The mathematically correct way to tie your shoes

Shoelaces 101

This website is a comprehensive resource dedicated to shoelaces, offering tutorials, photos, and information on various aspects of the overlooked everyday item. Optimize your lacing technique, read through the history, and learn other new things.

Ranking life's biggest decisions

Psychological research presents some unsurprising wisdom about how to make big decisions without regret: focus on people, don’t miss opportunities, and stay true to yourself.

How the number 15 solved a longstanding math challenge

The “packing coloring” problem asks how many numbers are needed to fill an infinite grid so that identical numbers never get too close to one another. A new computer-assisted proof finds a surprisingly straightforward answer—only 15. While...

The magic angle to skip a spinning stone is 20 degrees

The traditional shoreside activity—reputedly practiced by luminaries Shakespeare and Homer—can be broken down into its bare physics, from hydrodynamics and momentum to gravity.

CD ladders are an investing strategy in which you buy multiple CDs with different maturity dates

This way, you take advantage of high interest rates with longer-term CDs while keeping liquidity with shorter-term CDs. If you're well acquainted with the basics of CD investing, the Wall Street Journal's Oyin Adedoyin, and guest host Danny Lewis, can tell you how staggering your investments makes good money.

A mathematical and visual analysis distinguishing chaos from randomness

Random systems lack any underlying pattern or causal relationships, while chaos is mathematically deterministic because the behavior follows established laws of nature. In 3D plots, chaotic systems produce outputs that approximate a mathematical function, while random points appear as statistical noise.

There's no right way to say 'taco'

While Americans ("tah-co") and Brits ("tack-oh") might argue about the correct pronunciation, both are understood in Spanish-speaking countries. Linguists note that the word's pronunciation is ever-evolving and informed by various cultural, psychological, and historical factors.

Bow ties became a Bill Nye wardrobe staple after he took part in an athletic banquet

In high school, boys served as waiters during a ceremony where girls would receive awards for gymnastics, lacrosse, and other sporting events. Wanting to fit the role, Nye's father helped him dress like a waiter, and he continued wearing bow ties upon seeing their practicality in the lab.

How the Inca used threads to communicate

One of the great mysteries of ancient Peru is that the Inca did not have a system of writing, but communicated with a system of strings tied with knots. This 4-minute video explores its possible uses.

An architect ranks the best bridges in the world

Architext Ezra Groskin builds bridges and argues that the best bridges do more than allow traffic. They should, he believes, encourage human interaction and lingering to ultimately become a destination of their own. Explore ten stunning designs that connect communities, from New York to Switzerland.

Nitrogenous bases connect like puzzle pieces due to their shape

There are four bases—adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine—which keep the two strands of DNA connected via chemical bonds between them. Connections between thymine and adenine require two hydrogen bonds, while those between cytosine and guanine need three hydrogen bonds. These differences in bond number prevent non-complementary pairings.

Chess unfolds in three phases: opening, middlegame, and endgame

Strong play requires adapting across phases: developing pieces and controlling the center in the opening, using tactics and strategy in the middlegame, and applying precise calculation and king activity to convert advantages in the endgame.

Chuck Taylors were once the definitive basketball sneakers

Before Michael Jordan and the Air Jordans became the iconic shoe of the league, Chuck Taylor high tops were considered the best basketball sneaks. Need proof? The 1936 US Olympic team wore matching Converse.

Binary mathematics represented as switches allows silicon rocks to do math

Each switch is assigned a zero or a one based on whether it is open or closed, and logic gates are built from these switches that let the system perform mathematical operations. Modern software builds upon these operations to perform increasingly complex tasks.

The Triple Crown, explained

Only 13 horses have ever won the Triple Crown—one of the most elusive titles in American sports. This explainer breaks down how the series works, why it's so difficult to win, and the legendary horses that defied the odds across the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes.

How to write a check

Physical checks are not necessarily in vogue anymore, but there are several situations in which one should know how to write them. This article breaks down the basics of checks for beginners, from acquiring a checkbook to filling them out. Consult with their example template to make sure you got it right.

Randomly boarding passengers onto a plane is often faster than using boarding groups

Although boarding back to front or windows to aisles appear to be sensible approaches to quickly filling a plane, these methods still suffer from passengers stowing away their luggage, which too often halts the boarding flow. Research has shown that the ideal process, called the Steffen method, optimized efficiency by allowing boarding to continue even while stowing is underway.

View the three types of coral reefs, categorized by where they form

Fringing reefs—the most common type—are built from coral depositing calcium carbonate onto the seafloor closest to the shoreline. Barrier reefs grow further from and parallel to the shore, while atolls are the result of mid-ocean volcanoes or seamounts eroding away and leaving a lagoon surrounded by reefs.

