It's not quite the Manhattan Project or Area 51, but the Swiss take their cheese very seriously and want to protect the trade secrets that make their cheeses famous and sought after around the world.

As a consequence, Tom Scott wasn't able to see all or possibly even most of the Agroscope facility. But he was able to pry out of the food scientists why Swiss cheese has (or at least used to have) many holes inside. It's not because of the traditional explanation: bubbles of carbon dioxide formed during the fermentation process.

The Swiss scientists were able to discover the reason why their cheese were gradually become less hole-y about thirty years ago. In short, the milk was too clean and a certain contaminant wasn't getting into the milk and flavoring the resulting cheese. Now that particular contaminant has not be added in intentionally.

Some birds inspire respect, if not awe. We Americans revere the bald eagle. Owls are associated with widom. Cardinals are beautiful. Peacocks are lovely to behold. Chickens are tasty.

There is a place for all birds in a human-dominated world.

Except for the seagull, of course. They're sometimes referred to as the "rats of the sea." They have unpleasant associations with stealing human food and pooping on us and our property. There's even a zoo in the England that is hiring people to drive them off.

But some people like seagulls enough to imitate them and imitate them perfectly. The Dutch Review proudly informs us that a Dutchman has won an annual seagull imitation contest held in Belgium. In this video, you can see a costumed Jarmo Slutter sing the song of the sea while in costume.

-via Marginal Revolution

The toy company Mattel says that it wants to make sure that all children can feel represented within their line of Barbie dolls. The Associated Press reports that in order to serve the needs of children with Down Syndrome, it has produced a Barbie doll who has Down Syndrome.

Mattel worked with the National Down Syndrome Society to design this doll, which wears a dress with blue flowers and butterflies. These images are associated with awareness for Down Syndrome. It also has a necklace with three chevrons representing three copies of the 21st chromosome, leg braces, and physical characteristics often found in people who have Down Syndrome.

Image: Mattel

Commemorative plaques are useful cultural artifacts because they give us, the visitors, a sense of the importance of a place, tying us to that location in both the present and the past. This is why people create them, often at great expense, and erect them in public view.

Heritage Toronto values the proud history of Canada's largest city. Its commemorative plaques can be found throughout the city. The creation and establishment of a commemorative plaque is itself a notable event, so this particular plaque commemorates itself, which was unveiled to the public on October 10, 2018--a date of great historical importance. It is, to the best of my knowledge, the only recursive commemorative plaque in Toronto.

-via Annie Rauwerda | Photo: Read the Plaque

Yes, that's billion with a b. The good people at the World Mosquito Program have a vision for the future of our world and it involves the mass production of mosquitoes on a previously impossible scale.

Nature reports that the WMP's new facility will produce the mosquitoes and release them into urban areas in Brazil over the next 10 years. These modified mosquitoes carry the Wolbachia pipientis bacterium which prevents them from transmitting viruses. The plan is that these mosquitoes will breed with wild mosquitoes. Over time, the enhanced mosquito population will reduce the infection rate for dengue, which infects 2 million people in Brazil every year.

-via Marginal Revolution | Photo: James Gathany

The study of human breast movement is a topic of great interest to many people. Careful, repeated, and sustained observation of this phenomenon is an essential field in physics as a pure science. As an applied science, the knowledge gained from the exhaustive study of this movement can be used for the development of sports bras.

Douglas Powell is an expert on breast movement. He's a doctoral student in biomechanics and the director of the Breast Biomechanics Research Center at the University of Memphis. UPI reports on a recent study that Powell and his colleagues have published about sports bras.

The study had 12 women with bra cup sizes ranging from B to D run on a treadmill with sports bras rated with low and high support, as well as bare-chested.

The study concluded that uncontrolled breast movement during running impaired the knee joints, causing pain as well as reducing performance. The women wearing high support sports bras exhibited a 7% improved running performance.

-via Instapundit | Photo: Andrea Piacquadio

Don't worry about the exhibit quality at the zoo going down. These humans in bird costumes are meant to frighten away seagulls, not attract human visitors.

Blackpool is on the Irish Sea, so the Blackpool Zoo attracts a lot of seagulls, which are a nuisance. They steal food from not only the human visitors, but also the animals in their enclosures. So, the BBC reports, the zoo wants to hire people who will dress as predatory birds and drive off the seagulls. It's looking to hire people who are "outgoing" and "comfortable wearing a bird costume." Is this a good description for you?

-via Dave Barry | Photo: Blackpool Zoo

How can you get the highest possible range of movement on a playground swing? Kids have been experimenting with different options for generations. Now we have a carefully examined and mathematically quantifiable study on how to get the best swing on a swing.

