Technically Fiction
Finding facts in the fantastic
- Animals
How can Baby Yoda be 50 years old?
Animals with wings, big bodies or other protections from predators are more likely to evolve long lifespans.
- Animals
Splatoon characters’ ink ammo was inspired by real octopuses and squid
In Nintendo’s Splatoon game series, Inklings and Octolings duke it out with weapons that fire ink. How does this ink compare with that of real octopuses and squid?
- Chemistry
Could we make vibranium?
The ‘perfect’ metal may belong to the fictitious Marvel world of Wakanda, but scientists hope to one day mimic some of its key traits.
- Animals
Monstrous mammals would break the body rules
Giant mammals and people thunder through our movies and books. But real mammals can only get so large before they can’t take the heat.
- Physics
Staying grounded in space requires artificial gravity
On TV, people in space walk around like they’re on Earth. How can science give real astronauts artificial gravity? Spin right round, baby.
- Animals
How do you build a centaur?
A centaur has the torso of a human and the body of a horse. It may sound cool, but it wouldn’t work very well.
- Tech
Tracking Santa with science
Santa may be magical. But the North American Aerospace Defense Command (or NORAD) uses science to track his journey.
- Physics
Here’s how giant pumpkins get so big
Cinderella took a ride in a pumpkin coach. Though real pumpkins do get big enough, here’s why their ride would be uncomfortable at best.
- Archaeology
Women like Mulan didn’t need to go to war in disguise
Female skeletons in Mongolia show injuries like those of fighting men — evidence that they could be warriors, too.
- Animals
Minecraft’s big bees don’t exist, but giant insects once did
Big bees buzz in Minecraft. In our world, blocky bees might starve and be stuck on the ground. Yet long ago, giant insects did roam our planet.
- Animals
What would it take to make a unicorn?
Onward’s dumpster-diving unicorns seem like an impossibility. But scientists have some ideas about how unicorns could become real.
- Physics
Frozen’s ice queen commands ice and snow — maybe we can too
In the Frozen movies, Elsa magically manipulates snow and ice. But scientists, too, make snowflakes. If they reinforce it, architects can build with ice and snow.
