We mistakenly sent out an empty test email to a portion of our HBO Max mailing list this evening. We apologize for the inconvenience, and as the jokes pile in, yes, it was the intern. No, really. And we’re helping them through it. ❤️

— HBOMaxHelp (@HBOMaxHelp) June 18, 2021

Last week, thousands of HBO Max subscribers received a mysterious email from the company. The subject was Integration Test Email #1, which implied there would be more, but there was no information that made any sense, and no action requested. HBO Max posted an explanation on Twitter, which blamed an intern, but also appeared to be supportive. You can just imagine how embarrassed and frankly terrified an intern could be over such a public screwup. Twitter users were also supportive, and shared the huge mistakes they made when they were interns, just starting out in their careers.

Dear Intern, I was using my desktop calendar to make a monthly note of when I started my menstrual period, but after several months I realized I was making that note on a calendar I shared with all of my colleagues company wide. I was 37 years old.

— Caissie (@Caissie) June 18, 2021

Dear Intern, when I was 25 I made a PDF assigning each employee to the Muppet they reminded me of the most. I meant to send it to my work friend, but I accidentally sent it to the entire company. My supervisor (Beaker) wanted to fire me, but the owners (Bert & Ernie) intervened. https://t.co/zMKvQ6nxjj

— aerin. (@AerinChevyFord) June 18, 2021

Some were very public, while others were only terrifying until someone else fixed it. The upshot was that you haven't really arrived in a job until you've messed up big time.

HBO Intern, you are breathtaking! I mean it! Congrats on making your first big mistake. It's like a right of initiation for us developers
HT to @_workchronicles pic.twitter.com/8SsQNiXBBr

— Charles C. Pustejovsky III 👍 (@CCPustejovsky) June 18, 2021

See a ranked list of the top 30 responses at Bored Panda, or all of them at Twitter.

A “Potemkin village” is a neighborhood or town purposely made into an illusion, with a shiny facade that hides a not-so-shiny truth. Named after Russian military leader Gregory Potemkin, these villages look prosperous and inviting on the outside, while inside they may be empty, or poverty-stricken, or even full of nefarious activities.

The sole purpose of a Potemkin village is to make outsiders think that a situation is better than it really is, and perhaps no other country is better versed in this practice today than North Korea. Situated in the Demilitarized Zone is a village called Kijong-Dong, built in the 1950s in an attempt to encourage defection from people in South Korea.

From afar, the small town which directly faces its enemy, also known as the “Peace Village”, looks relatively normal. It has clean well-kept streets, a number of brightly-painted multi-storey buildings and identical low-rise apartments which all appear to have working electricity which would demonstrate North Korea’s prosperity and economic success following the split. The government claims that the village is home to some 200 residents, a farm, a hospital, and a school. Despite appearances however, the more likely reality is, KijongDong has no permanent residents.

Telescopic lenses have revealed that the village’s buildings are nothing more than empty concrete shells, lacking glass windows, interior rooms and even flooring. According to South Korea, caretakers flip light switches and sweep empty pavements, all to preserve a grand illusion. Photographs from inside the village, are non-existent and Western media know it better as ‘Propaganda Village’.

But Potemkin villages exist all over the world, and they aren't always government projects. Read about such villages in different parts of the world, including the US, at Messy Nessy Chic.

(Image credit: Don Sutherland, U.S. Air Force)

Brendan Leonard has a smartphone that converts usual measurement units into measurement units that are used in other situations. Who in the world would think about how many metric teaspoons it would take before a water bottle is full? Certainly not me. But what was Leonard’s purpose in doing such a thing? He writes this on his article over at Outside Online:

This app got me thinking about how contrived all of our units of measurement are, but how they seem to make sense when we apply them to the correct things. Like I always think of backpacks in terms of how many liters they can hold, because I can easily visualize what a Nalgene water bottle looks like, and I can visualize 40 or 60 water bottles fitting in a backpack.

To be honest, he has a point.

The app is called Units Plus, by the way.

Here are some of Leonard’s unconventional conversions. See the rest over at the site.

(Image Credit: Brendan Leonard/ Outside)

It is only logical to expect that the gas giants in our Solar System would be in an icy state. After all, they are really far from the Sun, with Jupiter being over 754 million kilometers away from the Sun, about five times the distance of the Earth from the said ball of hot gas. And so it was to the surprise of many when NASA’s Voyager spacecraft sailed past these planets and found out that these 4 planets were scorching hot. It was…

a revelation as jarring as finding a bonfire inside your freezer.

Follow-up observations by ground-based telescopes and the Galileo and Cassini spacecraft demonstrated that their planet-wide fevers have persisted through time. Their planetary pyrexias are acute: Jupiter’s lower latitudes, for example, should be a frigid −110 degrees Celsius. Instead, the atmosphere there cooks at 325 degrees. What incognito incinerator is behind this? And how is this unknown heat source warming not just a single spot on the planet, but the entire upper atmosphere?

