6 Insane Discoveries That Science Can't Explain We like to feel superior to the people who lived centuries ago, what with their shitty mud huts and curing colds by drilling a hole in their skulls. But we have to give them credit: They left behind some artifacts that have left the smartest of modern scientists scratching their heads. For instance, you have the following enigmas that we believe were created for no other purpose than to fuck with future generations. The Voynich Manuscript The Mystery: The Voynich manuscript is an ancient book that has thwarted all attempts at deciphering its contents. It appears to be a real language--just one that nobody has seen before. Translation: "...and when you get her to put the tennis racket in her mouth, have her stand in a fountain for a while. There is not even a consensus on who wrote it, or even when it was written. Why Can't They Solve It? Could you? Don't even try. As you can imagine, proposed solutions have been all over the board, from reasonable to completely clownshit. Our Guess:
Boy writes letter to LEGO after losing minifigure, gets awesome response Luka Apps (Credit: By Mike Krumboltz Seven-year-old Luka Apps spent his Christmas money on the LEGO Ninjago Ultra Sonic Raider set. Against his father's recommendation, young Luka took his newly procured Jay ZX shopping. Luka, not one to admit defeat, decided to write a letter to the good people at LEGO seeking a replacement. ITV News has Luka's letter: Hello.My name is Luka Apps and I am seven years old.With all my money I got for Christmas I bought the Ninjago kit of the Ultrasonic Raider. A short time later, Luka received a reply from Richard, a LEGO customer service representative. Luka, I told Sensei Wu that losing your Jay minifigure was purely an accident and that you would never ever ever let it happen ever again.He told me to tell you, "Luka, your father seems like a very wise man. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how companies score lifelong customers.
27 Science Fictions That Became Science Facts In 2012 We may never have our flying cars, but the future is here. From creating fully functioning artificial leaves to hacking the human brain, science made a lot of breakthroughs this year. 1. At the University of Pittsburgh, the neurobiology department worked with 52-year-old Jan Scheuermann over the course of 13 weeks to create a robotic arm controlled only by the power of Scheuermann’s mind. 2. Once the robot figures out how to do that without all the wires, humanity is doomed. 3. Photo Courtesy of Indigo Moon Yarns. At the University of Wyoming, scientists modified a group of silkworms to produce silk that is, weight for weight, stronger than steel. 4. Using an electron microscope, Enzo di Fabrizio and his team at the Italian Institute of Technology in Genoa snapped the first photos of the famous double helix.Source: newscientist.com / via: davi296 5. 6. ReCell by Avita Medical is a medical breakthrough for severe-burn victims. 7. 8. 9. 3-D Printer Creates Full-Size Houses in One Session
Mountain of the Dead: The Dyatlov Pass Incident One of the most bizarre, not to mention flat out terrifying, mysteries of the modern age concerns the enigmatic deaths of nine Russian mountaineers whose cross-country skiing trip ended in a tragedy so ghastly and perplexing that it has mystified experts for over half a century. Excursions into nature can be serene for some and exhilarating for others, but for an unfortunate few these sojourns into the untouched wilds of our world can be tragic. Still other such journeys into the unknown end in such unfathomably frightening circumstances that they become the stuff of legend. Such is the destiny that befell nine ill-fated skiing enthusiasts in the late 1950s. But, before we go any further; like any good mystery we must begin at the beginning… Yudin hugged his comrades goodbye and with envy watched them leave… scarcely could he imagine at the time that he would the lucky one. “If I had a chance to ask God just one question, it would be, ‘What really happened to my friends that night?’”
10 places of myth and legend - travel tips and articles Even though we can get to the other side of the world in less than a day, there are still places that resist becoming everyday. Over the centuries they have accumulated tall stories like Manhattan accumulates tall buildings. So pack your compass, reading glasses and imagination for a journey to sites of myth and legend. Zanzibar, Tanzania Image by phoosh Just the name 'Zanzibar' conjures images of harem girls giggling behind gauzy veils, carved wooden doors opening to spice-filled rooms and other images from The Thousand and One Nights. El Dorado, Colombia Image by *L*u*z*A* Veiled behind vine-draped trees deep in the Amazon jungle gleams a dazzling kingdom of gold. Valley Of The Kings, Egypt Image by archer10 (Dennis) On the west bank of the Nile River, across from the city of Luxor, lies the final resting place of Egypt’s pharaohs. Ys, France Image by Aided_Eye Celtic Princess Dahut asked her dad, King Gradlon, to build her a city by the sea. Troy, Turkey Image by myhsu Karakorum, Mongolia
Researchers now able to stop, restart light By William J. Cromie Gazette Staff "Two years ago we slowed it down to 38 miles an hour; now we've been able to park it then bring it back up to full speed." Less than five years ago, the speed of light was considered one of the universe's great constants. Hau, 41, a professor of physics at Harvard, admits that the famous genius would "probably be stunned" at the results of her experiments. "It's nifty to look into the chamber and see a clump of ultracold atoms floating there," Hau says. She and her team continued to tweak their system until they finally brought light to a complete stop. Inspired by Hau's success at slowing light, researchers working on a wooded hill a few miles away at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) used a similar technique to stop, then restart, a light beam. "We didn't have much contact," she notes, "just a few e-mails." Stopping cold "We hope for wonderful things," says David Phillips, who worked on the CfA "stop light" project.
Anything You Say on Facebook Can & Will Be Used Against You in a Court Of Law Facebook may seem like a harmless hobby, but make no mistake: The blunders you post on the site can come back to haunt you. In March, a Michigan man was charged with polygamy after he shared photos from his second marriage on Facebook. The wedding was a surprise to his first wife, from whom he was separated, but not divorced. More recently, a Virginia court fined a widower and his attorney a combined $722,000 after trying to pull a fast one on the legal system. After a truck overturned and killed his wife, the widower filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the trucker and his employer. With increasing frequency, people are finding that their Facebook posts can be used against them in the court of law. A Lot of Incriminating Evidence Facebook has more than 800 million active users—and, on average, they upload 250 million pictures a day to the site. But it’s not just the pictures that can get you in trouble. Mind Your Ps & Qs Jennifer E. Additional Information on Lawyers.com:
Bizarre Suicide 1994's MOST BIZARRE SUICIDE At the 1994 annual awards dinner given by the American Association for Forensic Science, AAFS President Don Harper Mills astounded his audience in San Diego with the legal complications of a bizarre death. Here is the story. "On 23 March 1994, the medical examiner viewed the body of Ronald Opus and concluded that he died from a shotgun wound of the head. The decedent had jumped from the top of a ten- story building intending to commit suicide (he left a note indicating his despondency). "When one intends to kill subject A but kills subject B in the attempt, one is guilty of the murder of subject B. "The continuing investigation turned up a witness who saw the old couple's son loading the shotgun approximately six weeks prior to the fatal incident. There was an exquisite twist. "The medical examiner closed the case as a suicide."