Why didn't astronauts float off the moon? Heavy boots. Sigh.
phys.ufl.edu — "While a pen always falls when you drop it on Earth, it would just float away if you let go of it on the Moon." My jaw dropped a little. I blurted "What?! A pen would fall if you dropped it on the Moon, just more slowly." I protested. "No it wouldn't." the TA explained calmly, "because you're too far away from the Earth's gravity." (Submitted by mattswain123) More…
Students tie £56 camera to balloon; send it to edge of space
dailymail.co.uk — Teenagers with a £56 camera and latex balloon have managed to take stunning pictures from 20 miles above Earth. Proving that you don't need Google's billions or the BBC weather centre's resources, the four Spanish students managed to send a camera-operated weather balloon into the stratosphere. (Submitted by ScottMcIntyre) More…
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How to hallucinate using ping-pong balls and a radio
boston.com — Do you ever want to change the way you see the world? Wouldn't it be fun to hallucinate on your lunch break? Although we typically associate such phenomena with powerful drugs like LSD or mescaline, it's easy to fling open the doors of perception without them: All it takes is a basic understanding of how the mind works. (Submitted by vtbarrera) More…
11 Extinct Animals That Have Been Photographed Alive
ecoworldly.com — The current rate of extinction is 100 to 1000 times higher than the average, or background rate, making our current period the 6th major mass extinction in the planet’s history. Thus, what follows is a list of 11 extinct animals that were photographed while still alive. (Submitted by nofreee) More…
What Earth Would Look Like With Rings Like Saturn?
liveleak.com — What the rings would look like from different cities and latitudes accross the world. It's interesting to imagine how it would effect culture throughout time. It would have influenced religion, mythology, navigation, etc.. Personally, I think the blue hue of earth's atmosphere would partly be reflected in the rings. (Submitted by MrBabyMan) More…
Another Stonehenge Discovered Under Lake Michigan?
io9.com — A group of researchers using sonar to find shipwrecks on the bottom of Lake Michigan have found something far older than crashed cargo ships. They believe they've found a 10-thousand-year-old stone structure like Stonehenge. (Submitted by BillDauterive) More…
Idiot Congressman Thinks He Stumped Nobel Winning Scientist
tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com — Oh the (rare, but occasionally exceptional) joys of Twitter. Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX)--the ranking member on the House Energy & Commerce Committee--says (tweets?) "I seemed [sic] to have baffled the Energy Sec with basic question - Where does oil come from?" (Submitted by niradg) More…
Top 10 Google Earth Finds
time.com — Exploration these days is quite literally an armchair activity, as high-resolution satellite images and tools like Google Earth make it possible for anyone with an Internet connection to pour over the globe with a fine-toothed comb, discovering everything from clandestine marijuana fields to the lost city of Atlantis. (Submitted by texasmonthly) More…
pictures of extremely rare "Snow Rollers"
wrh.noaa.gov — The snow rollers that he took pictures of are extremely rare because of the unique combination of snow, wind, temperature and moisture needed to create them. They form with light but sticky snow and strong winds. (Submitted by senseilmno) More…
