Maris Fessenden

 

Maris Fessenden is a freelance science writer and artist who appreciates small things and wide open spaces.

A domed building serves as the village center and is visible from everywhere in Matavenero, Spain

Spain Has Turned a Ghost Town Into an Off-Grid Eco-Village

A photographer documents the remote, self-sufficient lifestyle

The Mason jar can even be used to serve oatmeal -- though other containers might be better suited for this particular stunt.

How Mason Jars Went from Thrifty to Hip

One jar that can be used to store pickles, serve cocktails and, with some craftiness, light up a room (just not all at the same time)

This Man Tracked his Sneezes for Five Years and Fixed his Pollen Allergy

What a little bit of data about health can do

A map of antineutrinos leaving Earth, where blue is less activity and red more

Here is a Map of Earth’s Antineutrinos

Antineutrinos are the antimatter siblings of the elusive particles called neutrinos and show up where radioactive materials decay

A statue of goddess Durga in Kolkata — India was the location of the first recorded nose job

The Nose Job Dates Back to the 6th Century B.C.

But for a long time, the nose was built up instead of shaved down

An illustration of Titanosaurs nesting — the large group the museum-bound specimen belongs to

The Biggest Dinosaur to Walk the Earth Will Soon Be in a Museum

The as-yet-unnamed sauropod was about 130 feet long and will barely fit in the American Museum of Natural History in New York City

Mexican free-tailed bats leaving Bracken Cave in Texas

Saving Bats Could Reduce Pesticide Use

People already install bat houses to attract the insect-eating mammals, but one researcher is working to quantify exactly how much they may help

Netflix Has Figured Out The Exact Moment Viewers Get Addicted to a Show

It doesn’t take many episodes

Humans Have a Unique Death Smell

Figuring out the chemical signature of death could help train dogs that aid law enforcement

Stonehenge after the 2008 restoration

A Man Once Bought Stonehenge for his Wife, and She Was not Pleased

Or at least, so the story goes of a British barrister’s decision to purchase the neolithic site for the equivalent of about $1 million

People Can’t Tell Which of Their Toes Is Being Touched

The piggy that stayed home and the piggy that got roast beef get mixed up the most

This is the First Detailed Public Map of the U.S. Internet Infrastructure

The location of major cables was once a secret, but now researchers hope knowledge of it will spark conversations on how to keep the system safe

Brooke Shields filming a shampoo commercial

How to Pose Like a 1980s Model

A collection of clips from real videos proves to be silly — and not just due to the fashion of the 1980s

Samuel L. Clemens in 1909

Mark Twain Was not a fan of the Mona Lisa

"The complexion was bad; in fact it was not even human," he wrote of Da Vinci’s mysterious smiling lady

New Zealand North Island Robin

How to Give a Robin an IQ Test

Testing whether individual animals are smarter than others of their species is tricky

This Tower Scrubs the Air of Smog

The project is intended to draw attention to the problem of air pollution

Ancient people may have ground up wild oats

Flour Was Part of the Human Diet 32,000 Years Ago

A stone pestle inside an Italian cave bears traces of starch from wild oats

Screenshot from "How to Make a Sandwich - Chapter 11 Assembly"

Making a Sandwich From Scratch Took This Man Six Months

The chicken sandwich also racked up a total cost of $1,500

Screenshot from "Camera Restricta"

This Camera Refuses to Take Clichéd Photos

An art project demands a unique perspective of its user

Reaching the End of a Task Makes People More Likely to Cheat

A study shows that when given a repetitive task and the ability to get away with cheating, people will be sneaky

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