximate runtime. To make your case really look like the real thing, Jernigan even gives it an inventory barcode. After using the site’s Store Search tool (also free), users can identify the childhood Blockbuster store’s retail location number, then add on the movie’s unique code as well as the hypothetical inventory’s copy number.

Outdoor Research Cirque II Softshell Pant – Women’s — $95.37 (was $158.95)

It’s a nifty craft project for people looking for something to do with that old box of VHS tapes in the back of their closet. Jernigan also tells Popular Science that the best way of porting a show or movie onto a blank VHS tape (yes, they’re still available to buy).

Dresses, rompers & jumpsuits

“It’s funny, the best way is still the same: you hook a VCR up to any TV, and then press record and watch the TV while it records in real time,” he says, adding that there are also cheap HDMI-to-AV converters you use for converting from a laptop or computer.

Backcountry Destination Dress – Women’s — $34.65 (was $99.00)

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

Backcountry Destination Trail Dress – Women’s — $41.65 (was $119.00)

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.

Backcountry Wasatch Ripstop Romper – Women’s — $44.55 (was $99.00)

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

Helly Hansen Viken Recycled Dress – Women’s — $28.00 (was $80.00)

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

Stan Horaczek — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 12:24:54 -0500

Whether you’re looking for movie dialogue you don’t have to decipher, a commute cone of silence, or the ability to transform any patch of pavement into a party, Bose has your back. And thanks to certified refurbished gear, you can upgrade without the full price sting. Act now, and you can grab a soundbar with voice-focused tuning to pull whispers and punchlines forward. Snag earbuds to erase HVAC hum and coffee shop chaos so your thoughts can collate. Or snatch a speaker you can toss in your bag so that the vibe always follows you from pool to park to porch. No matter what you choose, Bose has a sonic signature that’s warm and non-fatiguing with clear vocal presence at what are clearly unbeatable prices.

Patagonia Garden Island Jumpsuit – Women’s — $58.53 (was $139.00)

Editor’s picks

Patagonia Fleetwith Jumpsuit – Women’s — $58.53 (was $139.00)

+ +

Unisex / one-size picks

- -

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

- - - - -

- -

- Get excellent noise canceling in a small package. + The extra coverage is clutch for outdoor activities. + +

- - - - See It +

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

Tony Ware — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 14:54:07 -0500

+ - - +

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.

This low-effort upgrade for your TV is a simple set-and-forget solution to coax dialogue out from behind explosions and background music. Sidestep those tiny, tinny built-in speakers with an easy, one-connection setup. It supports Dolby decoding and is compact and clean-looking, tuned to make voices sound crisp at sane volumes and without redoing your living room.

+ +

Editor’s picks

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

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

- +

Smith Optics

@@ -2499,7 +2510,7 @@ https://youtube.com/watch?v=DCR8n7qS43w%3Fwmode%3Dtransparent%26start%3D0 - + See It @@ -2507,26 +2518,28 @@ https://youtube.com/watch?v=DCR8n7qS43w%3Fwmode%3Dtransparent%26start%3D0 -

When the world won’t stop being loud, QuietComfort earbuds are the low-key solution. Bose noise cancellation is top-tier, and the fin-secured fit never feels clunky. The sound lands rich and controlled, offering a pocketable escape pod from the hustle and bustle. If you want serious focus without a serious investment, this is the move—ideal for flights, commuting, or making an open office feel a lot less open.

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

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

- +

- The built-in loop lets you hang it from a carabiner. + Treat yourself with a bold pattern. + +

Zeal

@@ -2536,7 +2549,7 @@ https://youtube.com/watch?v=DCR8n7qS43w%3Fwmode%3Dtransparent%26start%3D0 - + See It @@ -2544,949 +2557,577 @@ https://youtube.com/watch?v=DCR8n7qS43w%3Fwmode%3Dtransparent%26start%3D0 -

Whether you want background music or event audio, this is the kind of portable speaker that makes everyday listening better. It’s compact, rugged, ready for spills and designed for thrills. The sound is punchy with balance but satisfying bass, whether you’re into podcasts in the kitchen, music in the backyard, or chill hangouts that don’t need a gigantic party speaker.

All refurbished Bose deals

Soundbars and TV audio

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

Bose Smart Soundbar (Refurbished) $349 (36% off)

Smith Optics deals

Bose TV Speaker (Refurbished) $229 (18% off)

Smith Embark ChromaPop Polarized Sunglasses $135.00 (was $257.00)

Headphones and earbuds

Smith Lowdown 2 ChromaPop Polarized Sunglasses $123.00 (was $277.00)

Bose QuietComfort Headphones (Refurbished) $199 (45% off)
Smith Venture ChromaPop Sunglasses $142.20 (was $297.00)
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (Refurbished) $279 (35% off)
Smith Guide’s Choice XL ChromaPop Polarized Sunglasses $178.20 (was $297.00)
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (Refurbished) $169 (43% off)
Smith Shift MAG ChromaPop Sunglasses $171.00 (was $337.00)
Bose Ultra Open Earbuds (Refurbished) $179 (40% off)

Smith Lowdown Split ChromaPop Polarized Sunglasses $123.00 (was $215.00)

Portable Bluetooth speakers

Smith Leadout Pivlock Polarized Sunglasses $125.40 (was $235.00)

Bose SoundLink Micro (Refurbished) $79 (34% off)
Smith Joya ChromaPop Polarized Sunglasses $129.00 (was $297.00)
Bose SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen) (Refurbished) $99 (38% off)
Smith Guide’s Choice Sunglasses $178.20 (was $327.00)
Bose SoundLink Plus (Refurbished) $219 (19% off)
Smith Resolve ChromaPop Sunglasses $101.40 (was $227.00)
Bose SoundLink Max (Refurbished) $319 (20% off)
Smith Attack MAG MTB ChromaPop Sunglasses $161.40 (was $285.00)
Bose SoundLink Revolve II (Refurbished) $159 (27% off)
Smith Rockaway ChromaPop Polarized Sunglasses $125.40 (was $269.00)
Bose SoundLink Revolve+ II (Refurbished) $179 (40% off)
Smith Layback Polarized Sunglasses $119.40 (was $215.00)
Bose Portable Smart Speaker (Refurbished) $319 (20% off)

Smith Pursuit ChromaPop Sunglasses $171.00 (was $337.00)

Home theater add-ons

Smith Shift XL MAG ChromaPop Sunglasses $184.20 (was $337.00)

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

Smith Eastbank ChromaPop Polarized Sunglasses $99.00 (was $195.00)

Specialty gear

Smith Boomtown ChromaPop Polarized Sunglasses $118.20 (was $237.00)

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

A 7,000-year-old grave site in present-day Oman indicates that the region’s Neolithic communities sometimes turned to an unexpected trade to not only survive, but thrive in the harsh desert landscape. According to findings published in the journal Antiquity, the people of southern Arabia actually hunted sharks and even stingrays.

Smith Monterey ChromaPop Polarized Sunglasses $113.40 (was $249.00)

Since 2020, researchers from the Archaeological Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague (ARÚ) have investigated Wadi Nafūn, an ancient grave site megalith (a structure built with large stones) used by Neolithic locals during the 5th century BCE. Amid their excavations, researchers found the skeletal remains of over 70 men, women, and children. But this wasn’t a single generation of people. The crypt’s size and subsequent radiocarbon dating indicate that Wadi Nafūn was built and maintained communally for over 300 years.

Smith Flywheel ChromaPop Sunglasses $111.00 (was $185.00)

“This monument was not built by a single small group. It represents cooperation, shared beliefs, and repeated return to a common ceremonial landscape,” project director lžběta Danielisová recently told Arkeonews.

Smith Roam ChromaPop Polarized Sunglasses $123.00 (was $205.00)

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

Smith Shift Split MAG ChromaPop Sunglasses $165.00 (was $337.00)

However, Danielisová and collaborators faced an immediate challenge. Biological materials like teeth and skeletal fragments usually do not retain many organic components after being exposed to Oman’s arid climate for thousands of years. To properly understand their discoveries, the team needed to ship the materials back to the Czech Republic. There, they utilized isotopic analysis to examine a mineralized substance called bioapatite that remains on bones even after collagen disappears.

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They particularly focused on traces of carbon, oxygen, and strontium to pinpoint some of each Neolithic person’s dietary sources of protein. But it was the discovery of certain nitrogen isotopes that surprised them most, as these compounds are only found in very specific marine animals.

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

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For hundreds of years, it appears the Neolithic communities of southern Arabia regularly hunted and consumed sharks. They didn’t only eat the apex predators, either. Throughout Wadi Nafūn, archaeologists excavated shark tooth pendants, additional tiger shark teeth, fishing tools, and stingray barbs. In order to harvest all these materials, the Neolithic hunters appear to have even used their own teeth to help process and prepare their catches.

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“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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Additional evidence gleaned from the isotopic analysis also showed that some of the individuals buried at Wadi Nafūn weren’t technically locals. Strontium and oxygen levels suggest certain adults buried here at least spent their childhoods over 30 miles inland. Taken altogether, the shark and human evidence illustrate a highly dynamic, resourceful, and collaborative region that used everything at their disposal to flourish.

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“For the very first time, we were able to use natural science data to document specialized hunting of marine predators, directly by analyzing the local buried community,” said Danielisová. “The connection of this burial community with sharks is very interesting and is a new finding not only in prehistoric Arabia, but in the area of all Neolithic cultures of the arid zone.”

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

In Florida, giant invasive pythons, the state’s signature alligators, and bears that sometimes roam around theme parks are typically among the most upfront wildlife in the news. But when the temperatures drop, one reptile stands ready to take the limelight and also drop—iguanas.

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When air temperatures get cold enough, the reptiles will get stunned (or freeze) and fall from trees. Today, morning temperatures in Jacksonville and Tallahassee dipped as low as 20 degrees Fahrenheit overnight, while Orlando hit the mid-30s, and Miami fell to the upper 40s. All temperatures that are cold enough to temporarily freeze an iguana.

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Reptiles like iguanas are cold-blooded—or ectothermic—reptiles that rely on external environmental conditions to regulate their body temperature. By comparison, warm-blooded or endothermic animals like humans and other mammals have a more consistent body temperature. Since the outside temperature has such a drastic effect on their bodies, cold-blooded animals often adapt their behavior as a response. They may bask in the sun to warm up or find shade to cool down and achieve a more balanced body temperature.

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When it gets cold, iguanas may also enter a dormant state called cold-stunning or freezing since they are not adapted to life in colder temperatures. Iguanas can start to slow down if the temperature gets below 50 degrees, and stun once they hit the 40s or 30s.

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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.”

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After they fall from a tree, they may appear to be dead. However, their critical body functions will all still be working and they will continue to breathe. Once temperatures rise, they can jump back into action as if nothing happened.

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Iguanas can grow up to seven feet long and weigh upwards of 30 pounds, so it is best to be cautious when walking under palm trees in colder weather. Getting hit by a reptile of that size could be dangerous.

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If you see a frozen iguana on the ground, do not rush in to warm them up. Joe Gonzalez from the Iguana Police told WPTV in West Palm Beach that relocating or interfering with an iguana can lead to more problems.

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“If you capture an iguana in your own yard and don’t move it anywhere else, that’s fine,” Gonzalez said. “But if you relocate it, you’re essentially taking your problem and dumping it somewhere else. This can have legal consequences, including fines.”

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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.

Stan Horaczek — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 09:00:00 -0500

If you’ve ever been around a cat, you know they can get the sudden urge to groom themselves at just about any moment. You’re petting them on the couch. They’re purring. Everything seems lovely and content. Then, they lose all interest in you and start licking their butt.

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But some felines don’t just lick themselves: They also lick you. A cat will be busy grooming themselves. Then, without warning, they’ll turn their spiky tongues on their unsuspecting humans. Other cats can’t be bothered and won’t ever groom or lick their human friends, or other kitty friends for that matter.

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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

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For a mother cat, grooming is an important part of child rearing. When a mama cat licks her kittens it serves two important purposes: keeping her kittens clean and promoting social bonds, Kristyn Vitale, an animal behaviorist at Maueyes Cat Science and Education tells Popular Science.

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On the one hand, “mother cats are going to groom their kittens to help keep them clean and healthy,” says Vitale. Kittens can be especially susceptible to diseases, and “anybody who’s raised young kittens knows how dirty they can get, and a mother cat is not going to obviously bathe their kitten in a tub. They’re going to use their tongue to clean them.”

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Cats learn to groom from their mothers. Image: DepositPhotos

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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.”

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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?

Sarah Durn — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 11:01:00 -0500

This article originally appeared in The Conversation.

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

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

How grooming shifts for cats in adulthood

Kittens learn to groom from their mom, and usually start grooming themselves when they’re around four weeks old. Pretty soon after that, some cats “begin to reciprocate [their mother’s] grooming and they’ll groom their siblings or other unrelated cats and also preferred people in the house,” says Vitale.

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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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If your cat grooms other cats, animal behaviorists like Vitale call those cats their “preferred associates.” For instance, bonded cats often groom each other as a way to reinforce their bestie status. For cats, grooming other cats becomes “a very important social behavior that helps build bonds between the individuals.”

Wild cats lick each other, too

We also see the same behavior in wild cats where mothers groom their cubs to keep them clean and strengthen their connection, says Vitale. In adulthood, wild cats might continue to groom others. You don’t have to search hard to find adorable videos online of lions and tigers licking their besties.

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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

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

But Vitale says there is one big difference here. A lot of wild cats, like tigers or even the closest relative of domestic cats, the African wild cat, “don’t live in social groups the same way the domestic cat does.” So they don’t always have the same opportunities to shower their buddies with love, because, well, they just don’t really have many buddies.

The origins of writing

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.

Vitale says when her cat licks her, she sees it as them “engaging in a social behavior with me” that’s strengthening our relationship. “I’m thinking in my mind that they’re just in a happy mood and looking to hang out together and interact a little bit.”

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

What if your cat doesn’t lick you?

While all cats groom themselves (which is why you don’t really need to worry about baths for most cats), not all cats groom other cats or their human friends. But should you feel bad if your cat doesn’t lick you? Does it mean they don’t love you? “No!” says Vitale.

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

“Licking’s just one social behavior they could engage in. If your cat just sits on your lap, or sits near you, or your cat’s rubbing up against you, or your cat plays with you, those are all other social behaviors that show there’s a bond,” she says. Cats show love for their owners in all sorts of ways, she emphasizes. “Licking is just one thing a cat could do.”

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.

In Ask Us Anything, Popular Science answers your most outlandish, mind-burning questions, from the everyday things you’ve always wondered to the bizarre things you never thought to ask. Have something you’ve always wanted to know? Ask us.

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

Konstantine Panegyres / The Conversation — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 15:40:04 -0500

All sorts of interesting one- and two-wheeled vehicles crisscross my city streets, including an increasing number of affordable, portable forms of tech-packed personal transportation . Spandex-clad cyclists take advantage of protected lanes, while electric scooters zip over sidewalks (and anywhere else). Occasionally, an odd unicyclist or one-wheeler breaks up the predictability. I particularly like to watch foldable e-bike riders who go from trail to train, transforming their personal transit into a cube to carry through a crowd. These now-you-see-it, now-you-don’t collapsible electric bikes offer power assistance for commuting or errands without taking up valuable real estate in an apartment or townhouse. These flexible options can often fit into an SUV or RV for extended outdoor adventures without the need for a heavy-duty, and often expensive, rack. We’ve updated the most reliable options—like our best overall, the Lectric XP4—so you can find the best folding electric bikes to match your riding style and needs.

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.

Best overall: Lectric XP4

Best for urban and multimodal commuters: Brompton Electric G Line

The origins of books

Best for off-road adventures: HeyBike Mars 3.0

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

Best for long-range rides: Velotric Fold 1 Plus

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

Best lightweight: Urtopia Carbon Fold 1

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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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Best value: Ride1Up Portola

However, the most popular writing material in the ancient Mediterranean was papyrus, from which we get our word “paper”.

How we selected the best folding electric bikes

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.

We don’t test these bikes in a lab—we take them out into the wild. That means folding and unfolding them on sidewalks, rolling them into elevators to see if they actually fit, and lifting them into car trunks to find out if it’s a one-person job or a two-person struggle. We ride the same loops we’d take to work or the store—complete with potholes, stoplights, sketchy shoulders, and plenty of zippy scooters.

Every bike gets pushed on performance: full pedal assist, lights on, up and down hills until the battery taps out. We pay attention to what it’s like to live with the thing—how it rides, how it folds, and whether we’d actually want to use it every day.

