When I was a young boy, there were a few things that fascinated me and two of them were insects: spiders and butterflies. I thought spiders were pretty cool and butterflies were pretty. There were a few things that creeped me out and didn't like to have in the house, and even today I still don't like them and I have no holds squashing them the moment I see them, and those are cockroaches. All other critters in between are fine by me. I'd much prefer that they not invade our personal space, and if possible, it's best to release them into their natural habitats.

I have just found out that there are some insects that are totally okay to kill; even scientists encourage it. The reason being these bugs are invasive species and they can disrupt entire ecosystems just by existing. Some may be hard to get rid of though, as my experience with hornets proves, but with the right methods, we can surely eradicate them. Gizmodo has the full list of insects here.

(Image credit: Jack van Belzen/Unsplash)

All things that happen inside our bodies are, in one way or another, connected to the brain, the control tower of the nervous system. Of course, every organ has its own cells and those cells have their own specific functions, but the brain is central in our daily lives. In fact, without it, we couldn't live. Of course, there are instances wherein people fall into a coma (essentially brain-dead) and come out of it after months or years, then recover after much therapy. But the fact still stands that the brain is vital to our bodies. And now, scientists have been able to create the largest-ever map of the human brain so far.

What does this mean? There's so much information that can be taken from knowing the different brain cells and how they work. We can find information about diseases, physiology, anatomy, and much more just by studying the 170 billion cells in our brain. Scientists say that by analyzing all of this new information, we may be able to find the root cause of neuropsychiatric conditions like Alzheimer's, schizophrenia, depression, and even autism.

It is the largest map ever made, but it's not yet all-encompassing. There's still much work to be done, yet this is a major step toward understanding brain physiology and the neural network that explains much of the functioning of our bodies as well as how dysfunctional parts came to be.

(Image credit: Milad Fakurian/Unsplash)

A day or two ago, the "ring of fire" solar eclipse could be seen across the United States. It is called such because of the way that the moon blocks the sun to show a bright yellowish orange glow around the silhouette of the moon. We all know that it's harmful to the human eyes to look directly into a solar eclipse, so we generally look at them through a film to obscure our vision slightly. However, that is not the case for visually-impaired people. Nevertheless, there is one way for them to experience a solar eclipse through sound.

Through a device called "LightSound", members of the BLV (blind or low vision) community, can actually hear what a solar eclipse sounds like. It works by light sensors converts the amount of sunlight passing through the device into sound. As the moon creeps in to cover the sun, the tone will become deeper, and as the eclipse begins to vanish, it will register higher tones. To hear it for yourself, check out the sound bite from TPR. - via NPR

(Image credit: Jongsun Lee/Unsplash)

How ironic that the business that swallowed Blockbuster as well as other video rental places and ran them to the ground because of the unique business model it had, at the time, of digital distribution of movies is now opening its own physical retail stores. Netflix announced that it would be opening brick-and-mortar stores, called Netflix House, which will sell merchandise from original Netflix productions, a restaurant, and even a Squid Game-inspired obstacle course.

Netflix has been experimenting with pop-up stores recently where fans of certain shows like Bridgerton or Stranger Things can have an immersive experience inside. Apparently, all of that was in preparation for their new retail stores which are tentatively going to open in 2025 with the first two locations in the US.

(Image credit: Venti Views/Unsplash)

If you feel the hustle and bustle of city life becoming too overwhelming, one of the things you can look to do is to take a retreat somewhere in the mountains, the forests, or the near the ocean. However, you may not be as comfortable being in the outdoors as we have grown used to the comforts of modern society and indoor living. But you still want to experience nature in its fullness and keep your mind away from the stress and worries of the urban jungle. So, perhaps this elegant, minimalist treehouse called Piil is the perfect compromise.

Designed and built by the studio Arsenit, the concept is basically that of a retreat house out in the woods. They also took into consideration the surrounding flora and fauna, one of the reasons why it's such a compact structure. You wouldn't want to change or destroy of the natural environment just to find a nice resting place in the middle of forest. Instead, they adapted the measurements of the treehouse to suit the immediate surroundings.

And so, they came up with a 19-square-meter space that stands at 9 meters nestled between trees. It offers a view looking out into the forest while maintaining a comfortable living space fully furnished with a bed, a bathroom, and a calming netted hammock if you'd like to go stargazing at night.

