Weird | The Verge The Verge is about technology and how it makes us feel. Founded in 2011, we offer our audience everything from breaking news to reviews to award-winning features and investigations, on our site, in video, and in podcasts. 2025-01-28T19:11:01+00:00 https://www.theverge.com/rss/weird-science/index.xml https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/01/verge-rss-large_80b47e.png?w=150&h=150&crop=1 Cory Zapatka <![CDATA[Tiny meteorites are everywhere — here’s how to find them]]> https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/5/18211112/meteorites-space-dust-micrometeorites-metal-rock-tiny-how-to-find 2025-01-28T14:11:01-05:00 2019-02-05T10:01:52-05:00

Between 60 and 100 tons of space dust falls to Earth every single day. That's a lot of dust. Some of it has been pulled up from deep-sea sediments or melted out of ice near the poles. But there hasn't been somebody dedicated enough - or maybe even absurd enough - to seek out these tiny bits of metal and rock from outer space in populated places.

That changed in 2010 when Jon Larsen, a jazz musician-turned-amateur scientist, started searching for micrometeorites in some of the dustiest corners of the Earth.

Larsen told Verge Science about the frustrating paradox regarding micrometeorites. "Everybody agreed upon that it was completely impo …

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]]> Angela Chen <![CDATA[2018 in weird science, from alien conspiracies to sensory illusions]]> https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/23/18152828/2018-weird-science-aliens-yanny-laurel-cockroaches-embalming-knickers-body-horror 2018-12-23T09:00:04-05:00 2018-12-23T09:00:04-05:00

There was plenty of important science this year, from ever-dire warnings of climate change to the launch of SpaceX's Falcon Heavy. And then, there was the time everyone argued over a few seconds of a clip that said either "yanny" or "laurel." With that in mind, here (in no particular order) are 10 of the best of weird science stories of 2018 - the disgusting, horrifying, and the viral.

1. "How a beach umbrella fatally impaled a woman with 800 pounds of force"
One can find plenty of horrifying case studies in medical journals, and this one from the Journal of Forensic Sciences doesn't disappoint. Not recommended reading for anxious people who …

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]]> Makena Kelly <![CDATA[New Panasonic device sucks up your shoe smells, if you have five hours]]> https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/8/9/17670372/panasonic-ms-ds100-shoes-smell-stink 2018-08-09T10:12:33-04:00 2018-08-09T10:12:33-04:00

For the weirdos who don't wear socks or the unfortunate people who just have smelly feet, Panasonic announced today that it will be launching a "shoe deodorizer." It's called the MS-DS100, and it uses some zany "nanoe" technology to suck the stink right out of your shoes.

To use the product, you just have to plug it in and place the bottom nodes into your shoes, kind of like putting a little party hat on top of your sneakers. The MS-D100 then blasts highly charged ions into the shoes, penetrating through the material and dissolving particles to eliminate any odors. There are two different modes: normal and long, which run for five hours to …

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]]> Stefan Etienne <![CDATA[Star Trek fans can now buy Vulcan wireless earbuds to look the part]]> https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/7/25/17613424/star-trek-vulcan-wireless-earbuds 2018-07-25T13:05:35-04:00 2018-07-25T13:05:35-04:00

There are so many Star Trek jokes you could make about these officially licensed wireless earbuds that are modeled after Vulcan ears. But with that color scheme, honestly they look more like hearing aids to me than the ears of Captain Spock.

ThinkGeek is selling the Star Trek wireless Vulcan earbuds for $39, and they include a talk time of four to five hours, an in-line microphone and remote, and they charge in two hours. Also included in the box is a Micro USB charging cable and three sets of included silicone tips to keep your Vulcan ears clean and clear of any debris.

Unfortunately, there's no word on an included Star Trek communicator, …

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]]> Alessandra Potenza <![CDATA[Your ears are cockroach heaven and that’s why they keep crawling in there]]> https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/6/17429138/cockroaches-crawling-inside-ears-infections 2018-06-06T09:00:03-04:00 2018-06-06T09:00:03-04:00

The news seems to arrive every few months, sticking in your head like a nightmare that left you drenched in sweat: yet another person found a cockroach in their ear. It happened to a Florida woman just last month: a cockroach crawled inside her ear while she was sleeping, and she lived with the bug lodged there for nine days before it was removed. Then last week, another Florida resident went through the same ordeal. This time, the roach allegedly laid its eggs before dying. So, why does this keep happening? Why do cockroaches wriggle themselves inside people's ears, where they'll almost certainly meet their death?

