Osprey Ivar, The First Flights From The Nest

Osprey baby Ivar takes his first flight from the nest. The nest is located in South Estonia.



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(thanks Cora)

Angels Flight: The World's Shortest Railway

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Angels Flight is a historic narrow gauge funicular railway located in the Bunker Hill district of downtown Los Angeles, California. Dubbed the 'shortest railway in the world,' Angels Flight opened in 1901 in what was one of the most fashionable neighborhoods in the city.

Its two funicular cars named Sinai and Olivet ferried prominent citizens up and down the steep slope between Hill and Olive streets. Though the journey was short - only 315 feet - and lasted only one minute, it is believed that Angels Flight carried more passengers per mile than any other railway in the world.

The Strange World Of Japanese Hangover Cures

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Scientists basically have no idea why hangovers happen. To cure hangovers, different folk remedies vary by national or regional culture, and range wildly in popularity.

But perhaps no country has stranger and more thorough hangover cures than Japan. What makes Japanese cures different is their breadth. In Japan the culture of curing a hangover is closer to homeopathic medicine: these are preventative or curative potions designed to heal specific organs.

This Guy Hates Traffic... So He's Building A Flying Car

Like the rest of us, Dezso Molnar hates traffic. But lucky for you, he's working on the solution. Bloomberg's Ashlee Vance catches up with the eccentric polymath in the desert and they take to the sky.



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Francis Van Helmont And The Alphabet Of Nature

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Largely forgotten today in the shadow of his more famous father, the 17th-century Flemish alchemist Francis van Helmont influenced and was friends with the likes of Locke, Boyle, and Leibniz. While imprisoned by the Inquisition he wrote his Alphabet of Nature on the idea of a universal 'natural' language.

When Airplane Food Was First Class

Have you ever had any complaints about the meals served up to you during a long-haul flight? They are admittedly not the same as they were before. You can now travel back in time to the golden age of flying when airline food was actually first class.

Knight To Meet You

Always read the fine print on 'Help Wanted' posters in the forest.



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(thanks Cora)

How Photo Retouching Worked Before Photoshop

Retouching has been around almost as long as photography itself, but instead of taking place on a computer, as it does now, it originally took place on the negative. Photographers and retouching specialists would scrape their film with knives, draw or paint on top of it, and even paste multiple negatives together to create a single print.

And just like today, photographers and critics of the 19th and 20th centuries debated the ethics of retouching. Public enthusiasm for the practice has risen and fallen in waves, but retouching has been an integral part of photography.

Smart Guy

(via Bad Newspaper)

Electricity Finding The Path Of Least Resistance On A Piece Of Wood

Lichtenberg figures are branching electric discharges that sometimes appear on the surface or in the interior of insulating materials. In this video this phenomenon is seen on a piece of wood.



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Film Dialogue From 2,000 Screenplays, Broken Down By Gender And Age

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Lately, Hollywood has been taking so much shit for rampant sexism and racism. The prevailing theme: white men dominate movie roles. But it's all rhetoric and no data, which gets us nowhere in terms of having an informed discussion.

How many movies are actually about men? What changes by genre, era, or box-office revenue? What circumstances generate more diversity? Polygraph 'Googled' their way to 8,000 screenplays and matched each character's lines to an actor. From there, they compiled the number of words spoken by male and female characters across roughly 2,000 films.

The History Of Chatbots

A chatbot is a computer program which conducts a conversation via auditory or textual methods. Such programs are often designed to convincingly simulate how a human would behave as a conversational partner, thereby passing the Turing test.

Chatbots are typically used in dialog systems for various practical purposes including customer service or information acquisition. Here's an infographic about the history of chatbots, from Eliza in 1966 to Tay in 2016.

Scientists Find Mystery Purple Blob At The Bottom Of Ocean

The unmanned sea rover Nautilus discovered an unidentified purple orb stunning scientists. After sampling, it began to unfold to reveal two distinct lobes. Currently scientists are thinking the purple orb is a pleurobranch, a nudibranch relative.



