Data suggests the typical horse produces over 12 horsepower—a unit of measurement for the rate of work done that was conceived as a marketing tool to communicate steam engine performance.

On average, the human body produces about 100 watts of electricity—enough to power a light bulb—but some people can produce over 2,000 watts in short bursts, such as when sprinting.

The global horse market is worth about $400B

In this podcast episode from a new series on horses, Freakonomics explores the market around buying and selling some of the world's top sport horses, and the nebulous forces that make them so valuable.

Lady Wonder, the horse with supposed clairvoyant powers

Lady Wonder became widely known as a horse that shared her special powers by spelling out words by using blocks with letters. She reportedly helped solve the case of a missing young boy while also offering advice and sports predictions.

Meet Clever Hans, the 1900s horse that was believed to be able to solve math equations and read German

When Clever Hans was prompted with math questions, he responded by tapping his hoof to indicate his answers. Even a panel of experts found no indication of trickery in the horse's demonstrations. However, psychology student Oskar Pfungst found that Hans stopped tapping once a subtle cue on his owner's face told him to stop. The cues were so subtle that Wilhelm von Osten didn't even know he was giving them.

The economics of horse racing

The Triple Crown races last less than three minutes, but the training and resources needed to create a winning thoroughbred are extensive. This Fox Business article dives into the costs associated with owning and training a racehorse, which can range from $1K to over $1M. It also discusses the extent to which the horse racing industry contributes to the economy.

Every Kentucky Derby-winning horse

Racing a thoroughbred isn't just about riding a horse as fast as you can. There is a complex racing strategy that forces jockeys to balance aggression and patience, conserving energy for that final stretch. This Kentucky Derby Winners article explores the split-second decisions jockeys make during high-pressure races, the moves they make to outsmart their opponents, and the importance of connecting with their horse.

The speed of electricity may refer to the movement of electrons, which is on the order of a fraction of a millimeter per second, or energy, which is near the speed of light.

While gas-powered engines typically have 2,000 moving parts, electric vehicles have about 20.

How Seabiscuit's DNA made him a winner

Seabiscuit's sudden success in the sport has been framed as a classic against-the-odds sports story. One Binghamton University molecular physiologist wanted to go a bit deeper, though, to see how much genetics played a role in the horse's legendary career. Using the horse's silvered hooves, his research team discovered that Seabiscuit's genotype was typically associated with late bloomers, a finding confirmed by the horse's track record.

What it takes to become a professional jockey

This short documentary follows a young, amateur jockey through early mornings and exhaustive gym sessions, where she rides a simulator made to look like real horses. It's a peek into a highly specialized (and highly unusual) athletic pursuit.

Breaking down the jargon and strategy of horse betting

Placing bets on horse racing isn't the same as a football or basketball game. You can pick a winner (win), who will come in second (place), and even third (show). And all the bets placed on a race are pooled together and divided among the winners. This Top Ten Picks video teaches the mechanics behind each bet, and shares insider tips that can lead to more informed betting choices.

Washington systematically introduced and popularized mule breeding in the United States

Known as "the father of the American Mule," Washington imported a prized Spanish donkey and bred it with a female horse at Mount Vernon. He promoted mules as stronger, more efficient farm animals, helping spread their use across the South and transforming American agriculture.

Internal-combustion engines convert fuel into motion using controlled explosions

Gasoline engines mix fuel and air, compressing it and igniting it to create thousands of tiny explosions that push pistons up and down. This movement spins the crankshaft, which moves a vehicle's wheels.

Wind turbines explained

Wind turbines have powered homes since 1887, and today they’re stronger, quieter, and more reliable than ever. Offshore wind could power millions and grow fast enough to meet climate goals.

What is a calorie?

Today it may go without thinking that we measure food by calories...but where did this come from and what does it mean? A kilo-calorie (or, as we call it, simply "calorie") is the amount of heat energy needed to raise the temperature of one...

Premarin, the hormone medication derived from pregnant horses, is 'PREgnant MARes urINe'

Scientists in the late 1920s and early 1930s discovered estrogens could be extracted from human placenta, and then isolated it from the urine of pregnant women. But researchers discovered the urine of pregnant horses had similar substances and the horse product was much easier to collect in significant amounts—leading to Premarin.

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.

View the 18 vehicles that broke the land speed record

The battery-powered "La Jamais Contente" was the first car to exceed 100 kilometers (62.1 miles) per hour, achieving the feat in 1899. By 1997, advancements in aerodynamic understanding and engineering led to the Thrust Supersonic Car, a jet-powered vehicle that reached a speed of 1,223.6 kilometers (760.3 miles) per hour.