How the inventor of Mario designs games

Shigeru Miyamoto has created some of the most iconic video games in history, from Super Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong to The Legend of Zelda. The game producer boils down his creative philosophy to three basic principles: story, simplicity, and...

Onion routing disguises internet traffic in layers resembling a nesting doll

Data is encrypted at least three times before being sent to a node—a server that can only decrypt one layer. Then, the underlying encrypted data is relayed to another node, and the process repeats until all layers are decrypted. Thousands of possible nodes make it extremely difficult to trace activity within the system.

A guide to the romance genre's major tropes

This guide breaks down romance's most prominent tropes, or narrative patterns, used by romance writers and adored by their fans. After you learn about "friends to lovers," "marriage of convenience," and "forced proximity," you'll start to see your favorite romance reads in an entirely new light.

Explore chaos in this simulation of two double pendulums, where small differences in the release angles produce wildly different outcomes.

For the same cost, turbines with three blades are the most resilient

Odd-numbered blade values more evenly distribute wind loads across the face of rotors, reducing bending and twisting forces on the turbine that cause wear. Modeling shows that three blades optimize efficiency and cost for everyday wind speeds.

Mapping the route options between the Pacific and Atlantic

This map shows some of the alternative trade route options that are available to shipping companies, from overland routes that rely on railways to transport goods coast-to-coast, to Arctic Ocean passages.

Watch the safe way to remove a tick from your body

Minimizing your risk of Lyme and other tickborne diseases hinges on quickly removing ticks. To do so, place tweezers on the animal as close to the skin as possible and then pull directly upwards to try to avoid leaving bits of the tick's body behind. If possible, try to take a photo of the tick to share with your doctor to better identify potential disease risks (since certain tick species can carry specific diseases). Next, dispose of the tick without crushing it in your fingers—flushing it down the toilet, or placing it in alcohol or a sealed bag—and then thoroughly wash the bite area and your hands.

Roasting controls how your coffee will taste

James Hoffmann, winner of the 2007 World Barista Championship, is the best person to break down the importance of the roasting process. Arguably, along with where beans are grown, roasting is the most important variable in the flavor of your favorite drink.

See how each of the more than two million known species relates to each other—and to common ancestors—in this zoomable tree of life.

To reduce wrinkles in clothing, research recommends gentle wash cycles with more water and tumble drying with smaller loads and longer times.

Studies suggest when you sleep is as important as how much you get, and syncing with your circadian rhythms may lead to less fatigue and improved long-term health outcomes

The first steps to rebuilding your credit score include getting to know exactly what's on your credit report and figuring out how far you are from the '700 club,' or 'good score' range.

Watch this video that uses Lego bricks to explain how venture capital works.

Some coin denominations have ridges etched on their sides, partly to prevent counterfeiting, in a practice called 'reeding.'

Use this tool to calculate the dollar value of your parental mental load, from meal planning to coordinating after-school care, then see resources that help generate solutions.

See how fireworks are made and learn how metals like magnesium and copper are responsible for different colors.

When you complete a CAPTCHA on a website to prove you are human, you may be unknowingly training algorithms for self-driving cars, whose systems require training data to help identify crosswalks, bicycles, and other outdoor objects.

The term 'algorithm' originated from the Latinized name of al-Khwārizmī, a 9th-century mathematician whose works introduced Arabic numerals and the decimal-based numeral system to Europe and whose treatise 'Al-Jabr' gave algebra its name.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

Discover the catastrophic consequences of a failure of the US electrical grid—something that is more likely than many Americans think.

Brandi Chastain, the star of the 1999 US victory over China in the 1999 Women's World Cup, was a last-second choice to take the penalty kick that sealed the victory.

Artificial coral reefs have been 3D printed from nontoxic, biodegradable terracotta clay, which coral polyps have used as a foundation for rebuilding marine ecosystems.

Watch the cumbersome, but necessary, precautions healthcare workers must take to care for and protect themselves while caring for Ebola patients.

Hurricanes, which rely on air consistently spinning in the same direction, cannot cross the equator because air curves in opposite directions north and south of it.

SpongeBob exemplifies Aristotle's philosophy for living well because he understands that happiness doesn't come from external factors like money, recognition, or power.

Take a 3D tour of the Hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, undertaken by over 1.5 million Muslims.

Many legends about George Washington, including his supposed wooden teeth and the story of cutting down the cherry tree, lack evidence.

Hear 50 years of iconic hip-hop samples, the genre's foundational looped tracks

El Niño, Spanish for 'the boy,' was named after Jesus Christ because the phenomenon resembled the weather changes observed around Christmastime.

20,000 letters to the advice columnist 'Dear Abby' provide insight into prevailing sex, religion, and LGBTQ fears, anxieties, and concerns from the 1950s onward.