Purdue students' robot solves a Rubik's cube faster than most people can blink

Watch a YouTuber solve a Rubik's Cube while in free fall

He broke a world record, completing the task in the sky in just 23.333 seconds.

It took a month for the Rubik's Cube inventor to solve the cube

The Rubik's Cube is the most popular puzzle toy in the world, with over 350 million sold since its invention in 1975. Originally created as a tool to teach three-dimensional movement, the colorful problem-solving game skyrocketed in popularity, spawning speedcubing competitions and becoming a fixture of global toy culture.

A 14-year-old "human calculator" shatters six mathematical world records in one day

A teenage prodigy from Maharashtra, India named Aaryan Shukla set the record for the fastest time to mentally add 50 five-digit numbers. He did so in just 25.19 seconds–roughly equivalent to one addition every 0.5 seconds. The math whiz said he practices calculations for around five to six hours a day.

Google’s quantum computer completes a 10,000-year task in about 3 minutes

Google used its 53-qubit processor on an extremely difficult problem for traditional computers to simulate to showcase quantum supremacy. IBM later challenged Google’s claim by arguing that its Summit supercomputer could solve the same problem in just 2.5 days using a more efficient method.

IBM’s supercomputer Deep Blue beat Garry Kasparov in 1997

After defeating IBM’s Deep Blue in 1996, world champion Garry Kasparov lost their 1997 rematch 3½–2½. The match was a milestone in artificial intelligence, marking the first time a computer beat a reigning world champion.

F1 pit crews change tires in less than 3 seconds

Roughly 16 people cooperate in a highly coordinated sequence of events to swap tires mid-race without losing the driver any time. Watch a slowed-down explanation of each person's job in the crucial pit lane moment.

Play a puzzle game where the speed of light is reduced to everyday speeds

In "Velocity Raptor," space and time warp as you make your way across a room of obstacles at "normal" speeds. Take advantage of these relativistic effects to solve puzzles involving clocks running at different rates and colors shifting as a result of your movement.

IBM Quantum’s dilution refrigerators keep quantum processors colder than space

In IBM’s quantum lab, quantum processors are kept at a temperature of 15 millikelvin using dilution refrigerators. These refrigerators use nested thermal layers, cryogens like liquid nitrogen and helium, and powerful compressors to maintain the ultra-cold temperatures required for qubit stability and performance.

The world's largest pizza was 13,990 square feet

Pizza Hut teamed with YouTuber Eric Decker to create the massive, Guinness World Record-breaking pie. The 13,653-pound pizza was constructed at the Los Angeles Convention Center. It required 4,948 pounds of sauce, 8,800 pounds of cheese, and about 630,496 pepperoni slices.

Teaching a robot to laugh

Researchers have designed a shared-laughter AI system that responds to human laughter in order to build a sense of empathy into dialogue. Learn how they did it with this explainer.

Watch this octopus win every single Escape Room challenge

Octopuses are famously intelligent, solitary creatures covered in hundreds of chemical-sensing suckers. They're also pretty fascinating pets, and even enjoy playing. The crew at OctoLab put one of its more playful mollusks into four different Escape Room-like cages to see how long it would take for it to escape. Watch this video to see the brilliant, if a bit unsettling, methods the animal uses.

Neuralink brain implants have enabled a paralyzed person to play video games

As one of twelve test subjects in Neuralink's PRIME study, Rob Greiner's implant translates his brain's activity into digital commands for the 'Battlefield 6' game. He can now also design 3D models and 3D-print objects using his thoughts.

It took 70 years for computer scientists to determine how to cut a cake fairly

The cake-cutting problem explores how to divide something fairly, which is not solely about cutting evenly-sized pieces. A protocol that accounted for personal preferences (e.g., a corner piece) between just three people took 16 years to develop.

The first robot in literature may have been a 'mechanical man' in 1907's 'Ozma of Oz,' a book in L Frank Baum's 'Wizard of Oz' series.

The first robot in literature may have been a 'mechanical man' in 1907's 'Ozma of Oz,' a book in L Frank Baum's 'Wizard of Oz' series.

Eliud Kipchoge broke the 2-hour mark in a 2019 exhibition

In 2019, Kenya's Kipchoge ran 1:59:40.2, though it was part of an exhibition that included numerous aids—including elite runners cutting his wind and a laser marking the necessary pace—not permitted in officially sanctioned events. As such, it is not eligible for the world record.

Blindfolded people could identify objects by touch alone a week after encountering them

These touch memories are more complex and durable than previously thought. In research published in 2018, blindfolded volunteers touched over 150 household objects for about 10 seconds each, and afterward correctly identified the objects more than 90 percent of the time when presented with the object and a similar one. Participants still knew most of the objects a week later with about 85 percent accuracy. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Pyrodrones combine fireworks with millisecond-accurate drone choreography

Drones are outfitted with fireworks and positioned using 3D software to ensure perfect timing and safe spacing during shows. A single GPS error during planning can ruin the show, as happened in 2024 when a drone crashed and injured a spectator due to programming failures.