Science Alert tells us about a recent paper published by physicists in Australia and Japan. In addition to creating theoretical models of swinging, they conducted experimental research by recruiting 10 college students to swing with different methods. The scientists concluded that the best strategy is to lean all the way forward as soon as you pass the midpoint of the forward motion and lean back on the backstroke. Get as supine as possible at the highest part of the backward motion.

Now let's go to the playground and replicate these experiments. Replication is essential to valid scientific research.

-via Dave Barry | Photo: Stockvault

Fixed it.#Flandalorian🍮 https://t.co/O3BaFiJ6Wj pic.twitter.com/5HTBfi6ZqU

— The Mad Maker (@The_MadMaker) April 19, 2023

Twitter user The Made Maker is a committed geek of the highest order. He's a Dungeons & Dragons streamer and 3D printer of fantasy art mugs and a rather clever set of dice that serves as a random name generator. In general, he's very creative, so it's fitting that it would occur to him to make this pun-driven dessert.

Din Djarin, the titular character of the space western series The Mandalorian is made of flan, a custard dessert. He's the Flandalorian.

普段の活動といえば150年前のアニメーションおもちゃを現代に甦らせて「博物ふぇすてぃばる」で発表したりしてます。どうぞよろしゅう。 pic.twitter.com/2XV2TTkpgF

— シカクガング (@shikakugangu) April 19, 2023

Japanese Twitter user @shikakugangu makes tiny automata that display little creatures in motion.

Mattea DiGirolamo of Kenilworth, New Jersey, is an impressive young athlete. She does gymnastics, karate, and t-ball. But it's clear that her priority is gymnastics. There's never an inappropriate time to do cartwheels. Telina Cuppari of Tap into Kenilworth reports that Mattea has gained viral internet fame by performing a cartwheel on her way to first base at a t-ball game.

That seems like an unnecessary risk to take and could get her tagged out. But it looks like Mattea can cartwheel as fast as she can run. If anything, her cartwheel distracted the infield players and allowed her to reach first base safely.

-via Buitengebieden

I used my audio editing skills to recover a buried @TheSimpsons joke. #Simpsons pic.twitter.com/H0gD1qO7vF

— Ewzzy Rayburn (@ewzzy) April 19, 2023

On April 23, 1992, The Simpsons episode titled "The Otto Show" aired on television.

The directors and show runners did very thorough work, including burying a joke deep inside the audio track of the episode. It begins with Homer recounting going to heavy metal concerts in his youth. Marge questions whether it impacted his hearing. We hear what Homer does through severe tinnitus. Marge is saying something, but the audience can't tell what.

Ewzzy Rayburn, a professional video editor, recovered Marge's line of dialogue from the audio track and isolated it in the above tweet.

Secret Service immediately responded Tuesday to an intruder at the White House ... a toddler who squeezed through the metal fencing. https://t.co/2NMMoiVlAD

— The Associated Press (@AP) April 18, 2023

The above photo shows two secret service agents seizing a toddler who broke through the elaborate and high-tech security of the White House. He did so by squeezing through the bars of the steel fence, which are 5.5 inches across.

The Associated Press reports that the breach triggered security procedures that temporarily restricted access to one of the most secure buildings on Earth. The uniformed Secret Service agents pictured above brought the child back to his parents.

This is the first successful breach of the White House fence since it was recently doubled in height. It appears that the designers did not consider the possibility of intruders simply going through the fence.

If you're looking for a thoughtful gift for a person who is elderly or ill, consider the Lifetime by Icelandic industrial designer Dögg Guðmundsdóttir.

She was inspired to create this unique piece of furniture after visiting Ghana, where the creation of elaborate coffins and beds are popular crafts.

It serves as a comfortable bed or couch. You can adjust the cushions to suit either need.

Then, after resting, if you're ready for a truly long and deep sleep, it can be a coffin. Open the bed, flip the wooden components over, and you have a functional coffin suitable for a cremation ceremony.

-via Core 77

Pizza delivery drivers are humble heroes who do more than merely provide us with delicious pizzas. They can save customers'  lives and rescue children from burning buildings. Tyler Morrell of Cocco's Pizza Aston of Brookhaven, Pennsylvania fits perfectly into that mold.

Yahoo! News reports that on Sunday, Morrell was delivering a pizza when police chased down a suspect who fled his car on foot through a residential neighborhood. Morrell tripped him, sending the suspect down to the ground, where police restrained him within seconds.

What's even more impressive is that Morrell did this without dropping the pizza! He fulfilled both duties of the pizza delivery guy: bringing pizza and taking down criminals.

-via Dave Barry