February 25, 2014

De-Mystifying Houdini’s Mysterious Death

Harry Houdini survived many dangerous feats, including being trapped in a box underwater. To add to the Houdini myth, the great dare-devil died on Halloween. What finally did him in?: A punch to the stomach.

But being punched in the stomach and surviving was one of his special tricks. Why, on this occasion, did it lead to his demise? Perhaps not surprisingly, Houdini’s celebrity and personality contributed to his exit.

The mysteries of Houdini’s death are answered in this video from Smarter Everyday.

Image credit: Tmolini/Flickr

a computer generated image of a human brain.

Thinking

The great free will debate featuring Michio Kaku and Steven Pinker

Who — or what — really controls your mind?

Building destroyed by the Halifax Explosion. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.

The Past

The largest accidental explosion of all time

More than a century ago, Halifax suffered an accidental blast one-fifth the size of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

a collage of photos of a man with a hat and a book.

High Culture

6 great books with wildly unreliable narrators

Dive into the twisted truths and concealed realities told by literature’s most unreliable narrators.

a group of five matches on a pink background.

The Well

Signs you’re burned out — and how to bounce back

If you don’t feel better after the weekend, the “burnout paradox” could explain why.

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7 min

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with

Laurie Santos

Starts With A Bang

The trick to instantly identifying JWST images

If you can identify a foreground star, the spike patterns are a dead giveaway as to whether it’s a JWST image or any other observatory.

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