400-Year-Old Greenland Shark Is Oldest Vertebrate Animal

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She was born during the reign of James I, was a youngster when René Descartes set out his rules of thought, saw out her adolescent years as George II ascended the throne, reached adulthood around the time that the American revolution kicked off, and lived through two world wars.

Living to an estimated age of nearly 400 years, a female Greenland shark has set a new record for longevity, scientists have revealed. With a reported growth rate of less than one centimetre a year, they were already thought to be long-lived creatures, but just how long they lived for was something of a mystery.

How English Gave Birth To Surprising New Languages

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Languages are ever changing, mixing and mutating, and sometimes they give birth to new ones. Sanskrit gave birth to Hindi and others; Latin is ancestor to a set of languages including Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian, Afrikaans came from Dutch.

But how about English? What will it give birth to?

1955 Ford Beatnik Bubbletop

The 1955 Ford Beatnik Bubbletop car was built by Gary Fioto, who says he admits that as a kid growing up on Long Island he was fascinated with bubbletops. He chopped up a 1950 Mercury and named it the 'Beatnik' after his car club. The car is actually a lavender 1955 Ford-based custom.



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What The World Of The Future Looked Like From The Early 1960s

image credit: Derrick Bostrom

Toasted bacon wrapped in tin trays, sonic dishwashers and fridges that appear from under the kitchen floor - this was how life was supposed to be in the future.

These pictures are from a 1962 book called '1975: And the Changes to Come' by Arnold B. Barach. They predict what the world of the future looked like from the early 60s - and many of them turned out to be surprisingly accurate.

The Public Bathroom Stall You Should Choose If You Want The Cleanest One

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You're driving down the turnpike. That painful pressure below your navel has grown too intense to ignore. A blue sign flashes through your headlights, a rest stop. You pull in and walk to the public bathroom. A row of stalls stretches from wall to wall. Which should you choose?

Most of us enter this situation armed with nothing but our eyes, noses, and intuitions. But science can help. Research suggests you should avoid the middle stalls at all costs. Here's why.

A Visual History Of The Human Pyramid

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While their standard triangular layouts are usually associated with cheerleading stunts and circus acrobats, human pyramids take some extraordinary forms around the world. Take the Catalan region of Spain, where groups have competed to create 'castells' for festivals.

There are a variety of human pyramids from history - featuring acrobats and gymnasts, involving everything from horses to motorbikes. A short visual history of this feat of balance, strength and showmanship.

Off The Grid On A Homemade Island

Floating off the coast of Vancouver Island is a sustainable island fortress complete with a dance floor, art gallery and garden. For artists Catherine King and Wayne Adams, this is home: a labor of love 24 years in the making.



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(thanks Cora)

Chernobyl Site To Be Converted Into Solar Farm

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What do you do with a radioactive wasteland? Get a little poetic justice out of the nuclear reactor disaster that created the hellscape and turn it into ground zero for a much different kind of alternative energy, naturally.

That's the scheme Ukraine is shooting for in and around Chernobyl, the stricken site of the Soviet Union's infamous 1986 disaster. A proposal mailed around to some big financiers, including US investment companies, framed the plan as an idea whose time has finally come.

How Sunflowers Track The Sun Across The Sky

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Scientists have known for centuries that sunflowers track the Sun across the sky, turning their flowers from east to west as the day progresses. But a team of scientists has finally been able to figure out exactly how this happens.

How Is Peanut Butter Made?

Peanut butter, popular in many countries, is a food paste made primarily from ground dry roasted peanuts. See how it's made.



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(thanks Cora)

Hours Of Operation

(via Bad Newspaper)

What's Up With Eyebrows

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The eyebrow is an area of thick, delicate hairs above the eye that follows the shape of the lower margin of the brow ridges of some mammals. Many studies have been done about the eyebrow. Here are some of them.

NASA Released More Than 1,000 Images Of Mars

image credit NASA)

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has been orbiting the red planet and taking photos since its launch in 2005. NASA has now released 1035 photos of Mars' surface.