(Image credit: Yifan Liu/Arsenit)

A cat owner will tell you that cats are perfect because they love their cats. You would expect that. But when an evolutionary biologist says it, it has a different meaning. Anjali Goswami explains that cats as a whole have perfected who they are and what they do so well that they don't need to diversify or evolve. The only real diversity in cat species is size. A lion isn't much different from a house cat or an ocelot underneath the skin. Other types of animals diversify, like bears, which range from completely herbivorous (giant pandas) to completely carnivorous (polar bears) and everything in between. Meanwhile cats hunt whatever prey animal is becoming too abundant according to their size, from deer to mice. And they do it well. 

Cats challenge standard biases in evolutionary biology. People have said to me, “What about bats? What about rodents? These groups have so many species doing all kinds of things.” And I’m like, “Yeah, because they suck.” They haven’t figured out how to do anything well, so they keep trying different things.

Goswami has plenty more to say about how cats have perfected the art of being cats at Scientific American. -via Strange Company

(Image credit: Shagil Kannur)

Show me your talent pic.twitter.com/dZ8hVfn17m

— Why you should have a cat (@ShouldHaveCat) October 14, 2023

Why you should have a cat is a delightful Twitter account (or X, if that's what you call it) that you should all be following. Yesterday, they posted a challenge. It seems pretty easy, since all you have to do is pretty much connect the lines, but even that simple step was beyond some people.

I did my best

— Theebz (@theTheebz) October 14, 2023

Un chatfesse!!

— Clement Dos (@ClementDos91280) October 15, 2023

WOW fabulous

— MALAK (@MlI_lIM) October 14, 2023

Although some attempts were better than others.

🏆

— peridotbeach (@peridotbeach) October 15, 2023

Others found a workaround, which is okay, too, I guess.

you won

— Kalley (Cali) (@shutupkalley) October 14, 2023

It’s a Picture of a Cat.

— Joseph Jaurequi (@JosephJaurequi3) October 14, 2023

Some are genuinely good, or clever, while others are genuinely stupid. See all the submissions, and you might be inspired to contribute your own under this Tweet.

I have an highly effective, reliable, and entirely organic snore detector. When I start snoring, the snore detector gently taps me on the chest and mutters, "You're snoring." This snore detector is so efficient that I married her.

Not everyone is as fortunate as I. YouTuber Naveen Kumar proposes a technological solution that makes use of artificial intelligence. The Nicla Voice sensor board detects the sound of snoring as determined by a snoring sound data set. Then it provides haptic feedback in the form of mild vibration to encourage the snoring user to reposition so as not not disturb other people in the classroom.

-via Hack A Day

The case of Jennifer Carol Wilbanks, the "runaway bride" made national headlines in 2005. But you might have been too young to appreciate the story at the time, or you didn't keep up with it past reading the headlines, and besides all that, it took a long time for all the details to come out. It has nothing to do with the 1999 movie Runaway Bride, which was earlier. Wilbanks got cold feet before her wedding to John Mason, but instead of calling off the wedding, she faked a story about being kidnapped. Maybe she didn't realize that the entire nation would be mobilized into saving her. As the story played out, people who knew her were divided in their opinions, while the rest of the country went on with their lives. But what ultimately happened? For one thing, they didn't get married, at least not to each other, but there were repercussions all around. Weird History has the whole story for us.  -via Digg

How would you feel if an idea that captured your imagination and became a rock in the base of your personal philosophy turned out to have originated as a bad example? Or worse, a sarcastic joke? These things happen. We've seen it in the past few years, as people gather in places like 4chan and compete to see who can make the most people believe the most outrageous conspiracy theories. But an idea doesn't have to be all that outrageous for people to make it a long-lasting thing. Take the idea of "meritocracy." It has the same Greek suffix as democracy, theocracy, etc. so we can tell the word means political power based on merit, or ability and talent instead of wealth or social class. Sounds like a good idea, right? But the word was coined by sociologist Michael Dunlop, who wrote a dystopian book about a meritocracy in 1958 in which students were tested and assigned their life's role by their score. It was meant to be a nightmare.

