Before we begin, remember one thing: IT'S OK. WE WON'T RUN OUT OF CHOCOLATE. That said, it's looking like chocolate could go extinct by 2050 if scientists don't intervene... but they will, because chocolate is something that we all need. A world without chocolate is a world I don't want to live in (although a world made out of chocolate is another story).
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If you're a social media user of any kind, by now you are well acquainted with the #10YearChallenge. The meme involves users posting contrasting photos from 2009 and 2019 to highlight how much they have changed. The meme has gone on to be used ironically, and now it's being used to create climate change awareness.
Instead of posting impressive glow-ups or dank memes, some users, politicians, and organizations have taken to Twitter and Facebook to highlight the rapid destruction of our environment. Emaciated polar bears and melted glaciers make our versions of the challenge seem more shallow and narcissistic than they already did. We encourage everyone to get involved in this movement and help protect the world for ourselves and future generations.
Amazing what a mere collection of water and ice and a few rocks can turn into. Saturn's rings are one of the most incredible sights in the night sky, and in space overall. Though their make up is unremarkable, since the 1970s when the Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft visited the system and gave us our first close-up look.
What's more amazing is that unlike many other celestial bodies in our universe, that we need to physically reach in order to get a clear picture of, Saturn is close enough that we can get images like those below.
Colonization of the moon isn't too far off: plans for permanent lunar bases are already in motion, and the equipment for cheaply transporting people to the moon is in it's first stages of conception. But once we get there, humans will have to live inside buildings (or whatever the moon-equivalent will be called). So, in consideration of this, astronomers on the ISS mixed cement to see what zero-gravity cement would turn out like.
I have some news for you: your compass is not actually pointing to true north, and hasn't been for 360 years. But that will change sometime in the next two weeks, when the magnetic field moves to point all compasses in Greenwich towards true north.
The world's largest computer chip is called the Wafer Scale Engine, and it's slightly bigger than an iPad. This isn't huge - unless you compare it to the current size of computer chips, which are around the size of a finger nail or postage stamp. Now that's a big difference. And even more impressive is what the world's biggest computer chip will be able to do.
The United States Air Force will begin using 3D printers to print replacement aircraft parts. And what are they starting with? The most important part of a plane. Latrine covers.
It's easy to forget that the universe isn't a smattering of tiny white lights in the sky, but actually a crazy place full of exploding stars, black holes and probably, aliens. As technology brings us closer to the predictions in science fiction classics, exploration (and eventually colonization) of the moon is becoming a reality. The moon has been getting some coverage in the media recently, and we're here to remind you that it's actually more than a sliver in the sky; the moon is the closest astronomical body to Earth and it's really beautiful. Here are fifteen photos and bits of information to remind you how cool the moon is.
Robots are no longer a fantasy of the future. For centuries, humans have been hypothesizing about robots. Now, technology is advancing at such a fast rate that our fantasies (or nightmares) are becoming true. Robots are, whether or not we like it, going to continue to be more involved in our lives. So we might as well welcome our robotic overlords. Here are twelve GIFs of some very cool robots that exist today.
It turns out that maps are useful for a lot more than geography. These maps give you a whole lot of information you didn't know you needed until now. If you think the world's a pretty interesting place and want to learn more about it, keep on reading. Or head to r/MapPorn for way more maps than you could ever need.
Don't throw away those night vision goggles just yet, but scientists might have just gotten that much closer to human's seeing in the dark. Using mice as a proxy, scientists injected nano-particles their eyes, hoping that this would give them the ability to see during nighttime and in low light situations.
Castleton Tower is a striking part of the landscape, jutting out of a hill as a solitary stone watcher, and is also one of the area's premiere climbing spots. The 400 foot tall rock formation, even if you put your ear to it, will not give you a satisfying sound. To detect and discover how the rock tower truly sounds, they need special equipment to record and register the frequencies.
It isn't easy being green, or white in this case... Or is it? Scientists have struggled for years to understand the snowy plumage of Barn Owls they would see in the wild, compared to others that were various shades of red. Even more interesting, though they are nocturnal hunters, there are many more white-colored barn owls than red, pointing to an advantage of some sort. But how could a bright white creature on the backdrop of night have a natural advantage, it just seemed completely backwards. Recent research finally answered the question ornithologists (bird nerds) have been chomping at the bit to answer.