The Most Spectacular 2.5 Minutes Of Lightning

Two and a half minutes of non-stop lightning captured just west of Hoxie, Kansas. Photographer Ron Risman created a timelapse video of a spectacular series of lightning strikes synced to music.



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(via Laughing Squid)

Clean Cut

In a world made of crafting materials and supplies, a grandma lives with her crafting tools when one day her mischievous pair of scissors decides to make a mess out of her beautiful fabric garden.



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(thanks Cora)

Despite What You Might Think, Humans Actually Evolved To Be Kind

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Maybe there's hope for humanity yet. As a species, studies have shown humans to be more willing to help strangers than other types of primates, and we exhibit less conflict within our groups compared with other animals too.

That's hard to believe if you switch on the news, but new research suggests that we actually evolved the drive to be 'kind' in order to get access to more resources - and hints that it's not impossible for humans to become more welcoming to people of different backgrounds.

Cat Olympics 2016

Every 4 years Cathletes from nations world wide compete in a test of strength and prowless in the Cat Olympics in disciplines like Whack a Mouse, Laser Wall Tennis, Catnip Rolling, Synchronized Sleeping and many more.



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(thanks Cora)

The Woman Behind Apple's First Icons

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Thirty years ago, as tech titans battled for real estate in the personal computer market, an inconspicuous young artist gave the Macintosh a smile. Susan Kare was the type of kid who always loved art. As a child, she lost herself in drawings, paintings, and crafts.

But when a chance encounter in 1982 reconnected her with an old friend and Apple employee, Kare found herself working in a different medium, with a much smaller canvas. Equipped with few computer skills and lacking any prior experience with digital design, Susan Kare proceeded to revolutionize pixel art.

Caviar (And Roe)

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Caviar has a reputation for being hoity-toity. But fish eggs weren't always a delicacy, and there's nothing inherently unapproachable about them. In fact, they used to be an everyday snack.

At the turn of the 20th century, the Hudson and the Delaware were two of the biggest caviar-producing rivers in the world. Overfishing eventually caused domestic suppliers to run dry, tipping the balance in favor of importers across the Atlantic, which is why it got more expensive.

How Batteries Work

Did you know the same battery we use today was invented in 1887? From turning on a lamp in your home to running solar panels, batteries play a large role in our everyday lives.

The lowly battery is more than just a simple tool and we depend on them more than you may think. But how do batteries work?

(thanks Caroline)

The Scariest Bridge In America

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Maryland reaches nearly 200 feet in certain parts and measures 4.3-miles long from end to end - and for some motorists, getting behind the wheel and driving across the bridge is simply out of the question.



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Canterbury Park Corgi Races

On July 7, 2016, Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minnesota, USA organized a Corgi race consisting of 6 heats and a final. Cute overload.



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(thanks Cora)

Why Do We Wake Up Stiff In The Mornings? Scientists Discover The Answer

image credit: Michael Sauers

Scientists have discovered why we wake up stiff in the morning - because our body's natural ibuprofen has not kicked in yet. Researchers revealed the reason our limbs can feel rigid and achy when we rise is because the body's biological clock suppresses anti-inflammatory proteins during sleep.

Most Robots Dancing Simultaneously

At the Qingdao Beer Festival in Shandong, China, 1,007 robots bopped and shimmied their way to a new world record for the most robots dancing simultaneously.



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Arms Wide Open - The Story Behind Cristo Redentor

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Brazil's statue of Christ in Rio de Janeiro is, for some, the ultimate religious symbol. For others, an irresistible tourist attraction. Its image is known the world over, but few know the story behind Cristo Redentor.

(via Nag on the Lake)

Why Is There A Tiny Hole In Airplane Windows?

image credit: Chris Waits

You don't have to be an aeronautical engineer to know that an airplane cabin is pressurised to keep us from passing out as we soar through the skies. It also stands to reason that - to keep that pressure contained - the cabin can't have any holes in it.

