Traveling great distances while not spending much time has been man’s dream ever since the distant past. As time goes by, transportation vehicles evolve and become much faster than before, allowing us to spend less time on travel and more time on things that matter more. And it would seem that we will go much much faster in the near future. How fast? Faster than sound itself.

The private spaceflight company Virgin Galactic and Rolls-Royce have teamed up to create a supersonic jet for high-speed passenger flights.  

The Spaceship Company (TSC), Virgin Galactic's aerospace-system manufacturing arm that builds the company's SpaceShipTwo space planes, is now working to develop a high-speed commercial aircraft capable of flying at Mach 3, or three times the speed of sound.

[On Aug. 3], TSC announced the completion of a mission concept review and unveiled the initial design concept for a high-speed aircraft. They also announced that they have signed a memorandum of understanding with Rolls-Royce to collaborate in design and development for the craft. 

More details about this exciting news over at Space.com.

(Image Credit: Virgin Galactic/ Space.com)

If you want to know if a person prefers to eat veggies or meat, then you might consider analyzing his hair. This study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences show that chemical traces of proteins from food can be found in hair strands.

"This information can be used to quantify dietary trends in ways that surveys cannot capture," says distinguished professor Jim Ehleringer, of the U's School of Biological Sciences. "We would like to see the health community begin to assess dietary patterns using hair isotope surveys, especially across different economic groups within the US."

More details about this hair-splitting study over at PHYS.org.

(Image Credit: RyanMcGuire/ Pixabay)

Some cats look cute. Others look like royalty. Some look shy, and others look creepy. And then there are these cats, who behave like tired old men, with big bellies, and a grumpy look on their faces.

Check out the photos over at Sad and Useless.

(Image Credit: Sad and Useless)

With all the negative stuff happening in the world and in our individual lives, it is understandable if a person falls into despair and sorrow. But amidst all of these things, this shirt reminds us to always have a positive outlook in life and not “give up hop”.

And so, let's stay hopful.

(Image via Engrish.com)

How did Felix Kjellberg, also known as PewDiePie, manage to get millions of subscribers? Public speaker and presentation coach David JP Phillips dives deeply into how PewDiePie captures the attention of his audience, as well as how he projects himself in front of the camera. What David finds is a natural public speaker — an expressive, persuasive, and creative man.

(Image Credit: David JP Phillips/ YouTube)

Serial record-breaker David Rush has been practicing his poker chip stacking skills for about a year and a half. After that long time of training, Rush is now able to stack the poker chips at an amazing speed. Just a few days ago, he attempted to break the world record of the most number of poker chips stacked with one hand in a minute, which was 42.

The serial record-breaker said he managed to stack 49 chips, but the last was placed just after the time ran out, making his new record 48. The stack was able to remain standing on its own for at least 5 seconds, qualifying for the record.

David Rush currently has broken over 150 Guinness world records.

A truly amazing man.

(Image Credit: David Rush/ YouTube)

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumblebee is already a very difficult piece to play on normal instruments such as the piano, violin, and wind instruments such as the trombone. But this trombonist, named Martyn Stroud, decided to take things to an entirely new level by playing the piece on a watering can.

Blowing into a trombone mouthpiece attached to the end of a watering can’s neck, [he] manages to emulate the frantic sound of the buzzing musical bumblebee.

We’re very impressed.

Watch the video on Facebook.

(Image Credit: Martyn Stroud/ Facebook)

Located near the brainstem and sitting under the cortex in the hindbrain is one of the more versatile parts of the brain: the cerebellum. Despite its name, which means “little brain” in Latin, it contributes much in the brain and in the human body — “to our five senses as well as pain, movements, thought, and emotion.” This study published this week in PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) sheds more light on the said part of the brain.

Until now, the cerebellum was thought to be involved mainly in basic functions like movement, but its expansion over time and its new inputs from cortical areas involved in cognition suggest that it can also process advanced concepts like mathematical equations.

Learn more about this study over at MedicalXpress.

(Image Credit: Dr. Johannes Sobotta/ Wikimedia Commons)

If you have your hands full and can’t add another task to your plate, then that’s the time that you should ask for a helping hand. But why get a helping hand, when you can get a helping tongue?

Graduate student Dorothee Clasen imagined constructing a tool that would allow users to bypass their hands or feet and control digital devices with their tongue. As part of her master's degree thesis at the Köln International School of Design, an institution of the Cologne University of Applied Sciences, Clasen came up with [In]Brace, a plastic retainer attached to a wireless transmitter.

