Project Sundial: the Apocalypse Bomb

The more we learn about top secret Cold War weapons, the more insane they seem. The race to build bigger nuclear weapons than the Soviet Union was furious, until we had the capability of destroying the entire world many times over. The ultimate step was to design a weapon that would annihilate the earth and everyone in it in one fell swoop. Why would we do that? Just to have a bigger nuke than the Soviets.

Project Sundial was a project to develop just such a bomb. It, of course, could never be tested. And it didn't even have to be built, because the rumor of such a weapon was all we really needed. See, the arms race itself was based on fear of the terrifying weapons of the other side. Once we achieved weapons that assured suicide as well as offensive power, those in charge started to think that maybe we'd gone too far. Ya think? But while we don't have a one-bomb apocalypse ready to go, we still have enough nuclear weapons to do the same thing if we used them all at once.

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What the Berlin Wall Looks Like Today

In 1945, defeated Germany was divided between the Allied countries of the Unites States, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union. Berlin was also divided, although it was deep within the Soviet sector. By 1949, the countries of East Germany and West Germany were established, with East Germany under communist control. Barriers were put up to keep East Germans from leaving. The West German sector of Berlin was enclosed by a wall in 1962. In most places, this Berlin Wall was 100-300 feet wide, marking a "no man's land" where East Germans could be shot trying to cross over to the West. The wall finally came down in 1989, and the two Germanys were reunited in 1990.  

The people who rose up to bring the wall down destroyed much of it quickly, and authorities were keen on obliterating it entirely. West German legislator Michael Cramer wanted to preserve parts of the wall as a memorial to its history, but only a few small sections remain today. They do not indicate the wall's route, nor its size -wrapped completely around West Berlin, it was 100 miles long! Cramer spearheaded a project to make the former site of the wall into something to benefit the city and still mark that period of history. The result is Mauerpark, a public space with a 100-mile bicycle and pedestrian trail called Berliner Mauerweg, or Berlin Wall Trail. It winds through city streets, forests, and green space, with historical markers and memorials along the way. Read how Mauerpark came about and what it means to a united Germany at Smithsonian.   

(Image credit: Karen Mardahl)


The World's First Wooden Satellite Arrives in Space

We mentioned a few years ago that Japan planned to build and deploy wooden satellites. The first of these, dubbed LingoSat, arrived on Tuesday at the International Space Station on a SpaceX vehicle. Space.com describes it as a small cube--just four inches on a side. It's a substantial innovation in space exploration because that it is made of wood.*

Most satellites are made of aluminum, which causes environmental damage when satellites burn up in the atmosphere at the end of their use. The designers at Kyoto University and a Japanese logging firm hope that wood components can offer practical alternatives to metals.

-via Marginal Revolution

*This is, by the way, why witches burn.


This Hotel Is the Largest Building in the World Shaped Like a Chicken

The Campuestohan Highland Resort is a lovely venue on the Philippine island of Negros. Standing at the summit of the hill that is at the center of the resort is a building shaped like a massive chicken. This modern Colossus of Rhodes stands over 114 feet tall and contains 15 hotel rooms. That size has secured it a Guinness World Record, as well as the awe of all who survey its majesty.

Astonishingly, from concept to groundbreaking took just six months and the total construction under a year and a half, thus displaying the can-do attitude of the Filipino people. Look upon these works, ye mighty, and despair.

-via Dave Barry | Photos: Guinness World Records


The Danger of Shining Lights from the Earth Onto the Moon



Randall Munroe of xkcd and Henry Reich of MinutePhysics have made a cottage industry of answering stupid questions in a way that makes them ridiculously interesting. This is the What If? series. The question this week is whether we could change the color of the moon by shining a laser pointer on it if everyone on earth participated at once. The short answer is "no." But from there, these guys looked at the question as a challenge: what kind of light would actually make it to the moon? So they go through the various kinds of powerful lights we have, starting with a one-watt laser, which is already dangerous. Then we learn about all kinds of powerful lights we have developed but don't use that much because they suck up so much energy and can be deadly. Too much light isn't good for us, anyway. But certain powerful lights can actually reach the moon if we use enough of them! Sure, it's a dumb scenario, but I learned quite a bit about light technology in this video.


Seven Times Christmas was Banned

The celebration of Christmas is a blend of very old winter solstice traditions and the celebration of Jesus' birth, plus all the music, rich food, parties, and fun that people need in the darkness of winter. Either the fun or the religion have caused the whole thing to be banned in six countries and one well-known community. When Stalin banned the celebration of Christmas in the Soviet Union, he aimed to obliterate the Christian part, but the rest was too much fun, so people moved those traditions to New Year's Day, which continues today. In Germany, the land that gave us the Christmas tree, Adolf Hitler was okay with celebrating Christmas, but it couldn't be about Jesus, because, well, he was Jewish.

Several other countries, at one time or another, were okay with keeping the religious observation, but wanted to do away with the parties and fun and a day off work because those things was either too decadent or too Catholic. Workers in Scotland didn't get December 25th off for hundreds of years -until 1958! Read about seven historic Christmas bans and the reasons behind them at Mental Floss.


AC/DC's Thunderstruck on a Street Organ

Yuki Kojima is a Japanese musician who specializes in the street organ--a hand-cranked instrument that uses bellows to pump air through pipes. I don't think that it takes advanced skill to operate one--it's a sort of music box that uses cardboard segments as a control mechanism. But probably creating the cards is a demanding task worthy of a skilled artisan.

