We are most familiar with Katmai National Park because of Fat Bear Week every autumn. The park in Alaska has cultivated many fans who keep up with the progress of bears gaining weight through the summer by watching live webcams set up around the park's bear country. That was a good thing for a hiker who became lost while walking on Dumpling Mountain last Tuesday. Users who were watching noticed a man addressing the Dumpling Mountain camera about 3:15. He had walked by the camera, then realized it was a chance to communicate and came back. The wind drowned out the man's voice, but viewers could see he was cold, wet, and miserable in the rain and fog.

Viewers contacted the site's moderators, and one even contacted his local police. About three hours later, park rangers found the unnamed man waiting near the bearcam. It was the first time that Explore.org's webcams were used for a rescue situation. We don't know if the hiker is a fan of Fat Bear Week, but anyone who wanders the park's four million acres must at least be familiar with it. He recognized the opportunity for help and used it to save his own life. Read the story of the rescue here. -via Boing Boing

(Image credit: Explore.org)

English as we know it today is a mishmash of words that came from everywhere. Sure, the majority of it came from German and evolved through Old English and Middle English until we could no longer read or understand the source languages. Then along the way, we've added a ton of words from other languages. Many can be traced directly to Greek mythology, Latin used in the Roman Empire, and real Greek people and things. So when you say "It's Greek to me," you should be able to figure at least some of it out. A lot of that is because the Greek and Roman Empires were widely influential and rather well documented. Some words were filtered from Latin by the romance languages that descended from it: Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, and Romanian. If you ever studied Latin, you can often figure out what new words might mean. And if you run across a Greek god you are unfamiliar with, you can often figure out their story by the modern word we took from their name. -via Digg

In 2011, NASA ended the space shuttle program, and the US began hitching rides to the International Space Station (ISS) in Russian spacecraft. What could possibly go wrong?

Astronaut Frank Rubio launched his mission to the ISS on a Soyuz space capsule on September 21, 2022. While docked, that capsule sprung a leak and Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, decided it was too risky to bring anyone back to earth. Rubio's planned six-month mission on the ISS was extended until he could get a slot on another spacecraft. Another Soyuz capsule went to the ISS and back, but carried Russian crew. Other ISS personnel arrived and departed on SpaceX vehicles, with all seats taken. So Rubio stayed in orbit, along with the two cosmonauts he arrived with.

As of today, Rubio has spent 355 consecutive days in orbit, most of it unplanned, longer than any other US astronaut. He is scheduled to return to earth on September 27th, and by that time will be the first NASA astronaut to spend more than a calendar year in space, with a total of 371 days. A statement from NASA said, in part:

“Your dedication is truly out of this world, Frank!”

It's amazing how much dedication you can muster when you have no choice. Rubio's record is only among NASA astronauts. The record for the longest consecutive time in space is held by cosmonaut Valery Polyakov, who stayed aboard the space station Mir for 437 consecutive days in 1994-95.

Incidentally, the investigation of the coolant leak in that docked Soyuz spacecraft determined it was caused by an external factor, such as space debris. Which brings up a whole other subject on the dangers of space travel.  -via Gizmodo

(Image credit: NASA)

A legal deposit library is one in which all printed materials are required to be deposited. The United States requires copies be sent to the US Copyright Office, but only if you want a copyright, and they don't retain materials forever. In the UK, there are six legal deposit libraries, but as of now, the only one a publisher is legally required to sent materials to is the British Library, and they keep it forever. As you can imagine, this collection is massive, requiring off-site warehouses. It's not easy to get a library card to do research among all those materials, but when an item is requested, they move heaven and earth to get it for you. This requires giant high-speed robots and an impressive archiving system that has evolved over time. It will have to evolve further, as they are now taking all UK materials published online as well. Tom Scott gives us an overview, and ends with some lucky timing.

