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The Source of All Consciousness May Be a Black Hole, Some Physicists Believe

There’s an intriguing possibility that the emergence of conscious life is not just a coincidence, but an inevitable outcome of cosmic evolution.

By Tim Andersen

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Top Stories

a soldier holding a gun

Will the Army’s New Rifle—And the Bigger Bullets It Fires—Be Able to Take on Russian Body Armor?

The Army universally recognizes that its current 5.56mm bullet can’t defeat Russian body armor, and it’s easily out-ranged by the latest Russian small arms, experts tell us.

henrietta lacks

Henrietta Lacks Never Asked to Be Immortal

By Michael Natale

view of the glomar explorerr

Inside the CIA’s Quest to Steal a Soviet Sub

a frozen human brain inside a spinning ice cube 3d illustration

Could Freezing Your Brain Help You Live Forever?

By Ashley Stimpson

a divine touch with the unknown

Wild Theory Offers Reason We Haven’t Found Aliens

Dive Deeper

documents from stargate project

Inside the CIA’s Secret Mission to Use Mind Control to Spy on the Soviet Union

During the height of the Cold War, the CIA ran tests on people with paranormal abilities in an effort to unlock top-secret intel on foreign targets.

By Kimberly Hickok

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Trending Now

treasure chest

Kitchen Renovation Yields 17th Century Coin Hoard

kuda giri wreck, a shipwreck in maldives

A 152-Year-Old Shipwreck Found While Fishing

blue holes palau

Meet the Taam Ja': The World's Largest Blue Hole

electrolytic capacitors, multi color and many sizes

Discovery May Create New Breed of Capacitors

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Military & Defense

fujian aircraft carrier rendered in red and orange

To Rule the Seas, China Needed a Major Tech Breakthrough—It May Have Just Found One

drones in crosshairs

The U.S. Has Built an Unstoppable Microwave Weapon

the virginia class attack submarine pre commissioning unit missouri conducts sea trials, july 2, in the atlantic ocean missouri is scheduled to be commissioned july 31 at naval submarine base new london

This Is the Most Lethal Submarine in the Sea

fire trucks on a road

The Most Expensive Plane Crash in History

two fighter jets

Can America’s Aging F-16 Overpower Russia’s Su-35?

Stay Curious

Tech

arlo wireless doorbell camera

The Best Doorbell Cameras for Surveillance

a blue and white solar panel

The 4 Best Smart Bird Feeders for Your Backyard

milwaukee amazon warehouse tool sale

Amazon Warehouse Milwaukee Sale: Up to 42% Off

best wireless security camera

The Best Wireless Security Cameras for Your Home

Science

lights of the soul

Is Memory the Key to Understanding Consciousness?

red handed global damage

Simulations Warn of Earth Turning Inhospitable

el malpais big skylight hdr

Ancient Human Lava Tube Habitation Discovered

abstract reactor tokamak

Tungsten Tokamak Breaks Another Fusion Record

Space

planet earth from outer space global connected with colorful light trails

New Warp Drive Concept Is More Fact Than Fiction

quantum fluctuations, conceptual illustration

A Glitch in Einstein’s Theory of Relativity

martian landscape with lakes, water

Curiosity Finds Evidence of Mars’ Earth-Like Past

a spaceship blazes its way through space with ion propulsion

NASA's Ion Thruster Could Spawn a Space Revolution

Editor Tested and Selected

popular mechanics 2024 yard and garden awards

The 2024 Popular Mechanics Yard & Garden Awards

This spring’s best equipment for your yard and garden.

By Roy Berendsohn, Bradley Ford and Photography by Trevor Raab

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Flight

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Treasure Hunters Say They Found Amelia Earhart’s Plane. Now, They’re Looking for MH370.

bessie coleman with helmet and goggles, bi plane illustration

How Bessie Coleman's Sky-High Ambition Killed Her

a group of soldiers standing next to a plane

Can Smokejumpers Still Protect a World on Fire?

fingerprints, police sketch of db cooper

7 People Who Have Confessed to Being D.B. Cooper

amelia earhart in the cockpit of an airplane

Possible Evidence of Amelia Earhart’s Plane

Badass Military Machines

a plane flying in the sky

Why the F-15EX Is Such a Badass Plane

leopard 2 tank

Why the Leopard 2 Is Such a Badass Tank

By Kyle Mizokami

B-52 Badass Plane

Pop Mech Pro Pop Mech Pro

Why the B-52 Is Such a Badass Plane

By Alex Hollings

c5 galaxy

Pop Mech Pro Pop Mech Pro

Why the C-5 Galaxy Is Such a Badass Plane

By Kyle Mizokami

Learn Something New

Physics

a planet with stars and a galaxy

Could the Chair You Sit on Have a Soul?

human hands stretched out to the burning sun, ethereal and unreal concepts of universe, spiritual and natural powers otherwise, fires burning down the past life, natural disaster, climate change and global warming, inferno, hell and chaos ultimate conceptual shot

Immortality Is Impossible Until We Beat Physics

as fast as light

Quest for New Physics Hinges on New Accelerator

rainbow colored brain with lightning bolts all over it before a rainbow galaxy background with tiny stars

Is Consciousness Everywhere All at Once?