The best folding electric bikes: Reviews & Recommendations

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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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Folding e-bikes are all about space efficiency, but what that looks like depends on the rider and what accessories you might want to carry. If you’re an urban commuter navigating a cramped apartment, crowded train platforms, and zero bike parking, you want something that folds fast, rolls easy, and doesn’t make enemies in the elevator. On the flip side, RVers, van-lifers, or campers may want a more rugged ride with enough power and range to cruise trails, run errands, or sub in for a car when you’re off-grid.

All folding e-bikes promise one thing: they take up less space when you’re not riding them. Most have shorter wheelbases, lower standover heights thanks to smaller diameter wheels, and upright riding positions that keep you visible in traffic and balanced at low speeds. But the real magic is in the fold, whether that’s a single hinge or a multi-jointed origami routine. If you’re just tucking it into a hallway or closet, weight might not be a dealbreaker. But if you’re hauling it into a trunk or up a flight of stairs, make sure it’s something you can lift without needing an ice pack after.

If you’re used to riding full-sized bikes, folding e-bikes do take some getting used to (as do all e-bikes). Taller riders might feel like they’re perched on a circus act, while smaller riders often find the compact fit more confidence-inspiring. The sharper turning radius is a win in tight spaces, but some gearing setups can leave you spinning without much payoff. Ride a few miles, though, and most people settle into the rhythm quickly.

Best overall: Lectric XP4

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

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How to write a book in antiquity

Lectric

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- Pros

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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

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

- Specs

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- - 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) -

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

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.

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.

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

Best for urban and multimodal commuters: Brompton Electric G Line

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.

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

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Heather Kuldell-Ware

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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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- Pros

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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

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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

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- - 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) -

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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

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

Best for off-road adventures: HeyBike Mars 3.0

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Heather Kuldell-Ware

- + Jeans aren’t made for hiking. -

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- Pros

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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

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- - 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 -

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.

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.

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

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

Best for long-range rides: Velotric Fold 1 Plus

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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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Fixes you can try

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

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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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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

Heather Kuldell-Ware — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 07:00:00 -0500

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Editor’s picks

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Heather Kuldell

Duluth Trading

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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) -

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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.

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

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

Duluth Trading

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

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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.

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

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Duluth Trading

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

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Heather Kuldell

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Best lightweight: Urtopia Carbon Fold 1

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

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Tony Ware

Duluth Trading

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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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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.

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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.

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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).

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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.

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Urtopia

Women’s AKHG Puffin Parka Jacket $83.97 (50% off)

Best value: Ride1Up Portola

Women’s Plus AKHG Puffin Long Parka $83.97 (50% off)
Women’s AKHG Ursa Major Waterproof Down Parka $158.97 (50% off)

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Men’s AKHG Puffin Mock Jacket $63.97 (46% off)

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- 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

- -

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

- Specs

- -

- - 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 -

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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.

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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.

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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.

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What to consider when searching for the best folding electric bikes

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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.

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

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E-bike classes: What they mean for folding bikes

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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.)

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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

Midlayers and fleeces

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Batteries: Range, charging, and what really matters

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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FAQs

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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

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

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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.

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“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.”

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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

Stan Horaczek — 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.

Base layers and tops

Editor’s picks

Men’s AKHG Mountain Stream Relaxed Fit Short Sleeve Shirt $18.97 (71% off)
Women’s Plus AKHG Crosshaul Overshirt $27.99 (70% off)

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

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Men’s AKHG Tun-Dry Standard Fit Long Sleeve T-Shirt $18.97 (52% off)

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Men’s AKHG Tun-Dry Standard Fit Short Sleeve T-Shirt $16.97 (51% off)

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.

Men’s AKHG Trailmarker Short Sleeve Crew $16.97 (51% off)

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

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Women’s AKHG Trailmarker Long Sleeve Crewneck $18.97 (52% off)

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Women’s AKHG Renew Bamboo Short Sleeve Tee $18.97 (52% off)

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.

Women’s AKHG Renew Bamboo Long Sleeve Tee $21.97 (51% off)

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

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Women’s AKHG Renew Bamboo Long Sleeve Mock $23.97 (52% off)

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Men’s AKHG Renew Bamboo Hoodie $31.97 (50% off)

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.

Women’s AKHG U.P. Stream Shirt $21.98 (51% off)

Wall chargers and travel adapters

Men’s AKHG Midnight Sun Relaxed Fit Shirt $36.97 (50% off)

Anker 100W Max USB-C Charger Block (3-Port GaN, Silver) $59.99 (14% off)
Men’s AKHG Boar’s Nest Standard Fit Flannel Shirt $41.97 (50% off)
Anker Prime Charger (100W 3-Port GaN, Foldable) $59.99 (14% off)
Men’s AKHG Boar’s Nest Relaxed Fit Flannel Shirt $41.97 (50% off)
Anker Nano Charger (70W 3-Port USB-C, White, Cable Included) $39.99 (20% off)
Men’s AKHG Stone Run Standard Fit Overshirt $69.99 (30% off)
Anker Charger (65W 3-Port Fast Compact Foldable) $25.99 (35% off)
Men’s AKHG Crosshaul Standard Fit Overshirt $46.97 (50% off)
Anker Nano Travel Adapter (5-Port, 1 AC + 2 USB-A + 2 USB-C) $25.99
Men’s AKHG Elk Flats Flannel Shirt Jac $48.97 (51% off)

Power strips and desktop charging stations

Shorts, skorts, and swim

Anker Prime Charging Station (240W 8-in-1 USB-C Power Strip) $89.99 (31% off)
Women’s AKHG Outer Limit 3″ Shorts With Liner $18.99 (71% off)
Anker Prime 6-in-1 USB-C Charging Station (140W) $59.99 (45% off)
Men’s AKHG Lost Lake 11″ Swim Board Shorts $26.98 (51% off)
Anker Charging Station (100W) 9-in-1 USB-C Power Strip (300J) $39.99
Men’s AKHG Wanderwear Performance 8″ Shorts $23.98 (52% off)
Anker Power Strip Surge Protector (2100J, 12 Outlets + USB) $28.99

Men’s AKHG Outer Limit 8″ Shorts $28.98 (51% off)

Power banks

Men’s AKHG Free Rein 8″ Shorts $38.97 (51% off)

Anker Prime Power Bank (26,250mAh, 300W Max) $199.99 (13% off)
Men’s AKHG AlpineFlex Standard Fit 10″ Shorts $38.97 (51% off)
Anker Prime Power Bank (20,100mAh, 220W Max) $149.99 (17% off)
Women’s AKHG Roadless 5″ Shorts $38.97 (51% off)
Anker MagGo Power Bank (Qi2 15W, 10,000mAh, Stand; iPhone 15/14/13/12) $71.99 (20% off)
Women’s AKHG Trail Tech Flow Skort $28.98 (51% off)
Anker MagGo Power Bank (Qi2 15W, Ultra-Slim 10,000mAh) $79.86
Women’s Plus AKHG Access Point Pull-On Skort $31.98 (50% off)
Anker Nano Power Bank (Qi2 15W, 5,000mAh, Magnetic) $54.99

Women’s AKHG Access Point Pull-On Skort $31.98 (50% off)

USB-C hubs and docking stations

Women’s AKHG Roadless Skort $33.97 (51% off)

Anker Prime TB5 Docking Station (14-in-1 Thunderbolt 5) $399.99
Women’s AKHG Lost Lake Swim Dress $48.98 (51% off)
Anker Prime Docking Station (14-Port, 160W Max, Dual 4K) $169.99 (37% off)
Women’s Plus AKHG Lost Lake Swim Dress $48.98 (51% off)
Anker Laptop Docking Station (13-in-1 USB-C, Triple Display) $199.99
Women’s AKHG Lost Lake Swim One-Piece $43.98 (51% off)
Anker Laptop Docking Station (14-in-1 USB-C Hub, Triple Display) $48.99 (30% off)
Women’s Plus AKHG Lost Lake Built-In Bra Tankini $38.98 (51% off)
Anker USB-C Hub (11-in-1 Docking Station, Dual Monitor) $53.99 (22% off)
Women’s AKHG Lost Lake Built-In Bra Tankini $38.98 (51% off)
Anker 555 USB-C Hub (8-in-1, 4K HDMI, 10Gbps, Ethernet) $49.99
Women’s Plus AKHG Lost Lake 5″ Swim Shorts $31.98 (50% off)
Anker 6-in-1 USB-C Hub (65W PD, 4K HDMI, Ethernet) $31.99 (29% off)
Men’s AKHG Lost Lake 8″ Swim Shorts With Liner $28.98 (51% off)
Anker USB-C Hub (5-in-1, 4K HDMI, 90W PD) $12.99 (35% off)
Men’s AKHG Lost Lake 10″ Swim Shorts With Liner $31.98 (50% off)
Anker USB-C to HDMI Adapter (4K@60Hz) $11.99 (40% off)
Women’s AKHG U.P. Stream Cover-Up Dress $33.98 (51% off)
Anker USB-C Adapter (2 Pack) USB-C to USB-A $8.99 (44% off)

Women’s AKHG Outer Limit Easy Tank Dress $28.98 (51% off)

Qi2 wireless chargers and MagSafe-style stations

Women’s Plus AKHG Trail Tech Flow Dress $46.98 (50% off)

Anker Prime MagSafe Charger (3-in-1 Charging Station, Qi2 25W) $160.99 (30% off)
Women’s Plus AKHG Trail Tech 9″ Shorts $33.98 (51% off)

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

Accessories and extras

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

AKHG About Face Ball Cap (Performance Fit) $13.98 (53% off)
Anker MagSafe Charger Stand (3-in-1 Cube, 30W USB-C Charger Included) $97.49 (35% off)
AKHG Flex Patch Hat $13.98 (53% off)
Anker Zolo Magnetic Wireless Charger (2-Pack, Qi2 15W) $25.99 (35% off)
AKHG Knit Beanie $18.98 (52% off)
Anker MagSafe Charger Pad (Qi2 15W, Adapter Included) $24.99 (11% off)

AKHG Knit Gaiter $18.98 (52% off)

Car charging

Men’s AKHG Bailout Belt $34.99 (30% off)

Anker Prime MagSafe Car Mount Charger (Qi2 25W, TEC Cooling) $67.49 (25% off)
Men’s AKHG Dry on the Fly Sport Bullpen 3D Boxer Briefs $23.97 (54% off)

Anker Nano Magnetic Wireless Car Charger (Qi2 15W, Adjustable Mount) $39.99 (33% off)

Portable power stations and off-grid gear

The best winter jackets

Anker SOLIX C300 Portable Power Station (288Wh) $214.94 (28% off)
The best packable rain jackets
Anker SOLIX C300 DC Power Bank Station (288Wh) $249.99
Go on a magical winter hike without hating every step
Anker 521 Portable Power Station (256Wh) $149.99 (25% off)
Dress like an Alaskan to weather the winter cold
Anker SOLIX C1000 Portable Power Station (1,056Wh) $449.00 (44% off)
2025 holiday gifts guide for hikers

The post Duluth Trading’s winter clearance drops its toughest coats, pants, and outerwear up to 70% off appeared first on Popular Science.

Hubble spots three young stars going through growth spurts

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

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)

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

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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

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

Editor’s picks

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

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

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GOOLOO

- The coffee shop is where this powerful backup battery shines. + Low tire pressure is dangerous, but the built-in compressor can help. -

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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

Stan Horaczek — 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.

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

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

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Stan Horaczek

GOOLOO

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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.

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Design and Build

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

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GOOLOO

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

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.

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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.

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.

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.

Big power jump starters (4000A–6000A)

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.

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

How I tested Anker’s Prime Power Bank

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

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.

GOOLOO GT4000S Jump Starter (4000A, 100W two-way fast charging) $99.98 (33% off)

The “System” Approach

GOOLOO GT4000 Jump Starter (4000A, 100W, -40°F pre-heating tech) $109.99 (31% off)

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.

GOOLOO GP4000 Jump Starter (4000A peak) $79.99 (43% off)

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.

GOOLOO 4000A Peak Car Jump Starter (Orange) $99.99 (23% off)

Performance

GOOLOO GT6000 Jump Starter (6000A, 100W bi-directional fast charge) $129.98 (24% off)

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.

Mid-range jump starters (2000A–3000A)

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.

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

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.

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

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.

GOOLOO GP2000 Jump Starter (2000A) (Red) $49.98 (38% off)

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.

GOOLOO Upgraded GP3000 Jump Starter (3000A peak) $59.98 (29% off)

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.

GOOLOO GP3000 Jump Starter (3000A) $69.99 (30% off)

Comparison: Anker Prime 20K vs. The Competition

GOOLOO GT3000 Jump Starter (3000A, 65W quick charge) $69.97 (30% off)

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.

GOOLOO G7 Jump Starter (3000A, built-in cable) (Deal A) $59.97 (40% off)

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

GOOLOO G7 Jump Starter (3000A, built-in cable) (Deal B) $66.99 (33% off)

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)

Jump starter + air compressor combos

Verdict

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

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.

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

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.

Stan Horaczek — 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.

GOOLOO A3 Jump Starter with Air Compressor (3000A, 150 PSI) $66.48 (40% off)

“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.”

GOOLOO A7 Jump Starter with Air Compressor (6000A, 160 PSI, inflate/deflate) $149.99 (29% off)

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

GOOLOO A2 8-in-1 Jump Starter with Air Compressor (150 PSI) $59.99 (14% off)

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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.”

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

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.”

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

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

GOOLOO GT160 Tire Inflator (160 PSI) $49.99 (38% off)

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

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

The origins of the Jell-O analogy

OBD2 scanners (turn the dashboard light into actual information)

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.

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.

“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.”

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

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.

GOOLOO DEEPSCAN DS200 OBD2 Scanner (Bluetooth wireless) $59.99 (40% off)

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

Compressed air dusters (because your keyboard is disgusting)

“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.”

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.

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.

GOOLOO F3 Compressed Air Duster (150,000 RPM) $29.98 (40% off)

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.

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

“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.”

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

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

The science that keeps planes flying

“[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.

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.

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

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.

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.

“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.”

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.”

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

“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.

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.

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.

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

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- Related 'Ask Us Anything' Stories

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

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

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

Cat Rainsford — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 12:24:54 -0500

Turbulence is less scary than it feels

Editor’s picks

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.”

“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.”

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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?

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.”

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.

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

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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.

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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

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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

Tony Ware — 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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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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“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.”

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What would a world without mosquitoes look like?

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Shifting tastes

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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.

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“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.”

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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.

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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.

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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.

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In ancient Arabia, people dined on sharks and stingrays

Tom Hawking — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 11:13:32 -0500

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?

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.”

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

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.

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

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

Andrew Paul — 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.

“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.

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.”

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.

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Don’t pick up frozen iguanas

Mack DeGeurin — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 09:20:36 -0500

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.

“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.”

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CREDIT: Florida Lad.

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.

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.

“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.”

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

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.

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.

“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.”

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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.

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

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Why do cats lick you? An expert explains.

Laura Baisas — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 09:00:00 -0500

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.”

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.

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.

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

“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.

Cats learn to groom from their mothers. Image: DepositPhotos

“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.”

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.”

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

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

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

How grooming shifts for cats in adulthood

“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.

“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.”

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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.

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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.

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 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.

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

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.

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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.

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.

“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.

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100 mystery sounds under review for signs of extraterrestrial life

Sarah Durn — 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?

What if your cat doesn’t lick you?

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.

“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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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Looking for ET

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.

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“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.”

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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.

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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.

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“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.”

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The power of crowdsourcing

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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.

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“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.”

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

Laura Baisas — 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.

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“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.

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

Frozen in time

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.

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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.

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

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+ Specs

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+ + 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) +

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.

“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.

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.

Lectric

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.

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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.

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“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.

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“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.

Andrew Coletti — 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.”

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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?

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Mucilage protects okra seeds

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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.

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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.

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Mucilage is found across the plant world

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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.

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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.

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

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“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.

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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.

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People have many uses for mucilage, too

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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.

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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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- Related 'Ask Us Anything' Stories

- -

Should you keep eggs in the fridge? Short answer: Yes.

The best chocolate chip cookie recipe, according to science

Are induction stoves better? These chefs think so.

Can one big meal really make you gain weight?

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How to handle mucilage when cooking okra

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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.

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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.

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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

Andrew Paul — 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.

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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.

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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 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.

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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.

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“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.

