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

Unusual arachnid

Cackling in the cosmos

Chinese ghost town

Belly of a bladderwort

We might have Stonehenge’s Altar Stone origins all wrong

2,200-YEAR-OLD CHILD’S SHOE DISCOVERED IN AUSTRIAN MINE

Dinosaur-killing asteroid allowed flowers to thrive

Haunting images reveal an enormous crater near the lunar south pole

ANCIENT, INCORRECT VERSION OF THE ‘PRAYER OF DAVID’ DISCOVERED

Genes have been extracted from an extinct Tasmanian tiger

SCIENTISTS FIND A NEW VIRUS IN A DEEP PART OF THE PACIFIC

James Webb Space Telescope finds a potential signature of life

New malaria vaccine is vital for millions

Mysterious bamboo regeneration baffles scientists

A gigantic blob of dark matter may be warping our galaxy

FIRST-EVER SPACE LITTERING FINE ISSUED

WISH LIST • The latest CIRCUS GIFTS AND GADGETS

The perfect Christmas gift • Get a whole year of How It Works plus A FREE BOOK BUNDLE

MONSTER MYTHS BUSTE • Folklore tells us that terrifying creatures such as Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster lurk on the outskirts of civilisation. But can science explain the harrowing historic encounters humans have had with them?

ATTACK OF THE KRAKEN

THE ILLUSIVE OGOPOGO

A WAVE FROM THE DEEP • A phenomenon called thermal stratification could be to blame

THE LOCH NESS MONSTER

NESSIE SIGHTINGS • Much of the ‘evidence’ of this aquatic monster has been debunked

GOAT-SUCKER CHUPACABRA

MEDICAL MISINTERPRETATIONS

PORPHYRIA HYSTERIA • The symptoms of this disease have inspired ancient myths and pop culture crazes

THE UNDEAD AMONG US

HUGE, HAIRY HUMANOIDS

THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN

5 FACTS • MYTHICAL CREATURES PROVEN REAL

HALF MAN, HALF MOTH

THE LEGEND OF BIGFOOT

WHY ANIMALS SHED • What prompts some creatures to regularly lose their old outer layers and replace them with fresh new skin?

A HUMAN’S BEST HYPOALLERGENIC FRIEND

EATING YOUR OWN SKIN

SCALE SEPARATION • How snakes peel away their skin and leave a scaly sleeve behind

STEPPING OUT OF YOUR SHELL • The stages of separating the crustacean from its crust

HERMIT HOUSE-SWAPPING

ANATOMY OF A COMPOST HEAP • How the natural process of composting converts your leftovers into valuable fertiliser

A RECIPE FOR RICH SOIL • What ingredients work best in a compost heap?

WHAT IS VERMICULTURE?

ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS

DECOMPOSER FOOD WEB • How energy from leftover food waste flows through compost pile dwellers

HOW TO MAKE COMPOST

HOW DOLPHINS SPEAK • These chatty marine mammals have multiple methods of communication

SOCIAL PODS

MAKING SOUND • What communication organs lie beneath a dolphin’s rubbery skin?

SUBSCRIBE FROM JUST

SWEETIE • Find out why you have a sweet tooth, how different candies are perfected and how sugar affects your body

MAKING A BOILED SWEET

CRYSTALLISATION CHEMISTRY

CREATING CONSISTENCIES

PREHISTORIC TREATS

SUGAR HIGHS AND LOWS • How do sugary sweets impact your body’s health and energy levels?

HOW FIREWORKS WORK • Discover the science behind the glitter and sparkle of these pyrotechnics

AI-DESIGNED DISPLAYS

INSIDE THE SHELL • How...