So why is there a scary-looking small hole in every airplane window? Well, in short, despite what it seems, it's there for your safety.

Paint

Paint is about the antics of two painters, looking for the upper hand.



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(thanks Cora)

What's That Bulky Cylinder On Your Charging Cord?

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Have you ever wondered why there was a bulky cylinder attached to the end of your laptop or mobile device charging cord? These cylinders are also common on keyboard cables as well.

Top 10 Misconceptions About The Wild West

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America's Wild West was a time of cowboys and gunslingers, of the fight for freedom, of westward expansion, the hunt for gold, and the struggle to secure new-found wealth against bank robbers.

Unfortunately, a lot of what we think about the Old West comes not from history, but from the romanticized version of those that capitalized on the image. The real Wild West was quite different.

Game Show Host Vs Sore Loser

This feisty Swedish lady from Linköping will not accept her failure, and gets into a droll fight with the game show host.



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(via Neatorama)

Terrible Crime

(via Bad Newspaper)

How 55 Celebrities Have Aged Through The Years

Photos showing how celebrities have aged through the years, as they were children, teenagers and years later.

Ronan Keeps The Beat

At the Pinniped Cognition and Sensory Systems laboratory, Ronan the sea lion is the first non-human mammal shown able to find and keep the beat with musical stimuli. This challenges earlier evidence from humans and parrots suggesting that complex vocal mimicry is a necessary precondition for flexible rhythmic entrainment.



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How People Call Cats In Different Countries

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If you've ever tried to call a cat somewhere in a foreign country, you've noticed that they don't always react. Why? Because apparently international cats react to different sounds.

In England, they say 'chh-chh-chh.' In Israel, they say 'ps-ps-ps.' As for India, they say 'meow-meow.' Each country gets a cat's attention with different noises.

10 Travel Tips From The Age Of Napoleon

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Born in 1746, Stéphanie Félicité du Crest de Saint-Aubin (picture above) was a French author. Pulling on her travel experience she wrote a language book called Manuel Du Voyageur, Or, The Traveller's Pocket Companion.

Manuel Du Voyageur was so popular that it was reprinted in additional languages such as English, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese. Although it's more than two centuries old, the book contains some surprisingly relatable and relevant advice for modern travelers.

Star Size Comparison

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Renard's Book Of Fantastical Fish

You may not recognize all of the East Indian marine species portrayed in the first known book on fish to be published in color. It's not a lack of ichthyological proficiency on your part. Rather, it's because all of the species depicted in Louis Renard's Poissons received some level of artistic embellishment - and approximately 9% are completely fantastical.

If that's not strange enough, the work is produced by a man who identified himself as a 'secret agent on behalf of the British Crown' and contains a portrait of a mermaid.

Berat, The City Of Thousand Windows

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The city of Berat in south-central Albania, is renowned for its historic architecture and scenic beauty. What makes Berat so special are its traditional Balkan style houses that climb up the side of the hill upon which the 13th century Berat Castle is situated.

These houses typically have two floors with the ground floor made of stone, and a prominent upper floor painted white, and roofs covered with red ceramic tiles. They have large wooden windows which, because of the steepness of the hill and close construction of the houses, appear to be stacked one over the other.

Drone Footage Of Apple Campus 2

See the latest progress made at Apple Campus 2. Featuring stunning shots of the 'spaceship,' auditorium, r&d center, and more. Landscaping and other smaller structures are beginning to pop up throughout the campus.



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(thanks Cora)

10 Amusingly Bizarre Tales From The First Modern Olympics

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When we think of the Olympics, most of us picture billion-dollar spectacles, professional athletes competing at their absolute physical peak, and a whole world coming together to watch.

The first modern Olympics in 1896 was an altogether different affair. Only 14 countries competed, professionals were nowhere to be seen, and one of the US teams had to spend their spare time writing news reports on the games because no actual reporters thought they were worth covering. The 1896 Olympics now seems adorably amateur and utterly bizarre.