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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

Tony Ware — 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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LEVOIT Core 300-P Air Purifier for Room Up to 1,073 ft² — $85 (was $105)

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- - - ON SALE NOW - - - -

Levoit

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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.

Best for urban and multimodal commuters: Brompton Electric G Line

LEVOIT Core 600S for Room Up to 2933 Ft² — $259.99 w/ coupon (was $319.99)

- +

Levoit

Heather Kuldell-Ware

- - ON SALE NOW @@ -5465,1869 +4746,196 @@ https://youtube.com/watch?v=DCR8n7qS43w%3Fwmode%3Dtransparent%26start%3D0 - + See It -

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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.

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- -

LEVOIT EverestAir for Room Up to 2655 Ft² — $399.99 w/ coupon (was $499.99)

+ 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

- -

- - - ON SALE NOW - - - -

Levoit

- - - - - See It - - -

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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.

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LEVOIT Top Fill Humidifiers for Bedroom, 2.5L Tank for Large Room $28 (was $39)

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- -

- - - ON SALE NOW - - - -

Levoit

- - - - - See It - - -

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Winter dryness can be brutal. It can make your eyes feel tired, your sinuses hurt, and your skin itchy and painful. A humidifier can help, and this popular Levoit model is on sale right now at 25 percent off its normal price. The 2.5-liter reservoir lasts up to 25 hours on a single fill. Rather than having a separate tank to carry to the sink, this is a top-fill model, so you simply remove the cover and pour in the water. This is one of the easiest and cheapest ways to upgrade your quality of life, especially in the winter.

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More of the best LEVOIT deals

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LEVOIT Core Mini Air Purifiers for Bedroom Home Dorm $39 (was $49)
LEVOIT Core 400S-P Smart Air Purifier (up to 1,733 ft²) $189 (was $249)
LEVOIT Core 200S-P Smart Air Purifier $69 (was $95)
LEVOIT Vital 100S-P Air Purifier (up to 1,073 ft²) $114 (was $149)
LEVOIT Vital 200S-P Air Purifier (up to 1875 Ft²) $159 (was $189)
LEVOIT Humidifiers for Large Room, (6L) Cool Mist Top Fill Essential Oil Diffuser, App Control $64 (was $79)
LEVOIT LV600S Smart Warm and Cool Mist Humidifiers for Large Room, (6L) App & Voice Control $94 (was $109)
LEVOIT LVAC-200 Essential Cordless Stick Vac $149 (was $199)

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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

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.

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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.”

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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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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?

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“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.

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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.

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

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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.”

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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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.

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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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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.

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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.

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“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.”

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

Anne Ewbank — 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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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.

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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.

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Medieval pigs could and would kill children

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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.

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“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.”

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

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Some pigs even went to trial for their crimes

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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.”

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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.’”

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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.”

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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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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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- -

- Related 'That Time When' Stories

- -

Idaho once dropped 76 beavers from airplanes—on purpose

During WWII, a dress-wearing squirrel sold war bonds alongside FDR

When the U.S. almost nuked Alaska—on purpose

Andrew Jackson’s White House once hosted a cheese feeding frenzy

The space billboard that nearly happened

BOOM! That time Oregon blew up a whale with dynamite.

The radioactive ‘miracle water’ that killed its believers

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

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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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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.

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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.

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“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.

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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

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.

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

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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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Editor’s picks

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For the person who’s done fighting for laptop ports

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UGREEN DisplayLink Dock (9-in-1, dual 4K60) is an all-in-one “dock it and forget it” fix for hybrid-work setups. DisplayLink support is the key here—it can make dual external monitors possible even when your laptop’s built-in video output is limited. It’s $109.98 (was $169.99).

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

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UGREEN 80Gbps NVMe SSD Enclosure (USB4/TB, w/ fan) lets you drop in an M.2 NVMe SSD and turn it into a ridiculously quick external drive for video projects, photo libraries, or game installs. The built-in cooling fan helps keep speeds from nosediving during long transfers. It’s $199.99 (was $299.99).

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

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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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USB-C hubs and docking stations

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UGREEN USB-C to USB-A Hub (4x USB 3.0, 0.5 ft) $9.48 (was $14.99)
UGREEN Revodok 1071 7-in-1 USB-C Hub (HDMI, 100W, SD/TF) $16.99 (was $22.99)
UGREEN USB-C Hub (4-port, 10Gbps data-only) $18.99 (was $29.99)
UGREEN Revodok Pro 8-in-1 USB-C Hub (4K60 HDMI, 100W) $19.98 (was $29.99)
UGREEN Revodok Pro 210 Dock (10-in-1, dual HDMI) $37.99 (was $59.99)
UGREEN Steam Deck Dock (9-in-1, 4K60, Ethernet) $41.99 (was $59.99)
UGREEN 12-in-1 Triple-Display Dock (2xHDMI + DP) $45.59 (was $64.99)
UGREEN DisplayLink Dock (9-in-1, dual 4K60) $109.98 (was $169.99)
UGREEN Revodok Pro 314 Dock (14-in-1, triple monitor) $159.99
UGREEN Thunderbolt 4 Dock (13-in-1, 40Gbps) $227.98 (was $299.99)

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NVMe enclosures and drive tools

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UGREEN 20Gbps Dual-Bay NVMe Cloner Enclosure $59.99 (was $69.99)
UGREEN 40Gbps NVMe SSD Enclosure (aluminum heatsink) $69.99 (was $99.99)
UGREEN NVMe Docking Station Hub (10-in-1 w/ M.2 slot) $79.99
UGREEN 40Gbps Dual-Bay NVMe Cloner (RAID, w/ fan) $139.99
UGREEN 80Gbps NVMe SSD Enclosure (USB4/TB, w/ fan) $199.99 (was $299.99)

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KVM switches and capture cards

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UGREEN 1080p Capture Card (HDMI to USB 2.0) $18.99 (was $23.99)
UGREEN HDMI KVM Switch (2 computers, 1 monitor) $29.99 (was $37.99)
UGREEN 4K30 Capture Card (HDMI to USB 3.0, loop out) $29.99 (was $39.99)
UGREEN USB-C + HDMI KVM Switch (2 computers, 1 monitor) $79.99 (was $99.99)

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Audio adapters and Bluetooth upgrades

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UGREEN 3.5mm Headphone Extension Cable (TRS, 3.3 ft) $6.64 (was $6.99)
UGREEN 3.5mm Headphone Extension Cable (TRRS w/ mic, 3.3 ft) $6.99 (was $7.99)
UGREEN 3.5mm Headset Splitter (mic + audio) $9.99
UGREEN AUX-to-Bluetooth Receiver (built-in mic) $11.99 (was $13.99)
UGREEN USB-A to 3.5mm Headphone/Mic Adapter $13.99
UGREEN USB-C to RCA Audio Cable (5 ft) $13.99
UGREEN USB-C to 3.5mm Audio Adapter (hi-res) $16.99
UGREEN Bluetooth Car Adapter (hands-free, noise cancelling) $16.99 (was $18.99)
UGREEN 3.5mm to dual 1/4-inch Y-splitter (6.6 ft) $17.99
UGREEN Airplane Bluetooth Transmitter/Receiver (2-in-1) $17.99 (was $27.99)
UGREEN USB-C Splitter (USB-C audio + 60W PD) $18.99 (was $21.99)
UGREEN Airplane Bluetooth Adapter (dual 3.5mm) $19.99 (was $29.99)
UGREEN Bluetooth Car Receiver (LDAC, 3.5mm) $19.99 (was $25.99)

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Display cables and video adapters

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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)

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Desk accessories and input gear

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UGREEN MagSafe Airplane Phone Holder $9.97 (was $14.99)
UGREEN MagSafe Phone Stand (height-adjustable) $9.99 (was $13.99)
UGREEN Vertical Ergonomic Mouse (BT 5.4 + 2.4G) $16.99 (was $27.58)
UGREEN Vertical Laptop Stand (adjustable) $17.99 (was $22.99)
UGREEN K551 Slim Quiet Wireless Keyboard (78-key) $19.99 (was $26.99)
UGREEN Vertical Ergonomic Wireless Mouse (BT + 2.4G) $19.99 (was $29.99)

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Starlink and networking

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UGREEN Starlink Cable (50 ft, Cat6, IP67) $21.99 (was $59.99)
UGREEN Starlink Cable (150 ft, Cat6, IP67) $59.99 (was $79.99)

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Best USB hubs
Best USB-C hubs
Best ergonomic mouse
How to connect two sets of headphones to one phone
Best travel headphones for 2026
Best monitors for dual-screen setups
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

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.

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Editor’s picks

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

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- -

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

Canon

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

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- -

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

Canon

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Full-frame doesn’t have to mean a second mortgage. The RP is a compact, approachable way into Canon’s RF system—great for travel and portraits, and a big step up if you’re moving on from a phone or an older DSLR.

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

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

Canon

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

- - - - - See It - - -

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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.

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Canon camera deals

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

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

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EOS R5 Mark II

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

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EOS R5

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Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless Camera Body $2,599.00 (21% off)
Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless Camera (Included Value Accessory Kit) $2,599.00 (21% off)
Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless Camera, Bundle with Accessories $2,599.00 (21% off)
Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless Camera with Control Ring Mount Adapter EF-EOS R $2,599.00 (21% off)
Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless Camera, Bundle with Accessory Kit $2,762.88 (20% off)
Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless Camera with Control Ring Mount Adapter EF-EOS R and Canon Log $2,838.00 (20% off)
Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens $3,849.00 (15% off)
Canon EOS R5 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens + accessory kit $3,849.00 (15% off)

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EOS R6 Mark II

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Canon EOS R6 Mark II Mirrorless Camera Body $1,999.00 (13% off)
Canon EOS R6 Mark II Mirrorless Camera, Black $1,999.00 (13% off)
Canon EOS R6 Mark II Camera Bundle with Essentials + accessory kit $1,999.00 (13% off)
Canon EOS R6 Mark II Mirrorless Camera with Stop Motion Firmware Upgrade $2,099.00 (13% off)
Canon EOS R6 Mark II Camera with RF 24-105mm L IS USM Lens + essentials bundle $2,299.00 (12% 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 R6 Mark II Mirrorless Camera with 256GB Memory Card + accessory kit $2,308.98 (11% off)
Canon EOS R6 Mark II Camera with Stop Motion Firmware Upgrade + bundle $2,276.99 (12% 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 R6 Mark II Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens + bundle $2,685.99 (10% 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 R6 Mark II Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens (Kit) $3,498.00 (8% 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)

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EOS R8

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Canon EOS R8 Mirrorless Camera Body $1,299.00 (13% off)
Canon EOS R8 Mirrorless Camera, Black $1,299.00 (13% off)
Canon EOS R8 Mirrorless Camera Body + accessory kit $1,299.00 (13% off)
Canon EOS R8 Content Creator Kit $1,749.00 (17% off)
Canon EOS R8 Content Creator Kit with Included Accessories $1,749.00 (17% 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 R8 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-50mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM Lens + accessory kit $1,499.00 (14% off)
Canon EOS R8 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens $2,699.00 (10% 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 R8 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens $1,749.00 (12% off)
Canon EOS R8 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens + accessory kit $1,749.00 (12% off)

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EOS RP

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Canon EOS RP Mirrorless Full-Frame Camera $799.00 (30% off)
Canon EOS RP Mirrorless Camera, Bundle with Included Accessories $799.00 (30% off)
Canon EOS RP Mirrorless Camera Body $799.00 (27% off)
Canon EOS RP Mirrorless Camera with Essentials Kit $977.99 (26% off)
Canon EOS RP Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens $1,099.00 (24% off)
Canon EOS RP Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens + accessory kit $1,099.00 (24% off)

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EOS R3

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Canon EOS R3 Mirrorless Camera Body $3,899.00 (11% off)
Canon EOS R3 Mirrorless Camera Body + accessory kit $3,899.00 (11% off)
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)

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

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EOS R7

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Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera Body $1,819.00 (15% off)
Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-150mm Lens $1,819.00 (15% off)
Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera Body + accessory kit $1,819.00 (15% off)
Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-150mm Lens + accessory kit $1,899.00 (14% off)
Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-150mm Lens (Kit) $1,899.00 (14% off)
Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens $2,999.00 (9% off)
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 R7 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-150mm Lens + accessory kit (Bundle) $1,999.00 (9% off)
Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-150mm Lens + accessory kit (Bundle) $1,999.00 (9% off)

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EOS R10

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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 EOS R10 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens $1,099.00 (12% off)
Canon EOS R10 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-150mm Lens $1,099.00 (11% off)
Canon EOS R10 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-150mm Lens (Alt Deal) $1,449.00 (6% off)
Canon EOS R10 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens + accessory kit $1,099.00 (12% off)
Canon EOS R10 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-150mm Lens + accessory kit $1,099.00 (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 R10 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens + accessory kit $1,299.00 (11% off)
Canon EOS R10 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens $2,299.00 (8% off)

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EOS R50

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Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera, Black (Body Only) $679.00 (13% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera, White Body $679.00 (13% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera Body $679.00 (13% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera, Black with Included Accessories $679.00 (13% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera, White (Included Accessories) $679.00 (13% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens $599.00 (14% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens (Alt Deal) $799.00 (11% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens + accessory kit $679.00 (11% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens, White $799.00 (11% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens, White + accessory kit $799.00 (11% off)
Canon EOS R50 Content Creator Kit $799.00 (16% off)
Canon EOS R50 Content Creator Kit (Alt Deal) $979.00 (13% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera & RF-S 10-18mm Lens Content Creator Kit $979.00 (13% off)
Canon EOS R50 V Mirrorless Camera Body $569.00 (21% off)
Canon EOS R50 V Mirrorless Camera Body + Bag & bundle $569.00 (21% off)
Canon EOS R50 V Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 14-30mm Lens $699.00 (13% off)
Canon EOS R50 V Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 14-30mm Lens + accessory kit $699.00 (13% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera, Pink (Body Only) $679.00 (13% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens, Pink $799.00 (11% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera, Black with Essentials Kit $771.95 (11% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera, White + accessory kit (Bundle) $679.00 (11% off)
Canon EOS R50 V Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 14-30mm Lens (Alt Deal) $799.00 (16% off)
Canon EOS R50 V Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 14-30mm Lens + accessory kit (Alt Deal) $799.00 (16% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens + accessory kit (Alt Deal) $679.00 (11% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens, White (Alt Deal) $679.00 (13% off)
Canon EOS R50 V Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 14-30mm Lens (Bundle) $799.00 (13% off)

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EOS R100

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Canon EOS R100 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens $499.00 (17% off)
Canon EOS R100 Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens + accessory kit $499.00 (27% off)
Canon EOS R100 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens + 128GB card $599.00 (25% off)
Canon EOS R100 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens + 128GB card + accessory kit $599.00 (25% off)
Canon EOS R100 Mirrorless Camera with RF 28mm Lens + accessory kit $1,249.00 (7% off)
Canon EOS R100 Mirrorless Camera with RF 100-500mm Lens (Bundle) $2,599.00 (16% off)
Canon EOS R100 Mirrorless Camera with RF 100-500mm Lens + accessory kit $2,599.00 (16% off)
Canon EOS R100 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens + accessory kit (Alt Deal) $499.00 (24% off)
Canon EOS R100 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens + 128GB card + accessory kit (Alt Deal) $599.00 (25% off)
Canon EOS R100 Mirrorless Camera with RF 100-500mm Lens, Bundle with Filter Kit $2,599.00 (16% off)

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DSLR camera deals

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EOS 5D Mark IV

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Canon EOS 5D Mark IV DSLR Camera $1,799.00 (28% off)
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV DSLR with Free Accessory Kit $1,799.00 (28% off)
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV DSLR Camera with Tripod Kit $1,849.00 (27% off)
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV DSLR Body with Canon Log $1,899.00 (27% off)
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV DSLR Camera with EF 24-105mm f/4L Lens $2,299.00 (12% off)

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Rebel & entry-level DSLRs

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Canon EOS Rebel T7 DSLR Camera with 18-55mm Lens $439.00 (12% off)
Canon EOS Rebel T7 DSLR Camera with 18-55mm Lens + accessories $439.00 (12% off)
Canon EOS Rebel T7 DSLR Camera 2-Lens Kit $639.00 (9% off)
Canon EOS Rebel T7 DSLR Camera 2-Lens Kit + accessory kit $639.00 (9% off)

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Point-and-shoot & compact cameras

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Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III Digital Camera $749.00 (6% off)
Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III Digital Camera, Black $749.00 (6% off)
Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III Digital Camera, Silver $749.00 (6% off)
Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III Digital Camera + accessory kit $749.00 (6% off)

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Canon lens deals

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These are the lenses that actually change what your camera can do—wide, long, fast, and weird.

