Scientists thought they'd never know what colors the dinosaurs were, since fossils are rock-colored and even recently-discovered mummified scraps of the animals are faded. Jakob Vinther, a graduate student at Yale, was researching fossil feathers when he discovered that melanin granules survived in their original shapes and patterns, which can be compared with existing feathers to determine their original color.

Perhaps the most surprising and most exciting application of this research is that it may allow us to predict the colors of many dinosaurs.

“These include many of our most well loved dinosaurs,” says Prum. “Like velociraptor, the dinosaur that chased the kids around the kitchen in Jurassic Park, was actually fully plumaged.”

While these dinosaur feathers were not used for flight until the appearance of the transitional species Archaeopteryx, the first known bird, they were probably useful for warmth. Prum says we could even learn more about the color of one of the most famous dinosaurs of all, Tyrannosaurus rex.

“In the classic mural The Age of Reptiles in the Yale Peabody museum, they depicted T-rex, which is one of the iconic, huge, bipedal, meat-eating dinosaurs,” he says. “Recent fossil discoveries have shown that the closest relative of these huge tyrannosaurids actually had tiny skin appendages or fossil feathers—’dino-fuzz.’

http://www.sciencentral.com/video/2008/08/12/fossil-colors/ (with video) -via Metafilter

This infographic shows you which products (mostly coffee drinks) have the least and most caffeine and calories by plotting them on a graph, with some familiar foods on the left for reference. This is why I drink black coffee (lower right) and don't eat Big Macs (upper left). Link to full-size version. -via Digg

(image credit: Flickr user mkandlez)

Look closely, can't you see four perfectly round circles? Or maybe you'll want to stand way back to see them. Don't scroll up and down; that might make you queasy! -via I Am Bored

A new species of pitcher plant has been discovered in the Philippines. The giant pitcher (Nepenthes attenboroughii) lives high on Mount Victoria, and was reported by missionaries who were lost in the mountain area in 2000. An expedition to find the giant pitcher was held in 2007 by natural history explorer Stewart McPherson, botanist Alastair Robinson, Andreas Fleischmann, and three guides.

Pitchers create tube-like leaf structures into which insects and other small animals tumble and become trapped.

The team has placed type specimens of the new species in the herbarium of the Palawan State University, and have named the plant Nepenthes attenboroughii after broadcaster and natural historian David Attenborough.

"The plant is among the largest of all carnivorous plant species and produces spectacular traps as large as other species which catch not only insects, but also rodents as large as rats," says McPherson.

Link -via reddit

(image credit: Stewart McPherson)

(YouTube link)
A quintet of kids from Seattle's Marrowstone in the City program perform video game themes, with some embellishments from their friends in the background. Don't miss the Pong segment! -via Buzzfeed

Amateur photographer Desmond Cannon of Brae, Ireland caught these sawfly caterpillars eating through a leaf while sticking their rear ends in the air! He shot pictures of the tiny (less than a centimeter long) caterpillars as they ate through the leaf while holding their chorus line pose.

Geoff Read, head of reptiles and inverterbrae at Marwell Wildlife, near Winchester, Hants, said the behaviour was perculiar to sawfly larvae.

He said: "It is a defence mechanism. If you go too near them they rear up like this to try and scare off predators.

"It is only this family of caterpillars that do this - it's incredible to see."

Link -via Arbroath

(image credit: Desmond Cannon)

Money Hacker has a list of twelve ways to travel the world without paying. Some are for free lodging, some for travel expenses, so you may have to combine several tips to truly travel free -and none of these ideas involve joining the military! http://www.moneycompare.com.au/blog/12-ways-to-travel-the-world-for-free.php -via the Presurfer

(image credit: Flickr user sharkbait)

A bacon sandwich is good anytime, but August s the best time for BLTs, when local tomatoes are at their peak. At the fifth annual Tomato Fest in St. Louis, Tom Coghill and 90 volunteers put together a BLT that stretched 179 feet, two inches, breaking the world record for the biggest bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich. They used 500 pounds of bacon, 1,280 pounds of tomatoes, and 100 heads of lettuce. Link -via Digg

Who could ever forget such memorable films as Eegah, Sssssss, Phffft, and Ghost in the Invisible Bikini? The great majority of the movie-going audience, it seems. Bad movie titles go with bad movies most of the time, but every once in a while there's a gem with a real stinker for a title. Good luck finding one! Link -via Unique Daily

Italians scientists have developed a new artificial bone made from wood should be an improvement over the plastic and metal that are now used for implants. Derived from organic material, the new bone substitute will promote faster healing.

To create the bone substitute, the scientists start with a block of wood -- red oak, rattan and sipo work best -- and heat it until all that remains is pure carbon, which is basically charcoal.

The scientists then spray calcium over the carbon, creating calcium carbide. Additional chemical and physical steps convert the calcium carbide into carbonated hydroxyapatite, which can then be implanted and serves as the artificial bone.

Link -via Digg

The more astronauts we had, the less likely their names stay in your memory. Twelve men walked on the moon, but few of us can name those whose mission number was higher than eleven. In today's Lunchtime Quiz at mental_floss, you'll be given names that could be a pro golfer, or could be an Apollo astronaut. Can you sort them out? I surprised myself by scoring 92%, or 11 out of 12. http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/31214

Must Pop Words is a straightforward but addictive clear-the-board game mixed with a word game. As letters drop, you type in any words they can form, which will clear those letters. Don't let the screen fill up with letters! I scored 3576 on the first try. Link -via the Presurfer

Betty A. Lichtenstein of Norwalk, Connecticut was lauded as "nurse of the year" at a fancy dinner in 2008. Now an investigation finds that Lichtenstein wasn't even a nurse!

An investigation then determined that Lichtenstein never had a license, yet had administered injections and given medical advice to the doctor's patients, according to the warrant.

The doctor's and his employees' belief that Lichtenstein was a nurse was reinforced when in November 2008 she was honored as "2008 Nurse of the Year" by the Connecticut Nursing Association.

The investigation determined, however, that the Connecticut Nursing Association does not exist and that Lichtenstein used $2,000 of her own money to stage the dinner, according to the warrant.

The doctor who employed Lichtenstein was asked to speak at the event. Lichtenstein was arrested in May on unrelated charges involving prescription drugs. http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-nurse-fraud-0807.artaug07,0,160045.story -via Arbroath

Just about the only thing that can make a cute baby animal cuter is to be born with markings that say "love". See five creatures who have their heart showing, including this ox with a forehead heart. Link

(image credit: L.A.Times)

You know about these famous landmarks, but do you know where to go to see them? In this Lunchtime Quiz from mental_floss, you'll be given a landmark and you decide where it is. It's a bit harder than you might think. I scored 77%. Link