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• Aquatic Ape Hypothesis (AAH)plugin-autotooltip__plain plugin-autotooltip_bigAquatic Ape Hypothesis (AAH)
  
  The idea that humans might have had predominantly aquatic origins dates back at least as far as 1942 when German biologist Maximilian Westenhöfer drew attention to the facts that humans are mostly hairless, have large deposits of subcutaneous fat, and that children are sometimes born with 'webbing' between the fingers and toes.
• Limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy (LATE)plugin-autotooltip__plain plugin-autotooltip_bigLimbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy (LATE)
  
  LATE describes a prevalent age-related medical condition which leads to impaired memory and thinking. It's extremely common in people over 85 - some recent studies putting the rate as high as 60% (

• Chemical bondingplugin-autotooltip__plain plugin-autotooltip_bigChemical bonding
  
  Chemistry textbooks normally describe three types of chemical bonds - the strong attraction between atoms, ions or molecules that enables the formation of all chemical compounds.
  
  * The Ionic bond * The Covalent bond (see notes below)
• Tip of the tongueplugin-autotooltip__plain plugin-autotooltip_bigTip of the tongue
  
  "Tip of the tongue (or TOT) is the phenomenon of failing to retrieve a word from memory, combined with partial recall and the feeling that retrieval is imminent. The phenomenon's name comes from the saying, "It's on the tip of my tongue." The tip of the tongue phenomenon reveals that lexical access occurs in stages.
• Ship tracks (climate impact)plugin-autotooltip__plain plugin-autotooltip_bigShip tracks (climate impact)
  
  Ship tracks are pollution-seeded clouds caused by the exhaust gases from commercial shipping vessels. They were first discovered in NASA satellite images in the 1960s. They usually follow broad linear tracks similar to the 'contrails' from aircraft. They can be hundreds of kilometers long and sometimes persist for several days. (
• Lottery ticket swapsplugin-autotooltip__plain plugin-autotooltip_bigLottery ticket swaps
  
  Because the results of (well constructed) lotteries are essentially random, no one ticket is any more likely to win than any other. However, several studies have shown that those who are in possession of a lottery ticket are usually very reluctant to swap it
• Nazca linesplugin-autotooltip__plain plugin-autotooltip_bigNazca lines
  
  The Nazca Lines are an extensive, man-made set of 'geoglyphs' (earth signs) created in the Nazca Desert in southern Peru. The majority are in the form of simple straight lines, but there are also depictions of animals, plants, tools. and geometric forms etc.
• Aquatic Ape Hypothesis (AAH)plugin-autotooltip__plain plugin-autotooltip_bigAquatic Ape Hypothesis (AAH)
  
  The idea that humans might have had predominantly aquatic origins dates back at least as far as 1942 when German biologist Maximilian Westenhöfer drew attention to the facts that humans are mostly hairless, have large deposits of subcutaneous fat, and that children are sometimes born with 'webbing' between the fingers and toes.
• Gamma-ray burstsplugin-autotooltip__plain plugin-autotooltip_bigGamma-ray bursts
  
  Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) were first discovered by satellites originally intended to scan for nuclear weapon detonations.They range from bursts of ten milliseconds to several hours, and also have differing energy levels. They are generally unexplained.
• Microbiome interactionsplugin-autotooltip__plain plugin-autotooltip_bigMicrobiome interactions
  
  "The human gut harbors trillions of invisible microbial inhabitants, referred to as the microbiota, that collectively produce thousands of unique small molecules. The sources and biological functions of the vast majority of these molecules are unknown.
• Limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy (LATE)plugin-autotooltip__plain plugin-autotooltip_bigLimbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy (LATE)
  
  LATE describes a prevalent age-related medical condition which leads to impaired memory and thinking. It's extremely common in people over 85 - some recent studies putting the rate as high as 60% (
• Venus Flytrap mechanismplugin-autotooltip__plain plugin-autotooltip_bigVenus Flytrap mechanism
  
  The Venus Flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) is a well-known carnivorous plant native to the sub-tropical wetlands of the US.
  
  The 'trap' structure snaps shut when insects or spiders repeatedly touch specialised 'trigger hairs' on the trap's upper surface.
• General Anaestheticsplugin-autotooltip__plain plugin-autotooltip_bigGeneral Anaesthetics
  
  A general anaesthetic is a drug that brings about a reversible loss of consciousness.* [ see note below ]
  
  In formal use since 1842 - the first public demonstration used Diethyl ether to carry out surgery. (Though it's likely that alcohol, another chemical classed as an anaesthetic, was previously used, extensively, for similar purposes).
• Perfect Cuboidsplugin-autotooltip__plain plugin-autotooltip_bigPerfect Cuboids
  
  A 'Perfect Cuboid' (also called a Perfect Euler Brick) is a (proposed) cuboid whose space diagonal also has integer length. That's to say a2 + b2 + c2 = g2 (where a, b, c are the sides and g is the diagonal).
  
  The problem of their existence (or not) goes back at least as far as mathematiciian Paul Halcke, 300 years or so ago.
• Triboluminescent tapeplugin-autotooltip__plain plugin-autotooltip_bigTriboluminescent tape
  
  When rolls of transparent adhesive tape are peeled, the relative motion between the two separating surfaces can produce electromagnetic radiation - an example of triboluminescence.
  
  In a darkened room, it can be seen as visible light, but the peeling action can also emit high energy photons in the x-ray band -
• Sexual reproductionplugin-autotooltip__plain plugin-autotooltip_bigSexual reproduction
  
  "The maintenance of sexual reproduction in a highly competitive world has long been one of the major mysteries of biology given that asexual reproduction can reproduce much more quickly as 50% of offspring in sexual reproduction are males, unable to produce offspring themselves."