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No, it’s a salt flat in Bolivia. It’s rainy season, so the endless expanse of barren ground has filled in like a puddle on a sidewalk. The water’s shallow — about 6 inches deep. So when you walk across it, you look like you’re pulling that trick Jesus pulled. To make matters even more heavenly, the sky and its puffy white clouds are mirrored rather perfectly in the water. It’s hard to tell which is salt-flat-puddle and which is sunny sky. And whether you’re walking on air.
Invention – HPEMS will be able to instantly disable any car
by Marshall Brain | January 22, 2010
In a prior post, we discussed different ways to stop a car. The current techniques include spike strips, Squids, net entanglement and electromagnetic pulses: How to stop a car – spike strips, electromagnetic pulses and the SQUID The electromagnetic pulse technique is about to get much more portable, as shown in this video: From the [...]
High Speed Stuff Wrap-up: Super Speeders and the Concorde SST
by Scott C. Benjamin | January 22, 2010
Once again, it’s time for another wrap-up of what Ben and I have been up to on our High Speed Stuff podcast over the past few days. So let’s cut the small talk and get right to it.
There’s a new law in Georgia — it’s called the Super Speeder Law. Ben and I talked about it during Tuesday’s show. Of course, we give you all the details we know about what the new law means for Georgia drivers and other lead-foot motorists passing through our state. And before you completely tune this one out simply because you live elsewhere, understand that this new law may eventually affect you, too.
The Duke and Duchess of Windsor were defined by the story of their love, of a king abdicating his throne for a commoner. But there’s a lesser-known aspect of their relationship: their ties to the Third Reich. Edward VIII could have been the Nazi king.
Wednesday’s podcast brought us a different sort of kingly tale: the matchup between King Porus and Alexander the Great at the Battle of the Hydaspes.
A favorite trick of street magicians is human levitation. In the standard presentation, the street magician is able to levitate about 3 inches off the ground. Apparently this can be quite convincing to the audience, as demonstrated here: Here is how the 3-inch levitation is done: But David Blaine is sometimes pictured getting up to [...]
Podcast Goodness: Vanishing Honeybees and Doomsday Vaults
by Charles W. Bryant | January 22, 2010
Greetings, good people of planet Earth. I would say “take me to your leader” but I’d worry about who that might be. Please say it isn’t Josh. This week on the Stuff You Should Know podcast program Herr Clark and I discussed something very earthy and something very much out of this world. Tuesday’s show [...]
Progressive Scan and Being Productive – TechStuff Style
by Jonathan Strickland | January 22, 2010
Podcasting about technology is an interesting experience. Some weeks we concentrate on fun topics like tech movies or technology pranks. Other weeks we’ll tackle harder topics like electronic theory or quantum computing. This week fell somewhere in the middle.
On Monday, we published an episode about progressive scan technology. Progressive scan refers to a method of displaying pixels on a television screen or monitor. It’s the alternative to interlacing, which was the standard technology for analog televisions.
World Record #124 – The deadliest spiders in the world
by Marshall Brain | January 22, 2010
The deadliest spiders can be found in Australia. They are known as funnel web spiders, one of which is common to Sydney. The other is found in the mountains and has half-inch-long fangs dripping venom. This year is a particularly good year for the spiders: Killer funnel-web spiders invade Sydney Forget sharks and crocodiles: the [...]
Toasting is a tasty way to increase the durability of bread, and automatic toasters are a convenient way to make toast. Learn more about the chemical change that turns bread into toast and the mechanism behind toasters in this episode of BrainStuff.
Yonaguni Island is a tiny Japanese island with a big reputation. Learn more about the famous “monument” that has drawn the world’s attention to Yonaguni, as well as some of the island’s other unusual attractions, in this episode.
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