I saw this and thought, what a clever visual pun! But it isn't just an image. Nyan Cat Progress Bar is an application that decorates your progress bar for Windows Explorer and other programs. http://www.instantelevatormusic.com/nyan-cat-progress-bar -via Buzzfeed
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I saw this and thought, what a clever visual pun! But it isn't just an image. Nyan Cat Progress Bar is an application that decorates your progress bar for Windows Explorer and other programs. http://www.instantelevatormusic.com/nyan-cat-progress-bar -via Buzzfeed
The planet Neptune was first observed by telescope on September 24, 1846, although astronomers knew of its existence by other evidence, namely the effect it had on the orbit of Uranus. Since that discovery, Neptune has traveled exactly once around the sun. Today, Neptune is back at the same point in orbit as it was when it was first seen in 1846. That's one Neptunian year, or 164.79 Earth years.
So, although Neptune is a rather inhospitable place, we wish the planet a happy birthday. Link
(Image credit: NASA)
Once Neptune was discovered, it took just seventeen days for William Lassell to find its moon Triton. None of its other 12 moons were found until the 20th century. Neptune is the fourth-largest planet in diameter and the third largest in terms of mass — 17 times that of Earth — in the solar system. It is also the farthest planet from the Sun since Pluto’s demotion in 2006.
The gas giant is often lumped together with Uranus under the label “ice giants” due to the fact that they are smaller and have a higher proportion of “ices” (such as water, ammonia and methane) then Jupiter and Saturn. Its atmosphere is composed primarily of hydrogen and helium and it’s pretty chilly, with temperatures approaching -218 degrees C. It’s also pretty windy, with gusts reaching speeds of up to 1,200 miles per hour.
So, although Neptune is a rather inhospitable place, we wish the planet a happy birthday. Link
(Image credit: NASA)
Do you ever find a bird image on your windows? Me, neither, but I don't have any big picture windows. This eerie image of an owl was left when the bird crashed into Sally Arnold's window in Kendal, Cumbria, UK.
Experts said the silhouette was left by the bird's "powder down" - a substance protecting growing feathers.
Mrs Arnold said she could find no sign of the owl, so assumed it had flown off without serious injury.
Link -via J-Walk Blog
(Image credit: Royal Society for the Protection of Birds)
The United Nations has added four new nature sites to the UNESCO World Heritage List, meaning they have been found to be "superlative natural phenomena", which is one of the selection criteria. The new sites are the Kenya Lake System (pictured), Japan's Ogasawara Islands, Australia's Ningaloo Coast, and the Wadi Rum Protected Area in Jordan. See photographs of these beautiful areas at National Geographic News. Link
(Image credit: Roy Toft, National Geographic)
The fact that most aliens from outer space in science fiction movies and TV shows have the same shape as humans can be explained rather simply: that's the only way an actor can fit into the costume. But it doesn't help us imagine the probability that any extraterrestrial life would not resemble humans at all. Kyle Munkittrick constructed a theory, adapted from an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation that reconciles this anomaly by explaining why distant planets have human-shaped intelligent beings, called the Hominid Panspermia Theory.
Of course, the theory itself is science fiction, but the mental exercise helps the scientist to enjoy science fiction, no matter how cheesy the alien design. As a bonus, the graphic at the article has twenty aliens you are invited to help identify. Link
Intelligent life evolved in the universe – 0nce. The First Intelligent Species became spacefaring but, unlike the adventures depicted in most science fiction, they found an uninhabited universe. Non-intelligent species were too rudimentary or too far away to be detected. Thus, as both a memorial to themselves and to enliven the universe, the First Intelligent Species seeded the necessary DNA for the eventual evolution of intelligent life in the primordial oceans of every planet that could support life. The First Intelligent Species did not only design the DNA to evolve intelligently, but to parallel their own evolution. An application of the idea that “ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny” on the scale of life itself. Our corner of the universe thereby became the home of Vulcans, Romulans, Cardassians, Humans, Betazoids, and other hominid species which are all decedents of the First Intelligent Species. Therefore, in the eyes of the universe, the many hominid species are closely related despite their disparate home planets.