A Cave Of Secrets Beneath The Desert

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750ft beneath New Mexicos Chihuahua Desert lies Left Hand Tunnel, one of Caverns National Park's undeveloped caves. Left Hand Tunnel is a long, straight passage marked by deep fissures in the floor. These fissures are not known to lead anywhere.

Where Do Your Texts Go?

When you press send, you know your texts go to a cell phone tower somewhere. But how do those texts get from your device to the tower and finally to your recipient? How does cellphone technology work?



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(thanks Cora)

All 306 Olympic Medal Events, Ranked

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A long list of all 306 Olympic events and the men and women who have the best chance of winning a gold, silver or bronze medal.

A Boat On Wheels

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The Fiat 1100 Boat Car is not a true amphibious vehicle. It is better described as a dream-like boat on wheels. A bizarre mechanical hircocervus, never meant to sail across the seas, but to symbolize adventure with extravagance and humor.

The 1100 Boat Car - equipped with teak flooring, portholes, and lifesaver - was made in 1953 by Carrozzeria Coriasco in Turin. A Boat Car to sail across the endless oceans of our imagination.

World's First Transit Elevated Bus Debuts In Qinhuangdao

China's long-awaited 'straddling bus' received its inaugural test run in Qinhuangdao. The Transit Elevated Bus is designed to help combat gridlock by letting passengers soar over the tops of cars on the increasingly-congested roads of China's major cities.



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7 Athletes Who Had Their Olympic Medals Revoked

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While winning a medal is the ultimate goal of any athlete competing during the Olympic Games, sometimes their victories are short-lived. Here are seven athletes who had their Olympic medals revoked, denied, or occasionally returned.

One Of The Best Explanations For Why We Haven't Found Alien Life

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So far, the only examples of sentient life we've found are right here on our own planet. It's not for lack of trying, though - we've sent out spacecraft deep into our solar system and, so far, still remain alone.

A forthcoming study in Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle looks at the possibility that life as we know it may not require a star similar to our sun but could emerge on planets orbiting much smaller, weaker stars. If we do allow for the possibility of life around non-sunlike stars, then it turns out that the universe is likely to be much more habitable in the distant future than it is today.

Svolværgeita: Jumping the Goat's Horns

image credit: Monty VanderBilt

If the first words that just came in to your head were never in a million years, then you are probably in good company. The Svolværgeita mountain in Norway was first climbed a little over a century ago in 1910. Yet since then a tradition has emerged among the mountaineering fraternity: those who reach the goat's horns jump them. Because they can.

PeckPocketed

A bird desiring a luxury home seizes the opportunity one day when an old lady falls asleep at the park.



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Google Takes You Inside The World Of The Favelas

A favela is a slum in Brazil within urban areas. In preparation for the 2016 Olympics, Rio de Janeiro bulldozed favelas, or blocked them out of view. Those same communities often appeared as blank spots on Google Maps.

Now Google is putting the city's working class communities back on the map, as billions of people around the world zoom in on Brazil. Google launched a virtual tour of Rio's favelas, showing them in 360-degree video.

49 Health 'Facts' You've Been Told That Are Totally Wrong

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Carrots give you night vision. Swimming after eating will give you cramps. You need to drink eight glasses of water a day. Organic food is more nutritious and free of pesticides. Wrong!

Who hasn't shared these and other amazing-sounding notions about about health and the human body, only to feel embarrassed later on - when you find out the information was inaccurate or flat-out wrong? It's time to put an end to these alluring myths, misconceptions, and inaccuracies passed down through the ages.

A Cultural History Of Flight Attendant Uniforms

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The conservative two-piece suits most commonly associated with flight attendant uniforms don't exactly scream high design. But for every dowdy uniform you see on major airlines today, there's a rich history of stylish, sometimes outlandish, designer-made uniforms that stretches back to the golden age of airline travel.

