Well, brains are certain computers, in the most basic sense of the word. They are responsible for making decisions and running programs and commands, so to speak, that will allow our bodies to move or react in a certain way. 

Our brains are capable of making decisions up to 10 seconds before we are consciously aware of them. So that part of our body is one busy bee. In fact, even experts are still puzzled by a lot of things about the central area of the nervous system. One of them is the issue of consciousness. Known to neuroscientists as the "hard problem of consciousness," which refers to the question of why it exists or what exactly it is. 

Some researchers try to answer this problem by comparing the brain to quantum mechanics. It is still not a popular idea in the field, as neuroscientists and physicists believe that our consciousness happens via classical physics, not at the small, quantum scale. Also, it’s because testing this quantum theory out requires measuring human brain activity at such small levels. Read more about brains and quantum entanglement here! 

Image credit: MART PRODUCTIONS 

How is this home still standing? 

Architecture firm Studio RAP has designed a sustainable floating home by using light materials. One look at the house called The Float, and we were left wondering how the architects made it stable on the water. 

The firm utilized cork to make the home blend in with its surroundings, which makes it looks like a cottage in a forest, except it's on water. Additionally, the company also picked timber to provide a more soft and zen atmosphere. The design for The Float was based on the idea of a house that can be a series of atmospheres that show functions of living without having a single, container-like appearance. 

The structure was built around the idea of having a small series of modules with extra panels in between them for connection. The architects decided to base their designs on Origami and folded structures. So if you’re wondering why The Float looks like a paper doll house that you can build via folding specific areas, well, there you have it. 

Learn more about the wonderful home here. 

Image credit: Studio RAP 

An item that was part of the life of one of the most prominent and iconic musicians in American history is being sold for around $100,000. Well, to be precise the bidding for the said property starts at that amount. 

The product in question is Elvis Presley’s jet, his 1962 Lockheed 1329 JetStar, also known by its call sign, “Hound Dog 2.” The jet has a lavish-looking interior, composed of red velvet upholstery and carpet, as well as its gold-finish hardware. The vintage aircraft was once the jet of choice for celebrities and CEOs in 1976. It can accommodate nine passengers and three crew members. 

The JetStar was only one of the planes in the singer’s collection of private aircraft. It joined a custom Convair 880 named “Lisa Marie” before Elvis sold it to a Saudi Arabian company. This vintage airplane was initially bought at around $840,000 (approximately  $4.4 million today). 

Mecum Auctions will be the one facilitating the auction for this aircraft. The company has hopes that someone can restore the old jet to its old glory so that Elvis fans can enjoy it in an exhibit. 

Image credit: Mecum Auctions

The quality of recent Pokemon games is a hot topic these days. Starting from the release of Sword and Shield, the Pokemon franchise’s first main series game for the Nintendo Switch, fans began pointing out their misgivings about it. 

From the cut number of Pokemon available in the game to the pacing of the story to the overall content the game provides, it’s clear that the reception was mixed. 

Nintendo has not acknowledged the fans during this period, however. But the issues were glaringly obvious when the latest installment of Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet was launched in November. These include glitches occurring in different NPCs, Pokemon, and even during battle.  

Because of the glitches and crashes found by a significant majority of its players, Nintendo has addressed this in a rare apology post. “We are aware that players may encounter issues that affect the games’ performance,” wrote Nintendo in the update’s patch notes. “Our goal is always to give players a positive experience with our games, and we apologize for the inconvenience.”

Image credit: Nintendo 

The Nintendo 64 (N64), released in 1996, was the company’s response to the rise of major home consoles such as the Sony PlayStation and the Sega Saturn. During the years of its release, over 393 games were created for the device. 

This number is quite low if we compare it to the PlayStation (around 1,100 games) and the Sega Saturn (600 games). Regardless, over 300 games is still a lot, especially if you’re planning to go down memory lane or would like to experience playing games on a retro console. 

Destructoid’s Zoey Handley, an N64 veteran, ranks their top 5 games from the console. While this list is entirely subjective, it could be a good start on what games you can pick up to play. After all, if it was something that somebody likes, it’s bound to be good, right? 

From Star Fox 64 to the cult classic The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, the writer provides some insight on each of their selection to provide merit to them. It also serves as additional commentary if these titles are unfamiliar to you. Check out the list here!

Image credit: Wikimedia commons

Every year, there are particular toys that every child seems to want for Christmas. Over time, you can track the evolution of our culture with them. Stacker has compiled a list of popular toys for every Christmas season since 1920, which gives us a century of toys. These are not necessarily the best-selling toys, since they don't have any repeats, but toys that give us a glimpse into those years. No matter your age, you will find a section that brings up memories. Maybe you played with these toys, or maybe you wanted but never got them.

