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2020/11/07

Neatorama

Neatorama

When an Extraplantery Simulation Fails

Posted: 07 Nov 2020 12:45 AM PST

On February 15, 2018, a four person crew embarked on the sixth iteration of the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) on Mauna Loa on the Big Island. What began as an eight month simulation of living on the planet Mars, ended after only four days with one of the crew members taken away on a stretcher.

The program is run by University of Hawaii and funded by NASA.

Since 2013, small groups of people have made this drive (up the Northern slope of Mauna Loa) and moved into the dome, known as a habitat. Their job is to pretend that they really are on Mars, and then spend months living like it. The goal, for the researchers who send them there, is to figure out how human beings would do on a mission to the real thing.

However, on February 19th, the batteries powered by a solar array for the habitat and its systems lost its power due to lingering clouds over the volcano. When this happens, the crew is supposed to suit up, go outside, and turn on a car-size backup generator that runs on propane. After two crew members donned their space suits, they went outside and started the generator while the two other crew members flipped a switch on a circuit breaker inside the habitat.

When the suited-up crew members returned to the habitat, a crew member was typing furiously at a computer. The other looked stricken, pale. They said they didn't feel well. They said they had sustained an electric shock. Learnabout the HI-SEAS program, previous missions and what went wrong during Mission Six at The Atantic via Get Pocket.

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons - Tiffany Swarmer, NASA

Ancient Denisovan DNA Found Outside of Siberia

Posted: 07 Nov 2020 12:45 AM PST

The extinct human species Homo denisova, which we call Denisovans, were first discovered as a distinct Homo variant in 2008. That discovery came from mitochondrial DNA in fossils from a cave in Siberia, and indicated that Denisovans lived there as long as 76,000 years ago. Traces of Denisovans DNA have since been identified in people in Asia and Australia. But more evidence of Denisovans' past is coming to light. 

Denisovan mitochondrial DNA extracted from sediment layers in Baishiya Karst Cave on the Tibetan Plateau indicates that these humanlike folk inhabited the high-altitude site roughly 100,000 years ago and again around 60,000 years ago, say geoarchaeologist Dongju Zhang of Lanzhou University, China, and her colleagues. These are the first examples of Denisovan DNA found outside of Siberia's Denisova Cave (SN: 12/16/19).

The discovery and accompanying artifacts hint that Denisovans were more widespread for a much longer time than we previously thought. Read the implications of the find at Science News. -via Strange Company 

(Image credit: Dongju Zhang)

Closet Lunatic

Posted: 07 Nov 2020 12:45 AM PST



A disembodied head goes on a trip, finding himself in a strange and frightening city. He encounters a urine monster, gets chased by an angry mob, and is finally shot by a cannon. This stop-motion video for the song "Closet Lunatic" by Caro was produced by the group's singer Adam Pardey. He writes about the process of learning to do animation here. -via Digg

Baby Raccoon Herding Goats

Posted: 06 Nov 2020 08:42 PM PST

Ryan Kadyk has a baby rescue raccoon he named Governor. Governor has really taken to farm life, and gives his all to herding the goats, just like the dog does! That'll do, Governor, that'll do. -via Laughing Squid

Tattoo Fails

Posted: 06 Nov 2020 08:42 PM PST

I don't really understand why people love getting tattoos in a language foreign to them. Maybe they just find the letters or characters in the language aesthetically satisfying, or maybe they were pranked. Or maybe both.

Bored Panda has compiled the funniest tattoo fails that they can find over the Internet. See them over at the site.

How about you? Do you have an embarrassing tattoo?

(Image Credit: Bored Panda)

This Guy Loves To Go To The Cemetery

Posted: 06 Nov 2020 08:42 PM PST

We have different coping mechanisms. Some go to parties, some play video games, and others just go to sleep. And then there are those who go to a quiet place to de-stress. But of all the quiet places that one can think of, only a few people would consider going to the cemetery, and at late night, too. One such man is Jo Rachatitipong.

30-year-old Jo Rachatitipong has a passion for graveyards. Upon exploring them, he learned about the exhumation process and was inspired to help people learn more about it by conducting night tours of cemeteries…
[...]
For him, visiting cemeteries is a way to relieve his stress.
"People handle their emotions differently. Some go out to party and drink. But for me, I want total silence where it's just between me and nature," he said. "But it's not just when I'm stressed. Sometimes I have this unexplainable urge to go [to the cemetery] so I just go."

Learn more about his story over at Vice.

What are your thoughts about this one?