Bear Mistakes Garbage Truck For Meals On Wheels

Since food is a top priority as far as bears are concerned, what better way to get around than on a rolling buffet? One bear in Los Alamos, New Mexico, decided to give this a try after hitching a ride on a garbage truck.

It all had a happy ending as the truck backed up to a tree and the bear disembarked. The driver then pulled off to continue his route with no one - bear or human - being harmed in the process.



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(thanks Cora)

Democracy Vs Grandeur: Was Augustus Good Or Bad For Rome?

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Rome's first Emperor, Augustus (63 BC-14 AD) ruled for over 40 years; expanding territory and establishing many institutions, systems and customs that would endure for many hundreds of years.

Expanding on the dictatorial ambitions of his adopted father, Gaius Julius Caesar, Augustus deftly facilitated the transformation of Rome from a patrician republic to an empire led by a single powerful monarch. But was Augustus' prosperous reign a boon for Rome or a massive leap backwards into despotism?

25 Business Buzzwords That Irritate Your Colleagues

We've all used business buzzwords. Many of them are so common that they may have even become part of our daily vocabulary. But what are they actually communicating?

The problem with buzzwords is that most are overused, cliched, and unclear. These words have been used so much that they have either lost their meaning or become go-to substitutes when a company or employee has nothing of substance to say.

(thanks Alex)

Corbin Sparrow

The Corbin Sparrow is a single-passenger, three-wheeled, battery electric vehicle designed specifically for commuting and city driving. It was initially produced by Corbin Motors and now by Myers Motors.

The Sparrow is powered by a 20 kW 156-volt DC or 3-phase AC electric motor and has a range of 32 to 64 km (20 to 40 miles) and a top speed of 112 km/h (70 mph).



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The Bicycle Is Still A Scientific Mystery: Here's Why

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A bicycle is surprisingly stable for an upright, two-wheeled vehicle that needs to be propped against a wall when it's not moving. But perhaps a bigger surprise is that no consensus exists on why the bike is as stable as it is.

For such a simple design, which almost anyone can understand, this seems crazy. After all, we live in a world of self-driving cars and safe passenger airplanes. Surely the bicycle can't still hold any physics or engineering mysteries?

11 Weird Sports That Were Actually In The Olympics

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Some seriously strange sports have appeared at the Olympic Games over the years. Tug of war or live pigeon shooting, anyone?

With Rio 2016 kicking off on Friday, let's take a look at some of the weirdest events to have taken place at previous Olympiads.

Last Woolly Mammoths 'Died Of Thirst'

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One of the last known groups of woolly mammoths died out because of a lack of drinking water, scientists believe. The Ice Age beasts were living on a remote island off the coast of Alaska, and scientists have dated their demise to about 5,600 years ago.

They believe that a warming climate caused lakes to become shallower, leaving the mammoths unable to quench their thirst. Some lakes were lost to the ocean, and as salt water flowed into the remaining reservoirs, freshwater diminished further.

Heavy Duty Titan Robot Stacking Steel Beams

Mannstaedt GmbH is using six of KUKA's heavy-duty robots to stack steel beams in an impressive display of robotic brawn - carrying up to 2.5 tons at a time.



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(thanks Cora)

Did Rembrandt Use Mirrors And Optical Tricks To Create His Paintings?

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Rembrandt may have traced his celebrated self-portraits from optical projections created by assemblies of mirrors or lenses, a new analysis suggests.

Francis O'Neill and Sofia Palazzo Corner have identified several arrangements of a flat and curved mirror, or a flat mirror and a lens, which they say can recreate the perspectives, proportions and lighting seen in the self-portraits of the famed 17th-century Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn.

The Snail - Pest, Pet Or Treat? Some Interesting Facts

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Snails that live on land have been around for quite a while, around six hundred million years which puts our species a little to shame. Although there are many more species of snails that live in water, it is the land snail that most people know well.

Love them or hate them, there is more to the snail than meets the eye. Here is a look at the humble snail in all its mucus covered glory. Whether regarded as pet, pest or tasty treat, they are everywhere.

