What a plastic bag in the Mariana Trench can tell us
A 1998 observation put plastic almost 11 kilometers below the surface. The evidence is striking — but the bag’s journey remains unknown.
Read the story02 / Look closer
Surprising science, overlooked history, and a planet with plenty left to teach us.
Beyond Space
A 1998 observation put plastic almost 11 kilometers below the surface. The evidence is striking — but the bag’s journey remains unknown.
Read the storyFollow the charging cable beyond the car to explore electricity, batteries and lifecycle emissions.
Explore ocean depth, pressure and the challenge of picturing the distance to Challenger Deep.
Explore the changing purpose of a landmark that was never meant to be permanent.
A deep-sea observation raises a question: how can material that floats make its way down?
Follow the chain of events that connected a lake, a drill and a salt mine.
Rock art opens a window onto a landscape and a climate very different from today's desert.
Explore what the material in an archaeological object can reveal about its journey.
Compare an extraordinary drilling project with the scale of the planet below our feet.
Look beyond the ruined exterior to the monument's visitors, mosaics and political history.
What clock comparisons can measure, what uncertainty means, and why a very large number needs context.
The everyday engineering choices behind overhead lines, buried cables and repairs.
Video links are not available yet.
The standards, installed systems and everyday decisions behind familiar plugs.
A notebook connects the history of radioactivity with the physical traces research can leave behind.
An illustrated introduction to Tesla and the electrical technologies associated with his work.