(Image Credit: Frankie Lantican/ Vice.com)

The Worst Allergies Ever

Posted: 06 Nov 2020 08:42 PM PST

Allergies begin when a person's immune system mistakes a harmless substance for a harmful one, and then begins to produce antibodies. Common examples of allergy triggers (allergens) are pollen and dust, certain foods like peanuts and eggs, and medications such as penicillin-based antibiotics. And then there are allergies that are next level. There are people who are allergic to water, sunlight, and even to vibrations! Now that's just sad.

Learn more about the worst allergies that a person can have over at Gizmodo.

(Image Credit: cenczi/ Pixabay)

The Surprising Stories Behind 11 TV Show Theme Songs

Posted: 06 Nov 2020 08:42 PM PST

TV theme songs can become earworms that fans will remember all their lives, some because they are catchy and pleasant, others because they are associated with a beloved and long-running show. Each theme song has a story behind it, whether the song or TV show is any good or not. This list looks at the more interesting stories, rather than the quality of the song. Case in point: Batman. The show was beloved and the song was catchy, but few would say it is good.

Batman's theme song has been covered so often in the last half century that younger fans might not even know where it originated. The year was 1966, the show was ABC's animated series Batman, and the musical genius was Neal Hefti. In a 2006 interview for Journal Into Melody, Hefti admitted that he struggled to develop a tune that was as "outrageous" as the show itself, and he didn't have high hopes for his pitch to producers. "I had to sing it and play it on the piano. Well, I'm no singer, and I'm no pianist," he said. "My first thought was that they were going to throw me out, very quickly, but as I was going through it, I heard them both reacting with statements like, 'Oh, that's kicky. That will be good in the car chase.'" Hefti eventually used eight singers to bring the "Batman!" chorus to life, but he suggested cutting two different tracks in case producer William Dozier preferred a purely instrumental intro. Though Dozier chose the vocal version, Batman star Adam West later propagated the myth that instruments—not voices—were behind the "Batman!" bit. "Old pals would call to congratulate me and also to ask, 'Are those horns or voices saying 'Batman' during your theme song?'" he wrote in his 1994 autobiography. "(They were horns.)" Since the single word did technically qualify as "lyrics," Hefti was credited as both songwriter and composer. "One of the choir members on the recording session wrote on his part: 'Word and Music by Neal Hefti,'" Hefti told the Los Angeles Times.

Read the stories behind ten more TV theme songs, from 1960 to today, at Mental Floss.

Don’t Kiss Me, Please

Posted: 06 Nov 2020 08:41 PM PST

Most babies love to receive affection, such as hugs and kisses, from their parents. And then there are babies, such as this one, who seem to not like the idea. As to what the baby was thinking when this happened, we have no idea. We can only infer.

What are your thoughts about this one? Was the baby just surprised, or did he just not like the kiss?

Image via Awkward Family Photos

The Desperate Quest for American Cinnamon

Posted: 06 Nov 2020 08:41 PM PST

Traders from the Middle East brought cinnamon to Mediterranean civilizations beginning around 2,500 years ago, but kept the origin of the spice a secret. Europeans loved it, but didn't know where it came from or how to find out, but they kept looking. This continued after Europeans sailed for the New World. It had so many natural resources, surely there was cinnamon there somewhere!

Among those excited about potential new sources of cinnamon was Francisco Pizarro. Fresh from his destruction of the Incan Empire, Pizarro recruited his brother, Gonzalo, to conquer a place he had heard of not far from his base in Quito called la Canela, the Land of Cinnamon. Contemporary accounts of what happened next are both confused and horrific.

Another Spanish explorer apparently told Gonzalo Pizarro he had found the "Valley of the Cinnamon," though he hadn't been able to explore it. He said local people had told him if he continued on he would find a flat land of prosperous people. Dalby suggests that what he had probably actually found was South American trees of the family Lauraceae, which smell sort of like cinnamon. The prosperous land was most likely the Amazon basin, where people cultivated many crops like cassava, maize, and yams—but not "cinnamon trees."

There were no cinnamon trees, but that didn't stop Pizarro from committing atrocities in his quest. Read about the search for American cinnamon at Jstor Daily. -via Damn Interesting

(Image credit: Simon A. Eugster)

Check Out This Umbrella

Posted: 06 Nov 2020 08:39 PM PST

This umbrella might just be one of those things that you didn't know you needed until you saw it. Instead of the regular tip, this umbrella has a paw-shaped tip that makes it look like you have a cat at home.

Well, what do you think?

