Posted on January 7, 2018  Comments (0)

These were the most popular (by number of page views) posts on our blog in 2017.

• Insightful Problem Solving by an Asian Elephant (2011) *
• Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel (2008)
• Why is it Colder at Higher Elevations? (2008)
• Science Sort of Explains: Hiccups (2008)
• Ranking Countries by Scientific Publication Citations: USA, UK, Germany… (2015)
• Science Toys You Can Make With Your Kids (2005)

molten salt solar system diagram

• Molten Salt Solar Reactor Approved by California (2010)
• Neil Degrasse Tyson: Scientifically Literate See a Different World (2009)
• Loan Forgiveness Program for Engineering Students (2008)
• How Lysozyme Protein in Our Tear-Drops Kill Bacteria (2012)

• 500 Year Floods (2008) *
• S&P 500 CEO’s: Engineering is the Most Common Major (2009)
• Dogs and Wolves Share a Sense of Fair Pay (2017)*
• Science and Optical Illusions (2010)
• Underwater Pedestrian Walkway (2011)



• Pepper – A Social Robot from Softbank (2017) *
• Using Bacteria to Carry Nanoparticles Into Cells (2007)
• Drone Deliveries to Hospitals in Rwanda (2017) *
• Bird on the Ice Age National Scenic Trail (2017) *
• The Amazing Reality of Genes and The History of Scientific Inquiry (2017) *

* new to the top 20 list this year (blogs posts from 2008, 2011, 2017 [5])

This list shows how popular old posts can remain over time. Old posts can also gain popularity; I added the most popular post for this year in 2011 (and it wasn’t even in the top 20 previously).

9 of the top 10 this year were in the top 20 last year as were 13 of the top 20.

6 of the top 20 this year were also in the top 20 in 2014. The distribution over the years of publication of the posts in the list this year:

2017: 5
2015: 1

2012: 1
2011: 2
2010: 2
2009: 2
2008: 5
2007: 1

2005: 1

The slight increase in new posts from the current year is mainly due to fewer of the old posts gaining visits (changes in search engines algorithms is my guess on the likely cause). It wasn’t so much that the new posts this year had so many more readers than in the past but that the older posts didn’t get as many visitors (after you dropped out of the top 10).

Related: 20 Most Popular Post on Curious Cat Science and Engineering Blog in 2015