Finally, after 50 years of looking for answers, scientists have finally found the cause of this puzzling phenomenon: the respective auroras of the planets.

More about this over at Quanta Magazine.

(Image Credit: NASA/ ESA/ Quanta Magazine)

The French term déjà vu, which means “already seen” in English, was coined by the French philosopher and parapsychologist Émile Boirac in 1876. But even before there was a term for this phenomenon, it was pretty much experienced by people since the time of Plato. But what really is deja vu? Unfortunately, very little is known about it, and it wasn’t until 2003 when psychologist Alan Brown presented a paper about déjà vu that scientists took the phenomenon seriously. It was thanks to Brown that the study of déjà vu is now in mainstream science.

Over the years, studies about this human experience have led to many theories. There’s a theory that déjà vu is a memory problem. There’s also another that states that it could be mini seizures. But there is still no conclusive evidence as to what causes this experience. More studies about this event still need to be conducted.

More about this over at Discover Magazine.

Image via imgflip

Physical health is a top priority among athletes. Typically, if you’re physically healthy, you’ll perform well in the game. The opposite goes when you’re not in a good state. This is the reason why Dr. Ian McKeown, Head of High Performance at the Port Adelaide Football Club (PAFC), is “always on the lookout for research projects that might give his players an advantage, either now or down the track.” His passion for his team led him to a sports medicine conference years ago, where he met Professor Mark Hutchinson, who mentioned to him the blood biomarker research of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Nanoscale BioPhotonics (CNBP). A partnership between PAFC and CNBP would soon be formed for a study.

The results suggest that not only can these blood markers show how a player is currently performing, but they can also predict how players will perform, with nine markers taken pre-training correlating with cognitive performance tests done after the completion of training. “The morning sample we took was almost predictive of the day, which is almost like saying, ‘Am I going to have a good day or not today?’” Hutchinson says. “Milliseconds can be the difference between taking a mark, making the kick or making a good decision on a battlefield.”

[...]

McKeown says the results were “pretty damn cool. It’s early in the process but it’s very exciting stuff.”

Learn more details about this potential game-changer over at Cosmos Magazine.

Cool!

(Image Credit: PAFC/ Cosmos Magazine)

An unshakeable bond between a woman and her pet Shiba Inu was taken by Japanese photographer YASUTO. His series of photos showcases the deep bond between his grandmother and her furry companion, Fuku-chan. Yasuto took photos of the adorable duo in different seasons, and it’s just really wonderful: 

They say dog is man’s best friend, and this is definitely the case for YASUTO’s grandma and her canine companion. From sitting under a cherry blossom tree to relaxing in a field of sunflowers, each photo captures their undeniable connection and mutual love of nature. Shiba Inus are famously loyal, but Fuku-chan seems particularly attached to the sweet grandma. In some images, the devoted dog is even captured keeping his human company while she works on her sewing machine.

YASUTO began taking photos of his grandma after his grandfather died. He regretted not taking more photos of him, so decided to capture the final years of his grandma’s life. His photos show the adorable lady enjoying every day with playful curiosity, with her faithful dog always by her side.

Image credit: YASUTO

Don’t worry, it’s not really a sign of an impending world-wide apocalypse. A thick blanket of cobwebs has covered Victoria, Australia, after heavy rains and flooding. The cobwebs covered landscapes like a sheet,  with people calling the phenomenon a ‘spider apocalypse.’ However, according to professor Dieter Hochuli of the University of Sydney, this is just a natural phenomenon: 

He told 7NEWS that what’s been seen in Victoria is a group of spiders called sheet web spiders who mostly stay on the ground layer, but start moving during heavy rains and flooding. 

“They move to a higher ground (and build a new house there),” he was quoted as saying by 7NEWS. 

Professor Hochuli also said that the webs of these spiders are flat, and different different from orb webs — the ones usually seen. 

Local media reported that the phenomenon is known as “ballooning”. In such events, spiders release silk strands which are caught by the wind and allow them to be carried away. 

“Many land close by, sometimes swathing the landscape in gossamer silk; but others may travel long distances across land or sea,” according to the Australian Museum.

Image screenshot via Yahoo News 

This is currently the lightest sound insulation material ever manufactured. This material, as demonstrated by researchers at the University of Bath, could reduce noise by up to 16 decibels, and it only weighs 2.1kg per cubic meter (or about 0.13 lb per cubic foot). Compared to conventional polyester urethane sound-absorbing foams, like the Kinetics KUA, which weighs 32 kg per cubic meter (or 2lbs per cubic foot), this new graphene-based material only has one-fifteenth of that weight.

“This is clearly a very exciting material that could be applied in a number of ways – initially in aerospace but potentially in many other fields such as automotive and marine transport, as well as in building and construction," says Professor Michele Meo, who led the research. "We managed to produce such an extremely low density by using a liquid combination of graphene oxide and a polymer, which are formed with whipped air bubbles and freeze-casted. On a very basic level, the technique can be compared with whipping egg whites to create meringues – it’s solid but contains a lot of air, so there is no weight or efficiency penalty to achieve big improvements in comfort and noise.”