Deep Math

pool table

Billiards With Memory Creates Intricate Patterns

prime numbers

A Prime Numbers Study Is Stirring Up Controversy

portrait of french mathematician, pierre de fermat

Machines About to Tackle Fermat’s Last Theorem

numbers around a phantom face in black and blue

Can AI Help Solve Math’s Thorniest Mysteries?

Home & DIY

a wooden shop shelf holding some equipment

Presented by Castrol

How To Build Your Own Shop Shelves

using induction to heat a frozen nut

Presented by Castrol

Use Induction Heat to Break Free Rusted Bolts

front brake pads being replaced

Presented by Castrol

How to Replace Your Car’s Brakes

smart automatic transfer switch for stand by power

Presented by Castrol

Stand-by Power: Eco Flow’s Smart Home Panel 2

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Artificial Intelligence

seated robot artist painting on digital screen

AI Image Generators Will Blow Your Mind. Here Are the Best 3 Right Now

male face, illustration

Should We Worry About AI Reaching Singularity?

humanoid robots facing each other, illustration

Could AI Really Have Thoughts and Feelings?

robot hand holding a paint brush

Why You Should Try Using AI For Your DIY Projects

a tape measure spread across a wooden box with a phone displaying the chatgpt dashboard

I Tried to Learn Woodworking Through ChatGPT

More Great Stuff

Culture

walt disney head, clouds, dry ice

The Truth About Walt Disney’s Frozen Head

harry houdini with locked chains around wrists

Who Killed Harry Houdini?

dr j allen hynek holding pipe and ufo report, flying saucers

J Allen Hynek: The Man Who Made Us Watch the Skies

how a ship in a bottle is made

Watch a Master Craftsman Create a Ship in a Bottle

Editor Favorites

multicolored painted nebula

The Universe Could Be Eternal, This Theory Says

astronaut on moon collecting samples

The Incredible Case of NASA’S Missing Moondust

train car pile up

Inside the Final Minutes of a Horrible Train Wreck

close up of waves

The Engine Driving Our Oceans Could Die by 2100

Conspiracy Theories

close up image of full moon as seen in the northern hemisphere

The Strange Origin of the Hollow Moon Conspiracy

nasa captured this image during the sts 88 space shuttle mission while 246 miles above the coast of namibia and looking north

Presented by Pop Mech Pro

The Truth About the ‘Black Knight’ Satellite

roman empire

Why Some People Deny the Roman Empire Ever Existed

portrait of challenger crew

Why Challenger Conspiracy Theories Persist

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Our Planet

helium periodic table element, mining, science, nature, innovation, chemical elements used in physics and other sciences

A Hidden Helium Bonanza Has Suddenly Appeared in Minnesota

melting icecaps global warming

This 'Cage of Cages' Stores CO2 Faster Than Trees

black smoker in the pacific

5 Hydrothermal Vents Have Appeared in the Ocean

earth's magnetic field, the earth, the solar wind, the flow of particles

Earth’s Magnetic Field Is 3.7 Billion Years Old

piles of sand and gravel for the construction industry

Covering Fields in Concrete Could be a Good Thing

Live the POP Life

Cars & Trucks

a coffee cup and a coffee mug

The Best Car Cup Holder Adapters in 2024

a person spraying water on a car

Presented by Castrol

How To Wash Your Car

best car tools, car maintenance, diy car maintenance

Presented by Castrol

The Best Car Tools to Keep Up With Maintenance

caucasian boy watching father work on car engine

Presented by Castrol

How to Change Your Oil And Filter

Adventure

self supporter mature couple on camping vacations in the mountains enjoying breakfast

Best RV Solar Panels for Self-Sufficient Power

yeti roadie 32

The Yeti Roadie 32 Is Now Available

a green cooler

The Best Camping Coolers for Summer Adventures

best inflatable kayaks

The Best Inflatable Kayaks

Gear & Gadgets

best umbrella stands

The Best Umbrella Stands of 2024

greenworks 48 volt electric chainsaw and two batteries

Save 45% on This Greenworks Chainsaw at Amazon

ecoflow river 2 portable power station

This EcoFlow Solar Generator Is 43% Off at Amazon

smokeless fire pit testing

The Best Smokeless Fire Pits for Backyard Bonfires

The Latest

self supporter mature couple on camping vacations in the mountains enjoying breakfast

Best RV Solar Panels for Self-Sufficient Power

home garden hedge meadow and trees robotic mower

The Best Robot Lawn Mowers

yard cart

The Best Garden Carts of 2024

outdoor projector screen

The Best Outdoor Movie Screens for DIY Drive-Ins

a pair of jackets on a wall

Overhaul Your Shop

The Best Nugget Ice Maker Is Nearly 30% Off Now

best garden hose reels

The Best Garden Hose Reels for Any Outdoor Space

lights of the soul

Is Memory the Key to Understanding Consciousness?

planet earth from outer space global connected with colorful light trails

New Warp Drive Concept Is More Fact Than Fiction

red handed global damage

Simulations Warn of Earth Turning Inhospitable

el malpais big skylight hdr

Ancient Human Lava Tube Habitation Discovered

best umbrella stands

The Best Umbrella Stands of 2024