Forensic investigators in Australia ran a grisly experiment for more than a year and came up with some fairly weird conclusions. They observed (and photographed) a corpse as it decomposed at a body farm for 17 months. A picture was taken every half-hour during daylight for that entire time. They discovered that a dead body can move for a long time after death- more than a year.
"What we found was that the arms were significantly moving, so that arms that started off down beside the body ended up out to the side of the body," Alyson Wilson a medical scientist at Central Queensland University told the ABC.
Some movement after death is expected, but the fact that it continued for such a long time was a complete surprise, Wilson said.
The results of the study could have implications for forensic investigations. We can no longer assume that the position in which a long-dead body is found is the same position the deceased was in at death. Read the story at Interesting Engineering. -via Damn Interesting
The short film Battle at Big Rock is a Jurassic World scene, written by Colin Trevorrow and Emily Carmichael and directed by Trevorrow, that acts as a bridge between Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and the next sequel, which should be in theaters sometime in 2021. The Daily Dot tells us more.
Fallen Kingdom ended with Jurassic World’s dinosaurs escaping into the wild, adding a dangerous new element to the ecosystem. Battle at Big Rock is our first look at that strange new world, with a young family confronting some unexpected dinosaurs while on a camping trip. It’s a cool scene, but if anything, the credits are better, sharing some found footage clips of dinosaurs out there in the real world.
I have so many questions. When did people stop being afraid of dinosaurs? Who goes camping in a world where giant predators roam? You really should watch this in full screen mode. Stay through the credits for more glimpses of dinosaurs.
While the music festival near Area 51 was canceled and substituted with a party in Las Vegas, that was a separate venture from the original Facebook event called “Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All of Us,” scheduled for this Friday, September 20. More than two million people have responded that they are going, but most of those responses came months ago. The military has no idea how many people will still try to get into Area 51, so they are instituting defense measures, including temporary flight restrictions (TFRs).
The TFR will be active from September 19th to the 23rd and range from the ground all the way to 18,000 feet. Only military aircraft are allowed overhead and even law enforcement and medical helicopters are subject to tight restrictions in order to enter the closed-off airspace. One can only imagine that the military will have plenty of airborne assets in place to tightly monitor the border with Area 51 in this area. The base already has a cadre of resident HH-60 Pave Hawks that run security operations over the base's sprawling territory and beyond.
The other TFR that has been posted is to the south, along the southern reach of the Nevada Test And Training Range where primary access to the Department Of Energy's Nevada Test Site, now known as the Nevada National Security Site, is located. It was just last week that a pair of Dutch Youtubers were arrested for trespassing beyond the site's perimeter. Another deeper incursion into the area last January ended with the driver being shot dead.
As you can see from the map above, Area 51 is completely surrounded by Department of Defense properties, with varying levels of access. So don't expect to see live aerial footage of whatever may happen on September 20th. Read more about the preparations for the possible storming at The Drive. -via Gizmodo
You probably never realized how many times you've heard the same four-note logo during a sad, stressful, or foreboding scene in movies over the years. It's not as blatant as the inception BRAAAM, and it's far older. It goes back as far as the 13th century, believe it or not. Here's the song's history from Vox. -via Digg
If you wanted to reward your hard-working graduate students with a new assignment, what would be better than an experiment that involved observing 40 kittens playing? And if you wanted to explain how the scientific method works to elementary students, you couldn't find a more engaging example than an experiment to find what kind of scratching toy those kittens prefer. The results of the study were published in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery.
Two-choice preference tests were conducted to compare scratchers and preferred scratchers with or without additives (ie, catnip, catnip oil, cat hair) in six studies. Kittens (n = 40, *8 weeks old) had access to two scratchers on the floor of a simulated living room for 20 mins and interactions were video-recorded. The time each kitten spent scratching each scratcher was compared.
Facts and figures are presented, and there was a clear preference among the kittens for one of the scratching devices shown above. Can you guess which one? Since the results "were not in agreement with other survey-based studies," and the experiment did not include adult cats, the paper concludes that further research is indicated to determine if the difference is attributable to the cats' ages. Do tell. Where do we sign up to conduct the next experiment? -via Metafilter
It's not easy for people who are used to living near sea level to visit a high-elevation site for any length of time. But scientists are traveling to La Rinconada, Peru, to study the people who live there, both those who are healthy and those who suffer from altitude sickness. The town is situated high in the Andes at 16,700 feet, or twice the elevation of Aspen, Colorado.