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RF lenses

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Standard zooms

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Canon RF 28-70mm f/2.8 IS STM Lens $1,049.00 (16% off)
Canon RF 28-70mm f/2.8 IS STM Lens + accessory kit $1,049.00 (16% off)
Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens $1,999.00 (17% off)
Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens + accessory kit $1,999.00 (17% off)
Canon RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens $299.00 (15% off)
Canon RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens + accessory kit $299.00 (15% off)
Canon RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens $1,099.00 (15% off)
Canon RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens + accessory kit $1,099.00 (15% off)

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Ultra-wide zooms

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Canon RF 15-30mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM Lens $489.00 (23% off)
Canon RF 15-30mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM Lens + accessory kit $489.00 (23% off)
Canon RF 14-35mm f/4 L IS USM Lens $1,299.00 (17% off)
Canon RF 14-35mm f/4 L IS USM Lens + accessory kit $1,299.00 (17% off)
Canon RF 15-35mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens $2,099.00 (19% off)
Canon RF 15-35mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens, Bundle + accessory kit $2,099.00 (19% off)
Canon RF 16-28mm f/2.8 IS STM Lens $1,049.00 (16% off)
Canon RF 16-28mm f/2.8 IS STM Lens, Bundle + accessory kit $1,049.00 (16% off)
Canon RF 10-20mm f/4 L IS STM Lens $2,099.00 (16% off)
Canon RF 10-20mm f/4 L IS STM Lens + accessory kit $2,099.00 (16% off)

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Telephoto zooms

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Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens $2,499.00 (17% off)
Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens with Tripod Kit $2,499.00 (17% off)
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)
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)
Canon RF 100-400mm f/5.6-8 IS USM Lens $549.00 (15% off)
Canon RF 100-400mm f/5.6-8 IS USM Lens + accessory kit $549.00 (15% off)
Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Z Lens, Black $3,099.00 (6% off)
Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Z Lens, White $3,099.00 (6% off)
Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Z Lens, Black + accessory kit $3,099.00 (6% off)

- - - -

Super-telephoto (400mm+)

- - - -

Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 L IS USM Lens $2,599.00 (16% off)
Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 L IS USM Lens + accessory kit $2,599.00 (16% off)
Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 L IS USM Lens, Bundle with Filter Kit $2,599.00 (16% off)
Canon RF 600mm f/4 L IS USM Lens $11,999.00 (8% off)
Canon RF 600mm f/4 L IS USM Lens + accessory kit $11,999.00 (8% off)
Canon RF 800mm f/5.6 L IS USM Lens $15,999.00 (6% 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)

- - - -

Prime lenses

- - - -

Canon RF 50mm f/1.2 L USM Lens $1,899.00 (14% off)
Canon RF 50mm f/1.2 L USM Lens + accessory kit $1,899.00 (14% off)
Canon RF 50mm f/1.8 STM Lens $159.00 (20% off)
Canon RF 50mm f/1.8 STM Lens + accessory kit $159.00 (20% off)
Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM Lens $449.00 (15% off)
Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM Lens, Bundle + accessory kit $449.00 (15% off)
Canon RF 85mm f/1.2 L USM Lens $2,399.00 (14% off)
Canon RF 85mm f/1.2 L USM Lens + accessory kit $2,399.00 (14% off)
Canon RF 24mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM Lens $549.00 (20% off)
Canon RF 24mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM Lens, Bundle + accessory kit $549.00 (20% off)
Canon RF 24mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM Lens with Filter Kit $598.00 (19% off)

- - - -

Macro & specialty lenses

- - - -

Canon RF 100mm f/2.8 L Macro IS USM Lens $1,149.00 (15% off)
Canon RF 100mm f/2.8 L Macro IS USM Lens + accessory kit $1,149.00 (15% off)
Canon RF 5.2mm f/2.8 L Dual Fisheye Lens $1,999.00 (9% off)
Canon RF 5.2mm f/2.8 L Dual Fisheye Lens + accessory kit $1,999.00 (9% off)
Canon RF 200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens $1,999.00 (9% off)
Canon RF 200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens + accessory kit $1,999.00 (9% off)
Canon RF 600mm f/11 IS STM Lens $799.00 (11% off)
Canon RF 600mm f/11 IS STM Lens + accessory kit $799.00 (11% off)
Canon RF 800mm f/11 IS STM Lens $899.00 (10% off)
Canon RF 800mm f/11 IS STM Lens + accessory kit $899.00 (10% off)
Canon RF 200-800mm f/6.3-9 IS USM Lens $1,899.00 (5% off)
Canon RF 200-800mm f/6.3-9 IS USM Lens + accessory kit $1,899.00 (5% off)
Canon RF 20mm f/1.4 L VCM Lens $1,499.00 (6% off)
Canon RF 20mm f/1.4 L VCM Lens + accessory kit $1,499.00 (6% off)

- - - -

RF-S lenses (APS-C)

- - - -

Canon RF-S 7.8mm f/4 STM Dual Lens $409.00 (20% off)
Canon RF-S 7.8mm f/4 STM Dual Lens, Bundle + accessory kit $409.00 (20% off)
Canon RF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM Lens $249.00 (17% off)

- - - -

EF & EF-S lenses (DSLR-era)

- - - -

Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM Lens $329.00 (55% off)
Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM Lens + accessory kit $329.00 (55% off)
Canon EF 35mm f/1.4 L II USM Lens $1,699.00 (26% off)
Canon EF 35mm f/1.4 L II USM Lens with Filter Kit $1,699.00 (26% off)
Canon EF 16-35mm f/4 L IS USM Lens $1,149.00 (21% off)
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS III USM Lens $1,799.00 (14% off)
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 L Macro IS USM Lens $1,299.00 (10% off)
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L II USM Lens $1,499.00 (12% off)
Canon EF 200-400mm f/4 L IS USM Extender 1.4x Lens $9,999.00 (19% off)
Canon EF 300mm f/2.8 L IS II USM Lens $5,999.00 (14% off)

- - - -

Adapters & accessories

- - - -

Canon Control Ring Mount Adapter EF-EOS R $149.00 (38% off)
Canon EF-EOS R Drop-In Filter Mount Adapter with Circular Polarizer $259.00 (28% off)

- - - -

Backcountry is blowing out hiking bags, backpacks, and luggage for up to 65% off during this clearance sale

Heather Kuldell-Ware — 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.

- - - -

If you think a rugged bag might be overkill for your needs, just remember what happens to a suitcase when you check it.

- - - -

Editor’s picks

+ + 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) +

+ + + + +

- -

Osprey Arcane WP Roll Top 18L Pack $84 (65% off)

- - - - -

- -

- - The 90L capacity makes it great for longer trips, even if you’re flying. -

- - - - See It +

- -

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.

- -

Eagle Creek Cargo Hauler 90L Duffel Bag $75.60 (60% off)

- - - - -

- -

- It’s built like a camera bag so it’s great for lugging gadgets and gear. + + +

- - - - See It - -

Heather Kuldell-Ware

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.

+ +

Best for off-road adventures: HeyBike Mars 3.0

Db Ramverk Pro 32L Backpack $147.58 (60% off)

- +

Heather Kuldell-Ware

@@ -7337,2127 +4945,2838 @@ https://youtube.com/watch?v=DCR8n7qS43w%3Fwmode%3Dtransparent%26start%3D0 - + See It -

- - - -

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.

- - - -

Shop the Backcountry bag deals

- - - -

Everyday & commuter backpacks

- - - -

Black Diamond

- - - -

Black Diamond Distance 8L Backpack $116.97 (35% off)

- - - -

Cotopaxi

- - - -

Cotopaxi Tapa Cada Dia 22L Backpack $55.00 (45% off)

- - - -

Dakine

- - - -

Dakine 365 21L Backpack (DAK008W) $15.00 (70% off)
Dakine 365 21L Backpack (Alt listing) $25.00
Dakine Campus M 25L Backpack (DAK01NA) $29.25 (55% off)
Dakine Campus M 25L Backpack (Alt listing) $35.75 (52% off)
Dakine Campus Premium 28L Backpack $50.00 (57% off)
Dakine Class 25L Backpack $29.40 (40% off)
Dakine Essentials 26L Backpack $32.00 (60% off)
Dakine Infinity Toploader 27L Backpack $36.00 (55% off)
Dakine June 25L Backpack $33.75 (61% off)
Dakine Method 25L Backpack $35.00 (50% off)
Dakine Method 32L Backpack (DAKZ7SW) $32.00 (60% off)
Dakine Method DLX 28L Backpack (DAKZ7SX) $33.25 (65% off)
Dakine Motive 30L Backpack $108.50 (30% off)
Dakine Motive Rolltop 25L $60.75 (55% off)
Dakine Packable 22L Backpack $39.00 (40% off)
Dakine Urban Mission 18L Backpack $27.50 (45% off)

+ 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 +

Dakine Verge 25L Backpack (DAKZ7MG) $72.00 (40% off)

Dakine Wander 25L Backpack $34.00 (60% off)

Dakine Wednesday 21L Backpack $23.10

Db

Db Hugger Base 15L Backpack $62.53 (55% off)

Db Hugger Base Backpack 15L (DBCA02G) $64.50 (50% off)

Heather Kuldell-Ware

Db Ramverk 26L Backpack $129.48 (50% off)

Best for long-range rides: Velotric Fold 1 Plus

Db Ramverk 26L Backpack (single color) (DBCA00Q) $87.13 (65% off)
Db Ramverk 21L Backpack (Alt listing) $114.48 (50% off)

+ + + + + +

+ +

Heather Kuldell

+ + + + See It -

Db Ramverk 21L Backpack (DBCA00P) $103.03 (55% off)

+ + +

+ 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

+ 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

+ Specs

+ +

+ + 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) +

+ -

Eastpak

Eastpak Padded Pak’R Backpack $42.50 (50% off)

Exped

Exped Cloudburst 25L Backpack $65.00 (35% off)

Granite Gear

Granite Gear Scurry 24L Daypack $39.98 (60% off)

Heather Kuldell

Herschel

Best lightweight: Urtopia Carbon Fold 1

Herschel Classic Backpack $35.74

+ + + + + +

+ +

Tony Ware

Herschel Classic XL Backpack $42.24

+ + + + See It + + +

+ 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

+ 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

+ Specs

+ +

+ + 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 +

Herschel Gibson 18L Messenger Tech Bag $55.00 (50% off)

Herschel Heritage 24L Backpack $51.99 (35% off)

Herschel Little America 25L Backpack $84.49

Herschel Little America 17L Mid Backpack $77.99 (35% off)

Herschel Pop Quiz 22L Backpack $61.74 (35% off)

Herschel Retreat 19.5L Backpack $71.49 (35% off)

Urtopia

Herschel Retreat 15L Small Backpack $51.99

Best value: Ride1Up Portola

Herschel Seymour 26L Backpack $64.99 (35% off)

+ + + + + +

+ +

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

Herschel Survey 17.5L Backpack $58.49 (35% off)

+ + + + +

+ + + + See It + + +

+ 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

+ Cons

+ +

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

+ Specs

+ +

+ + 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 +

Herschel Ultralight 22L Backpack $62.99 (30% off)

Herschel Ultralight 14L Cinch Daypack $48.99 (30% off)

Mountain Hardwear

Mountain Hardwear Huell 25L Backpack $49.49 (45% off)

What to consider when searching for the best folding electric bikes

Mystery Ranch

Mystery Ranch 3 Way 27 Backpack $125.92 (45% off)

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

Mystery Ranch Catalyst 22 Backpack $96.85 (35% off)

E-bike classes: What they mean for folding bikes

Mystery Ranch Catalyst 18 Backpack $90.32 (35% off)

Mystery Ranch District 24L Backpack $92.92 (45% off)

NEMO

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

NEMO Resolve 25L Endless Promise Backpack $125.96 (30% off)

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

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)

Osprey

Batteries: Range, charging, and what really matters

Osprey Arcane 24L Roll Top Pack $68.97 (45% off)

Osprey Arcane 22L Roll Top Pack (OSPZ197) $38.50 (65% off)

Osprey Arcane 30L Duffel Pack (OSPZ18J) $69.98 (50% off)

Osprey Arcane Flap 14L Pack $60.00 (40% off)

Osprey Arcane Large 20L Daypack (OSPZ18L) $54.98 (50% off)

FAQs

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?

Osprey Arcane Large 20L Daypack (Alt listing) $65.97

Final thoughts on the best folding electric bikes

Osprey Arcane Large Day Wool Daypack $62.98 (65% off)

Best overall: Lectric XP4
Osprey Arcane XL 30L Daypack (OSPZ1AW) $64.98 (50% off)
Best for urban and multimodal commuters: Brompton Electric G Line
Osprey Arcane XL 30L Daypack (Alt listing) $77.97
Best for off-road adventures: HeyBike Mars 3.0
Osprey Daylite Plus 20L Backpack $52.46
Best for long-range rides: Velotric Fold 1 Plus
Osprey Heritage Simplex 16L Backpack $54.97 (45% off)
Best lightweight: Urtopia Carbon Fold 1
Osprey Ozone 28L Backpack (OSPZ1ES) $101.97 (40% off)
Best value: Ride1Up Portola

Osprey Transporter Panel Loader 25L Pack $74.23 (55% off)

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

Osprey Transporter Roll Top 28L Pack $90.75 (45% off)

Osprey Transporter Roll Top WP 18L Pack $77.97 (40% off)

Osprey Transporter Roll Top WP 25L Pack $98.97 (40% off)

Osprey Transporter Roll Top WP 30L Pack $104.47 (45% 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.

Osprey Transporter Zinch Pack $91.00

- +

Patagonia

Patagonia Refugio 30L Day Pack $109.65 (15% off)

Thule

Thule Nanum 18L Backpack $54.97 (45% off)

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

Thule Nanum 25L Backpack $53.98 (55% off)

Thule Paramount 27L Commuter Backpack $104.47 (45% off)

- +

Hiking & trail packs

Black Diamond

Black Diamond Pursuit 30L Backpack $139.96 (30% off)

Granite Gear

Granite Gear Dagger 22L Daypack $47.98 (60% off)

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

Gregory

Gregory Nano 14L Backpack $35.72 (35% off)

Mystery Ranch

Mystery Ranch Coulee 20L Backpack $107.40 (40% off)

Mystery Ranch In And Out 18L Daypack $62.30 (30% off)

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.

