A samurai in full armor, holding a bow in his right hand and a spear in his left, stands on what seems to be the shoulder of a gigantic robot. In front of him is the gigantic robot’s head with one of its eyes gouged out.
This cardboard sculpture by Greg Olijnyk is called “David vs G 2.0”. It is a retelling of the story of David and Goliath. And, to fit into his current series, Olijnyk retells the story with a sci-fi twist.
Fully articulate and outfitted with LED lights and glass where necessary, the extraordinarily detailed works are futuristic, slightly dystopic, and part of larger world-building narratives. The architectural constructions, for example, are “the start of a series of pieces exploring the fear, fascination, and curiosity aroused by the stranger in our midst. The weird presence out of place. The building of unknown purpose with no windows and with lights flickering at night,” he says. “What’s going on in there?”
Check out Olijnyk’s cardboard sculptures over at Colossal, and check out even more of them over at his Instagram account.
Jennifer George wanted to have a closer look on the animals that she saw by her window, and so she set up an outdoor camera in 2019. One day, George noticed a family of coyote pups from her outdoor camera, and noting that that day was a hot one, she decided to set up some water for them. Little did she know that not only will she help those coyotes, but also other animals as well.
“It started with just a metal bowl of water,” George told The Dodo. “We thought that would be a harmless way to get [the animals] in front of the camera. That brought birds at first — mostly scrub jays. Then other animals started showing up, and I wanted to improve the accommodations for them and bought a bigger bowl and a solar fountain.”
George’s makeshift fountain has quickly become a gathering place for feathered, furry and scaly creatures alike.
Visitors range from a snake going for a swim to a family of quail taking a bath, as well as turkey vultures, long-tailed weasels, skunks, coyotes and bobcats.
“The birds particularly like the moving water, especially hummingbirds,” George said. “Right now I'm hoping to see this year's coyote puppies — we saw a pregnant female a few weeks ago.”
So does that mean our current clocks aren’t accurate? They are, but there’s always room for more accuracy. Unfortunately, it comes at a price. According to scientists working on proving a relationship between time and entropy, the more accurate a clock runs, the more entropy it generates. Basically, we create more disorder to the universe as we increase the accuracy of our clocks:
As we go forward in time, thesecond law of thermodynamics states that the entropy of a system must increase. Known as the "arrow of time," entropy is one of the few quantities in physics that sets time to go in a particular direction — from the past, where entropy was low, to the future, where it will be high.
This tendency for disorder to grow in the universe explains many things, such as why it’s easier to mix ingredients together than separate them out, or why headphone wires get so intricately tangled together in pants pockets. It’s also through this growing disorder that entropy is wedded so intimately to our sense of time. A famous scene in Kurt Vonnegut’s novel "Slaughterhouse-Five" demonstrates how differently entropy makes one direction of time look to the other by playing World War II in reverse: Bullets are sucked from wounded men; fires are shrunk, gathered into bombs, stacked in neat rows, and separated into composite minerals; and the reversed arrow of time undoes the disorder and devastation of war.
This intimate connection between time and entropy has fascinated scientists for decades. Machines, such as clocks, also produce entropy in the form of heat dissipated to their surroundings. Physicists have been able to prove that a tiny quantum clock — a type ofatomic clock that uses laser-cooled atoms that jump at highly regular intervals — creates more disorder the more accurately it measures time. But until now, it has been very difficult to prove that larger, more mechanically complex clocks create more entropy the more accurate they get, even if the idea sounds good in theory.
Fossil remains of a plant that seems to be an early example of cycads (or cycadales) has been discovered by scientists. The fossil came from the southern part of a rock layer known as the Irati Formation. Researchers named the preserved species Iratinia australis.While the discovered pieces were small, they were enough to prove the similarities between the remains and the current surviving cycads. Oh, and did you know that this particular fossil served as dinosaur food? The New York Times has more details:
The surviving cycadales are often called “living fossils,” much like present-day coelacanth fish, which retain many of the same characteristics as ancestral fish from hundreds of millions of years ago.
