Internet Archive, a non-profit digital library is digging up old vinyl records. These large black disks that are now being recognized for both their sound and aesthetic value will be collected, digitized, and preserved. The old vinyl records the Archive digs up will be added to their collection, as one of the resources the Internet Archive is compiling for their “Universal Access to All Knowledge”  campaign. The vinyl records will be joining the Archive’s collection of books and television recordings, as My Modern Met detailed: 

To do so, the Internet Archive has teamed up with the Boston Public Library earlier this year to digitize more than 100,000 audio recordings from the Boston Library’s sound collection. Within this assemblage are recordings in formats like wax cylinders, 78 RPMs, and LPs—although, at the moment, the project is focusing on the LPs.

CR Saikley, the Director of Special Projects at the Internet Archive, says, “The LP was our primary musical medium for over a generation. From Elvis, to the Beatles, to the Clash, the LP was witness to the birth of both Rock & Roll and Punk Rock. It was integral to our culture from the 1950s to the 1980s and is important for us to preserve for future generations.” These audio files were never translated into digital format, which means their content is at risk since it is locked in the physical vinyl. This makes the LP digitization project a priority for the Internet Archive and the Boston Public Library.

Currently, you can listen to 750 full LP albums by visiting Unlocked Recordings on the Internet Archive.

image credit: via wikimedia commons

Malaysia — The last of the Sumatran rhinoceros, named Iman, died of natural causes last Saturday due to shock in her system, according to the Wildlife Department in eastern Sabah state on Borneo island. Iman had uterine tumors ever since her capture in March 2014. Her death has made the Sumatran rhino extinct in Malaysia.

Department director Augustine Tuuga said in a statement that Iman, who reportedly was 25 years old, was suffering significant pain from growing pressure of the tumour to her bladder but that her death came sooner than expected.

It came six months after the death of the country’s only male rhino in Sabah. Another female rhino also died in captivity in 2017 in the state. Efforts to breed them have been futile but Sabah authorities have harvested their cells for possible reproduction.

[...]

The WWF conservation group estimates that there are only about 80 left, mostly living in the wild in Sumatra and Borneo in Indonesia.

This is sad news indeed.

(Image Credit: Reuters/ SCMP)

Schools across America are facing a major problem. About one out of two students in grades 4 through 12 have reported that they have experienced being bullied at least once in the past month. About one out of three students admitted to bullying others in the same time frame.

To try and solve this problem, this school tries to teach students the effects of bullying through the use of virtual reality.

“We needed a way to convey to those people, if you knew what this felt like, you might not do it,” says Michael Davino, the superintendent of the Springfield School District, who introduced VR technology into the curriculum last year.

“[The ultimate goal of virtual reality videos is] to open up to as many young people and adults as we can the serious and long-range impact of being mean-spirited, just to satisfy yourself, and that in the end, your satisfaction is fleeting, and those people are suffering.”

Check out more details about this news over at CBS.

What are your thoughts about this one? Do you think this will be effective?

(Image Credit: Pixaline/ Pixabay)

A set of lighthouses off the Florida Keys is up for grabs now that the government no longer needs them. They spent 100 years warning sea traffic away from the coral reef several miles from shore, and they had to be hurricane-resistant, which required a design different from the brick and stone lighthouses you see elsewhere. One has already been given to a non-profit organization. Sand Key lighthouse, pictured above, has been on the auction block for most of this year. The other four will be given away, if the right owners can be found.  

Between 1852 and 1880, the U.S. government built six offshore reef lights. Also known as screw-pile lighthouses—because they stand on piles that are screwed into the sea bottom—these haunting towers look more like metal spiderwebs than buildings (a design that likely influenced a more famous tower across the Atlantic, built by an architect named A.G. Eiffel).

These outposts stand in just five feet of water, but they’re four to seven miles offshore, so the lives of their keepers came with distinct isolation. These lonely souls sometimes went weeks without human interaction. In some cases, the extreme solitude led to mental derangements. But on serene days, sharks swam by in crystal-clear waters, and nights were passed watching waves wash over the reef, illuminated by moonlight and burning whale oil.

While these lighthouses may seem like a bargain, ownership comes with the responsibility to maintain them as historic sites. Historian and president of the Florida Keys Reef Lights Foundation Eric Martin hopes to acquire Sand Key lighthouse and the others. He knows more about them than almost anyone, and tells the history of these lighthouses at Atlas Obscura.

