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I spent yesterday afternoon researching toilet innovations for a future article and, as interesting as pooping technology gets, I wasn’t expecting it to result in a blog post. But here we are, considering the fact that INCNERATING TOILETS EXIST. Yes, while some of you may think nothing of pooping into a mechanical box of fire, the prospect is a rather new idea for yours truly. Let’s watch a video about the technology and discuss the pros and cons
I read a really cool article over at Daily Tech. Harvard researchers presented an interesting idea at the American Chemical Society conference last Sunday. They’ve built a wand that can extinguish fires. No, you don’t wave it around while shouting out mock Latin like Harry Potter. Instead, you use the wand to direct a flow of electricity toward the flames.
Mind-blowing Video: Firefighter Cam in Action
by Robert Lamb | March 8, 2011
What happens when you augment a Detroit firefighter‘s helmet with a Contour HD helmet camera? Well, for starters you gain a new appreciation for the risks these brave men and women face, as well as destructive beauty of the flame. Check out this amazing footage from the upcoming documentary “BURN: One Year on the Front Lines of the Battle to Save Detroit.”
Turkmenistan’s Burning Crater is No Mirage
by Amanda Arnold | February 3, 2011
There’s a fiery crater in Turkmenistan, and I think you should go see it.
Here’s the deal: About 35 years ago, when the area was run by the Soviets, some geologists were drilling for natural gas and struck upon a huge underground cavern filled with the stuff. To “burn off some excess gas,” they decided to set the cavern on fire, according to TreeHugger. Not the best idea: The crater has been aflame since the 1970s.
Even if you have never seen or heard of the game Minecraft, this video is priceless because of the human story it tells… It may even be funnier if you watch it a second time.
Silly string is one of those amazing substances. It is fun – kids love it. It is interesting to watch. It has even been used in war zones to detect booby trap bombs, as explained here.
However, silly string is also highly flammable. And that means that it should not be used around birthday candles, sparklers, cigarettes or any other source of ignition. Two dramatic demonstrations of the problem are shown below…
Yosemite: Where a Waterfall Catches Fire
by Amanda Arnold | April 16, 2010
In nature’s game, water beats fire — which is why I’m dying to see a dramatic interpretation of the opposite at Horsetail Falls in Yosemite National Park.
Apparently during the last two weeks of February, orange sunsets are reflected in the falls each evening, which makes the cascading water look like it’s on fire. “Fire-water is falling from that cliff” is what your brain thinks. You’re sitting at an El Capitan picnic table eating a sandwich, looking up at falling fire-water.
In Yosemite National Park there are two phenomena known as a firefall. The first is a man-made phenomenon created, literally, from fire falling. This firefall occurred each night at 9PM at Glacier Point for nearly a century, as described in this video: See also: Yosemite Firefall The second is a natural optical phenomenon that occurs [...]
Photos – Fiery Festivals in Europe make for amazing pictures
by Marshall Brain | February 3, 2010
Sometimes there are photographs that just blow you away. This is a set of pictures like that. Where else are you going to see horses galloping through bonfires? Fiery European Festivals There are two festivals depicted. The first: Up Helly Aa, a fire festival celebrated for over 130 years now in Scotland’s Shetland islands This [...]
I’ve apparently been watering under a misapprehension. I always thought the logic behind hosing down plants in the cooler hours was that a midday jolt of frigid water might “shock” them. I never considered that dewy beads of water could magnify high noon rays and literally burn leaves. Because that just sounds too bizarre to be true, right?
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