Page Inspect

HowStuffWorks - Learn How Everything Works!

Mobile Menu

HowStuffWorks

Science Tech Home & Garden Auto Culture

More More

Health Money Animals Lifestyle Entertainment Quizzes

Mobile Newsletter

1

Submit Search

Search Close Search

- Science
- Tech
- Home & Garden
- Auto
- Culture
- Health
- Money
- Animals
- Lifestyle
- Entertainment

- Quizzes

Submit Search

Sign up for our Newsletter!

Mobile Newsletter banner close

​

HowStuffWorks Newsletter

Mobile Newsletter chat close

Mobile Newsletter chat dots

Mobile Newsletter chat dots

Mobile Newsletter chat dots

Mobile Newsletter chat avatar



Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe

""

10 Most Liberal Colleges Prioritizing Community and Experience

## Our Top Reads

10 Scariest Fish Lurking in Rivers, Deep Ocean Waters, and Shells

By Nico Avelle

What's the Best-selling Beer in the World? Not Budweiser

By Elena Tralwyn

Top 10 Democratic Countries, According to the Democracy Index

By Lena Thaywick

- HowStuffWorks on Facebook
- HowStuffWorks on Flipboard
- HowStuffWorks on Instagram

""

What's the Hardest Wood in the World?

""

10 of the Scariest Sea Creatures Lurking in the Ocean's Depths

""

13 Socialist Countries That Look Way Different From Each Other

""

10 Best Sword Enchantments in Minecraft

### Try Our Crosswords, Riddles and Puzzles!

""

Can You Solve This Riddle?  ""

Play Our Crossword!  ""

Can You Solve This Riddle?

## In the News

The Copperhead Snake Is Seldom Lethal But Always Venomous

April 13 By Zach Taras, John Perritano

Rube Goldberg: The Man Behind the Ingenious Contraptions

April 10 By Stell Simonton

Oedipus Complex: Digging Into Freud's Controversial Theory

April 10 By John Donovan

Neuschwanstein Castle: The Real Story Behind the Fairy-tale Fortress

April 10 By Dave Roos

The Ring of Fire Is the Pacific's Volcanic Hotspot

April 10 By Mark Mancini

What Is Zionism and Is It Fueling the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict?

April 9 By Dave Roos

""

How to See and Delete Your Google History  ""

What Does It Mean When Someone Says 'That's Just Semantics'?

## Did You Hear?
""

What Is the Hardest Sport in the World?

10 Best Minecraft Texture Packs to Customize Your Game

What Is a Group of Crows Called? Murder, Mob, and More

10 States With the Highest Crime Rates

10 Best Minecraft Mods to Breathe New Life Into Your Game

#### Science

What Causes Seasons? Earth's Tilt and Orbit

How Long Does It Take to Get to the Moon?

How Winemaking Works

The Milky Way: Understanding Our Place in the Galaxy

#### Culture

Why Not All Insurrections in the U.S. Are the Same

Who Keeps the Ring if the Engagement Ends in a Breakup?

How Quinceañeras Work

9 Types of Angels

#### Animals

Do Wolves Really Howl at the Moon?

Is the Blobfish Unjustly Cast as the World's Ugliest Animal?

Wasps Have an Image Problem, But Here's Why We Need Them

The Biggest Animal in the World and 7 Massive Contenders

#### Auto

How Do Exhaust Headers on a Car Work?

How a Manual Transmission Works

The Dirty Truth About How Often You Need Your Oil Changed

5 Famous Death Cars — Where Are They Now?

### Editor's Picks

""

The Sun Spider Is an Arachnid but Not an Actual Spider  ""

Did You Know There Are 23 Countries in North America?  ""

The Richest Family in the World Heads a Massive U.S. Chain

#### A River Runs Through It

""

The 9 Longest Rivers in the World: From the Nile to the Congo

When it comes to rivers, longest doesn't necessarily mean biggest, and length can be difficult to determine, so the top spot will always be debated.

""

Eco Engineers: 5 Animals That Can Reshape Earth's Waterways

""

River-bottom Bones: The Strange World of Underwater Fossil Hunting

""

What Is the World's Shortest River?

""

Mudlarkers Pull Historical Artifacts Out of Riverbank Muck

#### Get Your Garden On

""

Don't Toss That Joe! Use Diluted Coffee to Fertilize Plants

""

'Roly-poly' Bugs Are Great Garden Composters

""

How 'Lasagna Gardening' Helps Create Healthy Soil

""

How Composting Works

""

Companion Planting: The Do's and Don'ts of Growing Plants Together

Learn which plants benefit each other - and which plants shouldn't be neighbors - to get the most out of your garden.

#### Deserts of the World

""

5 of Earth's Highest Deserts

Not all deserts have sand and they're certainly not all hot. They're just extremely dry and have little vegetation. That means deserts are located all over the planet, including at super-high elevations.

""

10 Largest Deserts in the World

""

Hunting for Martians in the Most Extreme Desert on Earth

""

The Sahara Desert Is Getting Bigger

""

Saharan Dust: The Good, the Bad and the Gritty