Compared to what we see in the movies, archaeology is boring work. There are no mummies or action-packed shootouts against other “treasure hunters”. To be honest, there aren’t even that many treasures to hunt to begin with, unless you consider good ol’ pottery fragments as treasures. And yes, those are what archaeologists usually encounter on sites, and they collect thousands of these fragments and sort them out painstakingly. Tedious work, but at least no one dies, so I guess there’s a happy ending for everyone at the end of the day.

Potsherds are ubiquitous at archaeological sites, and that's true for pretty much every culture since people invented pottery. In the US Southwest in particular, museums have collected sherds by the tens of thousands.

Although all those broken bits may not look like much at first glance, they’re often the key to piecing together the past.

“[Potsherds] provide archaeologists with critical information about the time a site was occupied, the cultural group with which it was associated, and other groups with whom they interacted,” said Northern Arizona University archaeologist Chris Downum, who co-authored a new study with Leszek Pawlowicz.

Thinking of a way to expedite the potsherd sorting process, Pawlowicz and Downum decided to turn to machine-learning.

For now, Pawlowicz and Downum’s recent study is a proof of concept. They chose a pottery type, Tusayan White Ware, that is especially easy for a computer to sort based on photos, because its patterns contrast so strongly with the background. A neural network would likely do reasonably well at sorting other types of decorated pottery, but so-called plainware—ceramics without any visible decoration or markings—would probably be a bridge too far.

Now that’s a brilliant idea.

Go over at Ars Technica to know more about this topic.

(Image Credit: Pawlowicz and Downum 2021/ Ars Technica)

After Napoleon Bonaparte died in 1821, his autopsy was witnessed by eight physicians and nine other people. There was a lot of cutting and study, but 200 years later there are still arguments and theories as to what caused the French emperor's death. When the autopsy was over, several body parts were missing, most notably his penis. The organ was taken away by Napoleon's priest Ange-Paul Vignali. From there it changed hands numerous times, and was first seen by the public over a hundred years later.  

In 1927, the shriveled body part went on display for the first time at the Museum of French Art in New York. A New York newspaper covering the event observed observed that “Maudlin sentimentalizers sniffled; shallow women giggled and pointed. In a glass case they saw something looking like a maltreated strip of buckskin shoelace or shriveled eel.”

Two decades later, Dr. Rosenbach sold the appendage to Donald Hyde, a collector of the books and letters. When Hyde died, his wife returned the desiccated tendon to Rosenbach's successor, John Fleming. Some time later, a wealthy collector named Bruce Gimelson acquired the Vignali collection for a reported $35,000.

The relic changed hands several more times over the years. Read the incredible journey of Napoleon's penis, which still doesn't rest in peace, at Amusing Planet.

You probably have a favorite television series in your memory that had a character you never saw. Maybe they were only a voice, or maybe it was someone who got talked about so much that you got to know them. I immediately thought of Carlton the Doorman.



Whichever unseen character is most memorable to you, you'll be surprised at how many shows have used this device. Cracked looks at 14 of them, and Carlton didn't even make the list, which makes me feel old.

Finished another zoetrope. This time I wanted to make a tribute to one of the greatest animators, Hayao Miyazaki. #StudioGhibli #totoro #catbus #stopmotionanimation #vfx pic.twitter.com/viMGhFVsEZ

— marvelous media engine (@EngineMarvelous) May 19, 2021

Twitter user Marvelous Media Engine made this astonishing zoetrope that shows the Catbus from My Neighbor Totoro. When activated, it shows a vividly lit Catbus dashing through the fields at night.

Some people in the Twitter thread insist that this video is fake--that this is CGI, not a physical zoetrope. I'm not sure.

-via Super Punch

(Chris Hallbeck/Maximumble)

I remember when I had to explain this phenomenon to my kids, as well as that, once upon a time, you couldn't watch movies on your phone.

Now TV shows are often written with the assumption that they will be binged all at once, which greatly changes their narrative structures.

And there are practical considerations, too. Broadcast television doesn't have a pause button.

The pig just wants to get some sleep, but local humans insist on running the noise making machine, which serves no apparent purpose aside from making noise. It's necessary to disable it. If the humans don't learn, it may be necessary to disable the machine permanently.

-via Born in Space

Some days you hate your computer, and some days your computer hates you. They are fragile little creatures, and if you don't treat them just right, they will turn on you and exact revenge- by forcing an update! -via Geeks Are Sexy

The Panspermia Hypothesis is the idea that life on earth was originally transported here from somewhere else by microbes riding through space on asteroids. To survive such a journey, any life form would have to be pretty tough. The toughest critters we know of are tardigrades, or water bears, which have proven they can survive being frozen and the vacuum of space. But could they survive the impact of colliding with a planet? A team led by Alejandra Traspas at Queen Mary University in London tested how impact-resistant tardigrades are by shooting them from a gun.    

For the experiment, Traspas, along with co-author Mark Burchell, took 20 tardigrades of the species Hypsibius dujardini and fed them a (potentially) last meal of mineral water and moss. The well-fed microbes were then put into hibernation—a frozen state in which their metabolism dropped to a mere 0.1% of normal. Groups of two to three individuals were put inside water-filled shafts that were in turn placed inside a nylon cylinder. A two-stage light gas gun was used to fire these cylinders, along with their hibernating passengers, at sand targets inside a vacuum chamber. Six shots were fired at speeds from 1,244 to 2,237 miles per hour (556 to 1,000 m/s), which the scientists measured with laser light stations.

While the experience of tardigrades shot from a gun doesn't prove anything about billion-year-old single-cell organisms in space, it may be a step in that direction. Read how that experiment turned out at Gizmodo.