Innovative Car Parking System

Innovative car parking system invented by Vinod Kumar.



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The Hofskirkja Church - Iceland's Only Church With A Grass Rooftop

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The Hofskirkja Church is the last grass roof church standing in Iceland. The Church was built in 1884. Its pointed roof stretches all the way down to the ground. The roof was built using stone slabs and covered with grass.

This was an usual style of Icelandic architecture; one of the best methods of keeping the warmth inside during winter. This way, the Hofskirkja church was a warm place for its visitors.

World's Most Bizarre Natural Phenomena

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From Australia's bubblegum-pink lake and a blood-red waterfall in Antarctica to a secret beach-in-a-hole in Mexico and a US valley where stones eerily move, these seven spots are Mother Nature's eyeball-popping sideshow.

How Honeyguide Birds Talk To People

By following honeyguide birds, people in Africa are able to locate bees' nests to harvest honey. Research now reveals that humans use special calls to solicit the help of honeyguides and that honeyguides actively recruit appropriate human partners.



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(thanks Cora)

Room Service

A luxurious hotel sinks mysteriously into darkness. Its guests find themselves in an oppressive atmosphere.



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(thanks Cora)

Solar Impulse Circumnavigated The Globe Without A Single Drop Of Fuel

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After 23 days of flight and over 43,041 km travelled, the Solar Impulse 2 has completed a historic mission, completing the world's first, around-the-globe solar flight without using a single drop of fuel.

Piloted by Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, Solar Impulse 2 first embarked on the 17 leg journey from Abu Dhabi on March 9, 2015. The duo just recently completed their mission because the pilots faced a nine-month delay last year after the plane's batteries were damaged during a flight from Japan to Hawaii.

Mapping The Empires Of History

The kingdoms and empires that once ruled across vast lands have by no means been forgotten. The power of the Roman Empire is still a symbol of greatness to this day and the remnants of the British and Spanish empires can be easily seen by the widespread nature of their respective languages.

Just The Flight has mapped the empires of the past onto a modern political map - to show exactly where they ruled at their formidable best.

(thanks Harry)

BattleBots - Blacksmith Vs. Minotaur

This bot battle ends in flames.



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(thanks Cora)

What It's Like To Live On The World's Steepest Street

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Tucked away in southeast New Zealand is Dunedin, a small town with one big claim to fame: It's home to the steepest street in the world. Baldwin Street is 1,150 feet long and has a slope of 19 degrees. On paper, that might not sound like much, but walking up this road is guaranteed to leave you out of breath.

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(via Bad Newspaper)

Is Your Brain A Democrat Or Republican?

27 strange non-political scenarios will appear. Please respond honestly and ChartsMe will guess your brain's political ideology. It seems my brain is a Democrat. I'm 88% Liberal and 12% Conservative.

Longest Whip Ever Cracked 238 Feet 3 Inches

Adam Winrich cracked the longest whip ever. The whip is 238 feet 3 inches, made mostly from manila rope.



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Pooper Is Like Uber, But For Dog Poop

Some people hate to scoop their dog's poop and just leave it where their dogs excrete it. Other people don't mind picking up dog poop and would like to earn a few extra bucks. Pooper brings them together.

Pooper is a new app that connects people who are willing to pay to have someone scoop their dog poop with people who are willing to do just that for cash. Poopers use their phones to leave geographic markers on a map.

Science Fiction Has Ancient Roots In Africa

The Dogon people of Mali believe they are the descendants of an extra-terrestrial race from the Sirius B star system, and the Zulu in South Africa trace their name and origin story to somewhere just beyond the heavens.

The African continent is home to a tradition of creation myths that on closer inspection bear a striking resemblance to speculative science fiction - which is one reason Wanuri Kahiu, a filmmaker from Kenya, rejects the idea that African audiences are somehow less drawn to the opportunity the science fiction genre provides to imagine all the progress of a limitless world.