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The Mystery Of Why You Can't Remember Being A Baby

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You're out to lunch with someone you've known for a few years. Together you've held parties, celebrated birthdays, visited parks and bonded over your mutual love of ice cream. The thing is: you can't remember any of it.

From the most dramatic moment in life - the day of your birth - to first steps, first words, first food, right up to nursery school, most of us can't remember anything of our first few years. How come?

Cappadocia: Man-Made Wonders Combined With Natural Beauty

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In Turkey, a natural sightseeing spot draws the attention of thousands of tourists worldwide every year: Cappadocia. What looks like a man-made science-fiction movie set, is in fact, a unique combination of rocks and hills.

The soft texture of the rocks gives them a smooth appearance, that creates the illusion of sand dunes in certain areas, when viewed from above. Cappadocia is an endless source of entertainment for those who get there, even though just enjoying this incredible place would be enough for some.

How Maritime Law Works

Maritime law governs maritime questions and offenses. It's a body of both domestic law governing maritime activities, and private international law governing the relationships between private entities that operate vessels on the oceans.

It deals with matters including marine commerce, marine navigation, marine salvaging, shipping, sailors, and the transportation of passengers and goods by sea. Maritime law can be confusing, but interesting.



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(via Miss Cellania)

Historical Photos Of The Great Escape From Alcatraz In 1962

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The June 1962 Alcatraz escape may have been the only successful escape from Alcatraz in that facility's history. Inmates Clarence Anglin, John Anglin and Frank Morris tucked papier-mâché heads resembling their own likenesses into their beds, broke out of the main prison building via an unused utility corridor, and departed Alcatraz Island aboard an improvised inflatable raft to an uncertain fate.

Hundreds of leads have been pursued by the FBI and local law enforcement officials in the ensuing years, but no conclusive evidence has ever surfaced favoring the success or failure of the attempt.

From Warhol's Grave To Elvis' Front Door, 10 Museum Webcams To Watch

Some of the greatest wonders of our museums are available 24/7 through online webcams. Webcams can make you a witness as a statue of Lenin comes down in Ukraine, or offer the vantage point of 18th-century philosopher Jeremy Bentham's skeleton as he watches over University College London.

Here are 10 museum webcams that you can tune in to anytime, anywhere, and watch over like a benevolent Big Brother.

The Public Shaming Of England's First Umbrella User

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In the early 1750s, an Englishman by the name of Jonas Hanway, who returned from a trip to France, began carrying an umbrella around the rainy streets of London.

People were outraged. Some bystanders hooted and jeered at Hanway as he passed; others simply stared in shock. Who was this strange man who seemed not to care that he was committing a social sin.

First Open-Air Hotel Opens In Switzerland

Earlier this month, conceptual artists Frank and Patrik Riklin opened the 'Null Stern Hotel' in Switzerland's Safiental region. It's a hotel in the open air, without walls and a roof. Guests are being served by the establishment's butler.



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(thanks Cora)

Albert Einstein's Mind-Melting Thought Experiments That Revolutionized How We Understand Time

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Albert Einstein forever changed the landscape of science by introducing revolutionary concepts that shook our understanding of the physical world. One of Einstein's most defining qualities was his remarkable ability to conceptualize complex scientific ideas by imagining real-life scenarios.

He called these scenarios Gedankenexperiments, which is German for thought experiments. Here are a few thought experiments that demonstrate some of Einstein's most groundbreaking discoveries.

10 Shot Towers That Once Made The World's Bullets

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The little metal shot balls that were once the standard projectile for all manner of guns used to be made using little more than heat and gravity, in tall spires called shot towers. Melted lead would be poured through a funnel at the top of the tower and drip down the length of the tower, naturally forming into little spheres as it fell and cooled.

While bullet manufacturing has gotten more high-tech since the days of the shot tower, you can still find the towers all over the world. Check out 10 of these monolithic reminders of a bygone trade.

