Science Myths

Genie Lo thought she was busy last year, juggling her academic career with protecting the Bay Area from demons. But now, as the Heaven-appointed Guardian of California, she’s responsible for the well-being of all yaoguai and spirits on Earth. Even the ones who interrupt her long-weekend visit to a prestigious college, bearing terrible news about a cosmos-threatening force of destruction in a nearby alternate dimension.

This Norse Mythology Collection features 5 titles that were all written a long time ago, offering timeless stories that have captivated readers and listeners for generations.

When a nonbinary tiger spirit named Sebin finally gets their chance to follow in their Uncle Hwan's footsteps in the Thousand World Space Forces, it's more of a nightmare than a dream come true.

A town will only suffer the presence of a witch for as long as she is useful. Aisling watches the flames lick her thighs and prays for a quick death. But when an Unseelie prince appears through the smoke, she does what any self respecting witch would do. She curses him. Bran should never have traveled to the human realm, and is shocked when a witch binds them together. His life is hers and he refuses to die. He saves her from the fires, casts a hex on the townsfolk for good measure, then whisks her away to safety. His only stipulation? She has to remove the binding curse.

Nura longs for the simple pleasure of many things—to wear a beautiful red dupatta or to bite into a sweet gulab. But with her mom hard at work in a run-down sweatshop and three younger siblings to feed, Nura must spend her days earning money by mica mining. But it’s not just the extra rupees in her pocket Nura is after. Local rumor says there’s buried treasure in the mine, and Nura knows that finding it could change the course of her family’s life forever. Her plan backfires when the mines collapse and four kids, including her best friend, Faisal, are claimed dead.

In a small Japanese village, a maiden is sacrificed to a dragon so their town will not be destroyed. Kotoshi is next to be sacrificed, but she hopes to fight back! Instead of trying to eat her, the dragon asks for her help in return for her life. Will Kotoshi be able to help the dragon’s baby and end her tyranny on the town?

In this Welsh tale, Nel loves to knit stockings for her brothers as she walks her family’s land. One day, a fairy leaves her a gift—a golden chair! To keep the fairy from stealing it back, Nel must use her wit and knitting supplies to keep her chair safe while she and her family carry it home. Will Nel’s plan work? Or will the fairy steal the gift back?

In this Lithuanian folktale, the king wants to know why the sun is red! He sends his horseman on a quest to find a house made of amber, inside which the answer lies. Follow along with him on his adventure!

Kitsune are fox spirits that take on human form and play tricks on people. One such man fell in love with a kitsune disguised as a beautiful woman.

A pine tree is unhappy with its needles and wishes for different types of leaves instead. A fairy grants the tree its wishes, but the results are disappointing.

It is taken for granted in the knowledge economy that companies must employ the most talented performers to compete and succeed. Many firms try to buy stars by luring them away from competitors. But Boris Groysberg shows what an uncertain and disastrous practice this can be.

A girl with a secret and a prince on a mission.... When Prince Anthony spies Eleanoria Woodston outside her family home dressed as a servant, he knows something is amiss. Pretending to be John, his cousin's outrider, he decides to take matters into his own hands and figure out why Ella hasn't been seen at court. And, more importantly, why the daughter of one of the wealthiest families in the kingdom dresses like a pauper.

"A beast. Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog but a horrible new creature who walks upright – a creature with fangs and claws and hair springing from every pore. I am a monster. You think I’m talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It’s no deformity, no disease. And I’ll stay this way forever – ruined – unless I can break the spell...."

Did NASA really spend millions creating a pen that would write in space? Is chocolate poisonous to dogs? Does stress cause gray hair? These questions are a sample of the urban lore investigated in this audiobook, Fact or Fiction: Science Tackles 58 Popular Myths. Drawing from Scientific American’s “Fact or Fiction” and “Strange But True” columns, we’ve selected 58 of the most surprising, fascinating, useful, and just plain wacky topics confronted by our writers over the years.

Goel, their spiritual leader, has sent the Seven Sleepers on yet another adventure. The Dark Lord is threatening the Kingdom of Camelot, and Joshua Adams and his six companions seek to aid the king in fighting off the invaders. Bob Lee Jackson, "Reb" to his friends, finds himself a key player in this frightening game. Having become expert with shield and sword, Reb takes the fate of the kingdom upon his shoulders. But the situation grows grim as the physical dangers make way for spiritual dangers. The Sleepers must call upon the power of Goel to combat the servants of the Dark Lord.

Twelve-year-old Mallie knows better than to dream. In Coal Top, you live the story you're given: Boys toil in the mines, and girls work as servants. But it wasn't always this way. Before the Dust came, the people of Coal Top could weave starlight into cloth. They'd wear these dreaming clothes to sleep and wake up with the courage to seek adventure. So when Mallie is chosen for a dangerous competition in which daring (and ideally, orphaned) children train flying horses, she jumps at the chance. Maybe she'll change her story. Maybe she'll even find the magic she needs to dream again.

What if the shadows held more than just stories? Beneath the dense forests, over misty lakes, and beyond the edges of the known world lurk creatures whispered about in folklore and reported by eyewitnesses for centuries. In this richly illustrated guide, veterinarian and educator Karen E. Mueller, DVM delves into thirty of the world’s most haunting cryptids—mysterious beings that challenge science, spark imagination, and endure in cultural memory.

Everything you were taught about evolution is wrong. In this shocking book, Berkeley-educated doctor of biology Jonathan Wells lets you in on scientific discoveries you won't learn about from college and high-school textbooks - and reveals a dirty little secret known only to some of his fellow biologists.

Ignoring Jared's orders and going to the Fae plane has cost Mina dearly. She remains haunted by her decision as a new danger surfaces. The Grimms are fading. With the help of her Fae Godmother and a pair of magic shoes, Mina Grime will have to travel to the past to save her family's future. Mina must go to the Story's beginning - where the dark prince's reign began.

Samantha Knox put away her childish fantasies of archaeological adventure the day her father didn't return home from the Great War, retreating to the safety of the antique bookshop where she works. But when a mysterious package arrives with a damaged diary inside, Sam's peaceful life is obliterated. Ruthless men intent on reclaiming the diary are after Sam, setting her and her best friend, along with her childhood crush, on a high-stakes adventure that lands them in the green hills outside Dublin, Ireland.