3/23/14 Minerals, and Pretty Colors!

So I learned a new word today.

Pleochroism is a trait that that some minerals have that makes them appear to be different colors when viewed from different angles.

Minerals that display this property have specific crystalline structures that polarize light as it passes through it.  This polarization depends on the angle at which light hits it, resulting in different colors, depending on how it's viewed.

Some minerals are dichroic, meaning they have two distinct colors.  But others are trichroic, and show 3 distinct colors depending on how it's viewed.

Shit's magical.

Source: http://sedagems.com/pleochroism-what-is-it/

Vocab word of the day: Pinguitude: Fatness, a growing fat, obesity.

The man's pinguitude made it very difficult to pass him by on the sidewalk.

7/6/13: The Antikythera Mechanism

This 2000 year old hunk of metal is currently the most complex antique in existence.  It is currently being held at the Greek National Archaeological Museum in Athens.  Researchers have discovered through the use of X-Rays that it contains approximately 30 different gears.  It also has approximately 2000 different characters inscribed on it (around 95% of which has been translated).

So what is it used for?  Historian Derek Price seems to believe that it was used in astronomy to make calculations and predictions about the stars and planets whenever needed.  What exactly that means, and how it could prove to be useful, I don't really know.

Still though, neat!

Source: http://www.antikythera-mechanism.com/

Vocabulary Word of the Day:
Bedewy:  Moist with dew, dewy

I stepped out onto the front porch, the bedewy grass glistening before me as I thought to myself, "what a silly sounding adjective."

7/5/13: Goblin Sharks

So these things exist, and I'm not sure if I'm intrigued or horrified to discover that:

It's called a Goblin Shark, and it's normally found in deep waters off the coast of certain lands, near seamounts (underwater mountains).  Because they live so deep below the waters, viewing them, much less catching them for study, is a rarity.

However, scientists do know a thing or two about this ugly duck.  Males have been known to grow to be around 8-12ft, while female can get as large as 11-12ft.  Their sharp, pointy teeth suggest that they mainly feed on soft bodied prey, such as shrimp, octopus, and squid, but it has also been observed that they partake in the occasional crab as well.

Oh, also, they can do this with their jaws:

Happy dreaming!

Source: http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/goblinshark/goblinshark.html

Urban Dictionary Friday!
Vocabulary Word of the Day:
Tubeception:  The process of browsing Youtube videos based on the suggested/related videos in the sidebar, going deeper and deeper until what you're watching is completely unrelated to what you initially searched.

I just searched for the Man of Steel Trailer, how the hell did I end up watching a little girl fall on her face after being pulled by a dog on a leash?  Damn you, Tubeception!

7/4/13: Moth Genitals and Natural Selection

Researchers at Boise State University and the Florida Museum of Natural History have discovered that a certain species of moths, known as Hawk Moths, have the capacity to rub their genitals against their bodies in order to create an ultra sonic frequency that messes with a bat's echolocation.

Other species of insects have been known to have this ability as well, such as the Tiger Moth and Tiger Beetle.  Evidently scientists have discovered that this tactical defense is often used as a last resort as the bat draws near.

Source: http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-07/04/anti-bat-sonar

Vocabulary Word of the Day:
Inlagation:  The restitution of a criminal or outlaw, and having him/her put back into the protection of the law.

The inlagation of the Delaware armpit stabber was an event that helped a lot of citizens sleep easier at night, knowing their underarms were safe from harm.

7/3/2013: Cats, Spying, and Inattentive Drivers

In the 1960s the CIA attempted to use cats to spy on the Soviets.  They would implant a microphone and battery in the kitty and put an antenna in its tail.  The project was dubbed "Acoustic Kitty," and to put it softly, it could have gone a lot better.

Evidently the first cat that was set off on it's valiant mission was promptly run over by a taxi cab.  Not the most heroic death in the world, but no doubt the feline died with honors.  Needless to say, the project was promptly abandoned.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acoustic_Kitty (Oh hush, it has citations)

Vocabulary Word of the Day:
Eponymous:  Giving ones name to a city, discovery, etc.

Newton was the eponymous founder of the Newton unit, as surprising as that sounds.

7/2/13: Books and Sheep

The standard size of modern day books has been determined based on the size of books that were manufactured during the medieval ages.  Turns out, the size of THOSE  books was determined based on the size of the sheep that were around at the time.

Back then, books were made out of parchment, which was made out of animal skin (usually sheep skin).  So, when a sheep is skinned for parchment, and the curvy sections (where it's legs were) are cut out, you get a nice rectangular piece of parchment.  Fold that piece in half twice, and you get a relatively large section of 8 pages to work with, the size of which could be comparable to a dictionary or atlas.  Fold that in half again, and you get 16 pages roughly the size of a standard hardcopy novel.  This size soon became the standard for all books, not by conscious choice, but for convenience.

So, the only reason books are all roughly the same size today is completely due to the fact that sheep were the size they were during the medieval ages.  Yay history!

Source: http://www.gotmedieval.com/2010/08/why-are-books-so-big-google-penance.html

Vocabulary Word of the Day:
Consular: An official appointed by the government of one country to oversee the commercial interests and welfare of another country.

Let's send a consular over to the developing country in order to make sure that our their best interests are always being looked out for.

7/1/13: The Shepard Tone

This blew my freakin' mind.

When multiple octaves are played at once, our brain likes to focus on just one of them, usually the lowest one, as a sort of "base tone."  This makes notes easier to process, as even the most simple notes can have multiple tones that would provide an abundance of distracting information.

Here's the crazy part.

Since the brain is hard wired to look for patterns and continuity, it unconsciously (or consciously, however you want to look at it) perceives the next octave in the series.  So as you continuously replay the video, the notes seem to get higher and higher, even though you're listening to the same thing, and those notes were there all along.

Shit's bananas.

Source: http://www.charliemccarron.com/2013/06/shepard-tone-illusion-and-the-super-mario-64-endless-staircase/

Vocabulary of the Day:  
Suant:  Spread equally/evenly over a surface.

The suant icing was layered on top of the cake, like freshly laid cement, but more appetizing.