Chris Said brings us this stunning example of the Müller-Lyer illusion (previously at Neatorama). The colored lines are the same length throughout; only the angle of the arrows change. If you don't believe it, put a straight edge up against your screen. You can see more examples of this type of illusion at Laughing Squid. -via Nag on the Lake
The NASA History Office tweets out these photos of an electric-powered motorbike that was almost sent with Apollo astronauts as an easy means of traveling across the surface of the moon. Although NASA ultimately went with the rover, it built a prototype scooter. Above, astronaut and motorcyclist Pete Conrad tests it on the KC-135 Vomit Comet.
Leonardo Frigo is trained as an art restorer and violinist. So it's appropriate that he has reached into the depths of history and literature to tell a great story on that stringed instrument. For four years, he illustrated the first chapter Dante Alighieri's "Divine Comedy" on thirty-three violins and one cello. He writes:
My work comes from deep research that has roots in my passion for reading, for art and, in particular, for the of Dante’s masterpiece. Dante’s Inferno has always inspired me since I was a child, I can probably say that it taught me to imagine and dream.
Therefore, after taking notes and annotations about each canto, I start to search for symbols, names, and illustrations that, put together, tell the story written by Dante. When the final design is clear in my mind, I am ready to paint it by hand, in black ink, on the entire surface of the violin. The instrument is then varnished and installed on its base.
You can see more photos of this work at Bored Panda.
What we know of Easter Island is a story of environmental degradation fueled by human activity. The island had a varied ecosystem, including forests, before Polynesian sailors settled there around the year 1200. By the time the Dutch arrived 500 years later, the forests were gone, agriculture was difficult, and the human population of the island called Rapa Nui was in decline. The huge stone moai figures were fascinating, though, and posed a mystery as to their meaning. It took a couple more hundred years before anyone bothered to ask the islanders about their cultural legacy, and by then both the oral traditions and written language were fading away. However, even the soil on Rapa Nui can tell a tale.
A recent study by Van Tilburg and her archaeological team has helped fill in these gaps. By testing the soil of the area where moai rock was quarried, they found evidence that the statues not only symbolized prosperity, but that the very creation of the moai contributed to agricultural abundance.
Van Tilburg’s team has spent the past five years excavating Rano Raraku, a quarry in the island’s center whose rock accounts for 95 percent of the moai. The team was analyzing statues found in the area when geoarchaeologist Sarah Sherwood, more out of habit than anything else, tested the local soil. “When we got the chemistry results back, I did a double take,” Sherwood told UCLA’s Newsroom.
The team expected the quarry to just be a quarry. Instead, the analysis suggested that sweet potatoes and bananas had grown nearby, in soil rich in calcium and phosphorous. On an island with limited resources, where the rest of the soil had long since been depleted, the presence of such fertile soil was stunning.
Big Cat Rescue (previously) took in a bobcat kitten named Flint last summer after he was attacked by hunting dogs. Flint has some bone deformities and was malnourished, and so became a permanent resident of the shelter in Florida.
Chris Poole (previously) built and donated a cardboard castle to Big Cat Rescue, which they gave to Flint. The half-grown bobcat was delighted with it, and quickly found the cameras placed inside, which were obviously toys to play with!
I totally agree with Chris Hallbeck of Maximumble. On a cold winter day, there's nothing like slipping into a tub of mashed potatoes. Honestly, it's even good when fully clothed--an option that my neighbors have enthusiastically endorsed.
Hostile architecture, also known as defensive architecture, is designed to subtly make a place an unwelcome place to stay for long periods of time. Spikes, armrests that prevent lying down, and snake pits are examples of this creative phenomenon.
Designers most commonly use these features in urban environments to discourage homeless people from staying too long. To mitigate them, artist Sarah Ross made clothing that allows the wearer to find comfort in deliberately uncomfortable places. She calls the outfits Archisuits. You can see them all here.
In verifying facts from the distant past, historians want more than one source, that is, corroborating evidence. One instance does not make a trend, or even a fact, because fiction was just as popular in days of yore as it is today. A painting could be a portrait or a fantasy, or something in between. A written account could be a chronicle or a retelling of a popular yarn. And so it is with the Iron Maiden, a medieval torture chamber shaped like a human body with spikes on the inside, in which a victim could be interred, leading to a slow, painful death. The first actual relic of this practice appeared in a museum in Nuermburg, Germany, in 1802.
This device was supposedly “discovered” in a German castle in the late 18th century. Not just a cask, this killing machine was roughly human shaped, made of iron, and even had a face, supposedly based on the face of the Virgin Mary, hence the torture instrument’s name- the Iron Maiden.
This probably first real Iron Maiden was sadly destroyed during WW2 by Allied bombers, but a copy created “as decoration for the ‘Gothic Hall’ of a patrician palace in Milan” in 1828 survived and currently resides in the Rothenburg, das Kriminalmuseum (Museum of Crime). From this copy, we can see that the device was certainly designed to cause unimaginable agony in its victims. Along with having strategically placed spikes designed to pierce approximately where a person’s vital organs and sensitive nether-region dangly bits are, the face of the Maiden did indeed have spikes designed to pierce a victim’s eyes upon closing, assuming the person wasn’t vertically challenged.
