Buzz
As humanity pushes the boundaries of what we understand, we often encounter things that challenge our perceptions of reality. This fascinating realm is full of unsolved puzzles that might bring new discoveries to our science, history, and the natural world. From the impossible shapes of Pringles to the phenomenon of solid liquids, here are 10 remarkable examples that defy all expectations.
10. The Phenomenon of Solid Liquids
For more than five decades, scientists have speculated about a strange substance known as a supersolid. This material blends the characteristics of solids and liquids. It behaves like a liquid in motion, yet holds the rigid structure of a solid. Though this concept was captivating, many experts believed it was impossible to achieve.
When supersolids were finally realized, their creation story was just as extraordinary. Two separate teams—one from MIT in Massachusetts and the other from Zurich, Switzerland—both announced in November 2017 that they had developed supersolids. Even more astonishing, they used distinct methods to create the same exotic material. In the end, the result was identical, and what once seemed impossible—solid liquids—became a reality.
9. The Devil’s Hole Pupfish
The Devil’s Hole pupfish are surviving against all odds, overcoming multiple threats to their existence. Isolated in a 10-foot by 20-foot (3 by 6-meter) cavern in Devil’s Hole, Nevada, they’ve been cut off from other pupfish populations for between 1,000 and 20,000 years. Recent studies have shown that these fish are so genetically inbred that their survival seems almost impossible. Their genomes are, on average, 58% identical, making them potentially the most inbred species on Earth.
Adding to the puzzle of their survival, a 2022 study revealed that the Devil’s Hole pupfish have lost two essential genes—one responsible for sperm production and another that aids other pupfish in living in oxygen-poor conditions. Despite this, these remarkable fish continue to reproduce and thrive in a stagnant, severely deoxygenated pool.
8. The Ninth Dedekind Number
Mathematicians have identified a series of increasingly complex numbers, known as Dedekind numbers, which are notoriously difficult to calculate. First introduced in the 19th century, these numbers are associated with a kind of logical problem called 'monotone Boolean functions' (MBFs). These functions are based on spatial shapes, and as the sequence progresses, they can correspond to increasingly complicated structures, such as squares, cubes, and higher-dimensional hypercubes.
Experts hit a wall with the ninth Dedekind number or D(9). Due to its sheer complexity and the required computing power to crack the number, it was soon declared as “impossible” to calculate. But in 2023, something remarkable happened. After 32 years, this impossible number was figured out by two different research teams who had no ties to each other. The fact that they arrived at the same number proved that D(9) had finally been ousted.
But the story’s not quite over. Mathematicians have now turned their attention to D(10). However, this number might forever stay out of reach. Supercomputers revealed D(9), but they cannot handle the new problem. Calculating the 10th Dedekind number requires processing power equal to the Sun’s total power output.
7. Moon Rust
The Moon shouldn’t be rusting, yet it is. A few years ago, this perplexing discovery emerged when scientists analyzed data and images captured by the Chandrayaan-1 orbiter mission. Geologists observed that rocks at the lunar poles reflected light differently compared to the rest of the Moon’s surface. Upon closer inspection, they realized this was due to hematite, a type of rust.
So, why is this happening? The Moon lacks two critical components for rust: water and oxygen. On Earth, rust forms when iron interacts with water and oxygen. While the Moon is rich in iron-based rocks, and water has been found at the poles, the absence of oxygen remains a significant obstacle.
Scientists hypothesize that the Earth could be the source of the elusive oxygen. Our planet has a magnetotail, a magnetic trail that extends behind it. This phenomenon may be drawing some of Earth’s oxygen into space, where it is carried to the Moon by the solar wind.
6. The Largest Quasicrystal
At an atomic scale, crystals follow a precise, repeating pattern. A quasicrystal, however, is a type of crystal where atoms form tile-like structures that never repeat. Discovered in 1982, many quasicrystals have been synthesized in laboratories, and some are even found in nature.
Initially, these quasicrystals were incredibly small, with particles measuring just 0.001% to 1% of the width of a human hair. Large patterns seemed unachievable, but in 2023, a scientist wagered that bigger quasicrystals were impossible. This led to a remarkable experiment.
A computer simulation demonstrated that larger particles, measuring 0.09 inches (2.4 mm) and 0.047 inches (1.2 mm), could indeed form quasicrystals. In a shallow dish, around 4,000 steel balls of these sizes were placed and gently agitated for a week. Remarkably, the balls arranged themselves into a non-repeating, tiled structure, making it the largest known quasicrystal.
