Odd News

[I.D.10-t]

Yep, even a quick google search comes up with several plans to make your own and a few dealers of pre made bikes. Wonder what the specks were, it looks like a one speed cruiser. I am a low to moderate rider, but it would still be a lot of fun having one to test ride for a year, and a bit more of a test than a pleasure cruise through the alps.

[Snuh]

Giant prehistoric krakens may have sculpted self-portraits using ichthyosaur bones

For decades, paleontologists have puzzled over a fossil collection of nine Triassic icthyosaurs (Shonisaurus popularis) discovered in Nevada's Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park. Researchers initially thought that this strange grouping of 45-foot-long marine reptiles had either died en masse from a poisonous plankton bloom or had become stranded in shallow water.

But recent geological analysis of the fossil site indicates that the park was deep underwater when these shonisaurs swam the prehistoric seas. So why were their bones laid in such a bizarre pattern? A new theory suggests that a 100-foot-long cephalopod arranged these bones as a self-portrait after drowning the reptiles.

[chas]

A group of religious castoffs has been attacking fellow Amish, cutting off their hair and beards in an apparent feud over spiritual differences.

[Denny]

the whole planet us getting a bit too Phillip Dickish

[dwest]

the whole planet us getting a bit too Phillip Dickish

I had no idea Philip had written anything about sociological and psychological implications of Amish inbreeding.

[mutepointe]

Boozy Bears.

http://www.kake.com/news/headlines/Booz ... 84638.html

There is no recipe but I'll do some trial and error stuff.

[dwest]

I prefer my alcohol freeze dried when we're backpacking, gummy bears take up too much room.

[Whistlin' Will]

Boozy Bears.

Human ingenuity, meet human stupidity.

[MTGuru]

Boozy Bears.

The idea is certainly not new. You can buy Weingummis anywhere in Germany, though they're supposed to be non-alcoholic nowadays. My travel partner once dragged me into Woolworth's in Heidelberg just so she could stock up on bags of Weingummis.

Kind of gives a new twist to the company's slogan: "Haribo macht Kinder froh" (Haribo makes children happy).

[Denny]

New data on dark matter leaves science in the dark

(Space.com) New measurements of tiny galaxies contradict scientists' best model of dark matter, further complicating the already mysterious picture of the stuff that is thought to make up 98 percent of all matter in the universe.

Dark matter, the invisible material thought to permeate the universe, can only be indirectly detected through its gravitational pull on the normal matter that makes up stars and planets.

Despite not knowing exactly what dark matter is, scientists have gradually built up a good model to describe its behavior. The model envisions dark matter made up of cold, slow-moving exotic particles that clump together because of gravity

[Denny]

Giant amoebas discovered 6 miles deep

(OurAmazingPlanet)

Gigantic amoebas have been found in the Mariana Trench, the deepest region on Earth.

During a July 2011 voyage to the Pacific Ocean chasm, researchers with Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego and National Geographic engineers deployed untethered landers, called dropcams, equipped with digital video and lights to explore the largely mysterious region of the deep sea.

The team documented the deepest known existence of xenophyophores, single-celled animals exclusively found in deep-sea environments. Xenophyophores are noteworthy for their size, with individual cells often exceeding 4 inches (10 centimeters), their extreme abundance on the seafloor and their role as hosts for a variety of organisms.

[Denny]

2,000-Year-Old Supernova Mystery Solved

Two NASA space telescopes have helped solve some of the most enduring mysteries of the first documented report of star explosion — an ancient supernova spotted nearly 2,000 years ago, scientists say.

In 185 A.D., Chinese astronomers witnessed what they called a mysterious "guest star" that appeared in the sky and lingered for about eight months. It wasn't until the 1960s that scientists determined that this cosmic object was the first documented observation of a supernova that signaled the violent death of a distant star.

[Denny]

Ginormous sunspot spews solar guts towards Earth

Our own star has developed an astonishingly huge case of hyperactive acne, with one blemish so large you could plop 18 or 19 earths onto it, and still have room to spare.

That is, of course, if you could maneuver them close enough without the planets melting, or being sucked into that big ol' ball-o-plasma's guts.

At 1900 universal time on Thursday, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) observed an exceptionally large sunspot as it rotated into view. It's a biggie: sun-boffins estimate it to be about 80,000 kilometers long and 50,000 kilometers wide – easily one of the largest such magnetic disturbances to speckle the sun in many a year.

[Denny]

Colossal dead black neo-sphere approaching Earth

A gigantic, spinning, dead black spherical object dubbed YU55 and approximately of the same bulk as a nuclear aircraft carrier is expected to make a close pass by planet Earth on Tuesday night, coming well inside the orbit of the Moon.

[fearfaoin]

"same bulk as a nuclear aircraft carrier"

I wonder if "nuclear" was a necessary adjective here
or if someone was indulging in some suggestive selling.