This copy did a lot to help popularize the idea of the Iron Maiden as a real thing thanks to its prominent display at the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893 in Chicago, and subsequent tour across the United States to much fanfare.
However, there is no real evidence that an Iron Maiden was ever used in medieval times, or whether it actually existed. What we have are isolated accounts of similar torture that go back a lot earlier than the medieval period, which could easily be fiction. We also have real evidence of devices that may have inspired the stories of the Iron Maiden, although those real devices were not nearly as cruel. Strangely, the strongest evidence of the possible use of an Iron Maiden comes from the late 20th century! Read those accounts, and how they may have led to the myth of the Iron Maiden at Today I Found Out.
One of the first things that sleep specialist W. Christopher Winter, M.D., tells to professional sports organizations that are looking to build a nap room for players is to not call those rooms “nap rooms.”
“We try to get teams to call these rooms something that doesn’t have ‘sleep’ or ‘nap’ in the title — the ‘restoration room’ or the ‘regeneration room,’ for example,” explains Winter, who consults with the MLB, NHL, and NBA.
There are two reasons for this. One, it takes away the pressure that you have to sleep inside the room. The second reason is that it introduces the idea of “quiet wakefulness”, a powerful resting activity which is currently gaining traction among sleep doctors and health-conscious circles.
What is “quiet wakefulness?” It is defined simply as “resting with your eyes closed.”
It’s compelling, in part, because it completely eliminates the stress surrounding sleep — particularly that I can’t fall asleep right now so my health is going to fall apart feeling that keeps you awake.
Stress and naps are a common yet unfortunate pairing, Dr. Winter explains. Many people can work themselves up so much about falling asleep that they struggle to actually do it.
Of course, that’s normal. “Most people don’t have complete control over their sleep,” Dr. Winter acknowledges. It would be strange, he says, to meet somebody who says, I have never had any trouble sleeping whatsoever. Having occasional sleep problems is to be expected.
But while you might not be able to fully control exactly when you fall asleep, you can control when you rest — and that’s one of quiet wakefulness’ biggest benefits.
Parents have always felt free to get creative with names for baby girls. They can be named for relatives or Biblical characters, but they can also be named for flowers, gems, places, or virtues -basically anything can be a girl's name. Boy's names tend to be more traditional and generic, until recently. While extreme names are in the minority, there's a growing number of parents who will give a baby boy "doer" names that imply action, often a rather masculine action.
Angler, Camper, Tracker, Trapper, Catcher, Driver, Fielder, Racer, Sailor, Striker, Wheeler — deep breath — Breaker, Roper, Trotter, Wrangler — still going — Lancer, Shooter, Slayer, Soldier, Tracer, Trooper — wait, “Slayer”? — Blazer, Brewer, Charger, Dodger, Laker, Pacer, Packer, Raider, Ranger, Steeler, Warrior — kill me — Dreamer, Jester and — wait for it — Rocker.
Quentin Tarantino movies vary widely in setting and somewhat in their basic premise, but they have enough in common with each other that Screen Junkies can critique all of them at once. Since I've only seen one of them, I guess I'm caught up.
The Illuminati is perhaps the most talked about secret society in the world. It is, according to conspiracy theories, a secret organization that has covert control of the banks, the entertainment industry, and even the government, as well as historically important events. Celebrities such as Jay-Z and Beyonce are rumored to be part of this secret society. But what exactly is The Illuminati? Mental Floss lists ten facts about the organization. Why don’t you check it out?
Jennifer Kirkeby makes herself into celebrities, memes, and fashion models. The fashion runway cosplay is hilarious, mainly because her targets already start out as quite ridiculous. She uses whatever is at hand that will work, like chicken wire and Christmas ornaments to recreate the high-fashion hat you see above. But if combat boots are all you have, that will work, too.
Sometimes it's hard to tell the original runway image from the spoof, so you need to look closely to spot the added humor.
A post shared by Baboy (@dogwithsign) on Dec 27, 2019 at 8:03am PST
If only dogs could talk, they wouldn’t need someone to speak up, or rather, write signs, for them. Thankfully, they have Dog With Sign to speak up for them.
Check out some of his best chuckle-worthy photos over at Bored Panda.
Researchers have recently tested 467 makeup products which were donated by people in the UK, for bacterial and fungal contamination. What they found out next was alarming: 90% of them contained potentially deadly germs which could pose a significant health risk to its users.
We found E coli and Staphylococci in used eyeliner and mascara. These bacteria can cause irritation and conjunctivitis (pink eye). Although the symptoms of conjunctivitis tend to be mild – itchy, watery eyes – in extreme cases it can lead to sight loss. And the germs causing conjunctivitis can spread to other parts of the body, which can trigger a more serious secondary infection.
The lipsticks and lip gloss in our sample contained Staphylococci and various bacteria associated with faecal matter. These bacteria could cause redness, swelling and inflammation of the lips, which can be treated with antibiotics or antibacterial creams. But if the germs spread to the blood or deeper tissues of the body, the infection can become life threatening.
