Bill Murray has once said, “If Google does not know the answer, it is not a question.” Even though an absolutely untrue quote, it definitely makes one wonder what all the internet knows. An encyclopedia larger than any book at your fingertips, that’s what the internet is. However, encyclopedias seldom have mistakes or misinformation printed,...
Category: Children
Cosmic highlights
April’s night sky has had a dazzling start, with a glowing full moon and a brief appearance by Mercury. But there’s more to come. New Moon: The Moon and the Sun will be on the same side of the Earth on April 17. With no moonlight, this will be the perfect time to observe faint...
Onions made me cry!
It is an ordinary day. Somehow tears pool at the bottom of your eyes, threatening to spill out the canthus any moment. How did it turn out to be like this? Your eyes sting. The more you move your hands at the chopping board, the sting worsens. Alas, there comes the tears, full and uncontrollable....
What is ethical hacking?
You must have heard of hacking and how social media accounts, devices and even security systems often get hacked. But did you know there is an ethical side to hacking which helps us all in ways we do not often realise? Ethical hacking or white-hat hacking is a legal cybersecurity practice where experts try to...
Before the toast: The wild story of avocado
Walk into any supermarket in an Indian city today, and you’ll likely spot a few baskets of avocados of different shapes and sizes. Once unfamiliar to most of us, this fruit has been steadily gaining popularity for its buttery texture and rich nutritional value, so much that it has become a staple on brunch menu’s....
Why do mosquitoes love some people more than others?
Mosquitoes annoy almost everyone. And sometimes, you might notice that you are getting far more mosquito bites than your friend sitting right next to you in the same room. It can feel unfair, but let’s clear up a common myth first: it is not because your blood is “sweet.” In reality, mosquitoes do not choose...
Why does water stay cool in a claypot even in peak summers?
Summers are here, and with them comes an endless thirst. We drink more water than usual and cold water feels almost magical in the heat. Quick fun fact: when you drink cold water, it absorbs heat from your body as it warms up, helping lower your core temperature slightly. At the same time, temperature sensors...
T. K. Radha: from Kerala to Oppenheimer
In the late 1930s, in a small corner of Thayyur, Thrissur, a couple had their third girl child, and no one ever predicted that she would later become one of the first Indian women and Malayali to meet the father of the atomic bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer. This is the story of T.K Radha. Growing...
What is ‘The Wow!’ signal?
If you are a distinguished member of the “I think about extraterrestrial life all the time!” fraternity and don’t know about ‘The Wow!” signal, then you have some catching up to do. E.T Evolved from the ideas of the ‘alien’, the SETI or Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence is the endeavour — diverse efforts, projects, etc....
Bibha Chowdhuri: a barrier breaker in STEM
A young girl was born in the early 1900s in Kolkata, an era when girls were barely given an education and were often pushed into marriages at a very young age. She, however, stood out and went on to become one of the first Indian women to obtain a postgraduate degree in physics. This is...
