The Many Sides of New Jersey’s Plastic Bag Ban

Deciding if plastic bag bans are effective, we can look at the upside and downside in New Jersey and several recent studies.

The Little Inventions That Had a Big Impact

Because of small inventions, we’ve wound up with large buildings… Like the Shard: As a result, we can say thank you for the nail. The Impact of Small Inventions In a 99% Invisible podcast, a structural engineer selected the seven small…

Why We Should Care About “One-Click”

Asked to identify the most influential inventions, we might name the telephone or the light bulb. Then taking the next step, we need to consider what we mean by influential. In a recent paper, researchers told us what influential means…

New Jersey Plastic Bag Ban Surprises

Created to reduce our use of plastic, the New Jersey plastic bag ban has had unintended environmental consequences.

How Whiskey Made Green Crabs Less Invasive

Knowing that green crabs are a vicious invasive species that are reproducing more rapidly, a distiller had a solution.

How Russia’s Ukraine Invasion Harmed Nepal

Rippling around the world, the Russian invasion’s impact has been felt as far away as the land, labor, and capital in Nepal’s economy.

What NASA Brings Back To Earth

Not just a space contest, more of NASA’s innovations that help us on earth will come from its Deep Space Food Challenge.

Why Renaming Countries and Cities is Costly

Renaming countries and cities is costly when we think of the municipal, business, and individual changes that it necessitates.

Why 12 Bottles of Bordeaux Were on the International Space Station

A 14 month International Space Station wine test with 12 bottles of Bordeaux will teach us about about global warming.

What Space Travel Brought Back to Earth

In 2017, the three winners of NASA’s Poop Challenge shared a $30,000 prize. Instead of diapers, NASA needed a device that would withstand zero gravity, accommodate up to 6 days of poop, urine and menstruation, and enable walking, bending, and…