Mystery Ranch Scree 22L Backpack $139.30 (30% off)

Mystery Ranch Superset 24 Daypack $110.50 (35% off)

- +

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

Osprey

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

Osprey Hikelite 32L Pack $112.00 (30% off)

Editor’s picks

Osprey Sportlite Hydraulics 20L Backpack $66.50 (30% off)

+ +

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

+ + + + +

+ +

Anker

Osprey Sportlite 30L Backpack $94.50 (30% off)

+ + + + See It + +

Osprey Stratos 24L Backpack $126.00 (30% off)

Osprey Stratos 34L Backpack $140.00 (30% off)

+ +

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

+ + + + +

+ +

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

Pingora

Anker

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

+ + + + See It + +

Pingora Impulse 9L Backpack $76.97 (45% off)

Pingora Impulse 11L Backpack $76.97 (45% off)

Rab

+ +

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

+ + + + +

+ +

Anker

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

+ + + + See It -

Rab Aeon 27L Backpack $119.00 (30% off)

+ +

Thule

Thule Stir 18L Backpack $54.97 (45% off)

Wall chargers and travel adapters

Thule Stir 25L Backpack $83.97 (40% off)

Anker 100W Max USB-C Charger Block (3-Port GaN, Silver) $59.99 (14% off)

Ultimate Direction

Anker Prime Charger (100W 3-Port GaN, Foldable) $59.99 (14% off)

Ultimate Direction Blazek 10L Daypack $47.97 (40% off)
Anker Nano Charger (70W 3-Port USB-C, White, Cable Included) $39.99 (20% off)
Ultimate Direction Blazek 15L Daypack $53.97 (40% off)
Anker Charger (65W 3-Port Fast Compact Foldable) $25.99 (35% off)
Ultimate Direction Blazek 18L Daypack $59.97 (40% off)
Anker Nano Travel Adapter (5-Port, 1 AC + 2 USB-A + 2 USB-C) $25.99

Duffels & gear haulers

Power strips and desktop charging stations

Db

Anker Prime Charging Station (240W 8-in-1 USB-C Power Strip) $89.99 (31% off)

Db Roamer 60L Duffel Bag $94.48 (50% off)
Anker Prime 6-in-1 USB-C Charging Station (140W) $59.99 (45% off)
Db Roamer 40L Duffel Bag $76.03 (55% off)

Anker Charging Station (100W) 9-in-1 USB-C Power Strip (300J) $39.99

Eagle Creek

Anker Power Strip Surge Protector (2100J, 12 Outlets + USB) $28.99

Eagle Creek Cargo Hauler 40L Duffel Bag (Alt listing) $52.15 (65% off)

Power banks

Eagle Creek Cargo Hauler 40L Duffel Bag (EAGM361) $96.85 (35% off)

Anker Prime Power Bank (26,250mAh, 300W Max) $199.99 (13% off)
Eagle Creek Cargo Hauler 90L Duffel Bag $75.60 (60% off)
Anker Prime Power Bank (20,100mAh, 220W Max) $149.99 (17% off)
Eagle Creek Migrate 40L Duffel Bag (EAGM35D) $71.40

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

Helly Hansen

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

Helly Hansen Hightide WP 65L Duffel Bag $114.00 (40% off)
Anker Nano Power Bank (Qi2 15W, 5,000mAh, Magnetic) $54.99

Herschel

USB-C hubs and docking stations

Herschel Heritage 40L Duffel Bag $64.99 (35% off)
Anker Prime TB5 Docking Station (14-in-1 Thunderbolt 5) $399.99
Herschel Novel 43L Duffel Bag $76.99

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

Mountain Hardwear

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

Mountain Hardwear Camp Tough Duffel 80L $98.99 (45% off)

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

Mystery Ranch

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

Mystery Ranch Mission 40L Duffel Bag $116.35 (35% off)
Anker 555 USB-C Hub (8-in-1, 4K HDMI, 10Gbps, Ethernet) $49.99
Mystery Ranch Mission 55L Duffel Bag $119.40 (40% off)
Anker 6-in-1 USB-C Hub (65W PD, 4K HDMI, Ethernet) $31.99 (29% off)
Mystery Ranch Mission Stuffel 30L Bag $70.82 (35% off)
Anker USB-C Hub (5-in-1, 4K HDMI, 90W PD) $12.99 (35% off)
Mystery Ranch Mission Stuffel 45L Bag $77.32 (35% off)
Anker USB-C to HDMI Adapter (4K@60Hz) $11.99 (40% off)
Mystery Ranch Mission Stuffel 60L Bag $77.37 (40% off)
Anker USB-C Adapter (2 Pack) USB-C to USB-A $8.99 (44% off)

NEMO

Qi2 wireless chargers and MagSafe-style stations

NEMO Double Haul Convertible Duffel 30L Bag $104.96 (30% off)
Anker Prime MagSafe Charger (3-in-1 Charging Station, Qi2 25W) $160.99 (30% off)
NEMO Double Haul Convertible Duffel 55L Bag $101.97 (40% off)
Anker MagGo 3-in-1 Charging Station (Qi2 15W, Foldable) $89.99 (17% off)
NEMO Double Haul Convertible Duffel 70L Bag $129.97 (35% off)
Anker MagGo UFO 3-in-1 Charger (Qi2 15W, Foldable Travel Pad) $61.98 (31% off)
NEMO Double Haul Convertible Duffel 100L Bag $131.97 (40% off)

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

Osprey

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

Osprey Transporter 65L Duffel $133.00
Anker MagSafe Charger Pad (Qi2 15W, Adapter Included) $24.99 (11% off)

Patagonia

Car charging

Patagonia Black Hole 40L Duffel Bag $159.00
Anker Prime MagSafe Car Mount Charger (Qi2 25W, TEC Cooling) $67.49 (25% off)
Patagonia Black Hole 55L Duffel Bag $169.00

Anker Nano Magnetic Wireless Car Charger (Qi2 15W, Adjustable Mount) $39.99 (33% off)

Tote packs & hybrids

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

Osprey

Portable power stations and off-grid gear

Osprey Arcane 20L Tote Pack (OSPZ18K) $48.00 (60% off)
Anker SOLIX C300 Portable Power Station (288Wh) $214.94 (28% off)
Osprey Arcane 20L Tote Pack (Alt listing) $74.97
Anker SOLIX C300 DC Power Bank Station (288Wh) $249.99
Osprey Daylite 20L Tote Pack $62.96
Anker 521 Portable Power Station (256Wh) $149.99 (25% off)
Osprey Daylite Large Tote Pack $75.00 (32% off)

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

Slings, crossbodies & small carry

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

Herschel

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

Herschel Heritage 2L Crossbody Bag $20.00 (50% off)
Anker SOLIX F2000 Portable Power Station (Powerhouse 767) $899.00 (55% off)
Herschel Heritage Crossbody Little Herschel Bag $15.39 (45% off)
Anker SOLIX F3000 Portable Power Station (3,072Wh) $1,299.99 (23% off)
Herschel Ultralight 2L Hip Pack $27.99 (30% off)

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

KAVU

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

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

Stan Horaczek — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 09:25:11 -0500

KAVU Cattle Point Sling Bag $28.77

+ +

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

+ + + + +

+ +

Stan Horaczek

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

KAVU Clipper Card Case $17.97

+ + + + See It + + +

+ 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.

KAVU Islamorada Cross Body Wallet $34.96 (30% off)

KAVU Snuggy Spectator Pouch $16.10 (54% off)

Design and Build

KAVU Yorktown Cross Body Wallet $15.21 (72% off)

Mystery Ranch

Mystery Ranch District 2 Bag $31.85 (35% off)

Mystery Ranch District Pro Bag $104.30 (30% off)

Mystery Ranch Street Market Bag $29.22 (35% off)

How I tested Anker’s Prime Power Bank

Osprey

Osprey Aoede 1.5L Crossbody Bag $27.96 (30% off)

The “System” Approach

Osprey Aoede Sling $35.97

Patagonia

Patagonia Atom 8L Sling Bag $65.00

Performance

Kids’ packs & small bags

Dakine

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.

Dakine Essentials Mini 7L Backpack – Kids’ $18.00
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.

Herschel

Herschel Classic Little Duffle – Kids’ $38.49 (30% off)

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.

Herschel Heritage 15L Youth Backpack – Kids’ $31.49 (30% off)

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

Stan Horaczek — 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.”

Comparison: Anker Prime 20K vs. The Competition

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.

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.

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

A 3D elevation map showing the remains of Svælget 2. Credit: Viking Ship Museum

The Specs

“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.

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)

Verdict

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.

“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.”

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.

Andrew Paul — 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.

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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.

“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.”

“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.”

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

Despite its size, the cog required a relatively small crew to pilot. Credit: Viking Ship Museum

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

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.

“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.

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

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.

+ + +

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

“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.

The origins of the Jell-O analogy

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.

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.

“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.”

A sample round during the game Race Against Rot. Credit: University of Vermont

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.

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

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.”

“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.

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.

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.

“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.

“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.”

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.

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

“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.

The science that keeps planes flying

Thanksfully, that vision of a better system is something most people want to see realized.

“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.

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.

- - -

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.

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.

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.

Indoors, the jumpy critters are often found in areas with excess moisture, such as near plumbing leaks or poor drainage systems.

+ +

+ 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.

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.

Turbulence is less scary than it feels

“We found something never seen before and, more importantly, entirely unexpected,” explained Simone Scaringi, a researcher at Durham University in the United Kingdom.

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.

“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.”

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.

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

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.

“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.

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

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.

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.”

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.

“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.”

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

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.

“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.

Cat Rainsford — 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.

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

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.”

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.

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

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.

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.

Purple gallinules use their long legs to walk across lily pads. Image: New England Wildlife Center.

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

Without forests, mosquitoes turn to human blood

Margherita Bassi — Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 -0500

“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.”

- -

- Related Bird Stories

- -

A rare South American bird took a wrong turn towards Florida

Rare bird with half male and half female plumage photographed in Colombia

First known wild ‘grue jay’ hybrid spotted in Texas

Whose blood is it anyway?

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.

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

Tom Hawking — 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.

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

In reality, plane crashes in thunderstorms are extremely rare—largely because pilots seldom fly into thunderstorms in the first place.

“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

“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.

How pilots track thunderstorms

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

Avoiding thunderstorms, Smith explains, involves close collaboration between meteorologists, air traffic control, and the flight crew, both before and during the flight.

“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.”

“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.”

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.

+ +

+ Related Mosquito Stories

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Scientists engineer mosquito STD to combat malaria

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?

“[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.”

Shifting tastes

Another key source of information comes from other pilots

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.

“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.”

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.

“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.”

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

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

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.

“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.”

Jumping species

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.

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

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

Australian police smash e-bikes in crackdown on unruly teens

Cat Rainsford — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 17:00:00 -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

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.

“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.”

“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.”

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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.”

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“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?

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

Planes are designed to withstand lightning strikes. Video: Lightning hits plane leaving BC airport/ @globalnews

Cops are cracking down on e-bikes

“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’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

Mack DeGeurin — 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 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

Sarah Durn — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 16:04:00 -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.

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

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

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

Laura Baisas — 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.

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.

“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.

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

“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.

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

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

Iron Age teeth reveal the hidden lives of ancient Italians

Margherita Bassi — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 14:00:00 -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.”

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

Andrew Paul — 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.

This episode is based on the Popular Science article “In a world without people, how fast would NYC fall apart? Here’s the timeline.”

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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

Andrew Paul — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 11:56:00 -0500

Listen and follow Ask Us Anything on your favorite podcast platform:

What is SETI@home?

Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Or wherever you get your podcasts.

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.

“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.

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.

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

Annie Colbert: And I’m Annie Colbert, editor-in-chief at Popular Science.

Looking for ET

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.

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.

The power of crowdsourcing

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.

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.

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

Laura Baisas — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 10:32:00 -0500

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.

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

SD: Give us your weirdest or simplest ideas.

Frozen in time

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.

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.

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

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.

Comparing genomes

SD: Oh yeah? Do tell.

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.

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.

Andrew Coletti — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 09:02:00 -0500

AC: But then by the end of the 1300s, as the climate cooled in the Little Ice Age, the city was abandoned.

SD: Yeah. So those examples, they kind of give us a trailer of what could happen in New York City.

Mucilage protects okra seeds

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.

AC: Silent streets empty subways.

Mucilage is found across the plant world

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.

AC: Needless to say, it’s probably something bad.

SD: Yeah, no, definitely probably something bad.

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

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

AC: Living off a very bright road, I truly cannot imagine. It sounds incredible.

People have many uses for mucilage, too

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.

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.

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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.

How to handle mucilage when cooking okra

AC: Cool. Like little underground jungles.

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.

AC: That sounds creepy. Eerie. Sounds a little bit like The Last Of Us.

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

SD: Oh my god, love The Last Of Us. Also gave me nightmares for months.

AC: Yes, absolutely.

“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.

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.

AC: Like a full on forest?

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.

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

AC: And I’m almost scared to ask, but the animals?

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Levoit

SD: Oh yeah. I mean, there’d be plenty.

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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.

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AC: So it’s like a zoo, but with skyscrapers.

Levoit

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SD: Yeah. I mean like, just nature. But yeah, there’s lots of animals.

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.

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Levoit

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AC: Ooh, a quiz! Pop quiz. Um, I’m gonna go with the newer ones, right? More building regulations, fancier building materials, all that.

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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.

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Levoit

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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.

+ + + + See It + +

AC: Oh, so what about the older skyscrapers?

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.

LEVOIT Core Mini Air Purifiers for Bedroom Home Dorm $39 (was $49)

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.

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AC: Gotcha. So what replaces them?

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SD: A forest.

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AC: Hmm.

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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.

LEVOIT Humidifiers for Large Room, (6L) Cool Mist Top Fill Essential Oil Diffuser, App Control $64 (was $79)

AC: Wow. But yet, even with all of that rewilding, some human traces survive. Tell me it survives a little bit, right?

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SD: They will.

LEVOIT LVAC-200 Essential Cordless Stick Vac $149 (was $199)

AC: Okay.

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

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.

“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.”

AC: So, you know, it’s really fascinating to visualize the ruins of New York City.

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

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: Yeah.

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?

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

SD: Yeah. Well, Annie, lucky you ask because I actually spoke to the Survivorman, about just that.

AC: Yes, the Discovery Channel Survivorman?

SD: Uhhuh. Yeah. We’re just gonna take a quick break and then I’ll be back with Les Stroud!

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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’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.

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

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: Why?

Les Stroud: I’d love to just leave that right there. Survivorman says “no,” and people freak out.

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.

SD: Yeah.

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.

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: Yeah. Okay. What are basic survival techniques you think everyone should know?

“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

Anne Ewbank — 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.

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: Hmm.

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.

Medieval pigs could and would kill children

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.

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: Yeah. Yeah. For sure. Well, thank you so much, Les.

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

Les Stroud: Okay, well that’s great. Well, thanks so much guys for reaching out to me for this.

Some pigs even went to trial for their crimes

SD: Bye. This was fun. Thank you, Les.

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.

Some pig trials even went before local dukes

SD: Oh, I know. He was so cool. It was so wild to talk to him after watching him on SurvivorMan growing up.

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.

AC: Yes, absolutely also loved that show.

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.

+ +

+ Related 'That Time When' Stories

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Andrew Jackson’s White House once hosted a cheese feeding frenzy

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BOOM! That time Oregon blew up a whale with dynamite.

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AC: We care what you think. Please tell us. Our theme music is from Kenneth Michael Reagan, and our producer is Alan Haburchak.

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

SD: This week’s episode was also produced by me, Sarah Durn, and is based on an article I wrote for Popular Science.

AC: Please check out Sarah’s full story in the show notes.

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.

SD: Yeah, hopefully this helps.

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

Popular Science Team — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 23:41:53 -0500

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.

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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

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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.

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2. Attach tags to notes

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.

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3. Add lines and grids

You can add lines and grids to every note. Screenshot: Apple

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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.

4. Drop tables into your notes

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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.

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5. Quickly get to attachments

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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.

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6. Change the layout

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The default notes layout can be changed. Screenshot: Apple

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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.

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7. Proofread notes with AI

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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.

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8. Solve equations

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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 =”.

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9. Link notes together

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Notes can contain links to other notes. Screenshot: Apple

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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.

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10. Add scans to notes

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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.

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11. Put your notes into subfolders

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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.

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12. Create smart folders

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Use smart folders to keep your notes organized. Screenshot: Apple

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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.

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13. Switch to gallery view

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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.

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14. Record voice notes

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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.

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15. Highlight text in a note

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

Text inside notes can be highlighted in a variety of colors. Screenshot: Apple

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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.

UGREEN USB-A to 3.5mm Headphone/Mic Adapter $13.99

16. Make quick notes from anywhere

UGREEN USB-C to RCA Audio Cable (5 ft) $13.99

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.

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17. Lock a note

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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.

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“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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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“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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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“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.”

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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?

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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.

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AI is bad at telling time

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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.

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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.

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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.

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“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.

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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.

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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.

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The 10:10 problem

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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).

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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.

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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.

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“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.

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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.

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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

Stan Horaczek — 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.

Anker docking station deal roundup

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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

@@ -9467,57 +7786,61 @@ https://youtube.com/watch?v=DCR8n7qS43w%3Fwmode%3Dtransparent%26start%3D0

For the person who wants cleaner voice chat

Razer BlackShark V2 Pro Wireless PlayStation Gaming Headset (White) $99

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

- Sound plays a surprisingly large role in competitive game sessions. + With advanced features and a burly build, this is worthy of hard photo work. -

Razer

Canon

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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.

For the person who keeps running out of mouse room

Razer BlackWidow V4 Mini HyperSpeed Wireless 65% Gaming Keyboard $88

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

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- Get maximum performance while using up minimal desk space. + This older model gets you a full-frame camera for a lot less money than a newer model. -

Razer

Canon

@@ -9527,7 +7850,7 @@ https://youtube.com/watch?v=DCR8n7qS43w%3Fwmode%3Dtransparent%26start%3D0 - + See It @@ -9535,29 +7858,28 @@ https://youtube.com/watch?v=DCR8n7qS43w%3Fwmode%3Dtransparent%26start%3D0 -

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

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

- +

- Get the best possible controller experience. + This is a classic telephoto zoom lens that’s great for sports, portraits, and lots more. -

Razer

Canon

@@ -9567,7 +7889,7 @@ https://youtube.com/watch?v=DCR8n7qS43w%3Fwmode%3Dtransparent%26start%3D0 - + See It @@ -9575,3321 +7897,2928 @@ https://youtube.com/watch?v=DCR8n7qS43w%3Fwmode%3Dtransparent%26start%3D0 -

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.