(Image credit: Schokraie E, Warnken U, Hotz-Wagenblatt A, Grohme MA, Hengherr S, et al. (2012))

The townsfolk are not so pleased about the change. The local council of Walsall in the British Midlands decided to bring a spice of life to the area by bringing a number of familiar-looking, oversized, bright-green plant pots. The resemblance of the pots to Super Mario’s warp pipes had the residents complaining that the new additions make their town look like it was part of the game: 

Birmingham Live reports that Walsall Council's decision to install the pots has put them under fire from locals. Fifteen of the planters are currently in place, but residents have called them an eyesore, and complained that they represent a waste of public money.

Local florist Andrea Loveridge is quoted as considering them "garish monstrosities", adding: "It beggars belief. It makes the place look more like something from Super Mario Brothers. They look like those warp pipes Mario jumps down." And yes, they do, a bit.

You can see the plant pots in, um, action I guess, in the video below (or watch on YouTube).

Another local interviewed by Birmingham Live calls the pots "a garish eyesore and a complete waste of taxpayer's money". But surely not everyone in Walsall is down on these green newcomers to the town's centre? If you're a local, why not let us know if you approve of these quite-pipe-like additions.

Image via the Gaming Bible

A new report reveals how aware people are when it comes to the state of our planet’s biodiversity. The report was created by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and commissioned by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The report, titled ‘An Eco-wakening: Measuring global awareness, engagement and action for nature,’ attempted to measure how much people were aware of the planet’s issues or current state. According to the report, there is a huge amount of concern, as the number of nature-loss conversations online increased by 65% on Twitter: 

Those online conversations reflect people’s shifting attitudes. And the change doesn’t stop there. Policymakers and officials are reflecting those attitudes in the decisions they make, the report found.

[...]

There has also been action taken by major finance organizations. In June 2020, seven European funds threatened to withdraw $2 trillion-worth of investments from Brazil if steps weren’t taken to protect the Amazon rainforest.

India has seen concern about the loss of animal and plant species increase from 82% to 90%, and a whopping 190% jump in the number of Google searches relating to nature and biodiversity.

In October 2020, the report says, the “tireless advocacy work by activists, communities, students and Mumbai residents, as well as celebrity influencers who participated in a highly publicized social media campaign” paid off. A 329 hectare area of forest within Mumbai was granted reserved status by the Maharashtra State Government.

The US has also seen a rise in concern and awareness of biodiversity and sustainability. Between 2016 and 2018, there was a 450% increase in Google searches for sustainable products, reflecting the potential for consumer power to shape the decisions taken by private businesses. And on his first day in office, President Biden signed an order that saw the US rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement.

Image via Unsplash

Viruses are incredibly weird, as they exist on the edge of our definition of life. The problem is most likely our definition of life. If we expand the definition to include viruses, then we have to include other obviously non-living things like artificial intelligence and living things that aren't organisms, like prions. But viruses are currently the edge case in the argument, as SciShow explains. -via Geeks Are Sexy

This Shiba Inu (which I think is named Mickey, based on her Instagram account) sure knows how to act like she’s in pain. The pillow that, at first glance, looks like a real hollow block, makes the act even more convincing.

I think Mickey-chan is a cosplayer, as you can see her cute cosplays over at her Instagram account.

Image via 9GAG on Facebook

The main function of the anus is to expel the waste that remains after food digestion, but in the case of rodents and pigs, the anus can have another function; through this part of the body, vital oxygen could be delivered to their bodies. This study, which was published on May 14 in the journal Med, could be useful in creating a new way to support critically ill patients with respiratory failure, according to the senior study author Takanori Takebe.

In the new study, Takebe and his collaborators provide evidence for intestinal breathing in rats, mice, and pigs. First, they designed an intestinal gas ventilation system to administer pure oxygen through the rectum of mice. They showed that without the system, no mice survived 11 minutes of extremely low-oxygen conditions. With intestinal gas ventilation, more oxygen reached the heart, and 75% of mice survived 50 minutes of normally lethal low-oxygen conditions.

Because the intestinal gas ventilation system requires abrasion of the intestinal muscosa, it is unlikely to be clinically feasible, especially in severely ill patients—so the researchers also developed a liquid-based alternative using oxygenated perfluorochemicals. These chemicals have already been shown clinically to be biocompatible and safe in humans.

Now this is weird but fascinating.

Learn more details about the study over at PHYS.org.

(Image Credit: PHYS.org)

We’ve often heard people describe good music as “lit”. But when it comes to being lit, Bach’s music would be the first one to achieve that... literally speaking, at least.

Someone has built an organ that shoots out actual flames – and this guy has played some Bach on it.

This incredible instrument was found at the Transworld Halloween and Attractions Show, which took place a few weeks ago in St. Louis, Missouri.

It’s played by Tom BetGeorge, a Californian music teacher and YouTuber who goes viral every Christmas with his house light displays to Beethoven, John Williams and more. So he knows a thing or two about syncing music and blazing visuals.

Flame-throwing organs aren’t new, however. People have been trying to make this type of instrument as far back as 1777. So I guess Bach’s music isn’t the first one to achieve “lit” status.

(Image Credit: Tom BetGeorge/ YouTube)

Elegant. Useful. And unique. Those are the words that perfectly describe this Wisdom Tree Bookshelf by Bookniture. Now, people can have a designated place for the books that they are currently reading, so they won’t misplace said books ever again. Now if that’s not useful, then I don’t know what is.

This bookshelf is available for pre-order for only $69, while the item’s shipping will be made available in August of this year.

Cool!

(Image Credit: Bookniture/ Technabob)