The woman who saved a forest and its species
The Niger Delta red colobus monkey lives in a swamp so dense and remote that scientists did not formally describe it until 1993. By 2021,…
Author: The Smart Reader Staff
Briefs and quick reads selected and edited by The Smart Reader's editorial team.
National Preparedness Month
How to get through a multi-day power outage It does not take a wildfire or a hurricane to leave a house dark for days. A…
Town’s mayor is a very good boy
The western Minnesota township of Cormorant, population about 1,400, has held honorary mayoral elections since 2014 — and a human has never won. The first…
What a kitchen fire spray can and can’t do
The little aerosol fire spray in the kitchen drawer may not last as long as homeowners expect. According to Consumer Reports, the cans carry only…
The best desk setup still can’t beat getting up
Even a perfectly arranged desk will not rescue a body that holds one position for hours. According to the Mayo Clinic, the most useful ergonomic…
When a child can’t see, they rarely say so
A child who needs glasses usually does not complain, because blurry vision is all they have ever known, and they assume everyone sees the world…
A German fan came for the World Cup and fell for Buc-ee’s
The world came to North America for soccer this summer. One German tourist stayed for the gas stations. A young fan known online as “Freddy…
This year’s fair food has gone gloriously off the rails
Somewhere between the Ferris wheel and the prize hogs, the American fair has become the place where dinner goes to lose its mind. Two exhibits…
A pigeon’s compass may sit in its liver
How a homing pigeon finds its way home across hundreds of unfamiliar miles has puzzled scientists for more than a century. A surprising new study…
Why plain water isn’t always the best drink in the heat
For workers sweating through a shift outdoors or in a hot plant, the most surprising hydration advice is that plain water is not the drink…