Of course, the theory itself is science fiction, but the mental exercise helps the scientist to enjoy science fiction, no matter how cheesy the alien design. As a bonus, the graphic at the article has twenty aliens you are invited to help identify. Link
(YouTube link)
The Norwegian Coastal Express cruise on the Hurtigruten from Bergen to Kirkenes is 2600 kilometers and normally takes 134 hours. This version only take five minutes, but you'll have to skip the karioke night. The actual-speed version was aired on Norwegian public TV, which took a week. Link -via The Daily What
Valle de la Luna means Valley of the Moon, an area you'll find near the village of Mallasa in Bolivia. The towering cliffs and the dark valleys in between them honestly resemble something you might find in a science fiction novel! Read about this unique valley, and see more pictures at For 91 Days. Link -Thanks, Juergen!
We all recognize the artwork on the cover of The Beatles' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Recognizing it and remembering who was in that image are two different things! Today's Lunchtime Quiz at mental_floss challenges your recall by giving you a celebrity, and you decide whether that person was included on the cover or not. I only got 8 out of 12 right -because I was in a hurry, of course. Link
Do you ever drive on roads that feel like you're driving on a washboard?
Minnesotastan looked up the physics of why this happens. The explanation includes a video that led to the discussion of the word "widdershins" in the comments. Link
(Image credit: David C. Mays)
When I visit northern Minnesota, I always encounter a road that in midsummer becomes classically "washboard." The county sends out a road grader to smooth it and give it a new crown, and a few weeks later it's a washboard again.
Minnesotastan looked up the physics of why this happens. The explanation includes a video that led to the discussion of the word "widdershins" in the comments. Link
(Image credit: David C. Mays)
The following is an article from The Best of the Best of Uncle John's Bathroom Reader.
The true story of the slave who became the most feared man in the Roman Empire! A noble hero meets a black-hearted villain in battle! A rebel uprising! Romance, adventure, and a cast of thousands!
THRACE IS THE PLACE
As the movie Spartacus opens, the hero is sweaty and bedraggled, breaking up rocks. The voice-over tells us that he is the son of a slave, sold into slavery when he was 13.
Not exactly. The real Spartacus was a tribal warrior from the ancient region of Thrace, which is now part of Greece, Bulgaria, and Turkey. His tribe was probably conquered by the Roman army -history's a little unclear on this- because he became a Roman soldier. Then he deserted the army, was captured, was brought to Rome, and then was sold into slavery. The year: 73 B.C.
GOING, GOING, GONE
Unlike the movie, where Spartacus was a bachelor so he can fall in love with a beautiful slave girl, the real Spartacus was married by the time he became a slave. His wife, a priestess, was captured along with him. Legend has it that when they were together in the slave market, a snake coiled itself around Spartacus's face as he slept. His wife interpreted the snake as a lucky sign, an omen that her husband would become powerful. But soon afterward, both of them became the property of a man named Lentulus Batiates. Their new owner ran a gladiator school in Capua, near Mount Vesuvius.
GLADIATOR-IN-TRAINING
Some of Spartacus's fellow students at the imperial gladiator school were prisoners of war from northern Europe, while others were convicted criminals whose lives were spared because they were tough enough to qualify for gladiator training. The "school" was actually a prison, with plenty of opportunity to fight with other "students." The men were taught how to handle the gladiatorial weapons: fishing spears, chains, swords, nets, and lassos.
All across Rome, gladiators were big-name celebrities. Wealthy citizens decorated the walls of their villas with portraits of the greatest gladiators. Teenagers swooned over their favorites the way they do over pop stars today. In the ruins of Pompeii, archaeologists found love notes to gladiators that young girls had scribbled on public walls.
But Spartacus wasn't interested in fame. He reportedly told the others, "If we must fight, we might as well fight for freedom." One day they got their chance.
