Per the “Personal Hygiene” section of the International Space Station’s medical reference manual, personnel are directed to change their underwear every seven days and their socks every three days. What’s not clear in the manual: is it ok to turn them inside out, then backwards, for a total of 28 days?
Did you know that the Madagascar chameleon spends three quarters of its entire life in an egg? Most mammals, reptiles and amphibians live between two and ten years. A zoology student discovered this very unusual life cycle where this chameleon lives for just about five months after it has hatched. There aren’t any other four-legged creatures that have such a short lifespan.
(Photo Credit: Eric Isselée /iStockphoto)
President Bush signed a bill Tuesday that has removed former South African president Nelson Mandela and his African National Congress from the U.S. terror watch list. Madela and members of the ANC formerly had to receive special certification from the US secretary of state before entering the country. A State Department spokesman said the bill ensures “that there aren’t any extra hoops for either a distinguished individual, like former President Mandela, or other members of the African National Congress to get a US visa.” Happy 90th Birthday Mr. Mandela from the good old U.S. of A!
The Presbyterian Church (USA) will now allow the ordination of gays and lesbians after overturning a long-established ban, but the church’s national governing body upheld its definition of marriage as a “covenant between a woman and a man.” Like other churches, the Presbyterian Church faces the difficult task of reconciling differing beliefs about the role of biblical influence and homosexuality.
Scientists have known since the mid-1990’s that people with a certain mutation have an incredible resistance to HIV and now a team of researchers may have found a way to duplicate the mutation’s effect, subsequently creating a possible immunity against the deadly virus. University of Pennsylvania scientists have tested the treatment on cultured T-cells and mice, so uncertainty remains as to whether the technique would work in humans.
The Danes have something to smile about as a new study says Denmark boasts the happiest citizens. On the other side of the spectrum, it seems Zimbabweans need something to smile about as the African nation landed in the most glum spot. The study also found that happiness overall has risen around the world, an up swing contributed to economic growth in formerly poor countries, democratization and increasing social tolerance for women and minority groups. Debbie Downer Baby Boomers and a whopping 81 percent of Americans dissatisfied with the country’s direction landed the U.S. at 16th.
When Cosmopolitan launched in 1886, the glossy’s editor called it a “first-class family magazine.” Indeed, early issues of the mag featured articles by the likes of Jack London and Theodore Roosevelt, and covered topics like climbing Mount Vesuvius and the life of Mozart. In recent decades, Cosmo moved away from family fun towards a level of sexual explicitness that makes third wave feminists cringe and hapless women fixated on pleasing men.
Did you know that the sound quality of the Stradivarius is actually determined by the growth rings in the wood used to make the violin? For a long time music lovers and researchers have tried to understand the real reason behind the melodious sound of the Stradivarius, especially when compared to violins made from modern wood. Using CT scans, Dutch scientists are now able to determine how the microstructure of the wood can influence the way vibrations travel through it.
(Photo Credit: David Carrick /iStockphoto)
Wrap your noggin around this: a team of researchers has created the world’s first complete high-resolution map that shows how the outer brain layer’s neural fibers connect and communicate. The mapping marks a major step towards understanding how the highly complex part of the brian responsible for higher level thinking operates and could help other other scientists continue mapping the brain’s trillions of neural links. Understanding how the brain is connected may allow for successful predictions as to what the brain will do.
Long before the days of self-checkout lines and aisle after aisle price checkers, the first product purchased by scanning a UPC code occurred at an Ohio Supermarket on June 26, 1974. A man named Clyde Dawson bought a 10-pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit, a purchase so monumental that the gum goods now sit on display at the Smithsonian
In Germany, a six and a half foot long catfish attempted to eat a blue and white soccer ball and got choked in the bargain. I wonder if soccer mania had anything to do with this kind of behavior.
(Photo Credit: Cristian Matei /iStockphoto)
A group of animals made a daring escape from a traveling Dutch circus that would make John Dillinger proud. Amsterdam police say 15 camels, two zebras, a handful of llamas and potbellied pig escaped after a giraffe kicked a hole in their cage, allowing the gang of furry friends to wander into a nearby neighborhood. A police spokesman said the animals stayed together during the several hours ordeal and remained tame. No word on how many locals may have rubbed their eyes raw in disbelief as the cluster of camels strutted by their window.
What do you get when you combine an optical illusion, speeding drivers and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration funding? No, not a dizzying headache and DUI accusation. Fake speed bumps! Highway safety administration officials have taken to the streets of Philadelphia armed with a flat piece of blue, white and orange plastic that when applied to street pavement looks like a 3-D pyramid from afar. Local police hope the faux speed bumps will discourage speeding, but similar experiments conducted two years ago in Phoenix showed drivers slow down only temporarily.
If your tween daughter has a penchant for short-shorts and half-shirts, you may want to consider investing in some threads from a new website launched by the fashionistas of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints. Yep, the same FLDS sect recently raided by Texas authorities. Originally the site only featured pictures of clothing as many of the polygamous sect’s children remained in state custody, but now smiling FLDS kids mug for the camera in the dresses, overalls and other ankle-to-wrist gear. Nothing makes kids happier than multiple husbands, polyester and gargantuan bangs.
