In 1532, Henry VIII of England decreed that anyone convicted of poisoning another person would be put to death by being boiled alive in a cauldron of hot liquid. This form of capital punishment had been all the rage during the Middle Ages, so he had plenty of precedent.

But...

Is it true, as some people claim, that during the vernal equinox it is possible to stand an egg on end?

Yes, it's true. And during the autumnal equinox, as well. And on Tuesdays in February, and any time during the fourth game of the World Series when the...

When you look into a full-length mirror and raise your right hand, your image raises its left hand. And yet both your heads are still on top. So how does a mirror reverse things right to left, but not top to bottom? Does the mirror somehow know horizontal from vertical?

Have you ever noticed something "strange" after eating asparagus -- that is, after leaving the table and retiring to the small, private room? Well, it's not just you. The phenomenon has been observed for thousands of years, yet scientists still can't explain it completely. The question: why does your urine...

When I was a kid in Brooklyn, I and a couple of other nerds would wonder about crazy things. Here's one: if every person in China climbed up on a six-foot ladder and then jumped off at the same time, would it nudge the Earth into a different orbit?

Well,...

Whoops! You've dropped your sandwich, drumstick, lollypop or Twinkie on the floor. But don't worry. If you pick it up within five seconds, it'll still be safe to eat. Right?

That's the Five-Second Rule. Or maybe you've heard it as the Ten-Second Rule or, in some more permissive and less...

Bobbing for apples is one of the silliest games played by humans, and I won't glorify it by describing its rules (if any) here. But it does raise the compelling scientific question, "Why do some fruits float and others don't?"

On the "Late Show With David Letterman," a pair...

The whichfreezesfirst enigma has been debated since at least the 17th century, when Sir Francis Bacon wrote about it. Even today, Canadians claim that a bucket of hot water left outdoors in cold weather will freeze faster than a bucket of cold water. Scientists, however, are still unable to explain...