Interesting Finds
What should you do with these things?
These are a bunch of cool facts, new discoveries, psychological concepts, medical advancements, and other inspiring finds around the internet. They are in no particular order. I have added to this page (and will continue to add to it) over time.
Feel free to look through articles and links with topics that most appeal to you, but remember that incredible insights also come from looking at things far away from your primary area of focus. So, look at random other topics as well!
In terms of Pillars, these articles could inspire your own independent research, or possibly a project for fun or service. These links are largely more intellectual, but might inspire a project.
They can also just lead to insights or surprising, thoughtful moments in your essays! I recommend reading through as many of these as you can, but you don’t have to completely finish every article. If an article bores you, skip it. No worries at all.
Can Parents Benefit From These?
Of course! It can be very useful for parents to have a strong idea of the things students are seeing. My only caveat is this: you can’t read these FOR your child. When parents try to do the work for students, students get rejection letters. It’s not that parents can’t do this work either; it just creates too big (and too obvious) of a disconnect. And of course there’s the later (and massive) issue of college interviews… So, parents should totally read some of these, but be sure your child is reading them too!
101 Essays That Will Change the Way You Think
Shirts for People with Medical Ports (for Cancer and Other Illnesses)
Do We Need a New Theory of Evolution?
Long but very interesting article on how even science has major philosophical and complex arguments to be had, and how people don’t like having them because they can be career threatening. This article could be a great way to bring thought and intrigue into a fact-heavy scientific resume or essay! To pull a perfect line for you: “Where once Christians had complained that Darwin’s theory made life meaningless, now Darwinists levelled the same complaint at scientists who contradicted Darwin.”
Greek Origins of the Latin Alphabet and The Evolution of the Alphabet
Simple Math Predicts Human Movement Patterns
VSauce Talking About the Wisdom of Crowds…and the Lack of Wisdom of Crowds
Glowing Wounds on the Battlefield (Answer Discovered by 17-year-old)
Trees Talking to Cooperate, or not?
Spoon and Bowl use Electric Charge to Make Food Taste Saltier
Plant-Animal Hybrid Cells Make Solar-Powered Tissues
Just a YouTube Short explaining an interesting point in Marketing.
This starts out describing a joking conspiracy theory about art and architecture, but turns into a really in-depth essay about various art forms and how they’ve changed over time (and an attempt at understanding why). Very cool read.
Self-Pigmenting Textiles Grown from Bacteria
Plastics that Don’t Create Microplastics
3D Printing Personalized Pills
Corals Resisting Genetic Damage from Radiation
The Efficiency of Hexagons and The Commonness of Hexagons
Surprisingly very interesting read.
Harvard’s Library that Protects the World’s Rarest Colors
Blue Lights Reduced Suicides at Train Stations
The Invention of Rubber Gloves
Dr. Halsted loved a woman so much that when her hands were raw and chapped from surgery (they used to do surgeries without gloves, but with lots of antiseptic…) he invented medical gloves. He invented them for her, because he loved her. As playwright and poet Sarah Ruhl said: “The difference between inspired medicine and uninspired medicine is love...[He] loved her to the point of invention.”
Daisugi: Better Process for Growing Lumber
Bioluminescent Proteins Improve Biological Imaging
Life Advice from NYC Chess Hustlers
In general, interviewing people with widely different lives from you can be enlightening and great for College Strategy. Take people with you, of course, to stay safe!
Slime Mold Helps Optimize Tokyo Rail System
Humans Possess Surprising Nutritional Intelligence
Forgetting Does Not Reverse the Learning Process
New Fibers Can Make Breath-Regulating Garments and then there are Wearable Textile Exomuscles
We Can Print In Color Because of Beer
American Chip Flavors are Boring
3D renderings of molecules that look really cool and are scientifically useful.
We May Have Snakes To Thank For Our Acute Vision
Interesting perspective on this: An enemy or adversary makes you stronger.
Can We Think Without Using Language?
Cotton-and-Squid-Bone Sponge Can Soak Up 99.9% of Microplastics
Google's PaLM AI Is Far Stranger Than Just Conscious
Wheel Made of ‘Odd Matter’ Spontaneously Rolls Uphill
Spray-on plant coating could replace wasteful plastic food wrap
Five Glassy Mysteries We Still Can’t Explain
Discussion of Teaching and Communicating with AI
Really interesting look at concepts within education from a perspective not often seen.
Very philosophical and cool. Can be applied to tons of academic areas, Passion Projects, etc.
2,000-Year-Old Ancient Greek ‘Yearbook’
Charles Babbage’s Difference Engine
5 ways fungus-based technology will change the world
Practical Power Beaming Gets Real
Why Are Watches Usually Set to 10:10 in Advertisements?
How Computer Scientists Learned to Reinvent the Proof
How Anxiety Evolved Through the Middle Ages and Early Modern Europe
What Dinner Will Look Like in the Next 100 Years
Butterfly Wings Inspiring Revolutionary New Materials
A Rocket Scientist Designed a Solution for Your Moldy Strawberries
Canyon Unveils Sustainable 3D Printed Mountain Bike Prototype
New Tool to Create Hearing Cells Lost in Aging
He Fast-Forwarded Evolution into the Future
Meet the Man Building the Future of Quantum for IBM
Interesting read. Also an interesting character study in the types of people that top businesses (and top colleges) are looking for.
Why No Roman Industrial Revolution?
You Have a Doppelganger and Probably Share DNA with Them
Autistic People Demonstrate Speech Rhythm Differences That Are Consistent Across Languages
The Sound of the Butterfly Nebula
Solving a Problem in Heat Transfer
A Quick Demonstration That Time is Relative
Notice this kid is also pretty young looking. You could create a channel just like this as a teen! It could be a great Passion Project.
Miniature Robot That Moves Through Tubes
How Humans Can Be Tricked by AI Language Models
Catalog of the Mineral Kingdom and How it Forms
Does Hot Water Freeze Faster Than Cold? (Mpemba Effect)
The origin of this story is a teenager whose hot ice cream ingredients froze faster than his classmates colder ingredients. The Mpemba Effect is named after that teen, and has been researched since the 60s with no clear answer yet! Never forget: not everything is discovered, not even in science. You could ask the next question that sparks decades of research.
Quiet Jet Engines Using Owl Tech
Doing the impossible is what college is all about. That’s what they’re interested in. They want students who want to push the boundaries of what can be. Look at the way this guy (Takase) describes his work. This is what true passion and commitment look like. Great things to add to essays!
Fern with 50 Times more DNA than Humans
The Dye in Doritos can Make Mice Transparent
Light-Driven Doughnut-Shaped Robot
Science Illustration: A Creative Door for Early Women in Science