It's all a matter of scale

This is cool...

Why are there no blue roses?

The Answer to Life, the Universe and Everything?

Useless, maybe. Boring, never!

Did you know...?

The Necessity of Doubt

Experience just how big the universe is in one mind-blowing interactive

Mind-blowing is certainly the (compound) word I would use to describe it. I find it amazing that there are stars with diameters greater than the distance between Earth and the Sun. And I love the way that's things are compared in size that you might never have considered comparing before, such as Halley's Comet, Deimos (Mars's second moon), and Mount Everest...

... or Rwanda, the Grand Canyon, and West Virginia - or even Italy and California for that matter.

To check out this amazing interactive for yourself, follow this link.

Scary

Watch the video 'Chasing Ice' and never think about Global Warming in quite the same way ever again.

Match Wits With The Kids

It's been more than five years since my revision guide Match Wits With The Kids was published, but some are still discovering the book for the first time. The latest review appeared back in November last year.

"I bought this book because I like learning new facts and also as an aid to encourage my ageing brain to exercise its little grey calls. The book is attractive, the range of topics it covers is immense and the book is written in an easy and pleasing style. My daughter has a 5 year old son and she is already having to search her brain to answer some of his questions and she worried what would happen in a few years time. I have bought her a copy and I know she will enjoy it for its own sake but also it will mean she is more confident when answering the walking question mark in a few years' time."

I love the phrase 'walking question mark'... If you'd like to pick up a copy of Match Wits With The Kids, click this link.

12 Mistakes Nearly Everyone Who Writes About Grammar Mistakes Makes

Read them for yourself here.

Learning has never been so much fun, apparently.

What can I say? It's sexist, it objectifies women, but I can see how this approach to education might appeal to a teenage boy, for example.

Do you know your counties from your countries?

How good's your Geography of the UK? More to the point, can you locate the counties of England on a map?

Well, can you? Follow this link to find out...

What each country leads the world in

Controversial? Definitely. But also quite a lot of fun, if viewed with tongue firmly in cheek.

For a close-up version of the map, follow this link.

The Entire History of the World Distilled Into a Single Gorgeous Chart (Allegedly)

(A slightly clearer copy of the Histomap can be found here.)

Happy Birthday Erwin Schrödinger!

Google celebrates Erwin Schrödinger's 126th birthday...

Thank goodness for teachers!

10 Urban Legends about Famous Scientists

We've all heard stories about killers in the back seat, but hapless heroines aren't the only ones who spawn urban legends. There are a number of urban legends about famous scientists. Some are funny, some are mere inaccuracies, and some are about committing murder by accident.

To find out more click this link.

Three Cheers for Teachers Everywhere!

Precision: The Measure of All Things

Professor Marcus du Sautoy - who is effectively a numerical evangelist, as well as a master storyteller - once again takes an unappetising premise and turns it into educational gold. 

'Precision: The Measure of All Things' explores humanity's obsession with compartmentalising the environment into ever-more-precise units of measurement - from the first cave paintings of the Cro-Magnons, to today's atomic clocks. In the first edition, du Sautoy charts the history of the metre and the second, and examines scientists' continuing efforts to redefine how time and length are quantified.

To find out more about the series, follow this link.

Bacterium-sized Bunny the future for Bionic Brains

Scientists in Japan have created a new material that can be shaped into complex, conductive 3-D structures. Get ready for your custom brain electrodes.

To read more about this story, click here.