Human Behavior, features and articles | Educational Science

Oct 31, 2015

Inventor and Actress Hedy Lamarr Honored with Google Doodle

Today's Google Doodle commemorates actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr, on what would have been her 99th birthday. During World War II, Lamarr designed a system to safeguard homing signals on torpedoes launched by Allied forces, protecting them from Nazi interception by hopping between radio frequencies. Her patent, co-created with composer...

Oct 31, 2015

Emoji Snags 'Word of the Year' (Here’s Why That Makes Sense)

It's official: Oxford Dictionaries word of the year isn't a word at all, it's face-with-tears-of-joy, the most globally used emoji in 2015. The smiley face with oversized tears made up a whopping 20 percent of all emojis used in the United Kingdom and 17 percent of those used in the...

Oct 31, 2015

Abraham Lincoln Was a Science Champion, Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson Says

Abraham Lincoln is best known for abolishing slavery and keeping the United States together through the Civil War, but he also helped the country become the scientific and engineering powerhouse we know today. For example, Lincoln signed the Morrill Act in 1862, creating a system of land-grant colleges and universities...

Oct 31, 2015

Many Small Microaggressions Add Up to Something Big

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Upon entering a classroom or office for the first time, I frequently take more than a few seconds to place my book bag on the floor. I do this...

Oct 31, 2015

Devils Tower: See Photos of Wyoming's Unique Rock Formation

In the Fourche River Valley in northeastern Wyoming, an unmistakeable and unique geological wonder arises from the desolate, high plains landscape. Telltale formation Here, an intrusion of the igneous rock phonolite porphyry formed between the layers of sedimentary rock, resulting in what is known today as Devils Tower. (Credit: Linda...

Sep 30, 2015

What the 'Phub'? Your Cellphone Habits Might Hurt Your Relationship

Are you a phubber? That is, do you snub others by constantly looking at your cellphone? If you're guilty of phubbing, you may want to change your ways soon: A recent survey suggests that interrupting real-life encounters to stare at your phone can damage personal relationships. In everyday interactions with...

Sep 30, 2015

Science of Sexy: Why Emilia Clarke Reigns Supreme

It's official: Actress Emilia Clarke is Esquire magazine's Sexiest Woman Alive. In many ways, it's not surprising Esquire picked Clarke, who plays the fearless dragon rider and rightful heir to the Iron Throne on Game of Thrones. (And no, it's not just because she's in a state of undress in...

Sep 30, 2015

Fall Back? Why Daylight Saving Time Is So Confusing

On Sunday, Nov. 1, it's time to wind back the clocks. Or is that forward? Wait, are we losing an hour, or gaining one? This biannual changing of the clocks is frustrating to many people. Even the name itself is confusing: It's daylight saving time — not, as many people...

Aug 31, 2015

Fairy-Tale-Inspired 'Gremlin Drones' Could Spy in Swarms

When the U.S. military needs a new idea for drone technology, it turns to an unlikely source for inspiration: old fairy tales. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which is responsible for developing new technologies for the military, recently announced its gremlin program, a drone design initiative. It aims...

Aug 31, 2015

Does Everyone Have a Look-Alike?

We've all done a double take when mistaking a random person on the street for someone we know or know of, like the celebrity look-alikes Will Ferrell and Chad Smith — the actor and the Red Hot Chili Peppers' drummer, respectively. But does everyone have a doppelganger? There's a fairly...

Jul 31, 2015

Can Sexting Have Benefits for Couples?

Sexting is common among U.S. adults, and although the practice is often portrayed as risky or just bad behavior, it may have benefits for couples, a new study suggests. In the study, 870 people ages 18 to 82 filled out an online survey about sexting, which is defined as sending...

Jul 31, 2015

Women Are More Likely to Initiate Divorce, But Not Dating Breakups

Women are more likely than men to initiate divorce in the United States, but they are no more likely than men to initiate breakups in a dating relationship, a new study finds. The breakups of nonmarital heterosexual relationships in the U.S. are quite gender-neutral and fairly egalitarian, study author Michael...

Jun 30, 2015

7 famous Fourth of Julys: How Independence Day has changed

Americans celebrated the first July Fourth in 1777, a year after declaring independence from England. The festivities have varied in the years since then, but several mainstays have emerged (parades and fireworks) while other patriotic pastimes (drunken toasts made by menfolk) have gone out of style. Here's a list of...

Jun 30, 2015

Why Atticus Finch's Racist Shift in 'Watchman' Could Be an Anomaly

The character Atticus Finch, long revered by many as a paragon of justice, has transformed into an unapologetic racist in Harper Lee's new novel, Go Set a Watchman (Harper, 2015). But it's curious that Atticus endorses racism in his old age, as most people tend to become more tolerant in...

May 31, 2015

NYC Ivory Crush Sends Strong Anti-Poaching Message

NEW YORK — Some 1,500 people gathered in New York City's Times Square today (June 19) to witness the destruction of 1 ton of confiscated ivory — a move intended to demonstrate to the world that objects made from poached ivory have no value. Some wore it, some carried it,...