Duolingo received a question from a reader: "Are there any words that all languages have in common?" It turns out that there are two of them. But first we are treated to several words that come close but still have a few exceptions. Of course, you could see "pineapple" coming a mile away. The word is "ananas" or some variant all over the world, but pineapple in English. However, it's also called "piña" in a few languages. After several neat stories about those words, we get to the universal ones. You may think (as I did) that these common words might tie all languages together and reveal what the world's oldest language really is, but alas, no. The reason that two words are universal is because they are things that originated in one place and were exported globally in a relatively short time. You might even be able to guess them before you check out the article at Duolingo. -via Kottke

Crystallization is when solids form from a liquid by organizing molecules into a predetermined structure. That by itself is mind-blowing, but when you use certain chemicals to start with, the colors and motion can be stunningly beautiful. German photographer Jens Heidler brings us a time-lapse video of the crystallization process of a mixture of vitamin C and the amino acid beta analin, along with water and alcohol. He varied the proportions of the ingredients and the temperature to get different sequences. Heidler lists the gear he used at the YouTube page. I would never pretend to understand the chemistry of it all, but it sure it pretty! -via Laughing Squid

BGR reports that scientists in Wuhan, China have invented a toilet bowl that can't be stained. The 3D printed surface is made of a material that repels feces easily. Even after the researchers vigorously applied sandpaper to the surface, it still kept poop-free, or at least free of the simulated fecal matter. Their science-y article in the journal Advanced Engineering Materials describes how the "abrasion-resistant super-slipper flush toilet" works.

It sounds very promising, but field testing is necessary. Give me $20 and access to a Taco Bell, and I'll let you know if this toilet bowl is really up to spec.

-via Dave Barry

The marri tree (Corymbia calophylla) grows in Western Australia where water is a precious commodity. Its sap has antiseptic properties, making it really valuable. Aboriginal cultures in the area have been caring for these trees for thousands of years, and developed a method for turning them into bowls to hold scarce rainwater! In the Menang language, the tree is called Gnaama Boorna, which means water tree.

They say the best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago, but a marri tree requires even more patience. Many generations of the Menang people cut the central branch off a young tree, then shape the peripheral branches up around it over years. By the time a tree is 150 years old, the central pruning spot would become a well to hold water. They also protect these precious trees, by cleaning brush from around them so they won't be destroyed by fire. Some living trees are 400 years old, and still collecting water when it's available. Read about the significance of the marri tree at ABC. -via Metafilter

(Image credit: David McCorquodale, CC BY 4.0)

The USS Enterprise is under attack, but any defense plan is derailed by Kirk using antiquated earth idioms. The bridge crew is very diverse, as the future Starfleet became more diverse every time a new Star Trek series launched. That means there are plenty of Enterprise officers on board who are offended by the things he says (and more than even the captain is aware of). Kirk starts to figure out a way out of the mess, but he throws a little too much mustard on his plan and it ends up taking longer than it should. Oh no, I've probably just offended a crew member from the planet Mustard.

This animated scene is from Casper Kelly, who gave us Too Many Cooks. It is the first of  a series of five videos called Very Short Treks that pay homage to Star Trek: the Animated Series for the series' 50th anniversary. We will be looking forward to seeing the rest!   

If you ever think of Fanta, you probably picture orange soda. Or possibly grape. I think they also have a red one, but Fanta is usually orange. Except for this fall, when there's a black Fanta available for a limited time. The flavor is a mystery, and we may never find out exactly what it's supposed to taste like. My wild guess is that it will taste like some marginally nostalgic ultra-processed artificial fruit flavor. Fanta's parent company Coco-Cola has been doing this with various sodas for a year now. They encourage people to try it and share their guess at the taste on social media. In other words, free advertising. The only hint at these mystery flavors is that they are designed to "fool the senses," so a black beverage could easily taste like egg nog.

