If you’re familiar with the concept of plate tectonics (the outermost layer of our planet, where we live on, is a collection of plates that continuously move around each other), then it’s no surprise to you that millions of years ago, your present-day address was not in the same place it is now. Thanks to an online tool, we can now trace where a location on Earth was a long time ago. The Ancient Earth simulation allows you to type in the name of a city, highlight it, and then select an ancient date from a drop-down menu to see where it was back at some point in the distant past, as How Stuff Works detailed:

Ancient Earth was created by Ian Webster, a software engineer who is the founder and chief technology officer of Zenysis, a San Francisco-based company that does analytics and visualizations of data designed to improve the delivery of health care in developing countries. He previously worked as an engineer at Google and also at NASA and for other companies in the space industry. He's also the creator of Dinosaurpictures.org, which allows you to search through a database of images of the ancient creatures, and even view a random dinosaur.

In addition to being interested in paleogeography, Webster also likes to explore the power of turning data into images.

Image via How Stuff Works 

A woman from Southwestern China became an online star for dancing on a river. No, she can’t miraculously make herself float above water; Yang Liu dances on a single bamboo pole. Now that’s impeccable balance and talent! Besides dancing, Liu can also perform splits while standing on a bamboo pole. Amazing, right? 

We all know mud as that icky, brown clump of soil that’s difficult to remove from our footwear or clothes. Alternatively, some refer to mud as wet soil. Geologists define mud as tiny particles that stick together when wet. For the experts, mud isn’t just composed of soil, as broken down rocks are also considered mud. Experts are now researching how mud was initially formed, and how did plant life increase the production of mud, as Knowable Magazine details: 

Before plants arrived on land, mud was around — it was just mostly sent to the seafloor by rivers. Once plants showed up, they not only held sediments in place but their roots also physically broke down rock and released chemicals that further crumbled it. In these ways, plants accelerated what geologists refer to as the “continental mud factory.”

Before plants, rivers would have stripped continents of silt and clay — key constituents of mud — and sent these sediments to the seafloor. This would have left continents full of barren rock, and seas with smothered fish.

Once plants arrived on land, things began to change. Mud clung to vegetation along riverbanks and stuck around rather than shuttling straight to the seafloor. Davies, now at the UK’s University of Cambridge, and his colleagues have found that the expansion of land plants between about 458 million and 359 million years ago coincides with a more than tenfold increase in mud on land — and a significant shift in the ways that rivers flowed. The arrival of first plants and then mud “fundamentally changed the way the world operates,” he says.

Image via Knowable Magazine 

This new design from Hong Kong is promoting the concept of a driverless tram. The tram, called the Island, also features a touchless entry and exit, circular benches with seating designed to have minimal contact between passengers. The Island is the perfect tram to facilitate social distancing, as Travel and Leisure details:  

The double-decker tram idea is a perfect fix to facilitate social distancing on board with sleek lines creating a spacious interior where people can spread out. And the curved windows on all sides ensure the views of the busy city — already known for its efficient public transportation system — will be spectacular day or night.

“Usually, good design comes from limitations. So in a way, this period has been really good for design — not necessarily for business, but certainly for the imagination,” Andrea Ponti, the founder of Ponti Design Studio, told CNN earlier this month. “During and after the pandemic, I think designers will propose many new, different ways to use public spaces and interact with the environment."

It has not yet been determined where the tram would travel between.

“Hong Kongers are dedicated to keeping the city and its people safe from COVID-19, so innovative local designers and architects have shared some creative solutions, illustrating what socially-distanced and responsible public transit could look like in a post-pandemic Hong Kong,”  Bill Flora, the director for the USA of the Hong Kong Tourism Board, told T+L.

Image via Travel And Leisure 

Ah, the power of optical illusions! If you have small or dark spaces, there are ways to renovate your personal space without spending a lot of money. Sometimes, all you need is a bucket of paint to make a cramped space feel brighter and wider. Family Handyman shares tips and tricks on how to revamped different places in one’s home. Check the full piece here. 

image via Family Handyman

What better way to spice up the roads in your time by decorating some parts of them with your favorite anime characters? Some manhole covers in Tokorozawa, Tokyo, were decorated with characters that glow in the dark. Some designs included characters from Neon Genesis Evangelion, as Reuters detailed: 

The city installed the covers, which include designs from animation series such as Neon Genesis Evangelion and Gundam, this month to advertise a new entertainment complex focusing on Japanese popular culture that is scheduled to open in November.