Eddie Murphy has hinted he wants to retire from acting. The Norbit star told Extra, “Thirty years and I have close to 50 movies and it is like, ‘Why am I in the movies? I’ve done that part now. I’ll go back to the stage and do stand-up.” Apparently the amount the movie studio wanted to pay him was seven digits. Can we pay him eight digits to not do stand up either?
An airplane ride crammed in the middle seat next to someone going au naturale could become slightly more pleasant, well, for your nose anyway. Researchers in Portugal have developed a way to inject fragrances into fabric that could potentially neutralize funky body odor. Although, sorry to say that the perfumed clothing will likely do nothing to prevent your stinky plane buddy from falling asleep on your tray table.
(Photo Credit: Amanda Rohde/iStockphoto)
Illinois boasts an interesting history of political corruption with three former governors serving time and enough machine politics in Chicago’s Cook County to put Tammany Hall to shame. Despite oozing corruption, the state has never seriously considered impeachment for one of its own, but that may change if powerful House Speaker Michael Madigan has his way. Madigan has started circulating talking points to fellow Democrats, outlining impeachment procedures that could be used to oust Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Could Illinois throw two consecutive governors in the pokey? Wait and see.
If the endless room makeover ideas featured on hours of cable TV home shows don’t suit your fancy, why not jazz up your digs with a little Super Mario Bros. flavor? People looking to add a some Mario to their decor style can buy movable and reusable decals based on the exact 8-bit graphics from the original Super Mario Bros. game. If the highest selling video game of all time fails to please your decorator eye, Nintendo also offers Donkey Kong and New Super Mario Bros.
Put away those gold grills because a new dental trend has taken over: tooth tattoos. The Tooth Artist can tattoo nearly any image onto your pearly whites, making them more of a sooty gray, but isn’t a David Letterman or Abe Lincoln tooth ink worth it?
Scientists have found a calculus computing center which tells primitive roundworms how to navigate towards food and away from poison. By understanding the behavior of these roundworms, researchers are seeking to find suitable treatment for the hundreds of thousands who have problems related to taste and smell. Are we learning more about ourselves from roundworms?
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Sometimes you just want to take a bite out of communism or at least a little lick. Satisfy your sweet tooth and nutty desire to know what the former head of the Russian Soviet Socialist Republic tastes like with Vladimir Lenin head pops. The Lenin lollipop apparently tastes like cola, which would mean a Woodrow Wilson sucker would likely taste like Orange Crush.
Mondays can break out the champagne in celebration after receiving vindication with new research that suggests Wednesdays actually boast the title of most depressing day of the week. Hump Day’s position in the week as the day furthest away from the weekend that has either just past or is coming up spawned a case of the Debbie Downers for people already bogged down with work. Despite predicted mood swings based on the day of the week, the researchers also discovered moods remained about the same throughout the week.
If history lessons land you in zzzzz land, consider reviewing major moments in history with the help of everyone’s favorite mechanical drawing toy. Check out the Etch A Sketch gallery that features monumental events like the moon landing, Bush’s “Mission Accomplished” speech and the Krakatoa volcanic eruption. History sure looks more fun on flat gray screen in a red plastic frame!
A Maltese puppy born without front legs has big plans to rock ‘n roll through life despite her disability. Well, she’ll probably roll more than rock as little Hope received a specially-designed device that uses the wheels from a model airplane to help her maneuver surprisingly fast.
Residents in a Baltimore neighborhood have a stinky mystery on their hands after an unidentified man tossed a bag of feces onto the front porch of a home. The baffling incident disgusted neighbors and now police have the icky task of determining if the poop originated from a human or an animal. A surveillance camera captured a shot of the man, who authorities describe as balding and wearing a moustache.
The latest development in the Viacom case against Google’s YouTube means that the Viacom legal team will know how many times you viewed that darn drama prairie dog (or gopher, whatever) video. A U.S. court has ordered that Google must disclose the viewing habits of each and every user who has ever plopped down in front of their computer and watched a YouTube video. The ruling means Viacom will have over 12 terabytes of data to prove their claim that allegedly infringing videos hold more appeal than non-infringing flicks.
Beer cravings can make an otherwise sane person go a little bonkers. Take, for example, the case of a knife-wielding prisoner at a minimum security lock-up in Germany who demanded five bottles of beer after taking a woman hostage. Or the 74-year-old woman in LA that crashed through the window of a convenience store, stumbled out of the wreck and proceeded to try and buy a six-pack of brewskies. Looks like something’s in the hops.
A solar and wind-powered electronic billboard will debut in New York’s Times Square in December, becoming the flashy intersection’s first eco-friendly ad. Forty-five solar panels and four wind turbines will power the nearly 6,000 square foot billboard, resulting in a reduction of carbon dioxide usage by 18 tons a year. Relying solely on alternative energy, the sign’s floodlights will go dark on gloomy and wind-less days in the Big Apple.
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