How It Works

Welcome to How It Works, the magazine that explains everything you never knew you wanted to know about the world we live in. Loaded with fully illustrated guides and expert knowledge, and with sections dedicated to science, technology, transportation, space, history and the environment, no subject is too big or small for How It Works to explain.

WELCOME

Stigma under the microscope

Serpent’s snack

Where desert and sea meet

Cosmic clouds

‘Zombie’ viruses revived from Siberian permafrost

EGYPTIAN RING FEATURING THE ‘GOD OF FUN’ DISCOVERED

Radioactive space rocks could have seeded life on Earth

The Elgin Marbles may finally return to Greece

NASA CANCELS GREENHOUSE-GAS SATELLITE

A weighted blanket may boost the sleep hormone melatonin

THE US MILITARY REPORTS ‘SEVERAL HUNDRED’ UFO SIGHTINGS

American black bears evolve cinnamon-coloured coats

Greenland’s glaciers are melting faster than estimated

Webb captures extraordinary clouds on Titan

Uncovered toilets shoot out aerosol plumes

JOUSTING ANKYLOSAURS WHACKED THEIR PEERS WITH THEIR TAILS

WISH LIST • The latest tech for STEAM TOYS

HALF-PRICE OFFER • SUBSCRIBE TODAY AND save 50%

WEIRD SCIENCE • Discover the strange scientific studies that answer the questions you didn’t know needed answering

IG NOBEL WINNERS • Meet the Ig Nobel Prize winners of 2022

SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN

WHAT ARE WEATHER BALLOONS? • These high-altitude inflatables carry the tools needed to produce weather forecasts

HOW FREEDIVERS PLUNGE SO DEEP • Take a dip into this extreme sport and see what drives divers deeper into the underwater world

WHY SOME FEET SMELL CHEESY • Discover the bacteria that brews inside your socks

GIANT MARTIAN VOLCANO • Mars’ Olympus Mons is three times as high as Everest, but how did it get so big?

MARS MOUNTAIN MISSIONS • Almost everything we know about Olympus Mons comes from space missions. Here are some of the most important

NATURE’S CRAZIEST CANNIBALS • From starvation to devouring an opponent, there are many reasons why an animal might feast on its own kind

WHERE DOES TOBACCO COME FROM? • Often found packed tightly into cigarette paper, this dry and woody product is unrecognisable from its natural form

HOW ROBOTIC LIMBS CHANGE LIVES • Discover the body-enhancing bionics that can give humans and animals a new lease of life

IPHONE 13 PRO TEARDOWN • How It Works explores the tech behind this smartphone’s three artistic eyes

THE BIRTH OF THE JET FIGHTER • Jet fighters are the masters of modern aerial combat, but in the early years their dominance was far from inevitable

DISCOVER THE PAST!

WHY DO CARS HAVE TYRES? • How these rubber rings help vehicles get from A to B and stay safe on the roads

HOW THE WORLD TURNED ELECTRIC • From battery to bulb, find out how electricity was harnessed and used to light up the planet, sparking the most productive period of technological innovation ever seen

HUMAN POPULATION • Why it took just 200 years for the world’s population to increase eightfold to 8 billion

THE HUMAN TAKEOVER • These events helped the human population reach 8 billion

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BRAINDUMP • Amazing answers to your curious questions

THE LIBRARY • The latest book releases for curious minds

BRAIN GYM • Give your brain a puzzle workout

MAKE A SELF-INFLATING BALLOON • Watch a balloon expand thanks to these two reactive kitchen ingredients

INBOX • Speak your mind

WE ASKED YOU • This month on social media, we asked you: If you could adopt one animal...