Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's ...sort of both. We think about bird flight as flapping wings, and plane flight as fixed wings and propellors or jets. But there is a lot more to bird flight than flapping wings. Birds take off by hopping into the air with their spring-loaded legs. A new drone project called RAVEN (Robotic Avian-inspired Vehicle for multiple ENvironments) combines the mechanics of birds and planes to give us a bird-inspired robotic drone, with vertical takeoff and landing.

Getting a bird's takeoff right wasn't easy, as you'll see in this video. Real birds have to learn how to launch themselves, and so do robotic drones. Notice they haven't exactly mastered the vertical landing yet, but they'll get there. Read about the research that went into the birdlike takeoff in the journal Nature. Then when you see a bird in the air, keep in mind that it could be a raven or maybe a RAVEN. -via Metafilter

Imagine, if you will, going to bed on Christmas Eve and instead of visions of sugarplums dancing in your head, you encounter Freddy Krueger invading your dreams! The Montreal Comiccon Holiday Edition was held over the weekend. This Christmas party gave cosplayers from all over a chance to get festive while still portraying their favorite pop culture characters, and boy, did they! They were pretty imaginative in mashing up movie characters and comic book superheroes with Santa Claus and his elves. Not all cosplayers went for a Christmas mashup, and some went totally Christmas. A few weren't even human!

Yes, that's Johnny Five from the 1986 movie Short Circuit, being all alive dressed as a Christmas tree. Geeks Are Sexy was there to take portraits of the best cosplayers, as they do. See and explore 47 of the best costumes from the Montreal Comiccon Holiday Edition in their gallery. Click on each photo to bring up the full-size version.

We all recognize the image of Nefertiti, the wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten, who ruled Egypt in the 14th century B.C.E. The limestone and stucco sculpture is 47 centimeters (18.5 inches) tall, with its original colors mostly intact. If the image is accurate, she was a beautiful woman. The visage matches other depictions of Nefertiti from the city that Akhenaten built, Tell el-Amarna.

The bust of Nefertiti resides in the Neues Museum in Berlin, a gift from German art collector James Simon in 1920. Simon did not find the bust, but he financed the German archaeological expedition that did. A team led by Ludwig Borchardt unearthed the bust on December 6, 1912, from a workshop identified as that of the sculptor named Thutmose. Borchardt wrote of the bust, "Description is useless, must be seen." The custom of the time was that Egyptian artifacts would be split between the archaeologists and Egyptian authorities, but there is some doubt as to whether those authorities ever got to fully see Nefertiti.

The ownership of the bust has been a sore spot between Egypt and Germany ever since. Even Hitler got involved, which is why to bust is still in Berlin. Read about the bust of Nefertiti and the hundred-year controversy over where it belongs at Smithsonian.  

(Image credit: Philip Pikart)

Have you ever been in for a medical exam of some kind and then decided that you wanted a second opinion? Sometimes you run into a doctor who has a biased outlook, or maybe you get the idea that he doesn't know what he is doing. In this case, it could well be both. This poor fellow just wants his vision checked, but it seems it's the optometrist who is looking for a second opinion. Just how clearly do you see these clues?  

It's not the client's vision that needs to be checked as much as it is the doctor who needs to be examined. I guess a random guy who might or might not need glasses is as good a subject as anyone. And after all this, the poor fellow will be billed $150 or so for his vision tests, not counting the glasses. The doctor should be paying him! -via reddit

We now have an online app that uses an artificial intelligence algorithm to examine your photos and render judgement. Former Google engineer Vishnu Mohandas and friends harnessed this app to Google’s computer vision API to render a detailed description of what AI sees and can figure out about your lifestyle from the details most people just gloss over. It's called TheySeeYourPhotos.

Our friend at Geeks Are Sexy uploaded the photo above, and the machine, against all odds, determined that he is a geek. I'm sure you are shocked. You can read the complete breakdown of the photo here. I tried it myself and found that the app does not work with images that have an .HEIC suffix, but it works with .jpg, .png, and probably other formats. Depending on the photo, it might return surprisingly accurate and creepy details about you. Mind you, I don't know if the images you upload to this app are stored and how they might be used, so think twice before you try it with images of people who might not want that. I tried this app with a couple of personal photos that I don't mind releasing into the world. The descriptions are pretty wordy, so you can continue reading if you're at all interested.

