A clockwork machine hailed as the supercomputer of the ancient world provided a calendar for the Olympic Games and may have had a link with Archimedes, one of the greatest names in science, investigators believe.

In 1832, English author William Hone (1780 - 1842) published The Year Book of daily Recreation and Information*, an almanac of sorts in which included this quirky and wonderful “Alphabet for Beginners” (amazing they still mostly apply today).

 
 Pen-tailed Tree Shrew of the Malaysian Rain Forest
German scientists have discovered that seven species of small mammals in the rain forests of western Malaysia drink fermented palm nectar on a regular basis. For several of the species, including the pen-tailed tree shrew, the nectar, which can have an alcohol content approaching that of beer, is […]

Four giant panda cubs have been born within just 14 hours in China, giving a rare boost to the population of the endangered species, state media said Sunday. (Pics)

 
Back in 1922, a mechanical engineer began building his summer home in Rockport, Massachusetts out of paper. Originally used just as insulation, Elis Stenman soon began to make furniture and decorations out of paper as well. What resulted was Rockport’s Paper House, which is remarkably still standing after 80 years. Stenman’s grandniece is now in […]

 
Four words when I say Michael J. Fox? Exactly - Back to the Future! The movies were something and the actor did great. If you think likewise than an auction on eBay is sure going to interest you. Up for grabs at $30,000 is a hoverborad that finds use in the 2nd part of the […]

 NanoSail-D
For the first time, NASA is preparing to send into orbit a small satellite that can be propelled by solar sails. When light particles from the sun strike the surface of the sail, the energy is transferred to it, providing a propulsive force that moves the satellite through space.

Don’t Dick Around With A Sex Curse

Archaeologists excavating Cyprus’ old city kingdom of Amathus discovered a tabled inscribed with … an ancient sex curse!

Tree Mobility

Australian Aboriginals replanted an ancient boab tree on Sunday after it was driven thousands of miles with a police escort to save it from destruction.

 
Are we trashing space already? 
Here’s some advice that you would hope is more than unnecessary. NASA employees - astronauts, in particular - should avoid writing their names on any landscapes they encounter on their trips through the solar system.

There’s more for these protesters to worry about than debt!

The International Monetary Fund could be bad for your health. The organisation loans money to countries with financial problems, and in return requires governments to undertake “structural adjustment” policies aimed at improving their financial management.

One down. Six to go!

Designer Kacper Hamilton created seven red wine glasses inspired by the Seven Deadly Sins.

 
There is fresh evidence pointing to life on Mars in the distant past, US scientists claim.
In two new studies, the scientists report that Mars once hosted vast lakes, flowing rivers and a variety of other wet environments that had the “potential to support life”.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oyl2t-TFxH8

Montana Skies: Jenn Adams-cello, Jonathan Adams-guitar
Montana Skies playing a version of Mason Williams’ classic. (the arrangement adapted from and inspired by Tommy Emmanuel and Vanessa Mae versions.) “While my Guitar Gently Weeps” is in the middle. The original after the jump.

 
Oil boys in their prime
Every summer for the last 650 years, Turkish men have gathered to see who was the strongest, fastest and slickest of them all. It’s called Kirkpinar, and it’s the biggest oil wrestling competition in the world. (Pics)

Irrational preferences for rare products are likely to drive the few remaining caviar sturgeon in the Caspian Sea to extinction, warn biologists in France. They have shown that snobbish attitudes drive a strong preference for caviar supposedly from “rare” species, even when the samples are the same.

 
 Mauerguide
Visitors to the German capital disappointed to find little of the Berlin Wall left can now have it reappear before their eyes with a gadget offering a self-guided tour.

 
NASA’s Space Shuttle will fly for one last time on May 31. After the Space Shuttle makes that final journey, Endeavour, Discovery and Atlantis retire four months after that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JokLDqKNQJM

Interview with Dubai’s Sheikh Mohammed - Part 1
On January 4th 2006, Sheikh Mohammed became the Ruler of Dubai following the death of Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum. On January 5th, the members of the Supreme Council elected Sheikh Mohammed the UAE Vice President. UAE President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan nominated […]

A Piraha man participates in an experiment that MIT researchers say indicates his language contains no number words.

Can you imagine a language without any word for “one” or any other numbers? Aren’t numbers so important that life would be nearly impossible if you don’t have words to express them?
Apparently not, as scientists found one such […]

 
Teotihuacan Pyramid
Archeologists are opening a cave sealed for more than 30 years deep beneath a Mexican pyramid to look for clues about the mysterious collapse of one of ancient civilization’s largest cities.

 
A sculpture of the signing of the Declaration of Independence made from a one-tonne block of cheddar cheese glistened on the sidewalk of Times Square in New York on Thursday as an artist’s tribute to the Fourth of July.

Image of a meteorite crater in Arizona.
A hundred years ago this week, a gigantic explosion ripped open the dawn sky above the swampy taiga forest of western Siberia, leaving a scientific riddle that endures to this day.

 The theories are great conversation starters, but nothing we can hang our hats on
One of the most interesting questions considered by astrophysicists deals with the start of our universe. Indeed, there is a great deal of speculation on the subject, with different theories about how the universe began, and what may have existed before the […]

 
People who dump cable TV tend to go out and buy pink chairs
Historically, it’s been a general truth that even lower-end consumers doggedly hang on to their cable TV service in times of economic stress. Even severe economic stress. They routinely cut back on heat and food as they continue to pay for that nightly […]