(Image credit: State Library and Archives of Florida)

"Africa" became a big hit because it has a pleasant melody, fine harmonies, and great production values. It was an early example of what came to be known as the "80s power ballad." But the lyrics never made a bit of sense. Toto's David Paich, who wrote the song, admitted he knew nothing about Africa but what he'd seen on TV. So how accurate is the song? Focusing on the line "I bless the rains down in Africa," Mel magazine asked three weather experts for their opinions: Professor of Meteorology Peter Knippertz, Nigerian meteorologist and oceanographer Kenya Samson Levi, and South African TV weatherman Simon Gear. They talked about a lot more than just the weather.  

Knippertz: If you read through the lyrics, you read about drums, wild dogs and the wise man with ancient melodies — it’s like a tourist catalog of images from Africa, which of course has little to do with the day-to-day realities of the real Africa.

“The wild dogs cry out in the night
As they grow restless, longing for some solitary company”

Gear: There are no wild dogs calling to each other in the night! That doesn’t exist. I’m not only a meteorologist, I’m also a Savannah ecologist, and the concept of wild dogs calling to each other in the night irritates me immensely, because wild dogs don’t call to each other in the night at all. They don’t even really call to each other during the day! They’re thinking of hyenas, not dogs.

“As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti
I seek to cure what’s deep inside, frightened of this thing that I’ve become”

Gear: It’s mildly insulting that they even mention Olympus in this song because Kilimanjaro is maybe five, even 10 times higher than Olympus. It’s a massive mountain, whereas Olympus is a pimple. Though it is indeed the Serengeti that it looks over, so that was accurate.

What really floored me was an image of the single's picture disc. It is a map of Africa, with countries like Rhodesia, South West Africa, and Zaire. Those are now Zimbabwe, Namibia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. That speaks to how very long ago 1982 really was. Read the rest of the critique at Mel magazine. -via Digg

CGP Grey has been doing research for this video for five years. Well, to be honest, that five years of research is most likely going into the series of videos that will be called Reservations, of which this one is the first. Before diving into what he's going to tell us, Grey first wants to established the language used. Therefore, here are 1300 words to explain one word. -via reddit

Frozen 2 has just been released, and while a lot of fans are reeling over the famous Disney film’s sequel, some of us are left wondering on what is it like to be behind the scenes of such a huge production. Whether it’s Frozen or any other big Disney film, what are the processes involved in the creation of such a film? Norman Lemay, the head of story for Frozen 2, tells Rappler the details: 

Could you take us through what a Disney Head of Story does?

Normand: In any animated film, the directors oversee a lot of creative departments while the movie is being produced, and one of them is the story department.

In the story department, I act as a supervisor for the story team. I’m in between the director and the story artists, so I work closely with both to develop the movie visually as a cinematic experience.

I've been with Disney since 2009, so I've worked for the first Frozen movie as well as other in-betweens, like Big Hero 6, Moana, and Zootopia.

image credit: Walt Disney Philippines via Rappler

Was this guy born with it, or does the physical punishment of a professional rugby career make you a comedic genius? Joe Marler of the Harlequins spoke to reporters about their upcoming game with Bath. The simple adage about getting back on the horse led to a trip down the rabbit hole. Marler's Wikipedia entry has been updated since this video came about. -via Laughing Squid

Mister Rogers Bath Bar Mini Soap

Having people over for the holidays can fraught with fear. Do you worry endlessly that your family and friends are judging you and especially your bathroom? Distract those judgy house guests with the clean and positive Mister Rogers Bath Bar Mini Soap from the NeatoShop. It's hard to be negative when you encounter something so delightfully pleasant.

The Mister Rogers Bath Bar Mini Soap also makes a cheerful stocking stuffer or gift. It is a wonderful way to remind someone that they are rare, valuable, and appreciated. Don't you want to share one with your neighbor? The holidays are approaching quickly. Get yours today before they are all out of stock.  

Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more great Bath & Body! New items arriving all the time. 

Don't forget to stop by the NeatoShop to see our large selection of customizable apparel for creating the perfect gift. We specialize in curvy and Big and Tall Sizes. We carry baby 6 months all the way to adult 10 XL shirts. We know that fun, fabulous, and positive people come in every size. 

KFC initially opened an an all-you-can eat buffet restaurant in Osaka back in 2015. Now KFC takes this wonderful treat to Tokyo, opening KFC Restaurant. Located at the Minami Machida Grandberry Park, KFC Restaurant offers a lot of dishes, including the classics such as their original recipe fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and new dishes from their “KFC Special Chicken Menu”. Head over to SoraNews24’s recap on their experience queueing up for hours just to get to eat at KFC Restaurant. 

image credit: via SoraNews24

A French court ruled that the ducks on a smallholding in France may carry on quacking, ruling against a neighbor’s complaint that the ducks were disrupting their lives with their loud quacking. The noise from 60 ducks and geese, kept by Dominique Douthe in Pyrenees, France was within acceptable limits, as Reuters detailed: 

“The ducks have won,” Douthe told Reuters after the court decision. “I’m very happy because I didn’t want to slaughter my ducks.”