I was surprised to realize that the toys I actually received as a child were "hot" 20 to 40 years earlier, like Tinker Toys and Raggedy Ann. That just tells us how iconic and universal these playthings are. I bought my own children a Radio Flyer wagon 80 years after they were "hot" (possibly because I wanted one but never got it). Now it occurs to me that my parents bought me toys that they coveted as children. And don't think that modern toys can't be iconic, as My Little Pony, Transformers, and Game Boys have been popular for decades now. -via Metafilter

By the way, one Mefite tells us that "every kid wants a Squishmallow this year."

(Image credit: The Strong National Museum of Play)

Humans have a long history of importing invasive species to places they shouldn't be, and then importing another species to eat them, after which the predatory species becomes an invasive pest. It's like that old children's rhyme that begins, "There was an old woman who swallowed a fly..." Tom Scott shows us how the Oregon Department of Agriculture is raising samurai wasps to help control the invasive brown marmorated stink bug. Is this really a good idea? Scientists struggled with the decision for so long that the wasps made their way to the US without being invited anyway, so they decided to just go with it. Will the parasitic wasps reduce the stink bugs? Will they run out of stink bugs and start eating beneficial insects? Will we have to come up with another predator to add to the chain? Only time will tell.

Despite the YouTube title, these wasps are not available to the general public just for asking.

We know some things about life in medieval times that squick us out pretty badly. Medical care was, shall we say, stuck in the Dark Ages, and people with a problem went to a barber to solve it. A growing population began to live in cities with no infrastructure for removing trash or sewage. People didn't eat with forks and rarely had adequate dishes. Everyone in the household slept in the same room and often the same bed. And how did they take care of their teeth without toothbrushes?

Some studies show that up to 90% of teeth in Western societies had some tooth decay at the turn of the 20th century, just 122 years ago. That figure is down to 30% today, which is still too high but does show the value of toothbrushes and modern dentistry. But get this- in the medieval period, archaeological evidence shows that only about 20% of teeth showed evidence of decay! Today I Found Out looks into why medieval teeth held up pretty well and how peasants cared for their choppers. They also go into the history of the overall hygiene of the period and the customs surrounding bathing and eating with one's hands.  

Weird History looks back at some of the midcentury Christmas recipes invented by food manufacturers in order to push their products, namely, Jell-O, Campbell's Soup, and mayonnaise. Not only did they sell a lot of processed convenience foods, the overcomplicated recipes gave suburban housewives something to do while their kids were at school that they could be proud of. Some of these sound like they might be tasty, if you reduce or remove the exact product they are pushing. And you'd probably want to simplify the presentation. And not serve it to people you don't know well. In fact, let's just simplify them all by using real ingredients instead of ultra-processed food products. I believe that's pretty much what we did as the 20th century slipped into the 21st century.

You'll still find food like this being served at holiday feasts, because they are the comfort foods your grandparents ate when they were kids. If you ask me, the only thing worth keeping from the era of processed convenience food recipes is Rice Krispies marshmallow treats. And I don't even make that anymore because I'd have to eat the whole batch myself. -via Digg

Since 1975, Saturday Night Live has soldiered on as the premiere sketch comedy television show. It's shifting cast members have gone on to become legendary actors, comics, TV hosts, writers, and even politicians, or else faded into obscurity. By the 1980s, we saw the phenomenon of feature-length films based on or inspired by SNL's live TV sketches, which was confounding. How could a three-minute comedy bit be expanded to two hours and remain funny? It comes down to the writing and the commitment to the characters.

An article at Entertainment Weekly looks at the nine movies that were "officially" based on SNL sketches plus a few that were related in one way or another. After 47 years on the air, those who haven't been there the whole time might confuse movies inspired by SNL with SNL parodies of existing movies, or else you've never seen the original skit. They aren't listed and ranked; rather, the best movies and worst movies are presented first for your convenience. Then they go back and explain the rest that fall in the middle and how they came to be. -via Fark

Brazilian soccer fan created this costume out of supersized sequins. pic.twitter.com/4JsD6DS7u0

— SixBrownChicks (@SixBrownChicks) December 10, 2022

This guy may look like he's computer-generated, but he's all real. He was spotted at the World Cup game between Brazil and Croatia in a full pixelated mirror costume! His entire body is covered in shiny tiles, most likely attached to a body suit underneath his mirrored Brazil soccer uniform. It looks like his "hair" is a bicycle helmet underneath the body suit. He didn't say a word, and we don't yet know who he is, but he was happy to mingle with fans and have his picture taken. He even made a mirror-tiled World Cup!

