Videos
Podcasts
Blogs
Quizzes
GamesArchive for September, 2009
I admit it. When the headlines about Iran testing a mid-range missile came out today, I thought, sure, I know what a mid-range missile is. It’s a missile that, uh, isn’t short- or long-range but in the middle, sort of Goldilocks style. Actually, it’s a missile that can cover 620 to 1,860 miles (1,000 to 3,000 kilometers), depending on the make and model.
The Pueblos Lost Their Religion, Won a Revolt
by Katie Lambert | September 28, 2009
This weekend I finished rereading “Death Comes for the Archbishop,” which I don’t think I read in full the first time (Sorry, Dr. McAlexander!). This post brought to you by my beloved Willa Cather’s mentions of a historical event I’d never heard of: the Pueblo Revolt of 1680.
The Spanish Empire’s rule in New Mexico was characterized by greed and force. Greed was for the gold and riches they thought the Native Americans of the Southeast had, and forced labor for the Pueblos who were compliant — imprisonment and torture for the ones who resisted.
It wasn’t just possessions or even limbs the Pueblo people lost. They lost their religion, too.
How you will soon be watching full HD 3D movies at home
by Marshall Brain | September 28, 2009
3D has been possible in the home since 120 hertz TVs became available. You can buy the LCD shutter glasses that make it possible to experience 3D. But it has not been easy to buy full-HD 3D movies. Now there is a new standard developing that may be the first general solution to the problem. [...]
Something that comes naturally to humans is still a challenge for computers: recognizing images. We’re able to learn what something or someone looks like. We can look at an image or sculpture of a subject and recognize what it is. Even if the image isn’t perfect, we can figure it out. Computers aren’t as good at that. That’s part of the reason classic CAPTCHA tests work — they’re easy for us to recognize but computers find it tricky.
But computers are getting smarter. Even the inventors of CAPTCHA tests don’t see this as a bad thing — when a computer beats a CAPTCHA test, it means we’re one step closer to artificial intelligence. A failure of one system is a triumph for another.
Several teams around the world are working on improving computers’ abilities to identify images. With reliable image recognition software, we’d have an improved search capability (most image searches rely on meta data or text captions, not the actual images). You could catalog billions of images automatically with a strong enough system.
A different way to build a house #34 – bridge house
by Marshall Brain | September 28, 2009
[[[Jump to previous]]]
Holi Color Fight: Rainbow Warfare Breaks Out In India
by Amanda Arnold | September 28, 2009
Let’s say you walk out onto your street, and there’s a plume of orange powder. Some guy on a balcony hurls a water balloon at you that explodes against your knee and leaves a burst of red all over your pants.
World record #102 – The world’s longest sea bridge
by Marshall Brain | September 28, 2009
The longest sea bridge in the world in near Shanghai, China. It is 36 kilometers long: You can see the location of the bridge here: It will soon be eclipsed by a bridge in Qatar: World’s longest marine causeway to start construction by 2010? Designing large bridges: [[[Jump to previous world record - The longest [...]
If all the plants and trees died tomorrow, would we run out of oxygen?
by Marshall Brain | September 28, 2009
You asked: If all the plants and trees died tomorrow, would we run out of oxygen? — Zachary, Baytown, Texas Marshall Answered: If all the plants, grasses, trees, etc. on land were to die tomorrow, it would be a very sad day. But it is not clear that we would run out of oxygen. That’s [...]
On the Coinciding of Norman Borlaug and Pain-Free Animals
by Josh Clark | September 28, 2009
I’ve come to believe that there’s some sort of connective tissue between events and living things that lies just beyond sensible perception. Sometimes a glimpse is afforded for only an astoundingly clear moment and our understanding of what’s just been realized fades into gauze and then nothingness, despite how hard we may grasp at it to maintain our hold. At other times it remains in plain sight, but our understanding of what we’re looking at simply falters. Kind of like how the first person to behold a dead fish must have puzzled over it. There it is, smelly and shiny and not moving, but what the heck is it? Eventually, we came up with a word for it — fish — and with a name, it became mundane. A dead fish, now, is a dead fish, nothing more.
Invention – Replace training wheels with a gyroscope
by Marshall Brain | September 28, 2009
Training wheels are uncool. So now you can replace them with a gyroscope: For more info see: How gyroscopes work [[[Jump to previous invention - the Honda Personal Mobility Device]]]
Recent Postings by Category
BrainStuff
- Thank You and Best Wishes to Marshall Brain
- Contest – Design a $300 house and win $25,000
- How the Philtrum works – the place under your nose where your face comes together
The Coolest Stuff on the Planet
- Vacation Deprivation: Who’s got it?
- Have a Coke and a Smile
- The Latest in Frugal Lodging: Camping in Somebody Else’s Backyard
Keep Asking
- Why can a 5 foot 8 inch man dunk a basketball on a 10 foot rim while some people of taller stature can’t?
- What happens to our sun once it runs out of fuel?
- How do we know the age of the universe?
Stuff Mom Never Told You
- Who invented the Christmas card?
- How the Kinsey Report Fueled Whiskey Sales
- How to Get Your Wedding Announcement into The New York Times
Stuff to Blow Your Mind
- Space Music: DJ Food and ‘The Search Engine’
- Stuff to Blow Your Mind: Hug it Out
- Space Music: Jay-Z and Beyoncé to Film Music Video in Orbit
Stuff You Should Know
- The Southern Death Cult, the Maya and Georgia
- Deformed Baby Spider Brains
- Amazing Medical Conditions: Maple Syrup Urine Disorder
The Stuff of Genius
CarStuff
- Why is NASA studying car safety?
- Tips for in-car Navigation Systems
- Tips for Using Bluetooth in the Car
How-to Stuff
- How to Swim with Dolphins (When Deep Water Terrifies You)
- How to Cure a Homemade Cookie Craving Without Turning on the Oven
- How to Know When It’s Time for a New Pet
PopStuff
- PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 36: Now Available in 3-D
- PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 35: Let’s do brunch!
- PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 34: Play it again, Sam
Stuff They Don't Want You To Know
Stuff to Change the World
- Who will own the Arctic?
- Obesity: The New Global Crisis
- Bill Gates Makes For A Pretty Decent Cartoon
Stuff You Missed in History Class
- Butch Cassidy: Should we read between the lines?
- Are we rooting for D.B. Cooper?
- Party Time: A Look at Unconventional Politics