The complaint was brought by Douthe’s neighbor who moved from the city around a year ago into a property about 50 meters (yards) away from the enclosure in the Soustons district where Douthe keeps her flock.

The dispute is the latest in a series of court cases that have pitted the traditional way of life in rural France against modern values which, country-dwellers say, are creeping in from the city.

image credit: via wikimedia commons

Canadian makeup artist Bean Dawson takes a step out of the usual beauty looks and creates a range of “creative” looks on her Instagram. Using decapitated dolls and teddy bear heads, Dawson showcases her aesthetic and her talent with Special FX makeup. Dawson describes her aesthetic as “campy editorial makeup meets surreal props and headpieces,” as she explains to Paper: 

"Each day is different. Today, I'll make a headpiece out of teddy bears, tomorrow I'll turn my face into Candyland," she tells PAPER. "I love taking things, weird things, cute things, old things, anything and turning them into looks."

But despite her impressive use of colors and makeup in communicating her aesthetic, she refuses to label herself as a makeup artist. "My makeup is just for me, I see it as an extension of myself and an art form," she says. "I actually don't enjoy doing makeup on others. I have a ton of respect for working MUAs; there's a lot of knowledge that goes into the profession."

image credit: Bean Dawson on Instagram

The United States (and the Internet) has celebrated the National Selfie Day to give tribute to the style of self-portrait, the selfie. While there are debates on what does count as “a selfie”, NASA laid claim that Buzz Aldrin, the second man who walked on the moon, was the first to take a selfie (in space). This claim defied the usual definition that a selfie should be taken digitally, as National Geographic detailed:

“For me, it needs to be digital to be a selfie,” argues Jennifer Levasseur, a curator at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. According to Levasseur, the concept of a selfie is directly linked to internet culture and the human desire to interact on social platforms. “The thing that makes a selfie a selfie is sharing it,” she says.

Still, astronauts have been carrying cameras aboard space vehicles since the 1960s, and they’ve taken plenty of pictures of themselves along the way. In 1966, Aldrin used a Hasselblad camera that was designed specifically for space, with an extra-large trigger to accommodate the astronaut’s thick gloves. Hasselblad also painted the first camera in space a matte black to minimize reflections in the orbiter window. But cameras used in space need to survive extreme conditions, like temperature swings from -149° to 248°F, so Hasselblad painted later models silver to help the camera adjust to these temperature changes.

image credit: screenshot via National Geographic

In October, Steve Braithwaite was pulled over by a Michigan State Police trooper while driving his banana car. The probable cause was probably the fact that he was driving a banana car. Braithwaite did not peel out and give him the slip, yet the incident was still bananas. He was not ticketed, but rather rewarded. From the Facebook post:

Trooper Strouse was patrolling near Adrian when he saw Steve Braithwaite driving his banana car down the highway. Braithwaite was anticipating a citation, but after Trooper Strouse checked out the headlights, brake lights and taillights, he returned the driver's license, along with a $20 bill for his travels.

"Trooper Strouse is an awesome and humble person. I have no doubt he has done things like this his whole career," said F/Lt. Morenko, commander of the MSP Monroe Post.

Read more on this story at the Detroit Free Press. -via Boing Boing

(Image credit: Michigan State Police)

Scientists are studying the language of numbers and their effect on learning math. For most numbers, English does pretty well in describing, say, sixty-five. But the numbers eleven and twelve don't inherently mean anything in base ten, and the rest of the words for teens don't quite mesh with the system for numbers twenty and above. In contrast, in Mandarin Chinese, all numbers between ten and 100 are spoken with the same convention: the words for 92 translates to "nine ten two."

In other languages, the tens and units of numbers are inverted. For example, in Dutch, 94 is written vierennegentig (or “four and ninety”), and other research suggests this may make it harder to do certain mathematical processes.

For example, Dutch kindergarten children performed worse than English children on a task that required them to roughly add together two-digit numbers. This was despite the fact they were slightly older and had better working memory, because Dutch kindergarten starts later than in the UK. But on nearly every other metric, including counting ability, roughly adding and comparing quantities of dots, and simple addition of single-digit numbers, the two groups performed at the same level.

"The fact that they were the same in every other aspect, apart from the condition where two digits showed up, shows you that it's the language that is making the difference,” says Iro Xenidou-Dervou, lead author on the study and lecturer in mathematical cognition at Loughborough University.

Read more on the research into the way we say numbers and what that means for education at BBC Future. -via Damn Interesting

(Image credit: Flickr user chia ying Yang)