5. Avocados
While it's clear how avocado trees are cultivated today through human intervention, experts are baffled by how these trees managed to survive before humans took an interest in their rich, green fruit.
Here’s the conundrum: thousands of years ago, avocados evolved to reproduce only with the aid of megafauna such as mammoths and giant ground sloths. These creatures would consume the avocados whole, travel long distances, and later excrete the seed. Voilà—another avocado tree would spring up.
Then, calamity struck. About 13,000 years ago, a mass extinction event wiped out these colossal mammals in the Western hemisphere, taking with them the very creatures on which the avocado relied. Technically, avocado trees should have gone extinct. Yet, they persisted, still producing fruit for animals that no longer existed—and the wild avocado seems unaware, still relying on the ancient seed-dispersal method.
How did these trees manage to survive into modern times without their megafauna companions? The answer remains a mystery. The avocado stands as an evolutionary enigma: a plant that, having lost its natural seed dispersers, is nonetheless a remarkable and enduring survivor.
4. Origami Pringles
From a mathematical perspective, the iconic shape of a Pringle is referred to as a hyperbolic paraboloid. While the wavy form seems straightforward, the introduction of origami adds an unexpected twist. According to researchers, it should be impossible to craft a 3D hyperbolic paraboloid by folding a single sheet of paper.
Here’s the surprising part. For years, artists have been folding paper into perfect Pringle-like shapes. One of the pioneers in this art form is Erik Demaine, a computer science professor at MIT and the leading expert in computational origami. Despite his credentials and expertise in crafting paper sculptures that spring into the well-known saddle shape, Demaine, like many of his colleagues, admits he doesn't fully understand how it works.
What Demaine does know is that simple hand-folding isn't enough to explain the phenomenon. After folding the paper in a specific way, the entire structure adheres to some mysterious set of physical principles that cause it to naturally take the form of a 3D hyperbolic paraboloid.
3. Everything
According to scientists, the universe shouldn't even exist. By extension, nothing should exist, as everything we know is contained within the universe. This disquieting conclusion emerged in 2017 when researchers determined that the universe should have never made it this far, to a staggering 13.8 billion years old. It should have perished right at its inception.
Here's the reason: The Big Bang, as far as we understand, generated equal amounts of matter and antimatter. When these two opposites come into contact, their opposing charges cause them to annihilate each other instantaneously. One theory suggests that there must have been a subtle yet crucial difference between matter and antimatter that prevented the universe from self-destructing. However, when the brightest scientists at CERN in Switzerland conducted the most in-depth study to date, they found that matter and antimatter were dangerously identical—there was no life-saving difference.
And yet, against all odds, the universe survived its deadly birth, indicating that some unknown, mysterious force must have intervened to preserve it.
2. Sturddlefish
In Hungary, there are fish tanks that house the only known population of sturddlefish. With only about 100 individuals, they are exceedingly rare. Ironically, they are also abundant, because before 2020, not a single sturddlefish existed. So how did they come to be? It all began with a laboratory accident.
Scientists were attempting to breed the critically endangered Russian sturgeon and chose to hatch the sturgeon eggs using a method called gynogenesis. This reproductive process requires only sperm to activate the eggs' development, without contributing any DNA from the father. The resulting offspring are thus entirely derived from the mother's genetic material. So, when researchers opted to use the sperm of the endangered American paddlefish, they expected only sturgeon to be born.
However, nature had a different plan. The fry that hatched were sturgeon-paddlefish hybrids—something that had been thought impossible. The two species share a common ancestor from 184 million years ago. Some experts suggest that since both species are living fossils with slow evolutionary progress, the long separation of 184 million years may not have changed them enough to prevent them from being able to mate.
1. A Mirror in Space
In 2023, researchers turned their attention to a distant planet called LTT9779. Discovered a few years earlier, this planet defied established scientific expectations by proving that gas giants of this size (about five times the size of Earth) could orbit their star so closely without being destroyed. And yet, the colossal planet continues to complete a tight 19-hour 'year' around its sun, and it should have been obliterated long ago.
A recent study uncovered a bizarre clue that may explain the mystery. LTT9779 is covered in metallic clouds. These clouds not only have the strange ability to rain titanium, but they are also so reflective that scientists now call the planet the largest known 'mirror' in existence. To put it into perspective, Earth reflects about 30% of sunlight back to the Sun, while LTT9779 reflects a staggering 80%. No other planet shines as brightly as this one.
The glowing clouds likely serve as a protective shield, blocking enough sunlight to stop the planet from overheating and evaporating. Being metallic, these clouds also add weight to both the planet and its atmosphere, making it more resilient against being blown away by the force of its star.