Read about the satirical origins of meritocracy, along with Daylight Saving Time, Schrödinger’s cat, Hitler’s Nobel Peace Prize nomination, and the Trolley Problem, which was proposed in 1967 in an argument about abortion, of all things, at Cracked.

(Image credit: McGeddon)

I had no idea where YouTuber Brick Bending was going with this stack of LEGO bricks, or what was illegal about it. In the world of LEGO artists, "illegal" doesn't have anything to do with copyright. A building technique is "illegal" if it puts stress on the pieces, which would wear them out before their time. This happens when there are incomplete connections, bending, or insufficient support. In this build, he insists there is no stress on the bricks, just incomplete connections when the project is done. No, I'm not going to tell you what he is ultimately making, because the process is as interesting as the ultimate goal, but I will tell you to keep an eye out for some cool frame rate synchronization after it's completed.  

Some people were just born for war. Adrian Carton de Wiart was one of those who couldn't stay away from battle, no matter how many times fate told him to go home and retire. Wiart signed up for the British Army in 1899 for the Boer War when he was still underage, by lying about his identity. He retired in 1947 in his sixties. Wiart survived a plane crash and a stint in a POW camp in Italy (from which he escaped). He recovered from gunshot wounds in most of the wars he fought, in the face, head, stomach, ankle, leg, hip, and ear, although he was left with only one eye in Somaliland, and lost two fingers, then later his hand and part of his arm in World War I.

Yet each time Wiart was wounded, he convinced his superiors to put him back into action. Oh yeah, after retiring, he broke his back and recovered from that, too. Read the thrilling and confounding story of Adrian Carton de Wiart, the most battle-scarred soldier, at Amusing Planet.  

(Image credit: Cecil Beaton)

Normally, any cafe, restaurant, or shop would be glad to have free publicity, so it's no surprise that many new establishments these days would have elegent aesthetics, quality furniture, and a great ambiance to heighten the appeal of the place to attract new customers, repeat customers, and especially the influencers. However, this one cafe in Brooklyn not only implemented a no-laptop policy, but they have also recently banned people from taking photos and videos inside the cafe, aside from quick snaps. The cafe's name is Dae.

The reason why they basically banned influencers, generally, and other people as well from taking photos and videos is that it became too much to bear and they weren't even ordering any food. Although it is understandable that some establishments may appreciate the gesture, it might get in the way of business as there have been instances when people bringing their tripods and cameras would just waltz in, take photos of other people's food, capture employees on video, and then leave.

(Image credit: Dae New York/Instagram)

Out of all the mythical creatures in Japan, the most feared might just be the tengu. They are chimeric supernatural creatures with a human form amalgamated with beast-like features. The one most famous tengu is the Great Tengu, represented by the red long-nosed mask, which can be seen atop entrances so as to ward off evil spirits. The lore that makes the tengu quite terrifying is the fact that they are said to abduct humans. While this might be a horrific experience for some, others actually seek out the tengu as they are also said to be masters of the martial arts, and those who seek them aim to learn their secrets.

As the lore of tengu evolved throughout the centuries, many different forms of tengu took shape and people have been interested in ranking which one of these tengu is the most powerful of them all. So, here is a list from Linda Lombardi of Tofugu giving us all the details about the eight most powerful tengu and where they are said to be found in Japan. It also has a more extensive narrative of the legend and its origins as well as references about the tengu in pop culture.

(Image credit: Rui Hao Lim/Unsplash)

When you first look at the collection of sculptures, you might think that the bonsai planted inside these Chinese porcelain vases have grown too big for their vessels and are looking to spread their branches out to get some fresh air. It looks a bit shocking to imagine that a bonsai tree would have enough force to break out of a porcelain vase, but Patrick Bergsma, the Netherland-based artist responsible for these sculptures, actually collected dead or sick bonsai and molded them together with broken porcelain vessels to depict a story.

The collection is part of Bergsma's Expanding China series which was inspired by his interest of antiques and was titled as such since both the porcelain and bonsai used in his sculptures originated from China. Through this collection, he wanted to express the contrast between art and nature, with the fragments of porcelain juxtaposed with the bonsai trees. More on this from My Modern Met.

(Image credit: Patrick Bergsma/Instagram)