Why We’re Partly to Blame for Saddam

November 7, 2006
In a devastating article in the British newspaper The Independent, Robert Fisk writes that Saddam Hussein, who has just been sentenced to death for his war crimes, committed these crimes when he was "Washington's best friend in the Arab world."... continued

Did Your Vote Count?

November 7, 2006
Many of the paperless computerized voting systems adopted in wake of the "hanging chad" presidential election controversy in 2000 have the potential to create more problems than they solve, especially since the recent discovery that a Diebold voting machine can... continued

We’re Waking Up to Climate Change

November 6, 2006
A new poll shows that most Americans now think that climate change is one of our biggest problems. Here at unknowncountry.com, we take some of the credit for that awareness. While the subject of global warming is rarely raised in... continued

Fish Emergency

November 6, 2006
There is an emergency going on in the world's oceans that most of us know nothing about: as certain species of fish that are overfished or stressed due to pollution or changes in water temperature become drastically reduced in number,... continued

What Stinks?

November 6, 2006
Here at unknowncountry.com, we sometimes like to investigate strange smells. Scientists are people who like to ask questions about things that the rest of us take for granted?like WHY do things start to smell when they decay? Microbes compete with... continued

Slavery Still Exists Today

November 3, 2006
As hard as it may be to believe, slavery is still going on in the world. Angela Robson reports in the Independent that it is definitely still practiced in rural villages in Africa. Robson writes, "Trokosi is a traditional practice... continued

Elephant Wisdom

November 3, 2006
Five years ago, we reported that a dolphin recognizes himself when it sees its image in a mirror. Now it has been discovered that elephants do too. Scientists think that this is a true test of self-awareness. Peter Aldhous writes... continued

Birth Control for Men (Cont.)

November 3, 2006
Over the years, we?ve regularly reported on the progress of every woman?s dream: a birth control pill for men. This new day may be dawning soon. Jeanna Bryner writes in LiveScience.com that researchers have discovered that male mice that have... continued

How Will the Weather Change Where YOU Are?

November 2, 2006
We recently reported that climatologists are using supercomputers to try to figure out exactly how global warming will affect different parts of the world. Researcher Cameron Wake says, "The very notion of the Northeast as we know it is at... continued

The Smell of Money

November 2, 2006
Why do our fingers have a musty, "metallic" odor after handling coins? It turns out we?re not really smelling the coins, we're smelling a kind of body odor. And there's a reason we can smell it: it helped our hunter... continued