10 Fascinating Facts About Egyptian Hieroglyphs

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The elegant and mysterious design of hieroglyphics have captured our imagination for thousands of years. They remained undeciphered and silent for centuries until the Rosetta Stone was discovered in the 18th century, and we could finally hear the voices of the ancient Egyptians.

Here are some interesting facts about Egyptian hieroglyphs covering everything from their early origin to the present day.

Robotic Airship Inspector

See how Lockheed Martin Skunk Works' patented SPIDER (Self-Propelled Instrument for Damage Evaluation and Repair) solves one of the greatest challenges faced by the airship industry.



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A Day In The Life Of A NYC Ice Cream Truck Operator

I hear them bells when they're off, I hear them in my sleep, I hear them when I lay down,' says Victor, an ice cream truck vendor who parks near Williamsburg's East River State Park in New York City.



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(thanks Cora)

The 10 Most Over the Top Limousines

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Limousines have always been a luxury vehicle that is specifically made for excess. However, some limos take it completely beyond the normal standard of lavish and include a downright ridiculous amount of features, amenities, and tech.

Here are ten of the world's most over the top limousines.

(via Neatorama)

Alpine Soccer

A group of Austrian footballers has invented a new extreme sport: 'Alpine Soccer.' It's football at its toughest, as it's only played on the steepest Alpine slopes.



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(thanks Cora)

Mount Bromo: The Hungry Volcano

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Mount Bromo in East Java, Indonesia, is the youngest of several volcanoes in the Tengger massif, and is one of Java's most active volcanoes. Mount Bromo is located in the middle of a wide expanse of sandy plain called the 'Sea of Sand.'

This barren terrain is also home to around 90,000 Tengger people. Every year, irrespective of whether the mountain is spewing smoke and fire, hundreds of Tenggerese from nearby villages travel up the mountain in order make food offerings which they throw into the live caldera of the volcano.

Freaks And Uniques: Evolution's Weirdest Creatures

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Evolution helps every species carve out its own niche within our planet's huge range of diverse and adverse habitats. And sometimes the features they evolve are truly bizarre.

Unique environments can cause animals to evolve unique appearances and abilities. Whether it's in response to extreme temperatures, or through competition for mates, some of the most unusual feats of evolution have to be seen to be believed. Here are some of the most eye-catching and impressive examples.

Dutch Men Revealed As World's Tallest

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When it comes to height, Dutch men and Latvian women tower over all other nationalities, a study reveals. The average Dutchman is now 183cm (6ft) tall, while the average Latvian woman reaches 170cm (5ft 7in). The research, published in the journal eLife, has tracked growth trends in 187 countries since 1914.

10 Insane Mansions You Wont Believe What's Inside

While most of us are happy to have even a hundred square feet of space to call our own, there are others that aren't content unless they have thousands. Some of the most expensive homes could even fit a small city. The ultra-rich and the famous boast some of the largest pieces of real estate on the planet. Here are just some of the biggest houses in the world.



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(thanls Cora(

10 Things You Didn't Know About Lying

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You're surrounded by lies, but most of what you think you know about them is probably - you guessed it - a lie. You can't tell somebody is lying from their eyes and nobody has ever found a lie detector that works.

(thanks Andy)

New NASA Image Reveals A Strange Bend In Saturn's Rings

image credit NASA

NASA just released a new image of everyone's favourite ringed planet, Saturn, captured by the Cassini spacecraft last month. But if you take a closer look, you'll see that two of the planet's rings appear to be warping strangely as they approach the body of the planet.

Fortunately, there's nothing physically messing with Saturn's rings. What you're actually seeing is an optical illusion in space, which is possibly even cooler.

Spatial Bodies

Spatial Bodies depicts the urban landscape and architectural bodies as an autonomous living and self replicating organism. Domesticated and cultivated only by its own nature. A vast concrete vegetation, oscillating between order and chaos.



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10 Common Misconceptions About Prehistory

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Without written records to give us an idea of what life before written history was like, we are left to decipher the clues left behind and put the pieces together for ourselves.