“My commute back home is enjoyable,” said 22-year-old resident Kotaro Kodaira. “I can look at them on the ground so the (walking) time seems shorter than before.”

The 27 designs are illuminated by solar-powered LED lights, according to the city’s Waterworks and Sewerage department.

Image via Reuters 

Believe it or not, the iconic smiley face didn’t just evolve naturally. The worldwide symbol for happiness, with its perfect circle, two oval eyes, and a large upturned mouth was created by graphic designer Harvey Ball in 1963. Ball was commissioned by State Mutual Life Assurance Company to create an image to boost staff morale, as My Modern Met detailed: 

Apparently, Ball spent just 10 minutes drawing up a deconstructed smiling face on yellow paper—a surface he chose simply “because it was sunshiny and bright.” Ball was paid a whopping $45 for his now world-renowned visual.

At first, the insurance company printed Ball’s design on buttons and posters to give out to its employees, hoping to cheer them up. It’s unknown whether the “happy” memorabilia did the trick; however, the image quickly gained popularity. Yellow smiley faces started popping up on everything, from greeting cards and stickers to T-shirts and key rings. And although it is widely accepted that Ball invented the smiley, neither he nor the insurance company trademarked the now-iconic design.

Image via My Modern Met 

Now that question just sounds like a situation straight out of Lord Of The Flies. Don’t worry, no one has a tragic end in this one. The Boys State program is a one big civics lesson orchestrated annually by the American Legion, with each state hosting its own weeklong gatherings of high school juniors. The program has a lot of safeguards that prevent murder, don’t worry! Hyperallergic has more details: 

The Texas Boys State program randomly sorts the teens into two political parties, the Nationalists and Federalists, with each party then electing various representatives, leaders, and a nominee for governor over the course of the week. Along the way are myriad public debates and mock legislative sessions, held at the University of Texas at Austin, which becomes a miniature self-enclosed society. (Again, one composed entirely of pubescent males, so basically Hell.) The gubernatorial election is the big climax that events are working toward, and the film’s main characters are the respective parties’ candidates and chairmen chairboys.

The Federalists play the more villainous role, particularly Ben Feinstein, a wannabe CIA agent who uses his position as chair to get a disquietingly savvy head start on ratfucking the opposition. Said opposition consists of two Nationalists who both stand out for being liberal, non-aggro POC in an overwhelmingly white, right-wing, and fratty environment. They skillfully use their rhetorical skills to bypass the biases stacked against them. Rene Otero wins over the party to become chair, while Steven Garza gamely earns their nomination for governor with a message of unity and a straight-shooting persona (he cites Bernie Sanders as his inspiration for getting into politics, God bless).

image screenshot via Hyperallergic

If you’re looking for places you can visit in the future, why not look for some cool pools? There’s nothing wrong with the usual swimming pool, but if you’re planning to travel far, there’s also no harm in trying out some unique places, right? Check out Reader’s Digest’s feature of odd swimming pools from around the globe, from geothermal spas to the world’s largest man-made swimming pool. Even if you’re not planning to travel, it’s a list that’s still entertaining to see!

Instagram has a lot of trends and hashtags going around. Some hashtags are for entertainment, while some are informative or done to raise awareness. You’ll see celebrities join in the movements with posting  black squares or short clips of singing John Lennon lyrics. Another trend dominating Instagram is called #ChallengeAccepted. Women are sharing black and white selfies in the name of female empowerment, as Paper Magazine details: 

As written by Taylor Lorenz for The New York Times, there are several possibilities as to where #ChallengeAccepted originated. Back in 2016, black and white photos with the hashtag first emerged, aiming to share messages of "cancer awareness," and "spreading positivity" in the years since.

Speaking to the Times, an Instagram representative indicated that the first post "for this current cycle of the challenge" was shared close to two weeks ago on the page of the Brazilian journalist, Ana Paula Padrão.

The Times also spoke to a public relations and "influencer marketing manager" at Later, a social media firm, who believed this round of selfies might have been inspired by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's speech on the House of Representatives floor last week, after Ted Yoho referred to her as a "fucking bitch." Feminist and female empowerment posts circulated on multiple social media platforms after Ocasio-Cortez spoke out.