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All the Razer deals by category

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Keyboard deals

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Razer Huntsman V3 Pro Mini 60% Esports Gaming Keyboard (Black) $139.99 (22% off)
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)

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PC and multi-platform headset deals

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Razer BlackShark V2 X Gaming Headset (Black) $31.99 (47% off)
Razer BlackShark V2 X Gaming Headset (Green) $49.99 (17% off)
Razer BlackShark V2 X Gaming Headset (White) $35.99 (40% off)
Razer BlackShark V2 X Gaming Headset (Quartz Pink) $37.89 (37% off)
Razer Kraken V3 X Wired USB Gaming Headset $39.98 (43% off)
Razer Barracuda X Wireless Gaming Headset (Black) $67.29 (33% off)
Razer Barracuda X Wireless Gaming Headset (Mercury White) $64.25 (36% off)

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Kraken Kitty headset deals

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Razer Kraken Kitty V2 USB Wired Headset (Black) $77.99 (22% off)
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)
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)
Razer Kraken Kitty V2 BT Wireless RGB Headset (Quartz Pink) $89.99 (10% off)

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Console headset deals — PlayStation

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Razer BlackShark V2 X PlayStation Gaming Headset (Black) $29.99 (40% off)
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)
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)

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Console headset deals — Xbox

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Razer BlackShark V2 X Xbox Gaming Headset (Black) $29.99 (25% off)
Razer BlackShark V2 X Xbox Gaming Headset (White) $39.99 (20% off)
Razer BlackShark V2 X Xbox Gaming Headset (Quartz Pink) $42.93
Razer BlackShark V2 Pro Wireless Xbox Gaming Headset (Black) $104.97 (48% off)
Razer BlackShark V2 Pro Wireless Xbox Gaming Headset (White) $132.02 (34% off)

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Streaming mic deals

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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)

Canon camera deals

Razer Seiren V3 Chroma RGB USB Microphone (White) $106.69 (18% off)

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

Razer Seiren V3 Chroma RGB USB Microphone (Quartz Pink) $106.99 (24% off)

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

Controller deals

EOS R5 Mark II

Razer Kishi Ultra Gaming Controller $166.43
Razer Wolverine V2 Pro Wireless Gaming Controller (Black) $129.99 (48% off)
Razer Wolverine V2 Pro Wireless Gaming Controller (White) $129.99 (48% off)

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Charging stand deals

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

Razer Quick Charging Stand for PlayStation 5 (White) $34.95 (13% off)
Canon EOS R5 Mark II Mirrorless Camera Body + accessory kit $3,999.00 (11% off)
Razer Quick Charging Stand for PlayStation 5 (Red) $23.99 (40% off)
Canon EOS R5 Mark II Mirrorless Camera Body, Black $3,999.00 (11% off)
Razer Universal Quick Charging Stand for Xbox Series X|S (Black) $23.99
Canon EOS R5 Mark II Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens $4,999.00 (9% off)
Razer Universal Quick Charging Stand for Xbox Series X|S (Aqua Shift) $23.99
Canon EOS R5 Mark II Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens $4,499.00 (10% 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

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.

EOS R6 Mark II

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.

Canon EOS R6 Mark II Mirrorless Camera Body $1,999.00 (13% 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.

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

Editor’s picks

Canon EOS R6 Mark II Camera Bundle with Essentials + accessory kit $1,999.00 (13% off)
Canon EOS R6 Mark II Mirrorless Camera with Stop Motion Firmware Upgrade $2,099.00 (13% off)

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Arc'teryx Atom Insulated Hoody – Men's — $255.93 (was $300.00)

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- - It’s soft, warm, and extremely versatile. - -

Arc’teryx

- - Take care of this jacket and it’ll last basically forever. - -

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Canon EOS R6 Mark II Camera with RF 24-105mm L IS USM Lens + essentials bundle $2,299.00 (12% off)

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

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.

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

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Arc'teryx Alpha SV Jacket – Men's — $674.93 (was $900.00)

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Arc’teryx

Canon EOS R6 Mark II Camera with Stop Motion Firmware Upgrade + bundle $2,276.99 (12% off)

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Canon EOS R6 Mark II Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens $2,558.00 (10% off)

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.

Canon EOS R6 Mark II Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens + bundle $2,685.99 (10% off)

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Arc'teryx Beta Down Parka – Women's — $764.93 (was $1,100.00)

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

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

- - The extra length is great for combatting wind. - -

Arc’teryx

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- - - - See It - -

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

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.

Canon EOS R6 Mark II Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens + hard case bundle $3,675.99 (8% off)

Men’s outerwear

EOS R8

Arc’teryx Atom Insulated Hoody – Men’s $255.93 (was $300.00)
Arc’teryx Alpha SV Jacket – Men’s $674.93 (was $900.00)
Canon EOS R8 Mirrorless Camera Body $1,299.00 (13% off)
Arc’teryx Thorium Down Hoody – Men’s $299.93 (was $450.00)
Canon EOS R8 Mirrorless Camera, Black $1,299.00 (13% off)
Arc’teryx Thorium Down Jacket – Men’s $315.93 (was $450.00)
Canon EOS R8 Mirrorless Camera Body + accessory kit $1,299.00 (13% off)
Arc’teryx Beta SL Jacket – Men’s $500.00
Canon EOS R8 Content Creator Kit $1,749.00 (17% off)
Arc’teryx Incendo Airshell Hoodie – Men’s $191.93 (was $240.00)

Canon EOS R8 Content Creator Kit with Included Accessories $1,749.00 (17% off)

Women’s outerwear

Canon EOS R8 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-50mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM Lens $1,499.00 (14% off)

Arc’teryx Beta Down Parka – Women’s $764.93 (was $1,100.00)
Canon EOS R8 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-50mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM Lens + accessory kit $1,499.00 (14% off)
Arc’teryx Thorium Extra-Long Down Parka – Women’s $664.93 (was $950.00)
Canon EOS R8 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens $2,699.00 (10% off)
Arc’teryx Thorium Down Hoody – Women’s $384.93 (was $550.00)
Canon EOS R8 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens + accessory kit $2,699.00 (10% off)
Arc’teryx Allium Insulated Jacket – Women’s $239.73 (was $300.00)
Canon EOS R8 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens $1,749.00 (12% off)
Arc’teryx Gamma MX Hoody – Women’s Currently unavailable at REI
Canon EOS R8 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens + accessory kit $1,749.00 (12% off)

Fleece and midlayers

EOS RP

Arc’teryx Covert Cardigan – Men’s $144.93 (was $180.00)
Canon EOS RP Mirrorless Full-Frame Camera $799.00 (30% off)
Arc’teryx Kyanite Pullover Hoody – Men’s $123.73 (was $170.00)
Canon EOS RP Mirrorless Camera, Bundle with Included Accessories $799.00 (30% off)
Arc’teryx Delta Hoody – Men’s $127.93 (was $160.00)
Canon EOS RP Mirrorless Camera Body $799.00 (27% off)
Arc’teryx Delta Half-Zip Fleece Pullover – Men’s $143.93 (was $180.00)
Canon EOS RP Mirrorless Camera with Essentials Kit $977.99 (26% off)
Arc’teryx Delta Jacket – Men’s $169.93 (was $200.00)
Canon EOS RP Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens $1,099.00 (24% off)
Arc’teryx Delta Jacket – Women’s $159.93 (was $200.00)
Canon EOS RP Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens + accessory kit $1,099.00 (24% off)

Pants and shorts

EOS R3

Arc’teryx Gamma Pants – Men’s $175.93 (was $200.00)
Arc’teryx Levon Pants – Men’s $183.93 (was $230.00)
Canon EOS R3 Mirrorless Camera Body $3,899.00 (11% off)
Arc’teryx Sentinel Pants – Women’s $419.93 (was $600.00)
Canon EOS R3 Mirrorless Camera Body + accessory kit $3,899.00 (11% off)
Arc’teryx Kragg Cotton Pants – Women’s $144.73 (was $180.00)
Canon EOS R3 Mirrorless Camera with Essentials Kit $4,089.00 (11% off)
Arc’teryx Gamma SL 11″ Shorts – Men’s $95.93 (was $120.00)
Canon EOS R3 Mirrorless Camera with Flash Kit $4,099.00 (10% off)

Arc’teryx Kragg Cotton 9″ Shorts – Men’s $96.73 (was $120.00)

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

Arc’teryx Gamma Utility 5″ Shorts – Women’s $127.93 (was $160.00)

EOS R7

Arc’teryx Essent Run High-Rise 3.5″ Shorts – Women’s $63.73 (was $80.00)

Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera Body $1,819.00 (15% off)
Arc’teryx Essent High-Rise 8″ Shorts – Women’s $49.73 (was $70.00)

Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-150mm Lens $1,819.00 (15% off)

Base layers

Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera Body + accessory kit $1,819.00 (15% off)

Arc’teryx Rho Insulated 3/4 Base Layer Bottoms – Men’s $159.73 (was $200.00)
Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-150mm Lens + accessory kit $1,899.00 (14% off)
Arc’teryx Rho LT Base Layer Bottoms – Men’s $79.73 (was $100.00)
Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-150mm Lens (Kit) $1,899.00 (14% off)
Arc’teryx Rho Crew Neck Long-Sleeve Base Layer Top – Women’s $123.73 (was $155.00)

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

Men’s active tops

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

Arc’teryx Cormac Crew Long-Sleeve Shirt – Men’s $55.93 (was $80.00)
Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens $1,499.00 (12% off)
Arc’teryx Cormac Crew Neck Shirt – Men’s $48.93 (was $70.00)
Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens + accessory kit $1,499.00 (12% off)
Arc’teryx Cormac Logo T-Shirt – Men’s $48.93 (was $70.00)
Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-150mm Lens + accessory kit (Bundle) $1,999.00 (9% off)
Arc’teryx Cormac Heavyweight Hoody – Men’s $69.93 (was $100.00) — Currently unavailable
Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-150mm Lens + accessory kit (Bundle) $1,999.00 (9% off)

Arc’teryx Cormac Heavyweight Long-Sleeve Shirt – Men’s $62.93 (was $90.00) — Currently unavailable

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EOS R10

Women’s active tops

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

Arc’teryx Taema Hoody – Women’s $44.83 (was $90.00)
Canon EOS R10 Mirrorless Camera Body + accessory kit $979.00 (17% off)
Arc’teryx Taema Thermal Crew Long-Sleeve Shirt – Women’s $62.93 (was $90.00)
Canon EOS R10 Content Creator Kit $1,199.00 (14% off)
Arc’teryx Taema Crew Long-Sleeve Shirt – Women’s $64.73 (was $80.00)
Canon EOS R10 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens $1,099.00 (12% off)
Arc’teryx Taema Crew Shirt – Women’s $54.73 (was $70.00)
Canon EOS R10 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-150mm Lens $1,099.00 (11% off)
Arc’teryx Taema Tank Top – Women’s $42.00 (up to 30% off)
Canon EOS R10 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-150mm Lens (Alt Deal) $1,449.00 (6% off)
Arc’teryx Norvan Crew Neck Long-Sleeve Shirt – Women’s $69.93 (was $100.00)
Canon EOS R10 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens + accessory kit $1,099.00 (12% off)
Arc’teryx Norvan Tank Top – Women’s $62.73 (was $80.00)
Canon EOS R10 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-150mm Lens + accessory kit $1,099.00 (11% off)
Arc’teryx Motus Crewneck Long-Sleeve Shirt – Women’s $71.73 (was $90.00)
Canon EOS R10 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens $1,299.00 (11% off)
Arc’teryx Silene Crew Shirt – Women’s $66.73 (was $90.00)
Canon EOS R10 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens + accessory kit $1,299.00 (11% off)
Arc’teryx Silene Tank Top – Women’s $64.73 (was $80.00)
Canon EOS R10 Mirrorless Camera with RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens $2,299.00 (8% off)

Footwear

EOS R50

Arc’teryx Norvan LD 4 Trail-Running Shoes – Men’s $126.93 (was $170.00)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera, Black (Body Only) $679.00 (13% off)
Arc’teryx Kragg Shoes – Men’s $95.83 (was $160.00)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera, White Body $679.00 (13% off)
Arc’teryx Kragg Shoes – Women’s $95.83 (was $160.00)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera Body $679.00 (13% off)
Arc’teryx Vertex Alpine GTX Approach Shoes – Women’s $184.73 (was $250.00)

Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera, Black with Included Accessories $679.00 (13% off)

Accessories and packs

Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera, White (Included Accessories) $679.00 (13% off)

Arc’teryx Alpha FL 20 Pack $186.73 (was $250.00)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens $599.00 (14% off)
Arc’teryx Aerios 5-Panel Cap $60.73 (was $75.00)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens (Alt Deal) $799.00 (11% off)
Arc’teryx Cranbrook Hat $68.73 (was $85.00)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens + accessory kit $679.00 (11% off)

Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens, White $799.00 (11% off)

REI Patagonia deals

Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens, White + accessory kit $799.00 (11% off)

Fleece & midlayers

Canon EOS R50 Content Creator Kit $799.00 (16% off)

Patagonia Lightweight Synchilla Snap-T Fleece Pullover – Men’s $104.73 (25% off)
Canon EOS R50 Content Creator Kit (Alt Deal) $979.00 (13% off)
Patagonia Retro Pile Half-Snap Pullover – Men’s $139.73 (26% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera & RF-S 10-18mm Lens Content Creator Kit $979.00 (13% off)
Patagonia Synchilla Fleece Shirt Jacket – Men’s $149.73 (25% off)
Canon EOS R50 V Mirrorless Camera Body $569.00 (21% off)
Patagonia Microdini Half-Zip Pullover – Women’s $96.73 (25% off)
Canon EOS R50 V Mirrorless Camera Body + Bag & bundle $569.00 (21% off)
Patagonia R1 Jacket – Women’s $117.93 (30% off)
Canon EOS R50 V Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 14-30mm Lens $699.00 (13% off)
Patagonia R1 Air Full-Zip Hoody – Women’s $88.83 (50% off)
Canon EOS R50 V Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 14-30mm Lens + accessory kit $699.00 (13% off)
Patagonia R1 Thermal Pullover Hoody – Women’s $134.73 (25% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera, Pink (Body Only) $679.00 (13% off)
Patagonia Better Sweater Quarter-Zip Pullover – Women’s $97.73 (30% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens, Pink $799.00 (11% off)
Patagonia Better Sweater Jacket – Women’s $111.73 (30% off)

Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera, Black with Essentials Kit $771.95 (11% off)

Insulated jackets & vests

Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera, White + accessory kit (Bundle) $679.00 (11% off)

Patagonia Re-Tool Hybrid Insulated Hoody – Men’s $179.73 (45% off)
Canon EOS R50 V Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 14-30mm Lens (Alt Deal) $799.00 (16% off)
Patagonia Box Quilted Pullover – Men’s $99.73 (56% off)
Canon EOS R50 V Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 14-30mm Lens + accessory kit (Alt Deal) $799.00 (16% off)
Patagonia Re-Tool Hybrid Pullover – Women’s $161.73 (40% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens + accessory kit (Alt Deal) $679.00 (11% off)
Patagonia Lost Canyon Insulated Vest – Women’s $132.73 (30% off)
Canon EOS R50 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens, White (Alt Deal) $679.00 (13% off)
Patagonia AlpLight Down Jacket – Women’s $206.73 (31% off)
Canon EOS R50 V Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 14-30mm Lens (Bundle) $799.00 (13% off)

Patagonia Corduroy Overshirt Jacket – Women’s $134.73 (25% off)

EOS R100

Wind & rain shells

Canon EOS R100 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens $499.00 (17% off)

Patagonia Houdini Jacket – Men’s $86.93 (20% off)
Canon EOS R100 Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens + accessory kit $499.00 (27% off)
Patagonia Houdini Jacket – Women’s $86.93 (20% off)
Canon EOS R100 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens + 128GB card $599.00 (25% off)
Patagonia Houdini Stash Half-Zip Jacket – Women’s $40.83 (71% off)

Canon EOS R100 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens + 128GB card + accessory kit $599.00 (25% off)