Antimatter engines would have the greatest energy output of all machines

These devices would annihilate matter with antimatter, converting mass into pure energy. A teacup of fuel would release energy equivalent to that of a hydrogen bomb, but stabilizing and storing that much antimatter remains a challenging task. Alternatively, hybrid systems would utilize small amounts of antimatter to initiate nuclear reactions.

From 1990 to 2020, wind turbine height and blade length have more than tripled

Wind turbines' energy generation capacity—or maximum power rating—also increased by 375% from 1998 to 2023. As of that year, wind turbines can produce more energy per dollar than solar panels, though transportation and installation challenges remain.

How US horse breeders sourced animals from the Syrian desert

Alexander Keene Richards was a pioneer in thoroughbred racing in the US in the 1800s, a time when every town with a few thousand people had a horse track. This interview highlights how Richards went to great lengths to perfect horse breeding.

Watch a timeline of the history of electricity, from observations of static electricity in antiquity to the War of the Currents—a rivalry to establish the ideal system for electric grids.

August A. Busch, Sr. was gifted a six-horse Clydesdale hitch to celebrate Prohibition’s end

This helped reveal the marketing power of a horse-drawn beer wagon, so it invested in a second six-horse Clydesdale hitch. The Clydesdales soon went to New York, where they drew a crowd of thousands en route to the Empire State Building. Anheuser-Busch even gifted a case of Budweiser to New York Governor Alfred E. Smith in thanks for his help in the fight against Prohibition.

Hubble's average used power is less than half the power generated by its solar arrays

The space telescope's components use about 2,100 watts, or about as much power as five refrigerators. When exposed to sunlight, the solar arrays can generate over 5,200 watts for the observatory, which was engineered by a team that included Judith Love Cohen, mother of actor Jack Black.

Horses have four licensed West Nile vaccines—but humans have none

A major hurdle for West Nile vaccine development is the lack of a market for it since so many people are symptomatic for the infections. Still, a growing number of infections, including a 40% spike in 2025, may change that calculation.

Wind turbines are limited to capturing no more than 59.3% of incoming wind energy

In 1919, German physicist Albert Betz applied the laws of conservation of mass and momentum to airstreams to calculate the theoretical limit. However, real-world turbines only convert 35 to 45% of available wind energy into electricity.

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.

Horses can—and sometimes should—drink beer

Despite its reputation, beer is a good source of nutrition. In fact, it's a fairly common practice for horse owners to give beer to their horses. Beer is rich in skin-healing B vitamins, gut-stabilizing yeast, and hydration-encouraging barley. Plus, horse livers come prepared with special enzymes that break down alcohol, making inebriation nearly impossible.

Explore an interactive graphic of a wind turbine's components

Wind turbines contain a gearbox that increases the rotation of the blades by a factor of 100 from low to high-speed shafts. The latter moves magnets that change the magnetic field within a generator, creating electricity.

Some geothermal power plants make electricity using a secondary fluid

Direct dry-steam systems pull underground steam into a turbine-generator system, while flash and double-flash cycle systems spray extracted liquid water into a low-pressure tank, causing it to rapidly vaporize—"flash"—before moving to the turbine. Binary cycle systems use the extracted steam and water to flash a second fluid that easily boils, which then drives the turbine.

High fuel prices and fuel shortages revived dormant interest in EVs

Electric vehicles, in the form of motorized carriages, predate the invention of the gas-powered automobile by over 40 years. The latter's affordability made it more popular until technological advances made EVs more viable to consumers in the early 2000s.

How 'vibes' factor into scientists' decisions about using certain units

Although there are absolute quantities from which units can be defined, such as the speed of light and the corresponding light year for distance, the usefulness of units comes from their ability to easily communicate values, rather than how fundamental their origins are. For example, while Kelvin measures absolute temperature, Celsius is scaled to the temperatures of boiling and freezing water, making them more practical for everyday usage.

The complicated economics of horse racing

The Triple Crown commands big ratings (and enormous amounts of money in betting) but the sport as a whole is in a precarious position, thanks to limited tracks and an overreliance on subsidies. This special from Freakonomics unpacks what all that means for the future of the sport.

An overview of hydropower

Hydropower, or the use of the natural flow of moving water to generate electricity, is one of the oldest and largest sources of renewable energy.

Horses account for about 96% of the known mammalian cases of West Nile beyond humans

That's partly because horse owners likely notice and take veterinary action when their animals get sick. There is no way to know how frequently wild animals are getting infected with the virus.

Nearly 40% of American cars were electric in 1899

They were most common in cities, where battery swap stations allowed drivers to "refuel" their vehicles reliably. Innovations in combustion engines caused electric cars to lose ground until environmental policies and advances in battery technology revitalized interest.