The scientists, led by physiologist and mountain enthusiast Samuel Vergès of the French biomedical research agency INSERM in Grenoble, had set up a makeshift lab here in the world's highest human settlement, a gold-mining boomtown at 5100 meters in southeastern Peru. An estimated 50,000 to 70,000 people live here, trying to make it—and, many hope, strike it rich—under brutal conditions. La Rinconada has no running water, no sewage system, and no garbage removal. It is heavily contaminated with mercury, which is used to extract the gold. Work in the unregulated mines is back-breaking and dangerous. Alcohol abuse, prostitution, and violence are common. Freezing temperatures and intense ultraviolet radiation add to the hardships.
La Rinconada's most defining feature, however, the one that lured the scientists, is its thin air. Every breath you take here contains half as much oxygen as at sea level. The constant oxygen deprivation can cause a syndrome called chronic mountain sickness (CMS), whose hallmark is an excessive proliferation of red blood cells. Symptoms include dizziness, headaches, ringing ears, sleep problems, breathlessness, palpitations, fatigue, and cyanosis, which turns lips, gums, and hands purplish blue. In the long run, CMS can lead to heart failure and death. The condition has no cure except resettling at a lower altitude—although some of the damage may be permanent.
People whose ancestors have lived in high elevations for thousands of years have genetic differences that help them cope in a low oxygen environment. Some people who don't are able to adapt, but others get sick. Research into the differences between these groups may lead to breakthroughs in other heart and circulatory ailments, but actually performing that research is grueling. Read about La Rinconada and the search for answers about altitude sickness at Science magazine. -via Digg
We've all heard the easy-listening sounds of instrumental pop music over the service known as Muzak. Once you reach a certain age, there comes a memorable day when you notice that the coolest, most rebellious song you ever heard when you were a teenager is now a Muzak instrumental played at grocery stores. But there's probably a lot you don't know about Muzak. For instance, it's very old. The company was founded (under another name) in 1922. They developed different playlists for different purposes.
6. Muzak was designed to make factory workers more productive.
Muzak manufactured soundtracks, based on a theory called “stimulus progression,” that consisted of 15-minute segments of background music that gradually ascended in peppiness. The method was meant to tacitly encourage workers to increase their pace, especially during the productivity lulls that often occurred during the late morning and mid-afternoon.
7. Muzak helped calm anxious elevator passengers.
Since more advanced electric elevators diminished the need for elevator operators in the mid-20th century, passengers were often left alone with an unsettling silence that made them all too aware that they were hurtling upward or downward in a steel box. Soft, calming Muzak played through speakers offered the perfect distraction.
And that's what is meant by "elevator music." The word "Muzak" also became a term for any bland, instrumental song cover. The company lives on, although under yet a different name. Read 16 soothing facts about Muzak at Mental Floss.
When Zuzana Justman was twelve years old, she and her parents and older brother were sent from Prague to Terezín, also known as the Theresienstadt Ghetto. Terezín was a peculiar establishment in Czechoslovaki that started out as a model Jewish ghetto for Nazi propaganda purposes, but over time developed into a concentration camp. Young Zuzana kept a diary for part of her time there. It contained only eight entries and some poetry.
On a freezing day in January, 1944, after my family and I had been confined at Terezín for six months, my mother was arrested by the S.S. and placed in a basement cell in the dreaded prison at their camp headquarters. Not even her lover, who was a member of the Terezín Aeltestenrat, or Council of Elders—the Jewish governing body—could get her released. I was twelve years old, and I was afraid that I would never see her again. But on February 21, 1944, all I wrote in my diary was “Mommy was away from us.” What is most striking to me today about the diary I kept seventy-five years ago is what I left out.