First of all, cockroaches …

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]]> Alessandra Potenza <![CDATA[Puke, poop, and sweat: a ranking of New York City’s grossest attractions]]> https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/9/17333140/disgust-emotion-vomit-rats-cockroaches-new-york-city-ranking 2018-05-09T11:41:56-04:00 2018-05-09T11:41:56-04:00

Here's the most disgusting thing that has ever happened to me in New York: I was at a fancy bar in SoHo, wearing brand-new clothes when I sat on a puddle of white puke. I have no idea how a regurgitated white Russian ended up on that leather couch. What I do know is that the vomit seeped through all the layers of fancy clothing I had on - including my underwear. I ran to the restroom and almost threw up myself.

Now, any time I come across a pool of vomit, I stop breathing and run away as fast as I can. And it's not just me. The other day, at a Brooklyn subway stop smeared with barf, I heard a flip-flop-wearing woman shout: "Fuck! I almost s …

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]]> Rachel Becker <![CDATA[Four times people cried ‘aliens’ — and four times they were wrong]]> https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/26/17165716/atacama-mummy-tabbys-star-great-pyramid-deep-space-radio-signal-never-aliens 2018-03-26T18:12:37-04:00 2018-03-26T18:12:37-04:00
The mummified remains of a fetus that was either stillborn or died shortly after birth. | Photo: Bhattacharya S et al. 2018

Discovered in Chile's Atacama Desert in 2003, this tiny, 6-inch-long mummy, with its pointed head and atypical number of ribs, stoked theories that aliens have visited Earth. Scientists have had genetic proof that the remains are human since 2013, and a new genetic analysis reveals that mutations in genes related to growth might explain the mummy's atypical bones.

The results, which have been making headlines, are a reminder that the truth may well be out there - but it isn't aliens. A series of discoveries this past year make it clear that, sadly, it never is.

Sad but true

Scientists have struggled to explain why this mummy, known as Ata, …

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]]> Alessandra Potenza <![CDATA[These penguins found a camera, then they hammed it up]]> https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/10/17097992/emperor-penguins-selfie-video-australian-antarctic-division 2018-03-10T10:00:02-05:00 2018-03-10T10:00:02-05:00

A pair of emperor penguins in Antarctica filmed themselves with a camera that had been left on the ice by an explorer.

In the short video, posted by the Australian Antarctic Division, you can see one penguin approach the camera, somehow flick it up so that it's focused on its face, and then a second penguin joins. They both curiously stare down at the lens before losing interest. One of the penguins is even saying something - a vocalization I decided to interpret as, "Why are they spying on us?"

The birds have long beaks and threatening-looking claws. (You can take a quick peek at them at the beginning of the video when the first penguin a …

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]]> Alessandra Potenza <![CDATA[How a beach umbrella fatally impaled a woman with 800 pounds of force]]> https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/5/17080536/beach-umbrella-death-fatal-chest-injury-case-report 2018-03-05T14:16:49-05:00 2018-03-05T14:16:49-05:00

Strong winds can turn the most innocent objects - like branches and car dealership signs - into lethal weapons. Now, we can add beach umbrellas to the list.

A 55-year-old woman died after a windblown beach umbrella hit her in the chest with about 800 pounds of force, according to new research. The freak accident happened so quickly that the woman's companion didn't even see the umbrella hit her. (A bystander, however, did.) The companion "noted only that the woman was gasping for breath and was unable to speak," according to the paper published last week in the Journal of Forensic Sciences. The victim was taken to the hospital but died with …

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]]> Alessandra Potenza <![CDATA[These eel-like creatures use their flaccid, squishy skin to survive shark attacks]]> https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/15/16780562/hagfish-flaccid-skin-shark-bites-slime 2017-12-15T12:40:09-05:00 2017-12-15T12:40:09-05:00
A hagfish protruding from a sponge. | Photo: NOAA

Hagfish are jawless, eel-like creatures that are known to spray huge quantities of goo when attacked. Now, scientists have found another defense mechanism that protects these slimy monsters: their flaccid, squishy skin.

Researchers attached mako shark teeth to a guillotine to replicate how a real shark would bite down on a hagfish. The hagfish's loose skin allowed the shark tooth to cut through skin but never through the underlying muscle. That allows hagfish to squish away, escaping shark attacks relatively unharmed, according to a study published this week in the Journal of Royal Society Interface.

Hagfish had their moment of fame earlie …

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