Monthly Archive: December 2019
The robots love America. By Thor Benson – If you’re like pretty much every single human being, you’re not a fan of robocalls. Unfortunately, it appears this problem is only getting worse, and there isn’t a lot of hope that it will …
By Adam Williams – Assuming all goes to plan, Citicape House is due to be completed in 2024. Sheppard Robson. A remarkable new greenery-covered project has been submitted for planning permission in the City of London. Assuming it gets the thumbs-up, the …
By Michael Irving – An MIT and Harvard team have developed a way to make photons of light interact with each other, which could have applications in quantum computing. Christine Daniloff/MIT. – Photons, the elementary particles that make up light, are known to be fast, …
A new children’s program may help displaced Syrian children find stability and belonging in their new communities. By Molly Hanson – Sesame Workshop and the International Rescue Committee have partnered to launch an Arabic version of Sesame Street named “Ahlan Simsim.” The show …
Photo: Unknown/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 3.0. Was the real Lone Ranger African American? Most likely, yes – and his name was Bass Reeves. By Melissa Sartore – Bass Reeves was born into slavery in 1838 in Arkansas but later became one of the most successful and …
By Loz Blain – The Speeder will have VTOL capability. Jetpack Aviation. With his crazy jetpack performance business growing and thriving, Australian innovator David Mayman is hoping to fry some bigger fish in the form of a …
New species said to have been four times heavier than emperor penguin. Patrick Barkham @patrick_barkham – An illustration shows the approximate height of a giant penguin next to a woman. Photograph: Canterbury Museum/AP. A giant penguin that stood as tall as a person …
By Rich Haridy – Highlight from the top 50 in Amateur Landscape / Nature category of the 2019 Pano Awards. Zhayynn James. An incredible aerial shot of Iceland’s “braided rivers” has taken first place in the annual Pano Awards, a photography competition dedicated to …
Scientists are finally starting to understand the centuries-old mystery of “ballooning.” By Ed Yong – A ballooning spider. Michael Hutchinson. On October 31, 1832, a young naturalist named Charles Darwin walked onto the deck of the HMS Beagle and realized that …
By Genevieve Carlton – On September 29, 1929, the USSR had its last Sunday for 11 years. In an effort to boost productivity and eliminate religion, Josef Stalin instituted a new Soviet calendar, known as the Soviet Eternal Calendar. Under the Soviet Union’s …