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Hummingbirds have long been admired for their striking jewel-like plumage and minute size. With over 356 recognized species, these dainty creatures are found all the way from Alaska to the southernmost part of South America. And though they are the smallest members of the avian community, they have the largest brains (in proportion to their bodies) and are known to be quite smart! A hummingbird will remember every flower it has ever visited, and how long the plant will take to refill with nectar....

Just about five months ago, Leo Grand's life looked pretty bleak. Homeless since losing his job at Metropolitan Life in 2011, he spent his days panhandling on the streets of and nights, seeking out a safe place to sleep. Then in late August, a young man made him a strange offer that changed his life....

Sweden's ICEHOTEL is known for many things - Its 'out of this world' location, gorgeous architecture and even freezing comfort. But the one thing it is not, is longevity! The hotel located in the village of Jukkasjärvi has to be rebuilt from scratch every year because it is carved entirely from ice blocks that melt when the summer comes along. The great part about that is, each rendition gets increasingly better!...

Today is Friday the 13th, the second and last one that we will have to encounter in 2013! While to most of us it signifies the start of another carefree weekend, there are some people that consider today to be extremely unlucky. As you probably know, the number 13 has a bad reputation to begin with. This is the reason many office and residential towers often skip the 13th floor altogether. However, when that date falls on a Friday, the fear factor seems to escalate to a whole new level....

Though the comet of the century, ISON, may have the dependable annual Geminid showers have arrived and will be in full blossom starting today, Thursday, December 12th, all the way through to Monday, December, 16th. Nicknamed the 900-pound gorilla of meteor showers by NASA, they outweigh other dust streams by factors of between 5 to 500!...

Saturday, December 7th, marked the 72nd Anniversary of the 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu. The surprise attack was conducted on the Hawaiian naval base by Japan's Imperial army to try stop the United States from interfering with the country's attempt to expand its wealth and influence, by conquering neighboring Southeast Asian countries. Fearing that the US Pacific Naval Base would foil their plans, the Japanese decided to try cripple its entire fleet....

Not being a 'math person' is something that is not only asserted pretty frequently, but also, accepted very readily. According to a 2010 survey conducted by Change the Equation three out of ten Americans believe that they are 'bad' at math, while over half of 18-34 year-old's seem to have convinced themselves that they just can't tackle numbers....

Though the discovery of dinosaur fossils is always an exciting event, the remains of one that roamed North America about 100 million years ago, is even more so. That's because while paleontologists have extensive knowledge about the Tyrannosaurus-rex that dominated the arena in the late Cretaceous period (about 60 million years ago), very little is known about the ones that ruled the roost during the intermediate period....

On Sunday, December 1st, Jeff Bezos the founder and CEO of retail giant Amazon sent shock waves across the nation with his announcement that within a few years, the company would be using aerial drones to make deliveries. Called Amazon Prime Air, it will be available to transport packages of up to five pounds within a ten miles radius of one of the company's numerous fulfillment centers....

When words like 'complex machines' and 'ingenious engineers' are used to describe something, the last thing that comes to mind is the drab mushroom, the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus. But that is exactly what Emilie Dressaire, professor of experimental fluid mechanics from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, is calling them after discovering that these amazing toadstools possess the capability of creating their own microclimate....

A nondescript battered book filled with spelling errors just became the world's most expensive printed book. On Tuesday, November 26th, US philanthropist David ­Rubenstein paid $14.2 million USD to own a copy of the first book printed in British North America - The Whole Book of Psalmes or as it is better known today, the Bay Psalm Book....

While over 46 million turkeys are getting ready to take center stage at the dinner table this evening, two - Popcorn and his lucky spare, Caramel, are trotting away to George Washington's Mt. Vernon Estate and Gardens in Virginia, where they will impress visitors during the holidays, before moving to their permanent retirement home in Lessburg's Morven Park....

On Thursday, Jewish families residing in the US are in for a double treat - Thanksgiving and the first full day of Hanukkah, which begins today (November 27th), at sundown. Also known as the Festival of Lights, the last time these two special celebrations coincided was in 1888 and the next? Probably not for at least another 77,798 years, which means that for those that observe both, this is a once in a lifetime celebration!...

While above-ground active volcanoes in the Antarctica are nothing new, finding one that is buried deep inside its thick ice layer is certainly a first. The exciting discovery was revealed in the November issue of Nature Geoscience by researchers from the Washington University in St. Louis, who stumbled upon the frozen continent's well-kept secret, accidentally....

On November 20th, 1998, a Russian rocket launched off with an unusual piece of cargo - Zarya ('sunrise' in Russian), the module that became the first piece of the largest manmade structure every built in space - The International Space Station (ISS). Designed to be the power source for the ISS, it orbited earth for two weeks, before being joined by Unity....

While the presence of rats in homes may cause anxiety and annoyance, they rarely result in driving out the residents. But that is exactly what happened to the inhabitants of the 10-square-mile Hawadax Island off the coast of Alaska, almost 230 years ago. Now thanks to a five-year effort by conservationists, the eerily silent 'Rat Island' as it had been dubbed for many years, has been returned to its rightful owners - birds!...

Stargazers all over the world are abuzz with excitement. That's because for the first time ever, comet ISON has started making its way through our inner solar system. While comets skirting by earth are nothing new, this one is being dubbed 'Comet of the Century', thanks to its orbit that takes it so close to the sun that it could result in an unprecedented cosmic scene, caused by the distinct bright tail created when the ice on the comet's body vaporizes....

A tiny clam that was dredged up from its home under the sea in 2006 and named world's oldest 'non-colonial' animal is making headlines again. That's because scientists had grossly miscalculated the age of the ancient mollusk. Turns out that Ming was not 405 years old as had been originally believed, but an astounding 507, when discovered....

On November 15th, the beautiful city of was under siege! With the Riddler and Penguin terrorizing its residents, Police Chief Greg Suhr, had no choice but to call everyone's favorite caped superhero - Batman or as it turns out was the case here, Batkid. No, this was not the filming of Batman Begins, but a citywide charade organized to fulfill the wish of a five-year-old boy by -based Make-A-Wish Foundation!...

For those of us that live in the United States and other developed nations, good quality education is something we take for granted. But such is not the case in most third world countries. In places like Kenya, access to schools is severely limited and even those that do exist are producing poor academic results. Now, thanks to an innovative 'out of the box' solution provided by Bridge International Academies, there may be hope....

The fact that non-human primates seem to like touchscreen computers as much as their human counterparts has been known for some time now - After all, the orangutans and gorillas of the Milwaukee Zoo have been 'enriching their lives' with iPads since 2011. Now, a new study asserts that exposing the animals to these devices not only makes their lives more interesting, but also, helps them relax and become friendlier....

If you live in a normal household chances are that there is constantly some bickering going on about the house being too cold or too hot. Now, thanks to an ingenious bracelet invented by the students from Cambridge-based Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), every household member can regulate his/her own body temperature and be perfectly comfortable....

We have heard of corporations incentivizing employees to get healthier by providing them with gym memberships or even gift cards, but gold from local government officials? That has to be a first! Turns out it is exactly what the flashy city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates did recently, to try get its residents to adopt a healthier lifestyle....

They say that when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. That certainly seems to be the philosophy 19-year-old George Dennehy has adopted all his life. For how else can you explain that despite being armless, the musician plays not one, but multiple instruments, all with his feet....