The Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences found it in Vietnam. The researchers found the insect by placing a sheet around a bush, then hitting the bush with a stick until the insect fell out. They observed a pair for a few days, including their mating habits, and cataloged their findings. The researchers plan to continue searching Vietnam for other stick insects that have not yet been documented.
Many years ago, archaeologists discovered skull-shaped whistles at Aztec sites. They believe that priests used these instruments during human sacrifice ceremonies. Quijas Yxayotl, a musician who specializes in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican traditions, developed a modern version. It produces a sound just like that of people screaming in terror. The whistle is like something out of a horror movie!
You can hear Yxayotl perform the Aztec death whistle in this video. Skip to the 0:49 mark to hear the screaming.
Firebox bills the service as a "healthly alternative to outright cannibalism." I'm not sure about that. The marshmallow portrait looks like a lot of sugar. If you're doing a low carb diet, then this is not a good option.
Flump Face is a sheet of marshmallow in the A4 paper size, which is about 8.3 by 11.7 inches. With a fire going in the fireplace, it's a sweet way to say goodbye to an ex-girlfriend. So get toasting.
This baby kiwi, which weighs about 1.3 pounds, was born last month at the Kiwi Birdlife Park in Queenstown, New Zealand. He was born with a crooked beak. The lower part was shifted sideways and curled. This prevented him from eating easily--a problem that was likely to get worse as he grew older.
Veterinarians decided to operate. They shifted his beak and corrected the curvature. This was a tricky surgery because the nerves that run along the beak are essential to sensing food. Fortunately, the operation was a success. The Kiwi Birdlife Park plans to release him into the wild once he weighs about 2.2 pounds.
The landmark film Stand by Me, an adaptation of a Stephen King novella, was shot in Oregon and northern California. Then & Now Movie Locations, a blog devoted to showing current images of places where iconic movie scenes were shot, has a section on Stand by Me. You can see photos of the places where Stand by Me was shot, lined up with the points of view of the movie audiences.
The German Archaeological Institute discovered it at Baalbeck, a site in Lebanon. It dates back to at least 27 B.C., and was probably made long before that. Archaeologists think that the block was probably carved for local temple construction, most likely for a nearby temple for the Roman god Jupiter. But the block cracked en route and was abandoned at the quarry.
You've never heard of the Millennium Falcon pie? It made the Kessel lunch line in less than 12 servings! And you can make you own by following the instructions of of Sweet & Geek. They're in Italian, but you can find an English translation here.
It's made like a calzone. So, appropriately, the crust is made of pizza dough. After you've prepared the dough, roll it out and cut slices for the top and bottom parts of the ship. Fill the interior with asiago cheese, cream cheese, and zucchinini. Or add some special modifications yourself.
See that spike on the right side? That's when he popped the question. You can view a much larger version of the chart, which includes helpful annotations about the evening's events, here.
Redditor sesipikai and his girlfriend spent an evening in the romantic city of Rome. He wore a heart monitor during that time. The results, when charted in Excel, show his excitement levels throughout the evening. As you can see, the proposal was the most thrilling event.
The data is potentially useful. But duplication is essential in scientific research. He should repeat the experiment a few more times to see if this data set is an outlier or a trend.
Yes, he's a physicist. But that's just a side hustle. Prof. Stephen Hawking has already appeared on Star Trek: The Next Generation and The Big Bang Theory. Now he's ready for the big screen. Hawking thinks that he'd be a great villain in a James Bond movie. Anita Singh writes for The Daily Telegraph:
“My idea role would be a baddie in a James Bond film. I think the wheelchair and the computer voice would fit the part,” he said. […]
In an interview with Wired magazine, Prof Hawking, 72, said he loves to communicate with the world.
“I was able to speak with a speech synthesiser, though it gave me an American accent. I have kept that voice, because it’s now my trademark,” he said.
What sort of villain should Hawking be? A mad scientist? A UFO cult leader?
Amazingly, this picture was made with cans of spray paint. The artist, SHOK-1, is noted for his gift for creating subtle shades and precise forms in that medium. He calls this work “The Consumer.”
With this talent, you might suspect that SHOK-1 would be a great street artist. And if you view his Flickr gallery, you’ll find that is correct.
Dr. John Putnam is a professor of history at San Diego State University. He teaches an unusual American history course. HIST 557, which is titled “Star Trek, Culture, and History,” uses Star Trek to explore cultural trends in postwar American society. In an interview, Dr. Putnam explained what he hopes that his students will gain from the course:
As I became more engrossed and interested in Star Trek, I realized that the series had something to say about American society. Not only did I hope that students would gain a greater appreciation for Star Trek, but I also saw it as a different and unique way to examine post-World War II history in the classroom. […]
I remind them that this is a history course and the larger history we study and examine is the central part of this. Star Trek is a vehicle from which to do this. In addition, I hope that they learn how popular culture — whether television, film, or music — can offer insight into the values, concerns, hopes and anxieties of society at the time the television series or film was produced.
This statement resonates with me. Recently, I’ve been re-watching the original series, which is something I had not done regularly in perhaps 25 years.
A few weeks ago, I watched “The Cage,” which was the first pilot for the show, shot in 1964. One element that was particularly striking was the enormous weight Captain Pike and Vina gave to maintaining Vina’s illusion of beauty. In her natural form, Vina had a healthy but mangled body. Keeping the illusion was worth remaining in Talosian captivity. The characters accepted this decision uncritically.
That was 50 years ago. I suspect that such a sentiment could not be expressed without objections if newly published today. In a way, “The Cage” is a time capsule of American social history. I suspect that when examined carefully, many other Star Trek episodes and movies would also prove historically illuminating.
Can you connect with literature written so long ago? Human nature is eternal so literature should always be understandable. Selfies are new but self-love is not.
But perhaps we can compromise with great literature for the millennial generation. Imagine heroes and villains of our past using Tinder to find love and updating Twitter while hunting a terrible whale across the oceans. Jennifer Shaffer of BuzzFeed did so by rewriting the opening lines to 17 great novels for modern times.
7 years ago, Chris Dimino, a technological seer of mysterious powers, conceived of the keyboard waffle iron. It was just a design concept built out of an old Smith Corona typewriter. Humanity would have to wait in breathless anticipation for it to become a reality.
That day is here. Dimino has now produced a functional waffle iron that is shaped like a keyboard. It is not yet functional as a keyboard, but I think that’s doable with just an array of pressure sensors wired into the waffle. Then just add syrup and butter to type an embarrassingly typo-filled blog post.
Do you think that Spider-Man is a dark, brooding, and distant person? No, he's actually quite sensitive. This really comes out in home photos shot by Twitter user @tks1783. They show Spidey at home with his cats and son.
We all need to decompress from the stresses of work. Spider-Man knows exactly how to do that.
The entire journey covered 4,451 miles, mostly on foot. Yassan also occasionally used cars, bicycles, and ferries. He wrote "Marry Me" and a drew a heart with an arrow through it.
The project ended successfully: when he showed it to his girlfriend, she said yes!