Wikiracing involves moving between two articles in the fewest clicks

The quirky pastime has evolved into a competitive event at yearly Wikimedia conferences, highlighting the interconnectedness of human knowledge. Neuroscientific research suggests lateral thinking is a crucial skill found in successful Wikiracers.

Modular data centers can be transported on a truck for rapid deployment

Bypassing the complications involved in building larger facilities over the course of several years, such as construction costs and permits, these pre-fabricated, self-contained pods, roughly the size of shipping containers, can carry thousands of graphics processing units for small- and medium-scale AI-related tasks.

Watch a time-lapse of 3D printing a Groot figurine

The total printing time on the Prusa i3 MK2 printer was 12 hours and 32 minutes, with the head alone taking nearly 5 hours to print from layering plastic filament.

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.

Turing machines consist of an infinite tape, a read-write mechanism and instructions

Based on the information the mechanism reads on the tape, the machine follows the applicable instruction (e.g., if you read a 1, write a 0) and may proceed to the next cell of data. Given enough time and memory, Alan Turing proposed such a machine could perform any computation.

One of Henry Ford's early vehicle prototypes broke an all-time speed record and got him the money to start Ford Motor Company

In 1904, Henry Ford raced the "999" across a frozen lake and reached an average speed of more than 90 miles per hour, beating the then-record for fastest land speed. Ford's success attracted the eyes of the earliest investors in the Henry Ford Company, Ford's company before he started Ford Motor Company.

20 years of NCAA buzzers

The last few beats of the March Madness title game are among the most thrilling in sports. This video compilation collects the final five seconds of every women's championship from the first year of the tournament through 2022. The result is a fascinating document of celebrations, disappointments, and last-ditch efforts. It's also objective proof that basketball's style has evolved considerably over the decades.

One man lived with a gene-edited pig kidney for 271 days, a record

In October 2025, Tim Andrews had his gene-edited pig kidney removed because it was no longer working well. He had the transplanted organ for 271 days—surpassing the prior record of a patient who functioned with one for 130 days. Andrews remains on the kidney transplant wait list to receive a donated kidney from a human, but he has a particularly hard-to-match blood type, making it challenging to get the organ.

Internet sleuths solve secret message on Perseverance rover’s Mars parachute

In 2020, the Perseverance Rover landed on Mars, sending a message for the folks back home on its parachute. It took fewer than six hours for the Internet's collective forces to decode the secret slogan hidden in the parachute's colors and patterns, as well as the geographic coordinates of the earth-bound place where rocketry was perfected.

Double world record holder Hunter Ewen helped conquer his fear of balloons, called globophobia, by training to win Guinness World Record titles for balloon inflation.

Clever Hans was a 1900s horse that was believed to be able to solve math equations, tell time, and read and comprehend German, until a psychology student discovered how he got his answers.

Domino's Pizza's 30-minute delivery guarantee was responsible for the chain's 1980s surge, but it was discontinued after the company was found liable for delivery driver accidents.

Massive 3D printers have been used to build homes by stacking layers of 'concrete toothpaste,' a fire-resistant material that effectively insulates against outside noise.

A vending machine run with Anthropic's AI went out of business after it was convinced to give away items for free and sell a video game console.

Electrical grids worldwide must double their power delivery capacity by 2050 to meet surging demand from AI and electric vehicles.

In 1984, Operation Smash Hit intentionally crashed a 239-ton train into a nuclear waste canister at 100 miles per hour to prove the canister's safety, which remained completely intact and lost just 0.29 of its 100 pounds of pressure.

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

Exploring the Larry Bird punch that almost changed March Madness

In 2019, a laptop loaded with six of the worst malware in history and described as 'an exhibit of historical weaponry' sold for $1.3M.

Researchers believe the brain consolidates memories, processes emotions, and plans for the future during dream states

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

Explore fun facts from the USPS, including unique post office buildings, a stamp that traveled past Pluto, and more.

In 2025, four executives from large tech companies were given positions in the US Army Reserves—including Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, which reinforced Palantir's ties with the US military and its role as a leading defense partner.

Sony set the standard for cylinder-shaped batteries when it repurposed manufacturing equipment used to make rolls of magnetic recording tape.

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.

See this overview of the firework rules across all 50 states, ranging from a complete ban on non-professional fireworks in Massachusetts to states with more lax rules like Indiana.

Search a massive database of over 4 decades of clues from the TV quiz show 'Jeopardy!'

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

Indefinite cloning of some endangered species may not sustain their longevity because cloning success rates decrease as genetic mutations accumulate.

Watch how deep-sea mining equipment collects and processes polymetallic nodules—metal-rich, potato-shaped rocks—from the ocean floor and creates environmentally damaging plumes of sediments.

The first image of a black hole was captured by creating an Earth-sized virtual observatory from a network of eight radio telescopes.

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.