This lineage endured a pair of cataclysms when most life was killed off the planet. The first occurred at the end of the Permian geological period 250 million years ago and is often calledthe Great Dying. It was the largest mass extinction in Earth’s history, opening the evolutionary door to the rise of dinosaurs. The other was the extinction 66 million years ago that broughtthe age of dinosaurs to an end.
“It’s a really long history on Earth,” said André Jasper, a biology professor at the University of Taquari Valley in Brazil and an author of the paper. “You can find it, this kind of plant, in Australia, in Asia, in Africa, in America. It spread all over the world.”
Cycadales never dominated the plant kingdom, although they have thrived in certain places. Their heyday was more than 120 million years ago before they, and even older plants like conifer trees, were overtaken by the advent of flowering plants, which were quicker to reproduce and adapt to changing ecological niches.
“These guys were dinosaur food,” said Dennis Stevenson, an emeritus senior curator at the New York Botanical Garden and an expert on cycadales who was not involved with the research.
Now this is just amazing. Meet Derm Assist, a web-based app that can identify skin conditions with just a photo! Developed by Google, it is targeted to be launched starting in the European Union by the end of the year. So, how does the application work? CNET has the details:
You spot a rash, lesion or strange-looking mole on your skin, snap a few photos of it, upload those pictures to Derm Assist. Google's artificial intelligence and machine-learning capabilities analyze the photos and look for a match in a database of 288 skin conditions. It then presents a handful of possible skin conditions you might have with an accuracy rate of up to 97%, the company says.
Derm Assist only needs three photos to match you with a few possible skin conditions, but to get more precise results, you can fill out an optional questionnaire that goes into more detail about your skin condition.
Google makes it clear that this is not a diagnostic tool, but rather a way to help narrow down possible conditions so you can determine if you should see a doctor or just grab some cream from the drugstore.
Independent visual artist Aivaras Ligeika has created a piece that aims to explore the relationship between human and matter. Ligeika has done that through an abstract sculpture made from more than 350 cuts of paper! Thanks to the light from the environment surrounding the artwork, illusions can be seen from the sculpture, which in turn creates a unique experience for every observer. At the same time, the work is also ‘reminiscent of a mute symphony of dreams and ideas’, as Abduzeedo writes. Check more images of the art work here.
On May 17, a natural arch located over half a mile off the coast of Darwin’s Island in the Galapagos Islands had its top removed as “a consequence of natural erosion.” The said natural arch was none other than Darwin’s Arch, named after the English biologist. The arch was a favorite subject of photographers, and a popular landmark for cruise ships. Hopefully, even if the arch is now “topless”, it is still something to look forward to by both groups.
… one tour company, Aggressor Adventures, is calling the two stone monoliths that remain "The Pillars of Evolution," CNN reported.
That, and whale sharks, and other aquatic animals, still thrive on the waters around the now called pillars.
We’ve been told by scientists for decades that we need at least 30 minutes of exercise every day if we want to stay healthy and prolong our life. However, it would seem that this advice isn’t enough, depending on how a person spends his day. To put it simply, the benefits that a person can get from exercising for half an hour could be negated if he lives a very sedentary life, like sitting for over 11 to 12 hours per day.
“Getting 30 minutes of physical activity per day, or 150 minutes per week, is what’s currently recommended, but you still have the potential to undo all that good work if you sit too long,” says Sebastien Chastin, PhD, professor of health behaviour dynamics at Glasgow Caledonian University in Scotland and lead author of the study.
In this day and age when we now spend most of the day sitting down, what can we do if we want to stay healthy and prolong our life? Scientists gave us three options on how to spend our day. According to this study, these options could reduce the risk of early death by 30%:
55 minutes of exercise, 4 hours of light physical activity, and 11 hours of sitting
13 minutes of exercise, 5.5 hours of light physical activity, and 10.3 hours of sitting
3 minutes of exercise, 6 hours of light physical activity, and 9.7 hours of sitting
In their quest to understand how the human heart works and develops in the womb, scientists exposed some stem cells to a suite of proteins and small molecules that were known to be involved in early human heart development. After a week of observing, the scientists noticed something amazing.
