NASA Is, For Sure, Covering Up UFO Sightings And Other Facts
Welcome to What We Learned This Week, a digest of the most curiously important facts from the past few days. This week: What NASA doesn't want you to know about UFOs, a world where all drugs are legal and how poison ivy works.
THE TRUTH IS NOT OUT THERE
YouTubers Have Seen Through NASA's Lies About UFOs
While most reporters ignore the cries of YouTube conspiracy theorists, Popular Mechanics' Jake Swearingen is the only one giving a voice to the voiceless. Recently, Swearingen came across a video from YouTube user Streetcap1 that purports to be video evidence of a UFO entering Earth's atmosphere. The video, which was pulled from NASA's live camera aboard the ISS, clearly shows an unidentified object — in the sense that it is literally a mass of white pixels against the infinite void of space — falling towards our planet.
Demanding answers, Swearingen contacted NASA. They calmly explained to him that it was most likely a piece of space garbage. Which only begs more questions. Are aliens silently infiltrating our society through the guise of orbital debris? And if they were, how would we even stop them? Guess we'll just have to keep watching the ISS livestream and watch out for a Cigarette Smoking Man.
THE TRUTH *IS* OUT THERE
Researchers Are Still Scratching Their Heads Over The Tunguska Event
NASA may be denying the existence of UFOs caught on ISS livestream footage, but many scientists are happy to admit that in 1908, something big from outer space smacked into a remote area of Siberia and caused an explosion 185 times more powerful than the Hiroshima atomic bomb.
That said, due to the remoteness of the explosion site and the geopolitical circumstances at the time — something about a World War and a fermenting communist revolution — researchers spent decades trying to figure out just what the heck happened. Recent research has ruled out some of the more out-there theories — a UFO, a black hole, and an anti-matter collision are some of the more reasoned ones — but researchers aren't sure if it was a comet or a meteorite that leveled some 1,200 square miles of forest.
And in the end, it doesn't really matter. Science isn't exactly funded in search of satiating idle curiosities — insofar as figuring out exactly what caused a massive explosion in the middle of nowhere is an idle curiosity — and even if we knew, there's nothing we could do to prevent another, probably inevitable event. In fact, it's probably more fun to believe an alien ship crashed landed in Siberia at the turn of the 20th century.
[BBC]
MAKE RASH DECISIONS
The Secret To Avoiding Poison Ivy Outbreaks Is To Just Scrub Really Hard
There are a few important things to know when it comes to poison ivy. First, it isn't the leaves that give you a rash, it's the oil the plant produces, called urushiol, that causes you to break out. Second, coming in contact with urushiol doesn't immediately doom you to a future of itchy, weeping sores. And finally, urushiol has roughly the same properties of car grease, in that you have to really work at getting it all off. So if you've been outside and you think you've been exposed, as long as you throw your clothes into the wash right away and then scrub yourself down, vigorously if you please, within two to eight hours, you should be fine.
[Digg]
HIGH HOPES?
We're Not Really Sure What Would Happen If All Drugs Were Legal
Early into Rose Eveleth's exploration into a potential future where all drugs are legal, we discover that drug laws are a fairly recent invention. It wasn't until the mid-19th century did governments start cracking down on recreational drug use. Of course, anyone could point to the 18th Amendment, Regan's War On Drugs or more recently Portugal's succesful decriminalization laws and argue that, yes, the prudent policy decision is to not punish, but rehabilitate, drug users.
Decriminalization is one thing, but what if all drugs were made legal? Well, unilateral legalization would allow governments to regulate drug production, create non-stigmatized safety nets for addicts, foster more research and education on the hazards of drug use of course, bring in more tax revenue. But it would also spark an arms race with the drug industry, as they legally improve their product, attempt to sidestep or reduce regulation and ultimately will always be ahead of the prevailing research in pursuit of the almighty dollar. In short, people would still get hurt.
WHERE WE'RE GOING, THEY DON'T NEED ROADS
America's Rural Roads Are Dying
It's easy to imagine the ribbons of asphalt that snake their way through America's backcountry as timeless structures, laying there silent and pristine, awaiting those curious enough to finally discover their majesty.
But Robert Frost was right. While America's backroads go largely untouched by vehicles, they're still subject to the elements. Eventually, they will get to the point where local municipalities need to make a decision: Make the expensive choice to repave the road, or just tear it up and let the public fend for themselves.
And maybe that's okay? Maybe we've finally depleted ourselves of Manifest Destiny, and have begun to ease our grasp on the wilderness. Or maybe it's because concrete and asphalt are just expensive as heck right now and as soon as the prices drop we'll be back in there with the pavers because what's more American than building roads?
[WIRED]
BE KIND, rewind (their words)
The Secret To Negotiating Is To Just Be Nice
According to a former FBI negotiator, manipulating people is very simple. Talking in a very friendly voice will lower their defenses and make them more willing to meet your demands. Ending sentences with a downward inflection will subtly let them know what you refuse to move on, and ending others with upward inflections will get them to open up without feeling like they're being interrogated. If you're stuck, just repeat the last few words they've uttered — not only will this buy you time, but it'll make them feel like they're being heard. Though if you apply this line of thinking on most people in your life, you may be the problem here.
[Digg]
Previously on What We Learned This Week
Your Car's Daytime Running Lights Are Dangerous
Donald Trump Is Going To Quit Eventually
For more Internet distillations like this, check out our back catalog of Digg Roundups. And for more stuff from Digg, check out our Originals archive.