Ski & snow outerwear

Canon EOS R100 Mirrorless Camera with RF 28mm Lens + accessory kit $1,249.00 (7% off)

Patagonia Upstride Jacket – Men’s $261.73 (25% off)
Canon EOS R100 Mirrorless Camera with RF 100-500mm Lens (Bundle) $2,599.00 (16% off)
Patagonia Snowdrifter Jacket – Men’s $336.73 (25% off)
Canon EOS R100 Mirrorless Camera with RF 100-500mm Lens + accessory kit $2,599.00 (16% off)
Patagonia Stormstride Pants – Men’s $336.73 (25% off)
Canon EOS R100 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens + accessory kit (Alt Deal) $499.00 (24% off)
Patagonia Powder Town Pants – Men’s $186.73 (25% off)
Canon EOS R100 Mirrorless Camera with RF-S 18-45mm Lens + 128GB card + accessory kit (Alt Deal) $599.00 (25% off)
Patagonia Insulated Powder Town Snow Pants – Men’s $201.73 (25% off)
Canon EOS R100 Mirrorless Camera with RF 100-500mm Lens, Bundle with Filter Kit $2,599.00 (16% off)

Patagonia Upstride Jacket – Women’s $261.73 (25% off)

DSLR camera deals

Patagonia Upstride Pants – Women’s $246.73 (25% off)

EOS 5D Mark IV

Patagonia Snowdrifter Jacket – Women’s $336.73 (25% off)

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV DSLR Camera $1,799.00 (28% off)
Patagonia Snowdrifter Bib Pants – Women’s $299.73 (25% off)
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV DSLR with Free Accessory Kit $1,799.00 (28% off)
Patagonia Stormstride Pants – Women’s $336.73 (25% off)
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV DSLR Camera with Tripod Kit $1,849.00 (27% off)
Patagonia Triolet Pants – Women’s $299.73 (25% off)
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV DSLR Body with Canon Log $1,899.00 (27% off)
Patagonia Powder Town Jacket – Women’s $261.73 (25% off)
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV DSLR Camera with EF 24-105mm f/4L Lens $2,299.00 (12% off)

Patagonia Insulated Powder Town Pants – Women’s $201.73 (25% off)

Rebel & entry-level DSLRs

Patagonia 3-in-1 Powder Town Insulated Jacket – Women’s $374.73 (25% off)

Canon EOS Rebel T7 DSLR Camera with 18-55mm Lens $439.00 (12% off)
Patagonia Storm Shift Jacket – Women’s $374.73 (25% off)
Canon EOS Rebel T7 DSLR Camera with 18-55mm Lens + accessories $439.00 (12% off)
Patagonia Insulated Storm Shift Jacket – Women’s $411.73 (25% off)
Canon EOS Rebel T7 DSLR Camera 2-Lens Kit $639.00 (9% off)
Patagonia Untracked Bib Pants – Women’s $486.73 (25% off)
Canon EOS Rebel T7 DSLR Camera 2-Lens Kit + accessory kit $639.00 (9% off)

Shirts & tops

Point-and-shoot & compact cameras

Patagonia Capilene Cool Daily Shirt – Men’s $35.93 (20% off)
Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III Digital Camera $749.00 (6% off)
Patagonia Capilene Cool Daily Long-Sleeve Shirt – Men’s $43.93 (20% off)
Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III Digital Camera, Black $749.00 (6% off)
Patagonia Capilene Cool Daily Graphic T-Shirt – Men’s $43.93 (20% off)
Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III Digital Camera, Silver $749.00 (6% off)
Patagonia Capilene Cool Daily Graphic Long-Sleeve Shirt – Men’s $51.93 (20% off)
Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III Digital Camera + accessory kit $749.00 (6% off)

Patagonia Capilene Cool Daily Shirt – Women’s $35.93 (20% off)

Canon lens deals

Patagonia Capilene Cool Daily Long-Sleeve Shirt – Women’s $43.93 (20% off)

These are the lenses that actually change what your camera can do—wide, long, fast, and weird.

Patagonia Capilene Cool Daily Graphic T-Shirt – Women’s $37.93 (31% off)

RF lenses

Patagonia Capilene Cool Daily Graphic T-Shirt – Women’s $37.93 (31% off)

Standard zooms

Patagonia Capilene Cool Daily Graphic Long-Sleeve Shirt – Women’s $51.93 (20% off)

Canon RF 28-70mm f/2.8 IS STM Lens $1,049.00 (16% off)
Patagonia Long-Sleeve Capilene Cool Daily Graphic Shirt – Women’s $44.93 (31% off)
Canon RF 28-70mm f/2.8 IS STM Lens + accessory kit $1,049.00 (16% off)
Patagonia Capilene Cool Daily Graphic Hoody – Women’s $51.93 (31% off)
Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens $1,999.00 (17% off)
Patagonia Glorya Hooded Long-Sleeve Top – Women’s $63.73 (25% off)
Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens + accessory kit $1,999.00 (17% off)
Patagonia ’73 Skyline Easy-Cut Responsibili-Tee – Women’s $33.73 (25% off)
Canon RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens $299.00 (15% off)
Patagonia Early Rise Stretch Shirt – Women’s $104.73 (25% off)

Canon RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens + accessory kit $299.00 (15% off)

Pants & shorts

Canon RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens $1,099.00 (15% off)

Patagonia Outdoor Everyday Pants – Women’s $48.83 (51% off)
Canon RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens + accessory kit $1,099.00 (15% off)

Patagonia Hampi Rock Pants – Women’s $73.73 (26% off)

Ultra-wide zooms

Patagonia Mountain Utility Pants – Men’s $299.73 (25% off)

Canon RF 15-30mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM Lens $489.00 (23% off)
Patagonia Baggies Longs 7″ Shorts – Men’s $33.83 (51% off)
Canon RF 15-30mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM Lens + accessory kit $489.00 (23% off)
Patagonia Nomader Volley Shorts – Men’s $66.73 (25% off)

Canon RF 14-35mm f/4 L IS USM Lens $1,299.00 (17% off)

Tights & leggings

Canon RF 14-35mm f/4 L IS USM Lens + accessory kit $1,299.00 (17% off)

Patagonia Maipo 7/8 Tights – Women’s $74.73 (25% off)
Canon RF 15-35mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens $2,099.00 (19% off)
Patagonia Pack Out Tights – Women’s $88.73 (25% off)

Canon RF 15-35mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens, Bundle + accessory kit $2,099.00 (19% off)

Cycling apparel

Canon RF 16-28mm f/2.8 IS STM Lens $1,049.00 (16% off)

Patagonia Landfarer Bike Shorts – Men’s $68.93 (30% off)
Canon RF 16-28mm f/2.8 IS STM Lens, Bundle + accessory kit $1,049.00 (16% off)
Patagonia Dirt Craft Bike Pants – Men’s $103.93 (30% off)
Canon RF 10-20mm f/4 L IS STM Lens $2,099.00 (16% off)
Patagonia Tyrolean Bike Shorts – Women’s $43.83 (51% off)
Canon RF 10-20mm f/4 L IS STM Lens + accessory kit $2,099.00 (16% off)

Running apparel

Telephoto zooms

Patagonia Endless Run Shorts – Women’s $59.73 (24% off)
Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens $2,499.00 (17% off)
Patagonia Strider Pro 3.5″ Shorts – Women’s $47.73 (40% off)
Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens with Tripod Kit $2,499.00 (17% off)
Patagonia Shadowlite Mid Impact Bra $49.73 (28% off)

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

Swimwear & water

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

Patagonia Hydropeak Board Shorts – Men’s 18″ Outseam $36.83 (51% off)
Canon RF 70-200mm f/4 L IS USM Lens $1,299.00 (13% off)
Patagonia Hydropeak Board Shorts – Men’s 18″ Outseam $56.73 (24% off)
Canon RF 70-200mm f/4 L IS USM Lens, Bundle + accessory kit $1,299.00 (13% off)
Patagonia Hydropeak Volley Shorts – Men’s 16″ Outseam $36.83 (51% off)
Canon RF 100-400mm f/5.6-8 IS USM Lens $549.00 (15% off)
Patagonia Hydropeak Volley Shorts – Men’s 16″ Outseam $56.73 (24% off)
Canon RF 100-400mm f/5.6-8 IS USM Lens + accessory kit $549.00 (15% off)
Patagonia Hydropeak Hybrid Walk Shorts – Men’s $63.73 (25% off)
Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Z Lens, Black $3,099.00 (6% off)
Patagonia Wavefarer Board Shorts – Men’s 19″ Outseam $36.83 (51% off)
Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Z Lens, White $3,099.00 (6% off)
Patagonia Reversible Extended Break One-Piece Swimsuit – Women’s $109.73 (26% off)
Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Z Lens, Black + accessory kit $3,099.00 (6% off)

Patagonia Sunny Tide One-Piece Swimsuit – Women’s $68.83 (50% off)

Super-telephoto (400mm+)

Patagonia Sunrise Slider Swimsuit Top – Women’s $56.73 (24% off)

Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 L IS USM Lens $2,599.00 (16% off)
Patagonia Bottom Turn Swimsuit Top – Women’s $56.73 (24% off)
Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 L IS USM Lens + accessory kit $2,599.00 (16% off)
Patagonia Sunamee Swimsuit Bottoms – Women’s $48.73 (25% off)
Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 L IS USM Lens, Bundle with Filter Kit $2,599.00 (16% off)
Patagonia Sunamee Swimsuit Bottoms – Women’s $44.93 (31% off)
Canon RF 600mm f/4 L IS USM Lens $11,999.00 (8% off)
Patagonia Sunamee Shortie Surf Bottoms – Women’s $58.93 (31% off)
Canon RF 600mm f/4 L IS USM Lens + accessory kit $11,999.00 (8% off)
Patagonia Reversible Cross Shore Swimsuit Bottoms – Women’s $41.83 (51% off)
Canon RF 800mm f/5.6 L IS USM Lens $15,999.00 (6% off)
Patagonia Wave For It Swimsuit Bottoms – Women’s $58.93 (31% off)
Canon RF 800mm f/5.6 L IS USM Lens + accessory kit $15,999.00 (6% off)
Patagonia Swell Seeker Crop Rashguard – Women’s $68.93 (30% off)
Canon RF 1200mm f/8 L IS USM Lens $19,999.00 (5% off)

Bags & packs

Prime lenses

Patagonia Fieldsmith Hip Pack $44.73 (24% off)
Patagonia Fieldsmith Linked Pack $81.73 (25% off)
Canon RF 50mm f/1.2 L USM Lens $1,899.00 (14% off)
Patagonia Fieldsmith Lid Pack $89.73 (35% off)
Canon RF 50mm f/1.2 L USM Lens + accessory kit $1,899.00 (14% off)
Patagonia Fieldsmith Roll-Top Pack $111.73 (25% off)
Canon RF 50mm f/1.8 STM Lens $159.00 (20% off)
Patagonia Snowdrifter 20L Snow Pack $179.73 (25% off)
Canon RF 50mm f/1.8 STM Lens + accessory kit $159.00 (20% off)
Patagonia Descensionist Snow Pack $209.73 (25% off)

Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM Lens $449.00 (15% off)

Kids’ clothing

Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM Lens, Bundle + accessory kit $449.00 (15% off)

Patagonia Trucker Hat – Kids’ $20.93 (46% off)
Canon RF 85mm f/1.2 L USM Lens $2,399.00 (14% off)
Patagonia Multi Trails 4″ Shorts – Kids’ $28.83 (51% off)
Canon RF 85mm f/1.2 L USM Lens + accessory kit $2,399.00 (14% off)
Patagonia Maipo Tights – Kids’ $33.93 (51% off)
Canon RF 24mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM Lens $549.00 (20% off)
Patagonia Outdoor Everyday 6″ Shorts – Kids’ $40.93 (31% off)
Canon RF 24mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM Lens, Bundle + accessory kit $549.00 (20% off)
Patagonia Refugito Daypack 12 L – Kids’ $51.73 (25% off)
Canon RF 24mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM Lens with Filter Kit $598.00 (19% off)

Patagonia Refugito 18 L Daypack – Kids’ $54.93 (30% off)

Macro & specialty lenses

Patagonia Houdini Jacket – Kids’ $58.93 (31% off)

Canon RF 100mm f/2.8 L Macro IS USM Lens $1,149.00 (15% off)
Patagonia Overalls – Kids’ $74.73 (25% off)
Canon RF 100mm f/2.8 L Macro IS USM Lens + accessory kit $1,149.00 (15% off)
Patagonia Nano Puff Brick Quilt Insulated Jacket – Kids’ $82.73 (30% off)
Canon RF 5.2mm f/2.8 L Dual Fisheye Lens $1,999.00 (9% off)
Patagonia Thermawarmth Insulated Jacket – Kids’ $123.73 (38% off)
Canon RF 5.2mm f/2.8 L Dual Fisheye Lens + accessory kit $1,999.00 (9% off)
Patagonia Snow Pile One-Piece Snowsuit – Infants’/Toddlers’ $140.73 (36% off)
Canon RF 200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens $1,999.00 (9% off)
Patagonia Powder Town Insulated Jacket – Kids’ $150.73 (37% off)

Canon RF 200mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens + accessory kit $1,999.00 (9% off)

REI The North Face deals

Canon RF 600mm f/11 IS STM Lens $799.00 (11% off)

Insulated jackets & parkas

Canon RF 600mm f/11 IS STM Lens + accessory kit $799.00 (11% off)

The North Face Jacket 2000 Insulated Jacket – Men’s $149.73 (25% off)
Canon RF 800mm f/11 IS STM Lens $899.00 (10% off)
The North Face ThermoBall Eco Insulated Hoodie 2.0 – Men’s $174.73 (30% off)
Canon RF 800mm f/11 IS STM Lens + accessory kit $899.00 (10% off)
The North Face MTN Range Down Parka – Men’s $299.73 (25% off)
Canon RF 200-800mm f/6.3-9 IS USM Lens $1,899.00 (5% off)
The North Face First Turn Down Jacket – Women’s $262.73 (25% off)
Canon RF 200-800mm f/6.3-9 IS USM Lens + accessory kit $1,899.00 (5% off)
The North Face 1996 Retro Nuptse Down Jacket – Women’s Plus Sizes $229.73 (30% off)
Canon RF 20mm f/1.4 L VCM Lens $1,499.00 (6% off)
The North Face Freedom Insulated Jacket – Women’s $239.73 (25% off)
Canon RF 20mm f/1.4 L VCM Lens + accessory kit $1,499.00 (6% off)

3-in-1 & Triclimate jackets

RF-S lenses (APS-C)

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)
Canon RF-S 7.8mm f/4 STM Dual Lens $409.00 (20% off)
The North Face Sequoia Triclimate 3-in-1 Jacket – Women’s $262.73 (25% off)
Canon RF-S 7.8mm f/4 STM Dual Lens, Bundle + accessory kit $409.00 (20% off)
The North Face ThermoBall Eco Triclimate 3-in-1 Jacket – Women’s $299.73 (25% off)
Canon RF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM Lens $249.00 (17% off)

Fleece & softshell jackets

EF & EF-S lenses (DSLR-era)

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)
Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM Lens $329.00 (55% off)
The North Face Gordon Lyons Full-Zip Jacket – Men’s $89.73 (25% off)
Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM Lens + accessory kit $329.00 (55% off)
The North Face Gordon Lyons Quarter-Zip Pullover – Men’s $74.73 (25% off)
Canon EF 35mm f/1.4 L II USM Lens $1,699.00 (26% off)
The North Face Denali Jacket – Men’s $114.73 (36% off)
Canon EF 35mm f/1.4 L II USM Lens with Filter Kit $1,699.00 (26% off)
The North Face Re-Grind Denali Jacket – Men’s $159.73 (27% off)
Canon EF 16-35mm f/4 L IS USM Lens $1,149.00 (21% off)
The North Face Tekware Grid Hybrid Full-Zip Jacket – Men’s $97.73 (25% off)
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS III USM Lens $1,799.00 (14% off)
The North Face Osito Lux Jacket – Women’s $90.73 (30% off)
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 L Macro IS USM Lens $1,299.00 (10% off)
The North Face Tekware Grid Hybrid Full-Zip Jacket – Women’s $90.73 (30% off)
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L II USM Lens $1,499.00 (12% off)
The North Face Tekware Grid Quarter-Zip – Women’s $79.73 (28% off)
Canon EF 200-400mm f/4 L IS USM Extender 1.4x Lens $9,999.00 (19% off)
The North Face Boreas Hike Jacket – Women’s $97.93 (30% off)
Canon EF 300mm f/2.8 L IS II USM Lens $5,999.00 (14% off)

Hoodies & pullovers

Adapters & accessories

The North Face Willow Stretch Hoodie – Men’s $105.73 (29% off)
Canon Control Ring Mount Adapter EF-EOS R $149.00 (38% off)
The North Face Willow Stretch Jacket – Men’s $77.73 (29% off)
Canon EF-EOS R Drop-In Filter Mount Adapter with Circular Polarizer $259.00 (28% off)

The North Face Adventure Sun Hoodie – Men’s $37.73 (31% 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

The North Face Driftview Anorak – Men’s $168.73 (25% off)

- +

If you think a rugged bag might be overkill for your needs, just remember what happens to a suitcase when you check it.