Tom BetGeorge has a real challenge to outdo himself with his holiday light shows. This Christmas, the computerized lights are supplemented by projections, laser lights, and fireworks, too! The segment above is a medley of songs from the 1980s, from Survivor, Van Halen, Wham!, Eurythmics, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Journey, Fine Young Cannibals, Europe, Toto, Phil Collins, and Guns 'n' Roses.

BetGeorge moved to a more rural area in Linden, California, a few years ago with more room to put on his spectacular Halloween and Christmas light shows without bothering the neighbors. He also runs his own light show company. Here is the entire 23-minute show.



The full show begins with three Christmas trees who serve as masters of ceremony. The songs are as follows:

0:36 "Carol of the Bells" by Lindsey Sterling
4:03 "Satisfaction" by Benny Benassi
7:29 1980s medley
14:40 John Williams medley
20:01 "Wizards in Winter" by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra

-via Geeks Are Sexy

See BetGeorge's light shows from years past and see how they've grown.

You might not know the name Henry Every, but he was the pirate who made sailors want to be pirates. He gave the occupation its romantic aura because in 1695 he pulled off the most lucrative act of piracy in history, and then got away with it.

Every went from a career in the Royal Navy to employment as a captain in the slave trade. His life of piracy began when he was first mate on a Spanish expedition that involved raiding French ships. Paperwork stranded his ship and crew for months, and they were not paid, and so finally mutinied, taking the ship off to a life of plunder. Every was a talented leader of the pirates. Each ship they raided brought more and more men onto his fold, which tells us how well governments and trading companies treated their sailors.

Every built a fleet and allied with other pirates, and set upon a Mughal fleet that included the Ganj-i-Sawai, Emperor Aurangzeb's treasure ship laden with gold, silver, gems, and women slaves. The estimated take was between £325,000 and £600,000, a lot of money in 1695, which was the largest pirate plunder in history. That led to giving Every another distinction, as the first target of a global manhunt. Every's exploits ended up in newspapers, songs, literary works, and plays, giving piracy an exciting and romantic reputation. Read what Henry Every did to establish the Golden Age of Piracy at Amusing Planet.

Insect metamorphosis is astounding. We know that a caterpillar is the larval stage of a butterfly or moth. When they form a chrysalis and change into an adult, all their cells are ripped apart into a mass of living goo, which then reorganizes into a butterfly. Now, neurobiologists who study humans cite evidence that our memories are coded by the connections between neurons in our brains. When these brain cells are separated as they in butterflies, one would think that the process destroys all the caterpillar's memories -but it doesn't! There might be something in the neurons themselves that retains memory, or in the chemicals that make up the brain, or there might be something in the process of metamorphosis that we don't yet understand. It could also be that insect brains are just way different from mammal brains.

What else is amazing is how they figured this much out. What kind of memories does a caterpillar have that we can study? Tom Lum of SciShow explains the research into insect brains and metamorphosis. There's a 45-second skippable ad at 3:30.

I saw this in a restaurant today. No idea what it is.
byu/trsuco inwhatisit

Have you ever seen this piece of equipment? Redditor trsuco spotted it in a restaurant and asked the server, who, displaying a strange lack of curiosity, had no idea what it is. Then he turned to the hive mind for identification. Even after I saw the answer, I couldn't find another example elsewhere. Maybe I'm not using the correct search term, because this can't be the only existing one.

Continue reading if you are out of guesses.

Coldplay has a new music video coming out, and the teaser for it is longer than the song. That's because the video for "All My Love" from their current album Moon Music, will star actor, dancer, comedian, and singer Dick Van Dyke. Van Dyke turns 99 years old on December 13th, which is when the video will premiere. This "director's cut" video, directed by Spike Jonze and Mary Wigmore, is not only a preview of the song, but also a love letter to Van Dyke, his family, and his career. At 98, Van Dyke stills dances, and rather than being depressed about his age, he laughs at it.  