Another popular theory is that the challenge derived from Turkey, where women have been said to be posting black and white selfies to protest gender-based violence there.

Writer and artist Mina Tunay shared a graphic detailing "what's going on in Turkey" at the moment, connecting the hashtag to high femicide rates in the country, the recent killing of university student Pinar Gültekin by her boyfriend, and information regarding "honor killings," police brutality and other forms of violence facing Turkish women within four slides. In its caption, Tunay writes, "Of course this is not the entire story but a general background."

image screenshot via Paper Magazine

Oh, I thought that the “phantom of the opera” was just a fictional character. It turns out that a real opera ghost exists, but he isn’t the masked character we see in the play, no - he’s just a sneaky theater tech. Organ enthusiast Joe Patten repaired the Fox Theatre’s Mighty Mo, the second largest organ in the world, which was broken for fifteen years. He earned his reputation as a ghost by spending his time in the theatre maintaining its instruments and moving like a ghost through the structure, as Cracked detailed: 

In return, the Fox eventually made Patten its Technical Director and, since he "was spending 16 hours a day at the theatre anyway," let him live there rent-free. The Phantom chose a series of abandoned offices as his lair, which he remodeled into a 3000 square foot luxury apartment. Through a gate with a hidden lock that only a password could open, several winding steps would lead only Patten to a Moorish Rococo abode that would've fit perfectly in a Gaston Leroux novel. (This blog has a gorgeous photo gallery of the apartment in all its theatrical grandeur). It even had a revolving bookcase that led to a secret closet -- if he ever needed a place to stash billowing capes and sinister half-masks.  

Image via Cracked 

Twitter user Kat (@bbykaat ) was enjoying her meal when her lovely companion Soda took a chunk of her boiled eggs. Kat shared the photo of her cat caught in the act, looking a bit surprised as it chomps on her boiled egg. It’s both funny and adorable!

egg thief!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/X3ySQ3zhWp

— kat (@bbykaat) August 16, 2020

image via Twitter

It’s best to avoid adopting pets online, as it’s not certain if you’ll be getting an actual furry friend! People who have been victims of online puppy scams have spent hundreds or even thousands of dollars before realizing that no pet is on the way to their homes. With the pandemic, more people are searching for companions in order to ease their isolation and brighten their lives, as FastCompany details: 

Scammers often place ads on social media platforms or other sites, offering to have a pet shipped to buyers for a fee paid up front. After would-be pet owners place an order, sometimes by wiring money or sending it from a bank account, the sellers often request additional fees to handle shipping issues or for other reasons. Some buyers can be out hundreds or even thousands of dollars before they finally realize there’s no new pet en route.

The scams have been reported across the country and across the world, with former Australian Football League player Andrew Leoncelli revealing last week he was scammed into spending nearly 3,000 Australian dollars on a nonexistent dog he found online.

The BBB advises the following:

• avoid pet purchases that require sending payment through unusual means, like wiring money or buying gift cards to other stores
• be wary of deals that sound too good to be true for the animal breed in question
• check for stock photos and text that appears on multiple unrelated websites
• attempt to adopt from an animal shelter before going the online order route

Image via FastCompany 

Allen Pan invented a gun that shoots a mask onto people’s faces. This gadget comes in handy, especially since some people are actually not taking this whole pandemic seriously. If they won’t gear up for their own safety, someone has to force them to do so. Pan used parts of a car’s brake line, a pistol grip from a spray can, custom electronics, and a solenoid valve, as Gizmodo detailed: 

Even with the addition of an actual laser scope that projects a green dot onto a target who’s not been properly educated about the benefits of mask wearing, aiming the mask gun is the most challenging part of using it. After some initial successes during testing, the accuracy of the blaster took a steep nose dive as the wonky aerodynamics of a face mask attached to four projectiles makes its trajectory almost unpredictable. Functionally, the Mask Gun works exactly like those cannons that launch nets to knock drones out of the sky, but the mask instead works like a sail or a parachute designed to catch the wind, and even with a laser scope, aiming is almost completely random.

Image via Gizmodo

We’ve come a long way when it comes to technology. Even our footwear gets an upgrade! Meet the DropLabs EP-01. These shoes let you “feel” the bass in any media you play. Does it work like a bluetooth speaker, except it lets you feel the sound? Check out Unbox Therapy’s video to find out!