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A Houdini Low Point

27 Oct 2023

National Magic Day is celebrated annually on October 31st in memory of Harry Houdini who passed away on that day in 1926.

The Two Types of Erasable Ink and Why One Is Much Cooler Than the Other

4 Nov 2022

Introduced in 1979, the Papermate Erasermate offered something that, up until then, had been science fiction: an erasable pen. While correction fluids and tape were a well-established solution to...

Remembering Houdini

26 Oct 2022

For many years members of the American Society of Magicians gathered on October 31 at Machpelah Cemetery in New York to break a magic wand over the grave of the man whose name is synonymous with...

The Bottle Jumper

31 Aug 2022

The scene was a street corner in London sometime in the 17th century. A skeptical crowd had gathered to see if the performer could deliver on his promise to pour whatever drink asked for, be it...

How Come You Never See a Baby Housefly?

16 Jul 2021

Simple. Because baby houseflies don’t exist. A little backgrounder on the flies’ reproductive cycle can clear up this apparent conundrum. Within a week of mating, a doggie-style activity lasting...

Bottled Superstition: Then and Now

5 Apr 2019

Workers at a London construction site were mystified when they unearthed a sealed stoneware bottle with some very strange markings including the image of a scary bearded man. The bottle, obviously...

The Right Chemistry: The Nobel and Ig Nobel awards

9 May 2018

Video of Dr. Joe Schwarcz talks about the Nobel and Ig Nobel awards

Happy National Magic Day

31 Oct 2017

Halloween is a time when witches fly, black cats prowl and zombies rise from the grave.  But it is also a time for magic.  No, not supernatural charms, spells or incantations but the time honoured...

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