You won't want to miss the part at  5:45 when Chris Martin composes an impromptu song about getting old. What does he know about it? He's only 47, half of Van Dyke's age. The lyrics are at the YouTube page. -via Laughing Squid 

Many folks were introduced to computer games by playing The Oregon Trail in the 1970s or '80s. Even if you weren't, you know the game ended when you died of dysentery. Life as a pioneer was hard. But did you really learn anything about dysentery? Dysentery can be caused by bacteria, viruses, or parasites, but the illness is defined by severe diarrhea. Most people recover, and those who die of dysentery are actually dying of dehydration. Ingesting plenty of fluids will get you through it.   

Woe Industries has remade the game to reflect this reality. You Have Not Died of Dysentery is an alternate version of The Oregon Trail in which you suffer from dysentery, but do not die. Instead, you have to constantly deal with diarrhea as you make your way across the Great Plains with your family. How much toilet paper should you take? How many times can you cause the wagon train to stop before they abandon you? And how do you keep your pants clean? This game may be too real for some folks, as the aim of finding a new home takes a backseat to just finding a place to poop. -via Kottke

As they do every year, the Pantione Color Institute has decreed the fashionable color of the upcoming year. For 2025, their selection is Mocha Mousse, described as a warm brown hue with "the delectable qualities of chocolate and coffee, answering our desire for comfort." They have a point that we are craving comfort, and who doesn't like a good cup of coffee or a cup of hot cocoa? Or a mix of both (which is what mocha is)? However, Pantone partners with design companies to put their color of the year everywhere, and a nice comforting mocha in an entire outfit or in home decor can be overwhelmingly dull. It sure fits in with the "sad beige" aesthetic.

In 25 years of selecting a color of the year, this is the first time that Pantone has chosen a shade of brown. You can see this color on everything from wallpaper to Motorola phones at their announcement page. But whether it will become popular in 2025 is another question. Do you recall the color of the year for 2024? Or 2023? I didn't think do. -via Smithsonian

Underneath our feet, the earth stores masses of organic matter like peat, coal, or methane, which are all extremely flammable. When conditions are right (or someone does something stupid), these masses can ignite and burn for years underground before we even know it. Even when we know about them, there is little we can do when the fuel seems unlimited and our efforts to fight these underground fires is quite limited. What's really going on with these underground "zombie fires" that spread beneath us?

Zombie fires are even more dangerous than they appear. Sure, there's the danger of falling into one, and the danger that the fires will burst through to the surface. In addition, even when they stay underground, they are emitting smoke and tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, contributing to toxic pollution and to climate change. Oh yeah, and they are burning up our fuel. What can we do? Scientists are working on solutions. Let's hope they make progress in our lifetime. -via Damn Interesting

I first became aware of the impending death of the star Betelgeuse in this xkcd comic a few days ago. Orion will lose his shoulder! Betelgeuse is one of the brightest stars in the sky, a red supergiant 640 light years away. This star is 700,000,000 times our sun’s volume, and if it were here, it would fill our solar system. Over the past few years, Betelgeuse has brightened and dimmed (or "faintened," a word new to me) considerably. That means it is getting ready to collapse and explode, lighting up our sky to a superlative degree.

When it happens, Betelgeuse will go supernova, and become brighter than a full moon over the course of about ten days. It will stand out among other stars for many months. When will this happen? It could be soon, or anytime in the next 100,000 years. We will know when it happens, because astronomers will detect neutrinos before the light show begins. Or when it has already happened sometime in the last 640 years. Read what is going to happen to Betelgeuse in more detail at Big Think.

(Image credit: ESO/L. Calçada)

Ze Frank was surprised with an invitation to join the advisory board of the Senkenberg Ocean Species Alliance (SOSA), based in Frankfurt, Germany. To find out if this was legit or just a prank, he went to Germany, and surprise! He's on the advisory board of a research center that studies and names new species of mollusks. They obviously realized that an American who makes fun of ocean creatures draws a lot of attention to them. So of course, Ze Frank repays the gesture by making fun of the institution, its scientists, mollusks in general, and Germany as a whole. In the meantime, we learn about how taxonomy works and how long it takes for a new species to be named. Some of the folks he roasted in this video came into the comments to show they are good sports. Of course they are, or they wouldn't have contacted Ze in the first place. The result is that today, a lot more people know what SOSA is and what they do, even if they never hear the end of a crayon's worth of argon or jiggly DNA. Watch out, Ze, you'll be inundated by requests to join other scientific boards now.