That was not to be. Brazil was eliminated by Croatia. But fans will take home the memories of a creative cosplayer and his brilliant costume. -via Everlasting Blort

1/ Here is how the abomination that is the AT-ST came about. Spoiler alert, it comes down to compromises & mission creep.

"Initial Requirement: We need a small dropship deliverable armored sentry tower (ST) for forward operating bases with space for 4 sentries"

An early sketch: https://t.co/T4FRTI8hd0 pic.twitter.com/3oSp7xoCQS

— Jake Chapman 🇺🇸🚀 ✨🇺🇸 (@vc) December 8, 2022

The Pentagon Wars is a comedy film made in 1998 about the long and bizarre development of the US military's Bradley Fighting Vehicle. This long scene from the film summarizes the long design process of this combat vehicle ran hugely over-budget and failed to accomplish its central purpose:

The organizational culture of the Department of the Defense during the 1960s, 70s, and 80s as the Bradley moved from the drawing board to the battlefield is not unique. Jack Chapman explains in a long Twitter thread that the Galactic Empire, in its final years, demonstrated a similar paralysis of leadership that led to the invention of the AT-ST--a combat vehicle that was so inept that even Ewoks armed with Stone Age technology could defeat them.

-via Debby Witt

The office of the US presidency comes with a salary of $400,000 a year and some nice benefits, but that is far less than these accomplished folks could make in the private sector. We also know that running for office can really drain one's finances, as some congresspeople learn along the way. It's much easier to start out rich.  

In the early days of the US, a man did not become prominent among the Founding Fathers unless he had land and wealth. However, most of the wealth they had came from inherited land and by marrying up. In the middle part of our string of presidents, some initially poor men rose to the presidency. They amassed small fortunes by their work as lawyers, which paid well even when expenses were relatively low. In the more modern era, presidents could be rich or not all that rich going into office, but they will make tons of money in book deals and speaking engagements either before or after their term in office.

Buzzfeed made a list of the net worth of all 46 US presidents, and tells us where that money came from. The amounts are all converted to 2022 dollars for the ease of comparison.

(Image cedit: Pete Souza)

A throwaway pickup line goes completely off the rails in this video from Viva La Dirt League. She works in a video game store; he assumes she's into video games. So he tries a cheesy pickup line from a video game world. She doesn't seem the least bit interested, but her snappy comeback forces him into creative mode. His epic story stays true to canon even though he's making it up as he goes along. She soon determines that he is a genuine fantasy video game aficionado instead of a poser, and he's fast on his feet. But is that enough? Is she even attracted to genuine fantasy video game aficionados? His pride won't let him stop, or back down. If she doesn't find true love, at least she gets a great story. Notice that when it's all over, he still hasn't paid for his purchase.  -via Geeks Are Sexy

In 1950, Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters recorded the song "Mele Kalikimaka," which tells us about Christmas in Hawaii. The song instructs us to say the phrase as a Christmas greeting. The term first appeared in print in 1904, several years after the US annexed Hawaii. It grew in popularity as tourists from the mainland flooded into Hawaii for a tropical holiday. Hawaiians, then as now, were torn between welcoming those tourist dollars and mourning the loss of their kingdom. Today, some Hawaiians will sing along with the familiar Crosby song, while others hate the phrase. University of Hawaii linguistics professor Gary Holton tells us about Mele Kalikimaka.

So, what does it mean? “Nothing,” says Holton. “It’s basically gibberish.” Technically, it’s a borrowed phrase: a term in a foreign language, in this case English, transferred into Hawaiian using what linguists call the rules of phonotactics, or sounds available in that language, Holton explains.

Wikipedia breaks down how the term was coined.

The phrase is derived from English as follows:

Merry Christmas
    ↓ Every consonant must be followed by a vowel in Hawaiian. The T is removed, since it is already silent in English.
Mery Carisimasa
    ↓ C is not a letter in Hawaiian; the closest phonetic equivalent is K.
Mery Karisimasa
    ↓ R is not a letter in Hawaiian; it is equivalent to L. Y is replaced by E, the sound it already denotes in English.
Mele Kalisimasa
    ↓ S is not a letter in Hawaiian; the closest phonetic equivalent is K.
Mele Kalikimaka

Atlas Obscura has the story of Mele Kalikimaka, and a suggestion for a better way to say Merry Christmas in the Hawaiian language.