Imagining a world before the written word is a little mind-blowing, and as we learn more and more about life thousands of years ago, we're also finding that a number of popularly held beliefs about the prehistoric world are absolutely false.

Surreal Views Of The Marqueyssac Topiary Gardens

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French photographer Philippe Jarrigeon visited the Château de Marqueyssac in France to photograph the incredible topiary gardens found there. The area was first developed in the late 17th century, but truly began to take form in the 1860s.

Today the sprawling gardens have over 150,000 trees cut into unusual geometric forms that can be explored by the public through walkable paths.

(via Nag on the Lake)

True Colors, And Where They Came From

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Here's something to think about next time you open a box of crayons. We take it for granted that the pigments used to color our clothes, dishes, and art supplies are clean and safe - but as these colors of the past reveal, that's not necessarily so.

The Evolution Of Star Trek In Television And Film

The ultimate Star Trek supercut with clips from every Star Trek movie and show.n Yelchin.



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Barbers Of Iraq

A group of barbers from Iraq put together a montage showing off their grooming skills.



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(thanks Cora)

Remakes

A comparison of the 50 most famous remakes in film history.



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Secretary

(via Bad Newspaper)

12 Women You've Never Heard Of Who Changed Science Forever

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Sure, most people have heard of Marie Curie and Rosalind Franklin, Jane Goodall and Sally Ride. But for every female scientist whose work has been recognized and celebrated, there are thousands who have been accidentally or purposefully forgotten.

Here are 12 incredible women you've never heard of who changed science forever.

Game Over

Game Over is a stop-motion that recreates 5 classic arcade games.



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The Visit

An 8 minute tragic-comedy that tells the story of an old woman who, to the horror of her son, is cooking up a meal in the middle of the night for her long-deceased friends.



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(thanks Cora)

Menus Reveal What The Different Passenger Classes Ate On The Titanic

You may be aware there were three classes of passengers on board The Titanic, and each class was treated quite differently during the voyage, but how differently is best illustrated by the three different class menus.

Asphalt Lakes And The Secrets In Their Depths

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Some of the world's strangest lakes are filled not with water but with asphalt, also known bitumen, the same material that roads are paved with. The great majority of asphalt that is used today is derived from petroleum, but asphalt is also found in concentrated form in nature.

Sometimes, asphalt lakes seep from the ground and creates large puddles known as tar pits or asphalt lakes. Asphalt is also known to erupt in underwater volcanoes, but these are relatively rare and were discovered only in 2003.

Gateway To The Ganges

Daily life in the Indian holy cities of Rishikesh, Haridwar, and Devprayag. The beauty of nature and the Hindu ceremonies contrasted with the poverty and suffering on the streets. People have a high-spirited resilience that seems to stem from surviving and maintaining their devotion through a challenging life.



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(thanks Cora)

9 Much-Needed Reminders That Humans Are Inherently Good

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The weight of the world certainly feels heavy lately. It's easy to get discouraged about human nature and our society at large at times like these. However, research shows it can be helpful to keep a positive perspective as a method of self-care in order to maintain feelings of well-being.

If you're searching for a few positives right now, try focusing on the good our species has to offer. Here are a few beautiful reminders that humans can still be wonderful.

The Retro-Futuristic Undersea Habitats Of Jacques Rougerie

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Jacques Rougerie is a French architect-oceanographer who specializes in underwater habitats. Since the 1970s has been designing and creating habitats and craft that not only allow people to hang out under the waves, but also to do it in sci-fi style.

Rougerie was originally inspired by the undersea research platforms of Jacques Cousteau, and after becoming an architect, spent much of his design output on creations that would allow humans to experience life underwater.

Why Do Humpback Whales Protect Other Species From Killer Whales?

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There have been instances of humpback whales coming to the aid of seals being attacked by killer whales, and scientists are baffled. Interspecies altruism is adorable when it's framed as a 'cute animal friends' special on Animal Planet, but in the wild, it's rare.

Even so, there have been multiple sightings of humpback whales getting into fights with killer whales when there's a seal present, making it seem like they're actually protecting the seal.