Continue reading
The true story of the slave who became the most feared man in the Roman Empire! A noble hero meets a black-hearted villain in battle! A rebel uprising! Romance, adventure, and a cast of thousands!
THRACE IS THE PLACE
As the movie Spartacus opens, the hero is sweaty and bedraggled, breaking up rocks. The voice-over tells us that he is the son of a slave, sold into slavery when he was 13.
Not exactly. The real Spartacus was a tribal warrior from the ancient region of Thrace, which is now part of Greece, Bulgaria, and Turkey. His tribe was probably conquered by the Roman army -history's a little unclear on this- because he became a Roman soldier. Then he deserted the army, was captured, was brought to Rome, and then was sold into slavery. The year: 73 B.C.
GOING, GOING, GONE
Unlike the movie, where Spartacus was a bachelor so he can fall in love with a beautiful slave girl, the real Spartacus was married by the time he became a slave. His wife, a priestess, was captured along with him. Legend has it that when they were together in the slave market, a snake coiled itself around Spartacus's face as he slept. His wife interpreted the snake as a lucky sign, an omen that her husband would become powerful. But soon afterward, both of them became the property of a man named Lentulus Batiates. Their new owner ran a gladiator school in Capua, near Mount Vesuvius.
GLADIATOR-IN-TRAINING
Some of Spartacus's fellow students at the imperial gladiator school were prisoners of war from northern Europe, while others were convicted criminals whose lives were spared because they were tough enough to qualify for gladiator training. The "school" was actually a prison, with plenty of opportunity to fight with other "students." The men were taught how to handle the gladiatorial weapons: fishing spears, chains, swords, nets, and lassos.
All across Rome, gladiators were big-name celebrities. Wealthy citizens decorated the walls of their villas with portraits of the greatest gladiators. Teenagers swooned over their favorites the way they do over pop stars today. In the ruins of Pompeii, archaeologists found love notes to gladiators that young girls had scribbled on public walls.
But Spartacus wasn't interested in fame. He reportedly told the others, "If we must fight, we might as well fight for freedom." One day they got their chance.
Take a visit to the Mercado de Hechecería, or The Witches’ Market in La Paz, Bolivia. But be prepared for what you will find.
We stepped inside one of the stores to get a closer look. Note: this is serious, sacred business to the people who shop and work here, and irony-seeking tourists aren’t exactly appreciated. But after we made a “contribution”, the elderly owner of the store, Dominga, agreed to answer our questions and let us take pictures of her wares. Of course, we went straight to the dead baby llamas; their hollow eyes and ghastly, grimaced mouths beckoned us. The rows and rows of llama corpses, in stages of development ranging from fetus to toddler, are by far the most disturbing image in the Witches’ Market. Dominga explained that burning these corpses is a powerful way to bless a home, or improve a sick person’s health. Sometimes, they’re buried underneath the lot of a new house. The llamas are what most tourists stop to take pictures of, and Dominga seemed to disapprove of our morbid fascination with them. She directed our attention to other, more cheerful items.
See some of those cheerful items, but be aware that there are pictures of the llamas as well at For 91 Days. Link
This photograph was taken by Rick Sheremeta, who tells us about the shot.
On a recent photo trip to Alaska's McNeil River, I spent four days observing and photographing Brown Bears. The bears routine became pretty obvious - they'd fish for a while until their bellies were full, then they'd wander off into the grass for a little nap. This ole gal never quite got that far - after snaring this salmon, she wandered into a shallow pool at the side of the river, cradled the fish under her arm, and promptly nodded off. It was really comical to see her just sitting there sound asleep.
It's an entry in the 2011 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest, which is still open for entries, but only through July 11th! Find out all about the contest at National Geographic Traveler. Link -Thanks, Marilyn!
(YouTube link)
It was only a matter of time before filmmaker Freddie Wong tackled the subject of cats. Of course, it wouldn't be a Freddie Wong video without a lot of gunfire. -via Laughing Squid
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