Kojima's YouTube channel has many popular tunes from video games, such as Chrono Trigger and Super Mario Bros. But classic hard rock is my preference and music doesn't get any better than "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC.

-via Laughing Squid


An Honest Trailer for Joker: Folie à Deux



Did you go see Joker: Folie à Deux? If so, that makes you special, because not that many people did. It was a sequel to the critically acclaimed 2019 hit movie Joker. Director Todd Phillips decided to make it a love story and a musical since they got Lady Gaga to sign on, but that wasn't what Joker fans for waiting for. Or anyone else. However, Screen Junkies managed to find a lot more to dislike about Joker: Folie à Deux. Namely, it's boring, depressing, and the most exciting shots from the trailers aren't even in the movie. No wonder it was a box office bomb. The film opened in the US a month ago and was on home video three weeks later after making less than half its expenses back at the box office. But if you still want to see it, be warned that there are spoilers in this Honest Trailer.  


This Guinea Pig Loves Music

Dindin, a guinea pig who lives in Paris, has the same reaction that I do when listening to Claude Debussy's "Clair de Lune." It's incredibly soothing for my skittish soul that is always looking around for predators to avoid and food to eat. Watch him sit on his human's piano and enjoy a private performance.

-via Massimo


Children's Hospital Has a "Gamer-in-Residence"

Hospitalization is especially stressful for children, which is why children's hospitals search for means to maintain the emotional well-being of their patients. To that end, Glasgow Children's Hospital in Scotland has a "gamer-in-residence" who plays video games with children.

BBC News introduces us to Steven Mair, who is a full-time, professional gamer who wheels gaming consoles into kids' rooms and plays with them. Donations raised by the local community and the gaming industry pay his salary, permitting him to focus on the needs of the children. This program provides social interaction and entertainment to kids in often dire medical conditions.

-via Kottke


How to Eat Ketchup in Space

Commander Matthew Dominick (USN), an American astronaut on the International Space Station, demonstrates his advanced knowledge of physics by squirting ketchup directly into his mouth. In the absence of Earth-level gravity, the fluid pours into his mouth, then pools into a tower of tomato-y goodness on his chin. Popular Science prudently warns us that this video, once seen, cannot be unseen.

-via Dave Barry


Fantasy Novels That Reflect Real History

We know that truth is stranger than fiction, and fiction is often influenced by real-world events, because otherwise all our stories would be a simple fight between good and evil where a random farm boy kills the evil emperor or else a prince saves a pretty girl from the the big bad wolf. Some of the most beloved fictional worlds capture our imaginations with strange places, characters, and customs, but also follow some events from history. In a couple, the author admits being influenced by world events, while others are argued over to the point where we don't know if the analogy is intentional or coincidence. And those tie-ins have faded with time.  

Five of those novels are: The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, Journey to the West by Wu Cheng’en, Dune by Frank Herbert, A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin, and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. The story of Dorothy visiting Oz is very involved, and may be an analogy for the "free silver" debate of 1896. There are an awful lot of clues that tie Oz to this obscure piece of American history, but it could be a matter of attaching meaning to a series of coincidences, like a conspiracy theorist with a wall full of pictures. Or Baum really could have used "free silver" as an inspiration. Read how all of these stories reflect real world events at Big Think.

(Image source: Wikimedia Commons)


How to Find a Mate--Runners' Edition

X user Nicole Ruiz shares this photo from the recent New York City Marathon. I'm 99% certain that I have identified the woman and found her on Instagram, but will refrain from naming her as she may prefer to remain private.

Anyway, the lady is an innovator. She wants a boyfriend and offers a QR code that links to her Instagram page. This is the kind of out-of-the-box thinking that helps break out of the glutted dating market. She's direct about what she wants and markets herself in a novel and attention-getting fashion. If I were single, I might try this at an anime fandom convention (although with perhaps different results).


A Vampire is Brought Back to Life (Sort of)

A couple of years ago, we told you about a 17th-century grave unearthed in Poland that was explicitly rigged to prevent a vampire from coming back to life. The burial of a young woman saw her foot shackled and a sickle placed across her neck, ready to cut upon the slightest raising of her head.

But those efforts were eventually proved to be in vain. In the two years since, she has risen from her grave, with the help of archaeologists, and her face has been brought back to life by forensic artists. While her name has been lost, she is called Zosia by locals and scientists. DNA analysis and the objects she was buried with tell us a little about her status. While she appears to be from a well-to-do family, she suffered from one or more physical conditions that may had led to her vampire reputation. -via Boing Boing


What Does This Black Triangle on Planes Mean?

On reddit, /u/Otherwise_Finger_166 asks what this symbol means. One joker suggests, "This side up," but the black triangle actually designates an important location called William Shatner's Seat.

The New York Post explains that it is from this location that aircraft crew can get the best view of the wing and thereby assess its condition. The presence of ice could necessitate a change of plans.

Why is it named after William Shatner? Before Star Trek, Shatner starred in a 1963 episode of The Twilight Zone titled "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet." Shatner is an aircraft passenger sitting over the wing who sees a creature tearing up the plane. Prudent aircraft designers have clearly learned from that episode how important it is to get the best view of the wings.

-via Massimo


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