Avalanche Fences Exposed!

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For months of the year they lie beneath deep snow, trapping it so that avalanches can be circumvented. But when the snow melts, what is beneath is exposed to the world.

In the summer months many visitors scratch their heads at the sight of avalanche fences and wonder what form of sheep or goat they might be designed to contain.

How Fast Is Earth Moving?

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As an Earthling, it's easy to believe that we're standing still. After all, we don't feel any movement in our surroundings. But when you look at the sky, you can see evidence that we are moving.

Earth's spin is constant, but the speed depends on what latitude you are located at. The circumference is roughly 24,898 miles (40,070 kilometers) at the equator, according to NASA. If you estimate that a day is 24 hours long, you divide the circumference by the length of the day. This produces a speed at the equator of about 1,037 mph (1,670 km/h).

Sunrise At Mount Rainier National Park

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(thanks Cora)

Sizing Up Sharks, The Lords Of The Sea

Sharks range in size from the largest fish on the planet to the length of your palm. See how you compare to some of these vulnerable predators that are so crucial to the ocena's health.

17 Species Named After 'Star Wars' Characters

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There are Star Wars fans everywhere, including among the scientists who study life on Earth. When these scientists get to name a new species, they often name it after a family member or respected mentor.

However, some choose another direction - especially if they're naming a lot of species at once. That's when the real nerdiness comes out. Here are 17 species whose names were inspired by Star Wars.

How The World's First Written Languages Spread

The introduction of writing systems changed the world. It allowed humans to physically express thoughts and language, as well as record events for future generations to study. Although different writing systems developed independently in different areas of the world, many are tied together by common roots.



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Modobag - Your Motorized Travel Bag

Modobag is the world's first rideable travel bag.



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(thanks Cora)

Campfires Explained

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Before the invention of clothing, agriculture, and even the wheel, our ancestors were playing with fire. Our ancestors probably invented campfire before they invented anything else.

Making fire was one of the very first activities to get us working together. Yet this incredibly ancient practice of campfire making still remains mystifying to many of us humans.

Pinnipeds

Funny CGI animation by Victor Caire.



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Mysterious Bright Light

A mysterious bright light shining through the trees.

(via Bad Newspaper)

All Known Bodies In The Solar System Larger Than 200 Miles In Diameter

A visual listing of objects in the Solar System, ordered by size. An image showing the 88 known objects in our Solar System that are larger than 200 miles in diameter.

(via Reality Carnival)

8 Amazing Tricks That Seem To Break The Laws Of Science

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Science is a funny thing. It provides a sense of order to this crazy world we live in, explaining things that we never even knew needed to be explained. But every now and then, it can turn on itself.

Throw together the right elements under the right conditions, and things will happen that, until now, seemed impossible according to science. Check out some of the craziest tricks that will make you second guess the laws of science.

Timelapse Video Taken From Space Captures Entire Year On Earth

NASA's EPIC camera has captured one year's worth of images of Earth. NASA compiled 3,000 of these images into a time-lapse.



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Do You Know These New Words?

Online Dictionary.com added a number of popular words culled from headlines and social media. Do you know what ghosting is? Or woke, al desko or lamestream? Take the quiz and find out.

Can a Dog Eat That?

As dog owners, we love sharing our life with our furry companions. So it's only natural that at times we'll want to share a meal or snack. But as a responsible dog owner, we all know that there are certain foods dogs should not eat.

You probably already know that chocolate is a big no-no, but what about other food. To help you figure out foods dogs can't eat, DogVacay created a comprehensive guide on the top 50 most troublesome human foods.

(thanks Caroline)
dogvacay.com/blog/what-can-dogs-not-eat/

How A Gutenberg Printing Press Works

Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (1398-1468) was a German blacksmith, goldsmith, printer, and publisher who introduced printing to Europe. Johannes Gutenberg's work on the printing press began in approximately 1436. Here's a demonstration of the only working model of a Gutenberg printing press.



