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You might remember this trick from a 4th or 5th grade classroom, and if you didn’t, you missed out. It’s simple in practice. Just put two paperclips on a strip of paper folded in the shape of an S so that they pin the points that the paper touches itself together. Then, pull on the both of the paper’s ends and SNAP the clips suddenly pop off, linked together. It’s easy to just stop there with little more than a “huh,” but as Tadashi Tokieda demonstrates in this video for the terrific Numberphile channel, there are a whole host of different ways you can try this trick, all of which generate unique results....

It’s been a dry year—a devastating one for wildfires in the Western United States. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, in 2015 alone well over 11 million acres have burned, consumed by over 51,000 recorded wildfires. And though dropping temps and seasonal rains have put a damper on the situation, many brave firefighters are still currently out in the wilderness on the job.To learn more about the life of a wilderness firefighter—aka a hotshot, we caught up with Chris Boyer, who fell into the profession thanks to chance encounter in college....

Ichiban! For those of you who still don’t understand Japanese, that means No. 1. And based on sales projections by both General Motors and Toyota, 2007 will see a monumental shift in the automotive universe: Toyota will be ichiban. And GM—the world’s largest automaker since long before there was television—will slip to No. 2. As 2006 draws to a close, GM expects to sell 9.2 million vehicles worldwide, Toyota 8.8 million....

On Wednesday, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., along with actor Robert de Niro, staged a press conference to announce a $100,000 prize to anyone who could prove vaccines are safe. The prize is sponsored by Kennedy’s organization, the World Mercury Project, an anti-vaccine group “determined to create a world free of the devastating effects of mercury.“According to the organization’s website, the WMP “will pay $100,000 to the first journalist, or other individual, who can find a peer-reviewed scientific study” proving that vaccines are safe....

The Spitzer Space Telescope has found a rocky planet just 21 light years from Earth. It’s one of the closest exoplanets ever discovered, and the closest confirmed rocky world we know about. But before you pack your bags, make sure you can withstand completely scorching heat: The super-Earth orbits super-close to its star, completing a revolution in just under a week. It is hot and uninhabitable. But it’s very important in the search for other worlds....

In the past five years, drones have gone from being an expensive plaything for hobbyists to a much more ubiquitous tool. Inevitable, they’ve also found their way into the wrong hands. There are growing fears of terrorism involving these tiny flying machines, especially during holidays when hobbyist drones are everywhere. France hopes to combat the drone scourge with the original terror of the skies—eagles.According to Reuters, the French Air Force began training four eagles last year to attack drones after seeing successful police trails in the Netherlands....

Right now, all space travel originates on Earth. That’s helpful for logistics, as all current spacecraft determine their paths by calculating their positions from our planet. But that also yields delays.When trying to navigate in the vast expanse of space, spacecraft can remain motionless for minutes at a time while they wait for signals from the home planet. So NASA is trying to cut the cord to Earth with its new Deep Space Atomic Clock, which is beginning a year-long trial in space....

Media Platforms Design TeamResearchers at Georgia Tech have designed a computer program that builds new Super Mario Bros. levels from scratch. More stunning than that, however, is that the program teaches itself to build these levels by watching gameplay videos of the classic scroller on YouTube.There are tons of videos of the original Super Mario Bros. on YouTube, with players jumping, gathering coins, stepping on Goombas, and traveling through pipes. The AI of the program focuses on areas where players spend the most time to determine what obstacles and items (like coins) constitute the key parts of gameplay....

Media Platforms Design TeamIf the Mars Science Laboratory survives its do-or-die landing in the wee hours of the morning of August 6 (U.S. Eastern Time), its Curiosity rover will begin searching Mars’ Gale Crater for evidence of life-friendly chemistry and climates in the Red Planet’s past. But as the world watches for the rover’s arrival, scientists and Mars exploration boosters wonder if Curiosity will turn out to be our high-water mark—the last in the U....

The next time you see a hulking cargo ship plying the ocean, you could be looking at a sailboat. The shipping industry has begun to experiment with rotating towers that can be installed on ships to harness wind, but in a much more high-tech way than rigging up canvas.These spinners are called rotor sails, and they take advantage of a physics quirk to push a boat forward. You might recall the Magnus Effect from demonstrations such as throwing a basketball with a lot of backspin from the top of a towering dam....

