A new image transmitted by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft has led mission scientists to theorize that sections of Pluto’s heart-shaped plain behave much like a lava lamp – with blobs rising to the surface when warmed by the dwarf planet’s internal heat, and sinking when they cool.

The image was captured by the spacecraft’s Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) at a distance of roughly 10,000 miles (17,000 km) on July 14, 2015. The shot covers an area 50 … Read More → "New Horizons sheds light on unusual cell-like formations marking Pluto’s ice plains"

When the folks over at This Exists heard that Natalie Imbruglia’s 1997 smash hit “Torn” has been played on Australian radio over 75 times a day for over a decade, they were amazed. Then, they had a follow up question: What’s the most frequently played song in the world?

It isn’t “Torn” (though seriously, 75 times a day?), but the top ranking tunes might surprise you. “Yesterday” by The Beatles has been broadcast over 7 million times since it was … Read More → "The most frequently played song in the world is one everyone hates"

A patron found a tiny VW Bug mixed in with the insect collection at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and shared the image on reddit. Some commenters on the reddit post have mentioned that they have seen similar jokes in other museums as well.
via Laughing Squid

Continue reading</ … Read More → "Cleveland Museum of Natural History patron spots a tiny VW bug mixed in with the insect collection"

Researchers have found evidence that dinosaurs danced, both to terrify their enemies and impress their would-be lovers.

That’s the conclusion of a group of international scientists, led by Martin Lockley at the University of Colorado, Denver, who just published their findings in Scientific Reports. Lockley is a geologist, and found large-scale scrapes in rock which indicate the dinosaurs engaged in the same kind of courtship displays that we associate … Read More → "Scientists think dinosaurs danced to impress lovers, terrorize foes"

Tameru Zegeye, an Ethiopian circus performer who lives in Germany, set a Guinness World Record when he covered 100 meters in 57 seconds in a handstand position on forearm crutches. Zegeye was born with deformed feet and unable to use his legs, but has made an art out of using his crutches. Needless to say, Zegeye is very proud of all he has accomplished:

I feel really … Read More → "Ethiopian circus performer sets world record for the fastest 100 meters on forearm crutches"

Rotterdam is taking a big step toward becoming a more cyclist-friendly city. In an effort to improve bike commutes and encourage more people to choose an environmentally friendly travel option, the Rotterdam city council is in the process of installing traffic lights with sensors that reduce wait times for bicyclists when it’s raining. 

The traffic lights detect moisture and automatically reduce bicycle wait times from three minutes to just 40 seconds. Drivers sitting comfortably inside dry … Read More → "Rotterdam is installing traffic lights with rain sensors"

It’s happened. Someone built a quadcopter big enough to carry human cargo. The future is officially here, and it’s kinda scary. Scary in the cool way though. The same company that brought us the regular-sized Ghost drone has just announced the “184” Personal Flying Vehicle (PFV). It’s about the size of a (very) small car, and claims to be able to deliver one human (up to 260 pounds) anywhere within a 10 mile/23 min flight … Read More → "This supersized drone will fly you to work (or anywhere)"

When asked if he’s bitter for receiving no compensation for creating Solitaire for Windows, Wes Cherry once quipped, “Yeah, especially since you are all probably paid to play it!”

The origin story of Microsoft Solitaire, the silent killer of countless hours of office productivity around the world, was recently put in the spotlight in Reddit’s Today I Learned community, when Cherry showed up in a thread about … Read More → "How a college intern created Microsoft Solitaire, possibly the most played computer game ever"

When is the ideal time to start your child on the path to a comfortable and mostly satisfying career as a developer? High school? Grade School? Fisher-Price thinks preschoolers should be introduced to the problem solving skills they might one day need to be a great coder.

To help parents accept that developing apps for a smartphone might soon replace Sesame Street as their child’s favorite pastime, … Read More → "Fisher-Price now has a toy that teaches preschoolers how to code"

A new power station located in the French Alps is using the whey left over from making Beaufort cheese to generate electricity.

After completing the initial steps required to make Beaufort cheese, cheesemakers are left with the byproducts of whey and cream. The cream can be used to make butter, protein powder, or ricotta cheese, but finding a practical application for the watery remains known as whey can be a bit trickier. In order to transform this product … Read More → "This French power plant runs on cheese"