Inside the Crazy World of Olympic Pin Trading
Here in Rio, Olympic pins are the focus of a thriving barter economy. The post Inside the Crazy World of…
You Could Roll on Land or the Seafloor in This Fanciful Concept Car
The Libelule is spherical vehicle with two large wheels that allow it to travel almost anywhere. The post You Could…
Why We Shouldn’t Go to Mars: We Might Decimate the Martians
Inside NASA’s Office of Planetary Protection, where they don’t worry about what Martians could do to us, but what our…
Politicians Don’t Want to Kiss Your Baby—They Want Selfies!
Campaign photos used to be controlled and stately. Thanks to the Internet, that’s not possible anymore. The post Politicians Don’t…
How to Host the Olympics and Actually Improve Your City’s Transit
The games may seem like a great way to spark transit improvements, but making that work isn’t easy. The post…
Check Out Every Olympic Event Ever in One Handy Infographic
From archery to water motorsports and everything in between — including basque pelota, tug-of-war and jeu de paume — we…
Rio Throws An Upbeat, Gold-Medal Olympic Dance Party
Directed by “City of God” filmmaker Fernando Meirelles, the event celebrated history, diversity—and getting down. The post Rio Throws An…
Sponsors Are Playing Moneyball to Snag Unsung Olympians
It turns out you don’t have to be the most popular Olympian to help sponsors make a splash with their…
Mathematicians Are Building a Unified Theory of Geometric Randomness
Researchers have uncovered deep connections among different types of random objects, illuminating hidden geometric structures. The post Mathematicians Are Building…
Recognize: NBC Invented the Modern Olympics Telecast
The nightly telecast of the Olympic Games feels entirely natural. But it is a rigorously artificial product, born of a…