Media Platforms Design TeamWhat happens when I deposit a check using my bank’s phone app? Is it secure?When it comes to depositing checks, smartphone apps function a lot like ATMs: A machine takes an image of the check and uses character recognition or manually entered numbers to record the amount deposited. (Your phone uses its camera to image the check, while an ATM uses a scanner.) To finalize the transaction, your bank verifies the routing and account numbers on the check against financial databases to make sure the check is legit, isn’t being deposited more than once and that the account it’s coming from has enough money....

Dutch police are getting some help to take down rogue drones from the sky’s most dangerous predator: eagles.The Dutch police force began training eagles to bring down drones in 2015, and now they’re finally ready. The eagles will be used to bring down drones in forbidden areas such as airports.Back in 2015, the Dutch police began working with security company Guard From Above to develop methods for bringing down drones. The methods included using eagles as well as other tools such as nets....

The world’s two first hydrogen-powered trains have begun service in Germany. The trains, which operate in between northern German towns, are a step away from traditional diesel power.According to a press release from Alstom, the trains’ French parent company, they are are “equipped with fuel cells which convert hydrogen and oxygen into electricity, thus eliminating pollutant emissions related to propulsion.” The trains, which promise a low-noise trip, can hit speeds up to 140 km/hr, or 86....

At the University of Illinois Department of Aerospace Engineering, researchers used computer simulations and algorithms to help find the best structural patterns for use in a non-pneumatic, puncture-proof tire.The scientists’ findings appear in the International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering.It turns out the shear layer, just beneath the tread, is the most forgiving part of the tire, stretching to meet new design requirements. Surely you’ve seen the light: You’re enjoying a regular, run-of-the-mill drive when suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, your tire pressure light begins to glow orange....

Wandera, a software-as-a-service firm specializing in mobile security, has identified 17 apps that install malware on iOS devices.Because these represent only a fraction of the offerings on the App Store, there are likely other offending apps, according to the company.We’ve rounded up other apps that you should also be wary of installing.Update: Oct. 25, 2019: An Apple spokesperson has told Popular Mechanics that the infected apps were removed from the App Store....

Media Platforms Design TeamMilky Way denizens, gather around. Let’s greet our new neighbor, Kks3. Spotted by Hubble, the tiny dwarf galaxy sits 7 million light years from here. It has 1/10,000th the mass of our own galaxy and its stars are relatively dim and short on raw material. Despite its small stature, though, it doesn’t appear to be a satellite galaxy orbiting a larger one. Rather, it’s part of a small class of dwarf spheroidal galaxies, which lack gas and dust and tend to take on roughly the shape of a sphere....

Yeah, you could break out the snow tires when the cold weather comes, but why just stop there? Todd Anderson, a mechanic from Ottowa, must have asked himself that very same question before he replaced the wheels on his smart car with treads and skis. The converted car sports ATV treads on the back, and custom-made skis where the front two wheels used to be. Since it’s a rear-wheel drive vehicle, the conversion works pretty well, with top speeds of up around 40 miles an hour....

Rocketry can take you in a number of directions—and not always “up.” For a cadre of NASA rocketeers, their passion for spaceflight has taken them to one of the most remote launchpads in the world: Kwajalein Island in the deep Pacific.“In my mind, we’re the cowboys of space,” Nathan Empson says in an email from the remote military base and rocket range. He’s the operations manager of the sounding rocket office at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, but his team doesn’t always stay there....

Media Platforms Design TeamDETROIT — Mercedes plans to introduce a small SUV that will compete directly with the BMW X3 model and other entry-level luxury types from Europe and Asia. For now, we’ll call it the GLK. The vehicle is a first for Mercedes, since its chassis is based on the design of the C-Class sedan—with some reinforcement, of course.Smaller than the ML, the new model will fit at the bottom of Mercedes’ truck lineup and should carry a price tag to match....

Media Platforms Design Team CHICAGO — A bump in horsepower and a mild facelift highlight the 2009 Eclipse that the Mitsu team will show here in the metal this week. There’s more power in both engines, with the 2.4-liter MIVEC Four in the GS version now rated at 162 hp, and the GT-exclusive 3.8-liter V-6 bumping up to 265 hp, plus a full dual exhaust system. The GS will come with a 5-speed manual with a 4-speed automatic optional (and optional aluminum pedals), while the GT will come with a 6-speed manual with a 5-speed automatic optional, plus paddle shifting....