The mouthpiece, customized to fit each user's mouth, contains a magnetic ball running along a sensor track that can be pushed or pulled by the tongue. A thin wire from the mouthpiece is connected to a wireless transmitter that is worn around an ear.

Clasen states that this could be useful for performers, such as pianists, who might be able to use the tech to turn the pages of a digital music sheet, or motorists, who could use the device to manipulate GPS routing alternatives.

More details about this device over at TechXplore.

What are your thoughts about this one?

(Image Credit: TechXplore)

With his physical movement constrained at home, and with countless snacks consumed, Mat Smith is unsurprised that he gained a bit of weight since March. Since he can’t go to gyms and workout classes, as both of them have been cancelled and closed down, he was left with no choice but to search for the right kind of workout for him in his own apartment.

Destroying most of my excuses, one of those workouts was delivered to my door: BoxVR, alongside an Oculus Quest kit.

VR workouts have been around for a few years, but with lighter and wireless hardware finally here, the case for them has strengthened. BoxVR was at the vanguard, launching over three years ago. It’s now available across most VR platforms including Steam, PlayStation Store and the Oculus Store. While there’s now further DLC content — my other reason for testing it all out — the central premise hasn’t changed.

Unlike other VR workouts, Mat found out that this particular VR workout “tries to keep it all full-body workout”.

…neon balloons will shoot towards you, demanding jabs, hooks and uppercuts, but these are joined by “walls” that you’ll need to duck under. These seem set at a good level (given the game can gauge your height) to feel the burn of squatting; it’s always a little deeper than comfortable, but that’s probably good for a workout. 

[...]

It’s a VR cliche, but I appreciated the escapism — a workout that’s not a dull run, nor push-ups or handstand holds in my one-bedroom apartment. I am getting pretty sick of these four walls. 

If there’s a downside, however, it’s when you get a little too sweaty, and you have to remove the goggles to wipe your face.

What are your thoughts about this one?

(Image Credit: BoxVR/ Engadget)

Have you ever wondered what things look like inside your car tire as you drive your car to places? If yes, then YouTuber Warped Perception has a treat for you: he shows you just that by putting a GoPro inside a car tire and then driving the car around. He found out how the tire adapts to the road’s imperfections, as well as what happens inside when you drive slowly, quickly, and when you hit turns.

Via The Awesomer

(Video Credit: Warped Perception/ YouTube)

TitTok user fake.disney.facts has prepared a short presentation explaining how every Star Wars film has had its titles mixed up with each other. By giving a quick summary of each film, he puts the proper title to each one.

A person commented that he “hate[s] and love[s] how much sense this actually is.” But what are your thoughts about this one?

(Image Credit: @fake.disney.facts/ TikTok via Zebulon Dak/ YouTube)

One of the most difficult things to do today is trying to socially distance yourself from other people, especially in large gatherings or places that are filled with people. It is not impossible, however; every person in that place just has to cooperate.

One especially striking example of this has come from those starting the annual Muslim Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca.

[...]

This year, taking social distancing measures into account, the event was downsized by Saudi officials to allow a limited number of people to the event — last year saw 2.5 million attend, while this year's number is 10,000, and they must be already living in Saudi Arabia. According to the Washington Post, people over 50 or those with terminal illnesses were not allowed to attend.

Photos from Mecca's Grand Mosque are something to behold, a true snapshot of this challenging time we're in.

Check out the photos over at Mashable.

(Image Credit: Mashable)

Check out this photo of a dog which looks pasted on a background, much like in Photoshop. But while this photo looks manipulated, the fact is it isn’t. What you see here is a real dog.

“My dog totally looks like a Photoshopped image,” tweeted @BristolShubun with the photo, mentioning another thing it arguably looks more like than real life. But @BristolShubun assures us the Shiba Inu is real.

Part of what makes the photo so surreal is the leash, which stretches up into the sky and looks like it should be being held in the hand of someone who’s been digitally scrubbed from the photo. But actually it’s attached to a rope that runs above the yard, giving the dog more space to run around.

Pretty cool, huh?

(Image Credit: @BristolShubun/ Twitter)

Being a soldier deployed in World War II, or any war at that, is one of the most stressful things a man can experience. Not only is he far from his family, he also is uncertain if he will return home from the battlefield alive. To keep themselves close to the people they left as they went to the battlefield, soldiers back in those days would put pictures of their families or sweethearts on clear grips. These grips would then be known as “sweetheart grips”.

(Image Credit: u/hwesty/ Reddit)