Justman looks back at that time and knows that her 12-year-old self was very cautious about her diary entries in case the Nazis confiscated it, but realizes that she was also protecting herself from her own emotions. Now, 75 years later, she tells the gripping story of her unconventional family, their time at Terezín, and her mother's arrest at the New Yorker. -via Metafilter
This could've been a funny list: don't put your children, pets, colored clothing, or electronics in the dishwasher. But instead it's a serious list that may protect your valuable kitchenware. Honestly, after reading this list of things you should not put in the dishwasher, it seems easier to say what you should put in the dishwasher: everyday dishes, flatware, and stuff you don't worry about replacing. However, there are reasons behind each prohibition. For example:
While technically the top of your Instant Pot is dishwasher-safe, it’s not the best cleaning option, as there are a number of important components in the lid of a pressure cooker. For instance, there are values that can get clogged with food particles, as well as seals that may be damaged by the dishwashing chemicals—both of which will shorten the lifespan of your appliance.
Now see, I had heard of instant pots, but I didn't know they were pressure cookers. You learn something new every day. I have a pressure canner that I always hand wash because it won't fit in the dishwasher. Learn the reasons why you shouldn't toss all your cooking things in the dishwasher at Food 52. -via Nag on the Lake
If only the deep sea waters were as colorful as a Kurzgesagt video! Sunlight can't penetrate to the deepest depths of the ocean, but there are creatures living there. They are as different from life here at the surface that it may as well be an alien planet. And the deeper you go, the weirder it gets. This deep sea tour is ten minutes long; the rest is an ad.
Joe Heller was always ready to laugh, and often supplied the reason. His family understood him well, and when he died recently at age 82, they crafted a great obituary. Here are a few tidbits.
When the doctors confronted his daughters with the news last week that “your father is a very sick man,” in unison they replied, “you have no idea.”
His mother was not immune to his pranks as he named his first dog, “Fart,” so she would have to scream his name to come home if he wandered off.
Joe was a self-taught chemist and worked at Cheeseborough-Ponds where he developed one of their first cosmetics’ lines. There he met the love of his life, Irene, who was hoodwinked into thinking he was a charming individual with decorum. Boy, was she ever wrong. Joe embarrassed her daily with his mouth and choice of clothing.
Besides his beloved wife, Irene, and brother, Bobby, Joe was pre-deceased by his pet fish, Jack, who we found in the freezer last week.
Some of our history we learn as facts, which give us some knowledge but often without perspective. Other things we learn as anecdotes passed along without much evidence behind it, often stories that grew further from the truth as time passed. And as you know, history is colored by who teaches it, and from which perspective.
Read all 25 pictofacts with things you might know (some of them have been covered here at Neatorama) and some thing you didn't know, at Cracked.
Have you heard about the chess diet? It's not simply "barely moving," as the title indicates. Grandmasters do their best to keep in shape for upcoming tournaments, but when they sit down to competition, they are working out even while they appear to to do nothing but think. You might be surprised at how many calories the world's best chess players expend doing what they do.
The 1984 World Chess Championship was called off after five months and 48 games because defending champion Anatoly Karpov had lost 22 pounds. "He looked like death," grandmaster and commentator Maurice Ashley recalls.
In 2004, winner Rustam Kasimdzhanov walked away from the six-game world championship having lost 17 pounds. In October 2018, Polar, a U.S.-based company that tracks heart rates, monitored chess players during a tournament and found that 21-year-old Russian grandmaster Mikhail Antipov had burned 560 calories in two hours of sitting and playing chess -- or roughly what Roger Federer would burn in an hour of singles tennis.
Robert Sapolsky, who studies stress in primates at Stanford University, says a chess player can burn up to 6,000 calories a day while playing in a tournament, three times what an average person consumes in a day. Based on breathing rates (which triple during competition), blood pressure (which elevates) and muscle contractions before, during and after major tournaments, Sapolsky suggests that grandmasters' stress responses to chess are on par with what elite athletes experience.
To combat the depletion, the world's top chess players are very particular about the calories they consume, both during competition and the rest of their time. Read about the physical demands of chess at ESPN. -via Metafilter
NASA's Juno probe caught an amazing picture of a solar eclipse on Jupiter. You can imagine how huge an area the Jovian moon Io is covering, yet the path of totality would be tiny in relation to Jupiter itself. Io is the fourth-largest moon in the solar system, and revolves 350,000 kilometers (217,000 miles) from Jupiter's cloud tops. -via Boing Boing
The PAC dance team at Walden Grove High School in Sahuarita, Arizona, gave us a Wizard of Oz dance routine and a Harry Potter dance routine that really impressed us in previous years. They've set our expectations pretty high, and still came through with a production featuring the heroes and villains of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for this year's homecoming assembly. -via Digg