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150 Years Of Bovril

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Bovril is the trademarked name of a thick, salty meat extract, developed in the 1870s by John Lawson Johnston. It is sold in a distinctive, bulbous jar.

Bovril can be made into a drink by diluting with hot water, or less commonly, with milk. It can be used as a flavouring for soups, stews or porridge, or spread on bread, especially on toast in a similar fashion to Marmite and Vegemite.

(via Nag on the Lake)

Celebrating British Eccentricity At The 2016 Chap Olympiad

image credit: Colin Haycock

In August, the world's gaze will fall on Rio de Janeiro for the start of the 2016 Olympics. But a very different kind of games were just held at the 12th annual Chap Olympiad, in the Bloomsbury district of London. Hundreds gathered to celebrate British eccentricity. And show an undying love of tweed and tea.

The Chap Olympiad features a myriad of activities, including umbrella jousting, moustache wrestling, not playing tennis, the Corby trouser press challenge and Butler baiting.

How Tennis Balls Are Made

See how tennis balls are made at the Wilson Tennis Ball factory in Shanghai, China.



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The Ivy League Of Auctioneering

The Missouri Auction School is the oldest and largest auction school in the world. There, students learn all aspects of the business, but most importantly, they hone their auction chant. Before students graduate they have to sell at a real auction for real money.



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(thanks Cora)

How A Steamship Ended Up In A Kansas Cornfield

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In 1988 Kansas City explorer David Hawley and his crew uncovered the steamboat Great White Arabia, which sank in 1856 a few miles west of Kansas City. The discovery yielded an incredible collection of well-preserved, pre-Civil War artifacts.

Hawley, along with his father, brother and two friends, unearthed over 200 tons of items, the equivalent of 10 container trucks. Many of these artifacts, from shoes to champagne bottles, are on display at the Arabia Steamboat Museum in Kansas City.

20 Things You Didn’t Know About The Walking Dead

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Based on the comic books written by Robert Kirkman, The Walking Dead TV series has become one of the most popular TV shows. First aired on the night of Halloween in 2010, ratings for the show have soared, with the season four opening bringing in over 16.1 million viewers internationally. Here are 20 things you probably didn't know about The Walking Dead.

(thanks Nathaniel)

Traffic Lights In The Netherlands

An overview of how traffic signals work in the Netherlands.



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(thanks Cora)

9 New Natural Sites Added To World Heritage List

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Last Monday, the World Heritage Committee added nine new natural sites to the World Heritage List. Among the inscriptions are some of the most impressive landscapes and most important natural areas for the conservation of iconic species on Earth.

The list includes diverse landscapes such as Khangchendzonga National Park in India, a cultural and natural site home to endangered species such as the snow leopard and musk deer; Canada's Mistaken Point, known for its unique, diverse and well-preserved fossils; and Iran's Lut Desert, noted for its remarkable variety of desert landforms.

How To Fix Common Sleep Problems With Science

There are so many barriers to a good night's sleep these days. Phones, TVs, kids, work - the list goes on and on. We all know we need more sleep. Many people don't get the recommended seven to nine hours of shut eye they're supposed to.

Sleep can provide incredible health benefits. It can help us recharge to wake up refreshed and ready to start our days; it can help us lose weight; it can help improve our memories; and it can even make us happier. Here's what the science says you should do.

World War I In Photos: Animals At War

image credit Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library

Animals were used in World War I on a scale never before seen - and never again repeated. Horses by the millions were put in service as cavalry mounts, but they were not the only animals active in the war. Mules, dogs, camels, and pigeons all played vital roles, as well as many others - all at great risk, and with heavy cost.

(via Everlasting Blort)

Can I Stay?

An apprehensive homeless girl must traverse a dangerous, wintry city in order to escape her adorable pursuers.



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30 Essential Google Search Tips

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Google's search engine is an always-expanding, extremely useful tool that's packed with tons of different tools. Some that are easy to forget, like the mortgage calculator, instant customer service phone numbers and time zone conversions.

Here's an infographic with over 30 Essential Google search tips.