“Hairy panic” is a weed that’s wreaking havoc in a small Australian town. The panic in its name has nothing to do with extreme anxiety or overpowering fear. Hairy panic, also known as panic grass, in the scientific genus Panicum...
A Kentucky cross-country runner had a case of hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia, or fear of the number 666. This is part of a complete episode.
Michel de Montaigne once wrote, “A man who fears suffering is already suffering from what he fears.” This is a classic example of chiasmus, or a reversal of clauses that together make a larger point. This is part of a complete episode.
What is it about lifelike robots and the humanoid characters in movies like The Polar Express that feels so disturbing? Robotics scientist Masahiro Mori dubbed this phenomenon the uncanny valley. There are lots of interesting articles explaining...
A Fort Worth listener wonders about a claim she saw in a 1930s magazine. The article said that traditionally, a picket line was an area between the front lines of two opposing armies where soldiers might safely venture out to pick berries without...
A Wellesley College student has been reading about the Victorian fear of being buried alive—also known as taphophobia—and the bizarre 19th-century burial practices associated with it. She’s heard that they gave rise to such expressions as dead...