Image via 9GAG on Facebook

The Air Force Is Denying The Existence Of This Unidentified Plane

Posted: 06 Nov 2020 01:39 PM PST

A snapshot of what could be the Air Force's spy drone surfaced on Instagram. Suspiciously, the image was taken down soon after it was posted. Don't worry, people of the Internet are very fast when it comes to saving receipts, and the image has been archived and reposted on Twitter. The photo depicts a flying wing-shaped aircraft , as Popular Mechanics details: 

According to Aviation Week & Space Technology, the aircraft "was flying in a racetrack pattern at an estimated altitude of 20,000 [feet]."
The mystery aircraft, as Kolinsky points out, does indeed look like the new B-21 Raider bomber. The B-21 Raider is a new strategic bomber under development by Northrop Grumman.
The U.S. Military currently operates the RQ-4 Global Hawk for high-altitude reconnaissance missions, but the plane lacks the stealth to allow it to operate near modern air defenses. In June 2019, Iran—not exactly a giant in the world of air defense—shot down an RQ-4 in the Strait of Hormuz. It was a wakeup call for a Pentagon that relies on persistent surveillance of adversaries as an early warning system.
The Air Force has never publicly acknowledged the RQ-180's existence. In early 2020, the service sought early retirement for more than two thirds of the 35-strong RQ-4 Global Hawk fleet. This is a curious decision considering the platform is relatively young, with the average age being less than 10 years. It's not so curious, however, if there's a newer, stealthier replacement for the giant drone already flying.

Image via Popular Mechanics

The Digital Wallet With $964 Million Has Been Emptied Out

Posted: 06 Nov 2020 01:39 PM PST

The question is: did a hacker successfully steal the whopping amount of money, or did the long-dormant owner of the wallet move out their savings? Whoever has the control of the money from  the Bitcoin address "1HQ3Go3ggs8pFnXuHVHRytPCq5fGG8Hbhx" is now 69369.16716000 BTC or roughly $964,000,000 richer. Damn, that's a huge amount of money! The digital wallet has been a long topic of discussion for hackers and cryptocurrency enthusiasts for years: 

More recently, several hackers have been trying to break into it, trying to bruteforce the passcode that protects the wallet in an attempt to steal the funds. 
Now, the money is gone, moved to another Bitcoin address, and we will never know what happened unless the person who ordered the transfer comes out publicly. 
"It was either the person who cracked the password or the original owner who may have noticed the recent articles about his wallet being circulated among hackers," Alon Gal, a security researcher who's been keeping an eye on the wallet, said on Twitter. "Maybe the owner? Hard to know."
The wallet was considered "dormant" since 2015, meaning the owner didn't move any Bitcoin out of it since then, As Gal, the Chief Technology Officer of cybercrime intelligence company Hudson Rock, explained. 

Image via Vice 

The Hidden Story Of The Nordic Witch Trials

Posted: 06 Nov 2020 01:39 PM PST

Thousands of women were burned at the stake for witchcraft in later Renaissance Europe. Some were burned alive, while some were hanged, strangled, or beheaded prior to being burnt. Besides the grim and tragic tale of the Nordic Witch Trials that people know, an exhibition at Kunsthal Charlottenborg in Copenhagen, Denmark aims to provide more information concerning the tragic event: 

Titled "Witch Hunt," the show juxtaposes contemporary commissions with historical works by the likes of Albrecht Dürer and Claude Gillot.
"The participating artists explore discriminatory fear and hatred as it spreads from both the bottom up and the top down—between neighbors onto larger communities and from governments to other political institutions, questioning how such narratives are often written out of history," says the gallery in a statement. "At a time of global unrest, as the politics of commemoration are in question, 'Witch Hunt' suggests the need to revisit seemingly distant histories and proposes new imaginaries for remembering and representation."
Featuring such female artists as Louise Bourgeois, Carol Rama, Carmen Winant and Aviva Silverman, the exhibition contextualizes works of art on view by presenting scholarship and archival materials that detail the social, gendered and geopolitical aspects of Nordic witchcraft trials.
"From the impact of Danish colonialism to the multifaceted violences of misogyny, the exhibition proposes a present haunted by persecutions of the past—but one that is also occupied by new critical voices of opposition," says Kunsthal Charlottenborg in the statement.

Image via the Smithsonian 

Can You Solve The “Three Hats” Logic Problem?

Posted: 06 Nov 2020 10:12 AM PST

Never judge a book by its cover. Alternatively, never judge a problem's difficulty until you try solving it. The 'three hats' logic problem might look simple at first glance, but only 36 percent of people actually managed to solve it. The problem is as follows: 

"There are three hats, each with an accompanying statement.
Hat One: The cat is in this hat.
Hat Two: The cat is not in this hat.
Hat Three: The cat is not in Hat One.
Exactly one of the statements is true. Exactly one hat contains a cat. Which hat contains the cat?"

If you would want to see the answer (and how the problem can be solved), check out Prevention's full piece on the problem here. 

Image via Prevention 
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