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In astronomy, there's a concept called "lookback time". The idea is this: some stars and other astrophysical phenomena are so far away, that it takes their light a really long time to reach us. Sometimes…

In fiction, disasters are entertaining. Whether it's a big budget disaster film like Titanic, or just your typical comedy of errors where miscommunications lead to cringe-worthy social awkwardness for all involved, we stare transfixed at…

It's an interesting discovery from neuroscience that humans actually quite rarely use any of their senses in isolation. For instance, taste and smell get combined all the time. A great deal of what we think…

Every driver knows the feeling. You're reversing down a narrow driveway onto a busy road, moving slowly, taking your time in case there are obstacles that you can't see. Suddenly, whoosh - another vehicle speeds…

Fans of certain genres of video games, especially first person shooter games, will be familiar with the phrase "screen cheating". For the uninitiated, these games generally involve splitting a television screen so that each player…

"Don't Look Back In Anger" is a song by the band Oasis, famed for their many hits like "Wonderwall" and "Champagne Supernova". It's also some pretty sound advice, up there with "don't drive when you're…

Some things can never be reversed. There are terrible actions that one can commit, words that can never be unsaid, deeds that can never be undone. These events may change lives forever, alter a field…

Ever had a really dirty rear windscreen on your car? Or a super-full boot stuffed with luggage piled up to the roof? Under those sorts of circumstances, it's pretty tough - if not impossible -…

A camera takes a snapshot of the world and preserves it forever in a still frame. A photograph allows you to access a moment in time, even from many decades ago - a window into…

Things from behind can take you by surprise. There's a reason the word "backstabber" has the connotations it does - it's not just an attack from an arbitrary position, it's specifically dishonourable because the victim…

Want to show that a creature is alien or somehow otherworldly? Easy - give it eye stalks. This simple anatomical alteration seems so strange to us humans that it will clearly signal the extraterrestrial, or…

'Verse' has many meanings. It can mean a stanza of song or poetry, or the concept of poetry in general. In some circles, it is short for 'universe', and is thus used to mean 'world',…