It’s not a science contest or a fair, or anything like that; it’s way simpler than that. Here’s how it works: What can you win: Two great books: “Into Thick Air” and “Seven Wonders for a Cool Planet” – I really recommend them, as they’re a very good read. How to win them: All you have to do is leave
Everything you wanted to know about Easter Island but were too afraid to ask
Geography Easter Island (Rapa Nui in the native Easter Island language) is situated in the southeastern Pacific Ocean – it’s an overseas territory of Chile. It’s the most isolated inhabitated area, and it’s famous for the monumental statues, called moai (pronounced MOE-eye) which have fascinated and baffled people for many, many years; and still, no good explanation stands. As you
Science ABC: What Rainbows are and How They Form
Photo by wikipedia What are Rainbows? Rainbows are some of the most spectacular phenomena in nature; they’ve fascinated and stimulated the imagination of people since the dawn of mankind, and continue to do so to this day. There are all sorts of legends that suround them, from the treasure at the end of the rainbow to the house of gods for
What are Einstein’s true beliefs about religion and science?
I really hope everybody knows who Einstein is, and many people know why he is famous and how he left is mark in the scientific world. Still, aside from his brilliant results in physics (mostly), he is also very well known for his aphorisms, metaphors and overall interesting way of expressing himself. I’ve always found it hard to understand
The 4 most spectacular waterfalls in the world
Photo by Wolfgang Staudt In the previous post of this waterfall series, I wrote a list of the 5 tallest waterfalls in the world. I bet some of you were surprised not to hear more famous waterfalls or to see that the ‘big boys’ are not that spectacular – not the massive amount of water you’d probably expect. So, this
6 record holding animals you’ll never be as good as
Photo by bocavermelha Sometimes, animals are better than humans. Quite a lot of times actually, but that’s not the point here. We’re going to take a look at some record holding animals that are (or do things that are) just unbelievable! The biggest – the blue whale. Photo by Dan Shapiro. Credit: NOAA via pingnews It’s the biggest creature to
NASA images show devastation in Myanmar
Every once in a while, we are reminded that we live on this wonderful planet but that can sometimes display an impressive amount of destructive force. This year, from the first cyclone of the 2008 season in the northern Indian Ocean we were reminded how frail and easy to destroy are the lives of people.According to reports from Accuweather.com,
The 5 tallest waterfalls in the world
Victoria falls; photo by Remyomar Following our mountain theme, in which we included the 5 tallest mountains in the world and the two most dangerous peaks in the world, Annapurna and Nanga Parbat, it’s time for a bit about waterfalls; and what better way to start than a list of the 5 tallest such fantastic displays of nature’s beauty? ‘Cause
5 of the world’s most polluted cities
Some places in the world are just like heaven, some are just like hell; almost literally. Human activity can sometimes have devastating effects not on just the environment, but on the population too. Here’s a list of five of the most polluted cities in the world, in no specific order. Linfen, China Potentially Affected People: 3,000,000 Source of Pollution: Automobile
Science ABC – how aztecs did the math
The Aztecs were the dominant civilization in Mexico for several hundred years, when their “reign” was stopped by the Spanish in the early 1500s. An astonishing thing about them (among others) is the fact that they left behind really extensive mathematical writings, intriguing scholars ’til this day. Two manuscripts in particular have been object to study because they portray land
Computer recognizes attractiveness in women
It’s said that even though computer have so much processing power, it some ways, it can never even get close to interpreting information like the human brain does. But is that really so? Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, right? Right ?! The thing is that according to scientists at Tel Aviv University, the beholder doesn’t have to
Campaigns for a better world, chapter I: tree planting
Sometimes ignorance can be bliss and knowledge quite a pain; knowing certain things and being aware of some situations in the world is really saddening. But it’s better to be saddened by these issues and do something (even something really small) to help out is way better than not knowing or not caring. Well we’ve been involved inside and outside
Flying penguins take off to bask in the sun
Well somehow BBC always manges to find a way to surprise and thrill us; while I was browsing their site I somehow managed to not see the story about the flying penguins (no bull, just follow me). Luckily, environmental graffiti paid more attention and they found this fascinating video. Yes, penguins to take off and fly. How? Well…While BBC was
Science ABC – how were the pyramids built?
I’ve always been fascinated by pyramids; the Egyptians, the Aztecs, Mayans were three very different cultures and civilizations, from different parts of the world but they were all fascinated by this tipe of ‘building’. What is it that made them almost fanatical about building pyramids? Is it the geometric perfection of the structure? Or did they consider it a stairway
Space tourism – just 2 years away?
Recently, a small Aerospace company located in California has announced a new type of sub-orbital spaceship that can make your dream come true; that is, if you’ve got the right amount of money and you want to travel into outer space. This spaceship is claimed to provideaffordable front-seat rides to the edge of space for the millions of people who
Is there enough water to go around?
A problem which a decade ago would have seemed just absurd is now becoming more and more pressing: water. More and more areas are suffering from drought or other problems caused by the lack of water.How can there not be enough water? Well let’s make the math. Out of the total quantity of water, just 3% of it is freshwater
Saatchi top 500 artists of the 20th century
We’re gonna take small break from science and relax with the fine arts of the 20th century. Recently, Saatchi made a thorough and relevant top of the greatest artists of the past century. While much to my shame I can barely recognize just about half of the first 100 and a much smaller proportion of the other artists, I think
3D Virus Image Taken At Highest Resolution Ever
Viruses are sub-microscopic infectious agents that need other cells in order to reproduce. In fact, some scientists claim that viruses are not living beings, as they do not meet the criteria of the definition of life, because they don’t have cells; but they do have genes and evolve by natural selection. Still, they can be very harmful to us, so
Why most people fear snakes
Most people fear snakes, this kind of phobia being one of the most common in the world, although many people have never actually seen a snake. So how can this be? Well a recent study shows that throughout evolutionary time, mankind has learned to fear and avoid snakes (as well as spiders for that matter). Psychologists found that
Science ABC: X-rays
(no science in this picture, it’s just fun) What are X-rays? You may think you know the answer, but things are a bit more complicated than they seem. In fact, they are a form of electromagnetic radiation, similar to microwaves or radio waves. But X-rays have way more energy than these types of radiation, which makes them special.They are
Pseudoscience is threatening our society.