Ski & snow outerwear

Editor’s picks

The North Face Chakal Snow Pants – Men’s $187.73 (25% off)

+ +

Osprey Arcane WP Roll Top 18L Pack $84 (65% off)

+ + + + +

+ +

The North Face DryVent Mono Shell Bib Pants – Men’s $299.83 (50% off)

+ + + + See It + +

The North Face Dragline Bib Pants – Men’s $306.73 (25% off)

The North Face Dragline Jacket – Women’s $336.73 (25% off)

+ +

Eagle Creek Cargo Hauler 90L Duffel Bag $75.60 (60% off)

+ + + + +

+ +

+ + It’s built like a camera bag so it’s great for lugging gadgets and gear. +

The North Face Dawnstrike GORE-TEX Insulated Snow Pants – Women’s $284.73 (25% off)

+ + The 90L capacity makes it great for longer trips, even if you’re flying. +

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

Shirts & tops

The North Face Adventure Polo Shirt – Men’s $32.73 (27% off)
The North Face Dune Sky Polo Shirt – Men’s $44.73 (25% off)

+ +

Db Ramverk Pro 32L Backpack $147.58 (60% off)

+ + + + +

+ +

Earth’s 5 catastrophic mass extinctions, explained

+ + + + See It -

The North Face Lightrange Shirt – Men’s $62.73 (26% off)

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Pants & joggers

The North Face Easy Wind Pants – Men’s $66.73 (26% off)

Shop the Backcountry bag deals

The North Face Lightstride Pants – Men’s $66.73 (26% off)

Everyday & commuter backpacks

The North Face Lightstride Pants – Men’s $56.73 (37% off)

Black Diamond

The North Face Core Sweatpants – Men’s $44.73 (25% off)

Black Diamond Distance 8L Backpack $116.97 (35% off)

The North Face Boreas Hike Pants – Women’s $76.93 (30% off)

Cotopaxi

The North Face Tekware Pants – Women’s $79.73 (28% off)

Cotopaxi Tapa Cada Dia 22L Backpack $55.00 (45% off)

The North Face Kikash Joggers – Women’s $72.73 (34% off)

Dakine

The North Face Alpine Polartec 100 Pants – Women’s $66.73 (26% off)

Dakine 365 21L Backpack (DAK008W) $15.00 (70% off)
The North Face Aphrodite Joggers – Women’s $55.73 (30% off)

Dakine 365 21L Backpack (Alt listing) $25.00

Shorts

Dakine Campus M 25L Backpack (DAK01NA) $29.25 (55% off)

The North Face Westbrake Knit Shorts – Women’s $32.73 (27% off)
Dakine Campus M 25L Backpack (Alt listing) $35.75 (52% off)
The North Face Lightstride 7″ Shorts – Men’s $48.73 (25% off)
Dakine Campus Premium 28L Backpack $50.00 (57% off)
The North Face Basin 9″ Shorts – Men’s $54.73 (27% off)
Dakine Class 25L Backpack $29.40 (40% off)
The North Face Class V Pathfinder Belted 9″ Shorts – Men’s $48.73 (25% off)
Dakine Essentials 26L Backpack $32.00 (60% off)
The North Face TNF Easy Wind Shorts – Men’s $48.73 (25% off)
Dakine Infinity Toploader 27L Backpack $36.00 (55% off)
The North Face Wander Shorts 2.0 – Men’s $36.73 (27% off)
Dakine June 25L Backpack $33.75 (61% off)
The North Face Sunriser 4″ Shorts – Women’s $39.73 (28% off)
Dakine Method 25L Backpack $35.00 (50% off)
The North Face Aphrodite Motion Shorts – Women’s $30.73 (32% off)

Dakine Method 32L Backpack (DAKZ7SW) $32.00 (60% off)

Hiking & trail-running shoes

Dakine Method DLX 28L Backpack (DAKZ7SX) $33.25 (65% off)

The North Face Altamesa 300 Trail-Running Shoes – Men’s $94.73 (27% off)
Dakine Motive 30L Backpack $108.50 (30% off)
The North Face Altamesa 500 Trail-Running Shoes – Men’s $115.73 (25% off)
Dakine Motive Rolltop 25L $60.75 (55% off)
The North Face Hedgehog 3 Waterproof Shoes – Men’s $100.73 (25% off)
Dakine Packable 22L Backpack $39.00 (40% off)
The North Face Glenclyffe Low Shoes – Men’s $94.83 (40% off)
Dakine Urban Mission 18L Backpack $27.50 (45% off)
The North Face Altamesa 300 Trail-Running Shoes – Women’s $94.73 (27% off)
Dakine Verge 25L Backpack (DAKZ7MG) $72.00 (40% off)
The North Face Vectiv Taraval Hiking Shoes – Women’s $86.73 (31% off)
Dakine Wander 25L Backpack $34.00 (60% off)
The North Face Offtrail TR GORE-TEX Trail-Running Shoes – Women’s $133.73 (25% off)
Dakine Wednesday 21L Backpack $23.10

The North Face Vectiv Enduris 3 Trail-Running Shoes – Women’s $111.73 (25% off)

Db

The North Face Hypnum Luxe Shoes – Women’s $103.73 (25% off)

Db Hugger Base 15L Backpack $62.53 (55% off)

Boots & winter footwear

Db Hugger Base Backpack 15L (DBCA02G) $64.50 (50% off)

The North Face NSE Chukka Shoes – Men’s $81.73 (25% off)
Db Ramverk 26L Backpack $129.48 (50% off)
The North Face ThermoBall Lace Up Luxe Waterproof Boots – Women’s $111.73 (25% off)
Db Ramverk 26L Backpack (single color) (DBCA00Q) $87.13 (65% off)
The North Face Shellista IV Luxe Waterproof Snow Boots – Women’s $134.73 (25% off)
Db Ramverk 21L Backpack (Alt listing) $114.48 (50% off)
The North Face Nuptse Mule Corduroy Slippers – Women’s $66.73 (25% off)
Db Ramverk 21L Backpack (DBCA00P) $103.03 (55% off)

The North Face Nuptse Mule Denim Slippers – Women’s $66.73 (25% off)

Eastpak

The North Face Explore Camp Sandals – Women’s $75.73 (31% off)

Eastpak Padded Pak’R Backpack $42.50 (50% off)

Bags & packs

Exped

The North Face Nuptse Crossbody Bag $51.73 (26% off)
Exped Cloudburst 25L Backpack $65.00 (35% off)

The North Face Isabella 3.0 Pack – Women’s $61.93 (30% off)

Granite Gear

The North Face Nuptse Tote Bag $73.73 (26% off)

Granite Gear Scurry 24L Daypack $39.98 (60% off)

Hats, gloves & accessories

Herschel

The North Face Classic Cap $16.73 (24% off)
Herschel Classic Backpack $35.74
Herschel Classic XL Backpack $42.24
The North Face Norm Bucket Hat $20.83 (50% off)
Herschel Gibson 18L Messenger Tech Bag $55.00 (50% off)
The North Face Oh Mega Headband – Women’s $25.73 (26% off)
Herschel Heritage 24L Backpack $51.99 (35% off)
The North Face Etip Recycled Gloves – Women’s $33.73 (25% off)

Herschel Little America 25L Backpack $84.49

Kids’ clothing & gear

Herschel Little America 17L Mid Backpack $77.99 (35% off)

The North Face Mudder Trucker Hat – Kids’ $18.93 (37% off)
Herschel Pop Quiz 22L Backpack $61.74 (35% off)
The North Face Shasta Mittens – Girls’ $23.73 (32% off)
Herschel Retreat 19.5L Backpack $71.49 (35% off)
The North Face Never Stop Woven Shorts – Boys’ $26.73 (24% off)
Herschel Retreat 15L Small Backpack $51.99
The North Face Amphibious Long-Sleeve T-Shirt – Kids’ $32.73 (27% off)
Herschel Seymour 26L Backpack $64.99 (35% off)
The North Face Mini Recon Pack – Kids’ $33.93 (31% off)
Herschel Survey 17.5L Backpack $58.49 (35% off)
The North Face Alpenglow II Boots – Toddlers’ $40.73 (26% off)
Herschel Ultralight 22L Backpack $62.99 (30% off)
The North Face ThermoBall Traction Booties – Kids’ $41.73 (24% off)
Herschel Ultralight 14L Cinch Daypack $48.99 (30% off)

The North Face Antora Rain Jacket – Infants’ $52.73 (25% off)

Mountain Hardwear

The North Face Campshire Full-Zip Hoodie – Kids’ $59.73 (25% off)

Mountain Hardwear Huell 25L Backpack $49.49 (45% off)

The North Face Shellista V Lace Waterproof Snow Boots – Kids’ $71.73 (24% off)

Mystery Ranch

The North Face North Down Hooded Jacket – Boys’ $104.93 (30% off)

Mystery Ranch 3 Way 27 Backpack $125.92 (45% off)

Mystery Ranch Catalyst 22 Backpack $96.85 (35% off)

Everything you need to know about winter jacket tech
Mystery Ranch Catalyst 18 Backpack $90.32 (35% off)
The best winter jackets
Mystery Ranch District 24L Backpack $92.92 (45% off)

The best packable rain jackets

NEMO

Go on a magical winter hike without hating every step

NEMO Resolve 25L Endless Promise Backpack $125.96 (30% off)
Dress like an Alaskan to weather the winter cold

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.

NEMO Resolve 15L Backpack $87.97 (45% off)

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.

NEMO Vantage Endless Promise 30L Backpack $114.98 (50% off)

“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.

NEMO Vantage Endless Promise 20L Backpack $89.98 (50% off)

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“They’ve become a symbol of a wasteful, linear economy that’s harming both people and the planet,” Heliograf adds.

Osprey

A traditional plastic fish-shaped soy sauce container (left) with the new biodegradable option (right). Image: Heliograf.

Osprey Arcane 24L Roll Top Pack $68.97 (45% off)

A bigger, fresher, fish

Osprey Arcane 22L Roll Top Pack (OSPZ197) $38.50 (65% 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 .

Osprey Arcane 30L Duffel Pack (OSPZ18J) $69.98 (50% off)

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.

Osprey Arcane Flap 14L Pack $60.00 (40% off)

The inventors of Holy Carp! aimed to merge the original plastic fish-shaped design with sustainability. Image: Heliograf.

Osprey Arcane Large 20L Daypack (OSPZ18L) $54.98 (50% off)

Fish containers warrant’ always made of plastic

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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.

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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.

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The new containers are made without dangerous forever chemicals. Image: Heliograf.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

Herschel Heritage 2L Crossbody Bag $20.00 (50% off)

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

Herschel Heritage Crossbody Little Herschel Bag $15.39 (45% off)

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Idaho once dropped 76 beavers from airplanes—on purpose

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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.

Herschel Ultralight 2L Hip Pack $27.99 (30% off)

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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.

KAVU

Editor’s picks

KAVU Cattle Point Sling Bag $28.77

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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

KAVU Clipper Card Case $17.97

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KAVU Islamorada Cross Body Wallet $34.96 (30% off)

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.

KAVU Snuggy Spectator Pouch $16.10 (54% off)

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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. - -

KAVU Yorktown Cross Body Wallet $15.21 (72% off)

- - Knees are a common trouble area for every level of athlete. - -

Hyperice

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Mystery Ranch

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.

Mystery Ranch District 2 Bag $31.85 (35% off)
Mystery Ranch District Pro Bag $104.30 (30% off)

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Normatec 3 Full Body is $1,349 (13% off)

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Hyperice

A rare South American bird took a wrong turn towards Florida

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Mystery Ranch Street Market Bag $29.22 (35% off)

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Osprey

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Osprey Aoede 1.5L Crossbody Bag $27.96 (30% off)
Osprey Aoede Sling $35.97

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.

Patagonia

Shop all Hyperice deals

Patagonia Atom 8L Sling Bag $65.00

Normatec compression systems

Kids’ packs & small bags

Best for full-limb recovery when your legs feel heavy, travel wrecks you, or you want a consistent post-workout routine.

Dakine

Normatec Elite Legs $999 (9% off)
Dakine Essentials Mini 7L Backpack – Kids’ $18.00

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Herschel

Normatec Elite Hips $549 (8% off)

Herschel Classic Little Duffle – Kids’ $38.49 (30% off)
Normatec 3 Legs $799 (11% off)
Herschel Heritage 15L Youth Backpack – Kids’ $31.49 (30% off)

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

Normatec 3 Lower Body $999 (13% off)

Normatec 3 Full Body $1,349 (13% off)

Normatec Go $329 (13% off)

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A 3D elevation map showing the remains of Svælget 2. Credit: Viking Ship Museum

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.

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.

Hypervolt 2 Pro $299 (14% off)

Hypervolt 2 $199 (13% off)

Hypervolt Go 2 $109 (22% off)

“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.”

Hypervolt Go 2 (Black) $119 (14% off)

Despite its size, the cog required a relatively small crew to pilot. Credit: Viking Ship Museum

Targeted heat therapy and joint-focused relief

Best when you want warmth and spot treatment, especially around joints and stubborn stiffness.

“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.

Hyperice X Knee $329 (23% off)

Hyperice X Shoulder $329 (23% off)

“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

Venom Go Pack $149 (20% off)

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Bundles

Best if you want broader coverage in one buy instead of piecing together a setup later.

A sample round during the game Race Against Rot. Credit: University of Vermont

Normatec Pack $1,013 (15% off)

Legacy Pack $1,228 (14% off)

Core Premium Bundle $159 (20% off)

“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.

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)

Normatec Arm Attachments $350 (13% off)

Normatec Hip Attachment $200 (20% off)

Thanksfully, that vision of a better system is something most people want to see realized.

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“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

Stan Horaczek — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 14:05:00 -0500

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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

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.

The satellite image of iceberg A-23A taken on December 26, 2025. Image: NASA.

Indoors, the jumpy critters are often found in areas with excess moisture, such as near plumbing leaks or poor drainage systems.

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.

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

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.

“We found something never seen before and, more importantly, entirely unexpected,” explained Simone Scaringi, a researcher at Durham University in the United Kingdom.

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.

These signs indicate that the iceberg could be just days or weeks from disintegrating completely.

“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 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.

Laura Baisas — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 11:00:00 -0500

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

Margherita Bassi — 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.

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.

Purple gallinules use their long legs to walk across lily pads. Image: New England Wildlife Center.

The first situation was called an addressed condition, where owners introduced two new toys and repeatedly labeled them while interacting directly with the dog.

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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.

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

Laura Baisas — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 09:00:00 -0500

In reality, plane crashes in thunderstorms are extremely rare—largely because pilots seldom fly into thunderstorms in the first place.

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.

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.

How pilots track thunderstorms

“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.”

Avoiding thunderstorms, Smith explains, involves close collaboration between meteorologists, air traffic control, and the flight crew, both before and during the flight.

Matters of time

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.

Another key source of information comes from other pilots

“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.

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.

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

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.

How planes fly through storms

What you need

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.

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.

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.

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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).

Why pilots avoid landing in storms

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.

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.

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.

“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.”

What to bear in mind

Camera remote controls will override other gestures. Screenshot: Apple

“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.”

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).

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?

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.

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

Cat Rainsford — 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.

Planes are designed to withstand lightning strikes. Video: Lightning hits plane leaving BC airport/ @globalnews

Editor’s picks

Ruffer Puffer Expedition Parka $205 (was $350)

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- - The extra length battles drafts. - -

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

- - The fur hood looks cool and keeps your face warm. - -

Duluth Trading

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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.

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AKHG Ursa Major Waterproof Down Parka $158 (was $319)

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Duluth Trading

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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.

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.

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

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Insolator Battery Heated Vest $115 (was $200)

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Duluth Trading