But the real selling point for What The Fanta Zero Sugar is that the company says it will turn your tongue black, so if you get some, you will want to put at least one back for the night of your Halloween costume party. Or take some to school to share for guaranteed hilarity. -via Mental Floss

(Image credit: Fanta) 

So are you a comic book reader? Have you ever been one? Marvel or DC? Evan Puschak explains why we tend to cleave to one or the other, for several reasons that make sense. Like Puschak, I started reading DC comics because of a Superman TV show, but in my case it was Adventures of Superman starring George Reeves, which I only saw in reruns. Comic books were 15 cents each, and I had to carefully budget my allowance to buy one. The rivalry between the two major comic producers is the same today, although the prices have gone up. I'm sure allowances have, too.

Puschak explains how comic publishers go through cycles of storytelling with their superhero characters, in order to boost readership and make money. Every once in a while, the cycle has escalated to a point where it has to stop and start over again, with a death, retirement, resurrection, or reboot, but that's fine because over the years another generation becomes old enough to read and enjoy comics. It's happened for around a hundred years. But does the cycle of a comic book superhero story translate to movies and TV? The Marvel Cinematic Universe has dozen of movies, and they follow the same sort of cycle seen in publishing. DC appears to be doing that, too, although with fewer films. Only time will tell if they know when it's the right time to slow down, take a break, and start over again. -via Kottke

Literally beating the competition lying down, seven competitors lying on mats in the Montenegrin village of Brezna continue their battle to become Montenegro's 'Laziest Citizen' https://t.co/WaDmrQrwdN pic.twitter.com/lIa8NkbElf

— Reuters (@Reuters) September 8, 2023

There is a stereotype that Montenegrins are lazy. Far from being offended at this allegation, the people of Brezna, Montenegro are competing to see who among them is the laziest.

The athletes must remain lying down in bed continuously. They are allowed 10 minute breaks every 8 hours to use the toilets. Otherwise, they are locked into a fierce competition to see who can exert as little physical effort as possible.

Brezna has held this annual contest for 12 years. The winner will earn €1,000 ($1,070 USD). As of yesterday, the 7 remaining athletes had kept lying down for 463 hours.

-via Dave Barry

We Earthlings will be able to see a new comet coming this way, all the way from the Oort Cloud at the outer reaches of our solar system. Comet Nishimura might be making its very first journey around the sun, and if it survives the trip, it won't be back for hundreds of years. The comet was first discovered by amateur astronomer Hideo Nishimura just last month. Since then, it has been getting brighter. The comet will reach its perihelion, the point where it is closest to the sun, on September 18. Considering its icy source and frozen composition, there's a good possibility that Comet Nishimura will break apart by then.

If you want to see Comet Nishimura, your best chance will be on Tuesday, September 12, at least in the northern hemisphere. Stargazers in the southern hemisphere may be able to track it longer, unless the comet disintegrates. Read more about Comet Nishmura and how to see it at Inverse.

(Image credit: Dan Bartlett via NASA)

Europe is having one of the most textbook Omega blocks in memory. A heat dome flanked by two strong storms. A true atmospheric stalemate/ traffic jam, dumping Epic rains in Greece. These split flow jet streams & extreme blocks are becoming more common esp in Europe 1/ pic.twitter.com/H5ryHsC1Tn

— Jeff Berardelli (@WeatherProf) September 6, 2023

This is not an ideal time to visit the beautiful beaches of Spain and Greece and lounge in the sand in a bikini. The Guardian reports that twin storms are leaving those nations hot and wet, with record temperatures and precipitation as a consequence.

Meteorologists call this type of storm an "Omega block" because the weather system, which features two low pressure systems heaving up a high pressure system between them. The resulting shape resembles the Greek letter omega.

A man with more guts than sense gets a bear to leave the party. pic.twitter.com/WRoJYHFouB

— Catch Up (@CatchUpFeed) September 8, 2023

Some people on the internet are saying that this mysterious gentleman has more courage than good sense. I must admit that if I was hosting a lakeside patio party and a black bear decided to crash it, I would not try to drive it away with just strong words and gestures.

Mike, though, is made of tougher (or crazier) stuff. He insists that the bear leaves. The bear swats at him with a paw as it exits and Mike gets a few scratches. But, notably, Mike is not mauled to death. So I think this is the best possible outcome for him.

Content warning: foul language.

-via Dave Barry