The cells sorted themselves into hollow, chamber-like structures, analogous to the left ventricle of the heart, the team found. What's more, the walls of the chambers began to contract rhythmically, mimicking a human heartbeat.
[...]
"This work is significant in the sense that they started from embryonic bodies," meaning 3D clumps of pluripotent stem cells, a type of stem cell that can give rise to many cell types, said Ying Mei, an associate professor of bioengineering at Clemson University, who was not involved in the research. In particular, the team managed to coax the cells into a hollow chamber structure — something that hasn't been done before with embryonic bodies, Mei said.
The findings of their study (which was published on May 20 in the journal Cell) could prove to be useful in studies about cardiogenesis and heart conditions.
S.A. Williams built a miniature car for his son Bobbi that proved to be so popular, William's friends encouraged him to market a full-size model. There was quite a market for automobiles after World War II, so Williams hired consultants and designers to produce a $500 car that would travel 50 miles on a gallon of gas. The Bobbi-Kar's odd look was the result of form following function. Its component design meant it could be taken apart and reassembled as needed.
Production models were to be equipped with lightweight plastic body panels in various colors mounted to an inner structural body for easy repair. The one-piece rear deck and fender assembly were hinged at the back and could be raised, unlatched, and removed.
Releasing latches located above the windshield and at the rear deck line permitted the easy removal of the hardtop, which could be stowed away in the package compartment under the flat hood. Inside, the dashboard was covered with thick foam rubber padding and upholstered in leather—a less expensive alternative to applying expensive chrome trim, graining, or decals.
Since you've never heard of the Bobbi-Kar, you might assume that the company went out of business because the car was ugly. That's not what happened at all. Read the surprising story of the Bobbi-Kar at The Old Motor. -via Everlasting Blort
The enormous statue known as Christ the Redeemer was erected on a hilltop overlooking Rio de Janiero in 1931. Its 90th anniversary is an occasion for maintenance and restoration, as the statue becomes worn and damaged by weather. How that’s done is a fascinating story. Workers use ropes to rappel around the surface of the statue, but they get up there from the inside!
British writer Donna Bowater was reporting in Brazil when Christ the Redeemer lost the tip of its finger to lightning and had a rare chance to see the statue from inside while covering the story for the BBC.
“It was really surreal,” she says. “I’d been up to the base several times before as a tourist and with visitors, but going inside was a bit unnerving because it is crypt-like, with about a dozen flights of stairs zig-zagging to the top. Each level is numbered and almost at the top, there’s a heart on the inside that matches the heart in the middle of Cristo’s chest on the outside. At the top, the tunnel into the arm is low and only accessible by crawling along it. At two intervals, there are trapdoors where it’s possible to stand.”
Take a look inside, see closeups of the outside with safety manager Alexsandro Brauna, and learn about the statue’s history and future at Atlas Obscura.
John Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962, which was fitting, as he was a towering giant of Twentieth Century American literature. Among other novels, he wrote Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath. These works, and others by Steinbeck, are widely read and studied. What is not widely read is his unpublished 1930 werewolf novel Murder at Full Moon.
That's because the Steinbeck literary estate has kept it hidden in the archives of University of Texas. Dr. Gavin Jones of Stanford University described this novel and argues for its publication in The Guardian:
Set in a fictional Californian coastal town, Murder at Full Moon tells the story of a community gripped by fear after a series of gruesome murders takes place under a full moon. Investigators fear that a supernatural monster has emerged from the nearby marshes. Its characters include a cub reporter, a mysterious man who runs a local gun club and an eccentric amateur sleuth who sets out to solve the crime using techniques based on his obsession with pulp detective fiction.
The typescript even has two illustrations by Steinbeck. They depict the floorplan of the building where the murders took place, including the victims’ bodies. In the book, these are drawings made by one of the characters trying to solve the murders.
Jones described it as a world away from Steinbeck’s realist representations of the Great Depression, which may explain why he wrote this one under a pen name, Peter Pym. “Even though it is very different from Steinbeck’s other work, in a totally different genre, it actually relates to his interest in violent human transformation – the kind of human-animal connection that you find all over his work; his interest in mob violence and how humans are capable of other states of being, including particularly violent murderers.
