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Why déjà vu happens, according to science
About two in three people have felt it. Researchers group the explanations into four families, and a few clever lab experiments help explain the feeling.
Why dogs seem to understand our emotions
An experiment showed dogs match facial expressions with tone of voice, including in humans. Here is what science knows, from tears to the oxytocin gaze, and what about cats.
Why some songs get stuck in your head
Fast tempo, a simple melody and one odd twist. A study of 3,000 people found what earworms have in common, plus tricks that actually help.
Why great music gives you chills
Musical chills light up the same reward areas tied to food and other pleasures. Here is what brain scans show and why some people never feel them.
What your favorite color says about you
A theory published in PNAS explains color preference through the things we link to each color, from clear skies to college team colors. Here is what is science and what is myth.
Why time seems to speed up as you get older
"Where did the year go?" A study of hundreds of people measured how fast time feels at different ages. Here is what changed, what did not, and how to slow it down.
Why you get butterflies in your stomach when you're nervous
Your brain and gut talk constantly, in both directions. Learn how the gut-brain axis works, why nerves show up in your stomach and a simple way to calm it.
Why you can't tickle yourself
Someone else tickles you and you cannot stand it. You try it on yourself and nothing happens. The difference is in the brain, not the skin.
The Mandela Effect: why so many people remember it wrong
A study showed that different people get the same image wrong in the same way. See what the research found about shared false memories.
Why do we dream? What science has found so far
EEG studies show where the brain dreams and suggest that dreaming about what we learn helps memory. See what is known and what is myth.
Why is the sky blue (and the sunset orange)?
The answer is in how sunlight scatters in the air. Understand the effect, why the sky is not violet and why clouds look white.
Why we don't remember our first years of life
Kids remember things from age 3, then forget them later. A study tracked that forgetting through childhood, and a 2025 Yale brain-imaging study showed babies do record memories.
Why we want to squeeze cute things
"Cute aggression" is real and has been studied. Why an overload of good feelings comes out as wanting to squeeze, what makes something cute and what brain scans show.
Why do we yawn when we see someone else yawn?
Seeing, hearing or even reading about a yawn makes you want to yawn. A study found contagion is strongest between people who are close. Plus what yawning is actually for.