How much do you drink?
According to data compiled by environmental think tank World Resources Institute, Scandinavians drink a lot of coffee. Between 6.8 and 12.0 kilograms per year. So world travelers, does this map match up with your experiences?
Fixing The Official Kilogram
Fixing the problem with the kilogram.
The “reference kilogram” is a lump of metal in France — the kilo being the only metric measurement not based on some objective standard. A project is underway to replace the kilo with something independently reproducible: perfectly spherical balls of based onCarbon-12. Incidentally, these new kilos would also be “the roundest objects in the world.”
Zapping Microbes With Electricity Could Cut Chemical Use in Wastewater by 50%
Changing the face of mining?
The mining industry requires significant amounts of water, and the water used becomes polluted with toxins including arsenic, mercury and sulfates. Typically, the water is cleaned with microbes which do their job by adding or removing electrons from the soup, but they need to be supplemented with chemical additives. But a new process could change that, feeding microbes with electric charges instead, and cutting the need for chemicals by half, or possibly even more…
Continue reading… “Zapping Microbes With Electricity Could Cut Chemical Use in Wastewater by 50%”
Girl’s 26 Digits Breaks World Record for Most Fingers and Toes
Behold the many digits of Lei Yadi Min.
A one-year-old girl from China has set a new world record for having the most fingers and toes on any living person…
Continue reading… “Girl’s 26 Digits Breaks World Record for Most Fingers and Toes”
32 Percent of Russians Think the Sun Revolves Around Earth
Many Russians are a little off on their science.
Does the sun revolve around Earth? Is radioactivity a human invention? Did humans ever live side by side with dinosaurs? A surprising number of people in Russia answered those and other questions with a resounding “yes.”
Continue reading… “32 Percent of Russians Think the Sun Revolves Around Earth”
Major Styles of Tattoo Art
About 1 in 2.5 adults under the age of 40 has been inked. The Washington Postpresents an interactive infographic illustrating the major styles of tattooing that can be found in the United States today. At the link, hovering over any area on the statue’s body shows a closer view of each style.
64-Year Old Man First to Cross the Atlantic in a Kayak Nonstop
Kayaking to the beat of a different paddle.
Aleksander Doba, 64, crossed the Atlantic Ocean from Dakar, Senegal to Acaraú, Brazil in almost a hundred days. He’s the first person to do so nonstop:
After 98 days, 23 hours, 42 minutes at sea, Doba and his custom 23-foot-long, 39-inch-wide human-powered kayak landed at Acaraú, a city on Brazil’s northeast coast. The trip covered some 3,320 miles in all, and Doba became only the fourth known person to accomplish such a feat, and the very first to do it nonstop…
Continue reading… “64-Year Old Man First to Cross the Atlantic in a Kayak Nonstop”
Anti-Crime DNA Sprays
New Ways To Use DNA
Jantine sez, “January 10th I received this letter from my district officials saying they;ve installed DNA spray in the area I live in. I’ve posted the letter, pic of the sign and some translated excerpts on my blog for the time being.”
Chinese Develop Gait-Biometrics Surveillance
Another way to be under surveillance.
A confidential United States embassy dispatch released by Wikileaks provides details about a new technology developed by the Chinese Academy of Science to identify people by their gait.
The technology is designed to be deployed beneath existent flooring. From there it measures pedestrian pace and walking pressure to create a unique biometrics profile which can be used to identify and track the movements of individuals without their knowledge…
Continue reading… “Chinese Develop Gait-Biometrics Surveillance”
Restaurant Makes Handbags From The Cow You Eat
Fashion Directly From Your Food
Forget about plunking down thousands of dollars and putting your name on a yearlong waiting list – to score New York’s latest “it” bag, you’re encouraged to eat the cow it comes from first. Sold exclusively at the Williamsburg restaurant Marlow & Sons, Breton tote bags boast supple leather and a price tag that ranges from $300 to $400.
But buying one isn’t so easy…
Continue reading… “Restaurant Makes Handbags From The Cow You Eat”
NASA Finds Earth’s Cirrus-Like Ice Clouds on Saturn’s Moon Titan
Cloudy with a chance of…
Experts at NASA have sighted thin, wispy clouds of ice particles similar to Earth’s cirrus clouds on one of Saturn’s moons, Titan.
Continue reading… “NASA Finds Earth’s Cirrus-Like Ice Clouds on Saturn’s Moon Titan”
Sex Ban Suggested for Belgian Coalition Negotiators
Sex bans have helped form governments in the past.
The partners of Belgian politicians are being urged to go on a sex strike until a government is formed. The country had general elections last June but parties have so far been unable to form a governing coalition.
Socialist senator Marleen Temmerman said after a week of a similar sex ban in Kenya in 2009, a government was formed. Previous attempts to pressure Belgian negotiators into agreement have included a “grow a beard” campaign.
Continue reading… “Sex Ban Suggested for Belgian Coalition Negotiators”