Why TV Show Seasons Begin in September

I had always assumed that September's back-to-school timing was the reason that television shows almost always began their new seasons at that time.  But in the early days of TV, the only major national advertisers were automobile companies.  And the car companies rolled out their new models in September, so that is when the big advertising dollars were up for grabs.  This TV-advertising model has been the standard ever since.

But now things are changing and viewers are demanding new content during the summer and at other non-traditional times.  The television executives are finally moving past the 1950's...

Why We Yawn, and Why Yawning is Contageous

It seems that the purpose of yawning may be to cool our brains, and the combination of yawning and stretching (pandiculation) makes us more alert and focused - which is helpful for a herd.  Empathy may also influence whether or not we yawn along with someone else.

Check out the video:

An Elephant Underpass

An underpass that has been constructed under a busy Kenyan highway provides a corridor that allows isolated elephants to move freely between areas.  Previously the elephants would face fences, cropland, traffic, and more - leading to conflict with humans.  The underpass is designed to re-create the historic migration routes of northern Kenyan elephant herds.

Newly Found Mayan Calendar Goes Beyond 2012

A new Mayan mural has been excavated that, among other things, includes date/time calculations that continue thousands of years beyond 2012.  So much for that doomsday myth...

The mural was found in an apparent workroom, where records were kept and calculations made and books (now disintegrated) were written.  It is the only room like it ever discovered.

Asteroid Mining

Sounds like dangerous work. But start-up company Planetary Resources is planning to do just that - send spacecraft to extract water and minerals from near-Earth asteroids.

You might be wondering how that could be even remotely profitable, but consider this:

Precious metals like platinum don't occur naturally in the Earth's crust, but are found in abundance in asteroids--a single asteroid could hold the equivalent of all the platinum ever mined on Earth. Other minerals found in asteroids include nickel and iron.

The company is backed by Google and Microsoft billionaires and hopes to launch the 1st spacecraft in two years.