Alessandro Volta and how “volts” came to be named after him.

Alessandro Volta was an Italian physicist who was a great pioneer in the field of electricity. The electric unit known as “volts” was named in honor of him.

A spider’s web is one of the strongest and stickiest substances known to man (relatively speaking, it is stronger even than steel). A single spider can spin an intricate web in less than an hour after which, she (yes, we refer to spiders as “she” – ask the boys – they’ll explain why) waits around…

Our Sun is an ordinary star although it is quite large compared to other stars. In terms of “mass”, most stars have less than half the mass of our Sun. You could fit 109 Earths across the Sun. The Romans called the Sun “sol” (as in SOlar).

Here’s some little tidbits about tornados that Geek Slop thought would blow you away…

Hi, my name is Ian and I hate Starbucks

Scientists have just discovered a new dinosaur and this one is a supersized chicken-like reptile. We call it Chickzilla but the scientists with no sense of humor have named it Anzu wyliei (to give them credit, they did laughingly call it “the chicken from hell”). This bad boy has sharp claws but a pointy toothless…

If a private spaceflight doesn’t fit your travel budget, NASA’s new interactive lunar atlas may be the next best thing. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter team has stitched together 10,581 images into a gorgeous, detailed online map of the moon’s north pole.

Razor blades found attached to playground equipment in East Moline, Illinois

Monsters of a different kind emerged in Illinois yesterday. Police say a two-year-old child was injured with cuts to his hand after a bizarre visit to Millennium Park in East Moline, Illinois. Authorities report they found at least a dozen razor blades glued to playground equipment in up-turned positions along handrails, swing handles, and monkey…