“The limit to how fast a human can run is 9.48 seconds for the 100-meter race, 0.10 seconds faster than Usain Bolt’s current world record, according to Stanford biologist Mark Denny. That is, if you are talking about natural human beings. In a 2008 study published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, Denny modeled the fastest human running speed using records of men’s 100-meter race results going back to the 1900s. Denny plotted the annual best times in the race into a graph and used computer programs to come up with an equation whose curve best models the behavior of the actual graph he obtained. The curve showed humanly achievable time for the 100-meter race would level off at 9.48 seconds. ‘They haven’t plateaued yet, but you can definitely see the data are bending a little towards that plateau,’ Denny says.” w/ photo

“Serious problems like liver damage are rare, but pain is highly likely from a belly flop. The large surface area of the stomach and chest brings about a greater force of resistance from the water. Sure, the belly flop is a crowd pleaser, but at what cost?” — geobeats

“Spice tolerance: Is it nature or nurture? As with most things, it’s a little bit of both. To really understand how spice tolerance works, you have to know the basics of taste perception. ‘What people call taste is actually flavor,’ explains Dr. Bruce Bryant… Flavor has three components: taste, olfactory sense, and trigeminal sense. The various tastes that the body senses are sweet, sour, salty, bitter, umami, and possibly fattiness. These work in conjunction with your olfactory senses to produce the sensations people mistake for one-dimensional taste. ‘A fruit is sweet and/or sour, but the inherent fruitiness is your nose smelling all the compounds,’ Bryant says. ‘It’s your nose that allows you to tell the difference between eating an apple and a pear.” w/ photos

“With all the sexual perversions that you can find on the internet, did you ever wonder what exactly are people trying to look at. Well you’re in luck, the infographic below covers interesting statics on human sexuality. Categories include: search engine requests, popular sexual material, biggest taboo breakdown, average lifetime of sexual partners, and so much more. Did this graphic get your motor running? If so, check out the leading online adult product retailer since 1995.”

Click here to see a bigger version.

“In High Country, Motherboard heads to Denver — ground zero for cannabis legalization, and home to a booming tech sector in what could be called the Silicon Valley of weed — to inhale the newest high-tech highs. We visit the key players scaling up this new green tech, wrap our heads around all the money to be made, crack open the confusing science of America’s No. 1 cash crop, and smoke dabs.” — VICE

“They say it takes two to tango and three’s a crowd. The clichés apply even in the the world of an octopus.” — NatGeo

“Visit a factory in Yiwu, China, where workers use 500,000 tons of polyethylene plastic to make five million Lucy dolls each year.”

“About 10% of the world population is left-handed. But why does handedness exist and what determines which hand is dominant? Scientists have suggested several theories, but the answer may well lie with evolution.” — scishow

“Walk along a California beach on a warm summer day, and there are sure to be dozens of men and women, spread out on their towels, soaking in as much sun as they can. Sure enough, about six months later, in the cool months of January, February, and March, that same tan they worked so hard to obtain is… gone. What happened? The short answer: it fell off. The long answer? Let’s start with how we…” w/ photos

“Starting at an early age, women of the Padaung tribe wear a coil of brass rings around their necks. This collar, and the elongated appearance it gives their necks over time, are Padaung symbols they wear proudly. In their native Myanmar, Padaung people often faced persecution over these visible tribal symbols. Now, having relocated to a Thailand refugee camp, these Padaung women continue this centuries-old custom, memorializing the struggles of the past and maintaining a link to their tribe’s history.”