In their paper, the researchers say they believe the aerogel will have other useful properties, including fire resistance and electromagnetic shielding, and there's also the potential to develop it further to optimize its heat dissipation capabilities, which would be very handy in engine insulation. The team says it could be commercialized and in use within 18 months.

Now that’s incredible.

(Image Credit: University of Bath/ New Atlas)

The phrase usually refers to something important that everyone is aware of, but no one wants to talk about. In this case, there's no ignoring the real-life elephant that crashed through Ratchadawan Puengprasoppon's kitchen wall in Chalermkiatpattana, Thailand, Saturday morning. The elephant, named Boonchuay, lives in Kaeng Krachan national park, and was likely just looking for something to eat. Read about the incident and see the video at The Guardian. - via Damn Interesting 

(Image credit: Ratchadawan Puengprasoppon via reddit)

Surprise! You have to admit, the whale is equipped with stealth skills. This funny photo of a sneaky whale popping up right next to a group of whale watchers was taken by photographer Eric Smith. Smith watched a mother gray whale and her baby as they approached tourists. The baby whale took the attention of the tourists as it approached near the bow of the vessel, so they missed the mother whale popping up at the stern: 

This behavior is known as spyhopping — the whale rises and stays partially out of the ocean to look at something above water. Depending on how curious it is, whales may spyhop for minutes at a time.

“Spyhopping often occurs during a ‘mugging’ situation, where the focus of a whale’s attention is on a boat, such as whale-watching tours, which they sometimes approach and interact with,” Wikipedia states.

Luckily for the tourists and photographers on the panga, they noticed the mother whale just a moment after Smith captured the photograph.

Image credit: Eric J. Smith via PetaPixel 

The Lost Kitchen is a 48-seat restaurant in Freedom, Maine, that has been attracting attention from foodies and culinary taste-makers. The restaurant sits in a restored 1834 grist mill in the tiny town, an area that one wouldn’t really expect to be the location of a popular and always fully-booked dining place. Owner Erin French certainly did not expect such a success, believing that his establishment would be ‘a quiet little cafe in the middle of nowhere, with really good coffee, some homemade English muffins, and free Wi-Fi.’ PBS NewsHour interviews Erin French to learn more about The Lost Kitchen and its establishment. Check the full interview here. 

Image credit: davidsuda via Tripadvisor

Have you experienced driving on a snowy evening? Or did you ever get lost so you had to turn down the music volume so that you can “see better”? Or how about the sudden existential crisis that dawns on you in the middle of driving? Chances are you experienced all of these already, and you would probably be able to relate to most, if not all, of these car memes.

Have a look at them over at Bored Panda.

Which one is your favorite?

(Image Credit: Bored Panda)

It is often understood that the immune system works the same regardless of the time of day when an infection hits the body, but apparently, this was a misconception. Scientists have found out that the immune system works differently depending on the time of day, thanks to the body’s circadian rhythm.

Our body clock has evolved over millions of years to help us survive. Every cell in the body has a collection of proteins that indicate the time depending on their levels. Knowing whether it’s day or night means our body can adjust its functions and behaviours (such as when we want to eat) to the correct time.

Our body clock does this by generating 24 hour rhythms (also termed circadian rhythms) in how cells function. For example, our body clock ensures that we only produce melatonin as night falls, as this chemical makes us tired – signalling it’s time for sleep.

Our immune system is composed of many different types of immune cells that are continually patrolling the body looking for evidence of infection or damage. But it is our body clock that determines where those cells are located at particular times of the day.

This means that the effect of viruses, medicines, and even vaccines, may be stronger or weaker depending on the time of day.

More about this over at The Conversation.

(Image Credit: qimono/ Pixabay)

Meet the bristle worm. It is said that their kind has already been around on Earth for about 500 million years, surviving five mass extinctions over that time. Today, there are some 10,000 species of the bristle worm.

Of these many species, scientists have been amazed by one particular bristle worm, Platynereis dumerilii, due to its virtually unbreakable jaw, which apparently, scientists found out, is made of metal atoms. That’s right. This bad boy has a metal jaw.

This is pretty unusual. The study's senior author Christian Hellmich explains: "The materials that vertebrates are made of are well researched. Bones, for example, are very hierarchically structured: There are organic and mineral parts, tiny structures are combined to form larger structures, which in turn form even larger structures."

The bristle worm jaw, by contrast, replaces the minerals from which other creatures' bones are built with atoms of magnesium and zinc arranged in a super-strong structure. It's this structure that is key. "On its own," he says, "the fact that there are metal atoms in the bristle worm jaw does not explain its excellent material properties."

But even if its jaws are made of metal, it is deformable enough, which makes it even more amazing.

Learn more about this bristle worm over at Big Think.

Ah, the wonders of nature really are fascinating.

(Image Credit: Martin Gühmann/ Wikimedia Commons)