Engineering

A team of researchers in France and Canada might have just improved upon humble parachutes by making lots of holes in them. It could be just the thing we need for more precise humanitarian aid drops and safer drone deliveries.

Following on from last year's 34th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize, the 35th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize night took place at Boston University this week, celebrating the joy of science: Real research with some delightfully sideways paths of investigation.

In an impressive engineering accomplishment, one of Sweden's most important churches has been painstakingly moved to make way for a mine expansion. The church was jacked up and placed on wheels and then relocated 3 miles to another part of town.

An engineering student and his buddies came up with a brilliant solution for reducing carbon emissions from their university's heavy machinery. And what better demo than to install a tractor engine on an old Harley, and run it on used vegetable oil?

Over the past two centuries, the construction of thousands of dams has done more than just tame rivers – it has shifted the Earth’s North Pole about a meter off its position.

This compact multitool tackles a range of measurement, drawing, cutting, and positioning tasks. If you're an architect, engineer, contractor, woodworker, or DIY enthusiast – or if you have one of those in your life – the Omni-R is worth a look.

Using a new technique called nanoscale fletching, scientist have created a high-performing nonstick coating that repels water and oil – without the PFAS profile. It's a big step toward the elusive "holy grail" of a safer, greener Teflon.

Alpha-Otto has a design that aims to eliminate the drawbacks of two-stroke engines. The RevForce engine introduces a single, transformative change to the conventional two-stroke layout that preserves its benefits while removing its major flaws.

A platinum fiddle that's just 35 microns in length and 13 microns in width is believed to be the world's smallest violin, measuring just a fraction of a microscopic tardigrade. But before you get too excited, there's one little twist …

A gorgeous solution to a common problem... This mesmerizing mechanical vise adjusts its shape to hold oddly shaped items still without damaging them, using a design first patented more than a century ago. It can also turn inside-out.

Back in 2016, we featured a stunning wooden machine that employed falling steel marbles to play a merry tune. As plans are drawn up for a new version, its builder has looked back to the designs of Leonardo da Vinci for inspiration.

He's an eccentric motorcycle and engine building genius who regularly creates mind-bending engineering alchemy and has millions of fans... So why is his extraordinary work so badly undervalued at auction? Someone's getting a bargain today.