The railroad over the infamous 11' 8" underpass in Durham, North Carolina, was raised eight inches in 2019, so now it's called the 11'8"+8 bridge. We thought that might be the end of a years-long string of videos in which unwary truck drivers collided with the bridge or peeled off the top of their trucks. However, the underpass is still claiming victims. Earlier this month, a rental truck was caught on video as it perfectly peeled off the truck roof. The driver didn't even stop -and he barely slowed down! -via Geekologie
Henry Ward Beecher was the pastor of the Plymouth Church in Brooklyn and a leading abolitionist in the mid-19th century (and the brother of author Harriet Beecher Stowe). He was also widely rumored to have led numerous affairs with the women of his church. Most famous was his relationship with Elizabeth Tilton, the wife of his friend and assistant, Theodore Tilton. Theodore Tilton found out about it in 1870.
Despite the devastating revelation, Elizabeth, Theodore, and Henry decided to keep the affair private. They had several good reason to do so. It protected Tilton’s pride, avoided moral censure of Elizabeth, and preserved Henry’s good name. Nonetheless, their pact did not last because Elizabeth confessed the affair to her friend Paulina Wright Davis, who then told three people: women’s rights activist Susan B. Anthony, Henry’s younger half-sister Isabella Beecher Hooker, and the leader of the women’s rights movement Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who had also already heard about the affair from Theodore.
As word spread and some of the more influential parishioners within the Plymouth Church congregation learned of the affair. Henry became concerned and prompted Elizabeth to retract her confession. When she did Theodore became upset and demanded that his wife retract her retraction, which she did the same evening. Still, everyone thought news of the affair would go no further. However, that was not the case because Stanton repeated the story.
Another women’s rights leader, Victoria Woodhull, heard it. She was a proponent of free love, a social movement whose goal was to separate the state from sexual matters and the idea of free love.
Woodhull did not disapprove of the affair, but was offended by Beecher’s hypocrisy in that he preached against her philosophy of free love. When Woodhull published news of the affair in her newspaper, it lit the fuse of a widely-publicized and salacious scandal. There was a criminal trial, a church investigation, an excommunication, and a lawsuit. But Beecher was not the one who suffered. Rather, it was Victoria Woodhull and Theodore Tilton who paid the price for the affair. Read the whole story of the Beecher-Tilton scandal at Geri Walton’s blog. -via Strange Company
At first glance, electric vehicles (EVs) seem to be environment-friendly vehicles because they could reduce emissions that contribute to climate change. However, electric vehicles could prove to be harmful to our environment as well when their batteries die. In the possibility that these batteries end up in a landfill,
[their] cells can release problematic toxins, including heavy metals. And recycling the battery can be a hazardous business, warns materials scientist Dana Thompson of the University of Leicester…
That’s just one of the many problems confronting researchers, including Thompson, who are trying to tackle an emerging problem: how to recycle the millions of electric vehicle (EV) batteries that manufacturers expect to produce over the next few decades. Current EV batteries “are really not designed to be recycled,” says Thompson, a research fellow at the Faraday Institution, a research center focused on battery issues in the United Kingdom.
That wasn’t much of a problem when EVs were rare. But now the technology is taking off. Several carmakers have said they plan to phase out combustion engines within a few decades, and industry analysts predict at least 145 million EVs will be on the road by 2030, up from just 11 million last year. “People are starting to realize this is an issue,” Thompson says.
In response to this growing concern, governments are now leaning towards requiring some kind of recycling of these dead batteries. However, recycling dead batteries will be a challenge.
Batteries differ widely in chemistry and construction, which makes it difficult to create efficient recycling systems. And the cells are often held together with tough glues that make them difficult to take apart. That has contributed to an economic obstacle: It’s often cheaper for batterymakers to buy freshly mined metals than to use recycled materials.
And so, government institutions, such as the U.S Department of Energy are now investing in research about recycling EV batteries.
