Ever wonder what would happen if you opened a soda that has been shaken a little too much at the bottom of the ocean? Well, Commander Chris Hadfield, a former Canadian astronaut who was the first Canadian to walk in space, shows you just that and explains the phenomenon. Put simply, carbonated drinks, like seltzer or soda pop, get their fizz from dissolved carbon dioxide. When these are opened, the liquid is exposed to pressure imbalance (i.e. pressure outside is lower than the pressure inside). If the can or bottle is shaken before opening, it will increase the pressure inside, which means the top is popped, an explosion ensues. Read more for the video he recorded a few years back and additional information.
Photo credit: The Agency
The Allosaurus (different lizard) is a carnivorous theropod dinosaur that lived approximately 155 to 145 million years ago during the late Jurassic period. This large bipedal predator had a large skull equipped with dozens of sharp, serrated teeth. Its body averaged 31-feet in length, though fragmentary remains suggest it could have reached over 39-feet. The last place you’d probably expect to find an Allosaurus skeleton is a giant mansion in Beverly Hills. Read more for additional pictures and information.
Spot a streaking fireball in the sky tonight? If so, then you’re probably witnessing the Taurids, or an annual meteor shower that is associated with the comet Encke. It’s actually two separate showers, with a Southern and a Northern component. The former originates from Comet Encke, while the latter is from the asteroid 2004 TG10. They are both named after their radiant point in the constellation Taurus. Since this phenomenon happens in late October and early November, they’re also nicknamed the Halloween fireballs. Read more for a video and additional information.
NASA captured an image on Oct. 8, 2014 of the active regions on the sun resembling something like a Jack-o’-lantern’s face. This spooky photo was captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, which watches the sun at all times from its orbit in space. These active regions in this photograph appear brighter due to them emitting more light and energy than their surrounding areas. Read more for a NASA pumpkin carving contest video and additional information.
When is a minivan not just a people transporter? When you’re in Hyundai’s iMax N ‘Drift Bus”. Powered by a twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6 engine that produces 402 horsepower and 409 pound-feet of torque, mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission that sends power to the rear wheels, it has perfect 50:50 weight distribution when all eight of its seats are occupied. Read more for a video, additional pictures and information.
Photo credit: Peta Pixel
CGTN (China Global Television Network) in Beijing has releases surveillance footage captured by dashcams, security cameras, etc., of a giant meteorite that appeared overhead in northeast China, or to be more specific, Songyuan in the province of Jilin, on October 11th at 12:16 a.m. local time. It literally turned night into day and cast dark shadows as it streaked through the sky. Read more for the clip and additional information.
Matt Thompson, a professional woodworker from Michigan, is known for his wacky creations, including a beer-dispensing Adirondack chair, but his latest project may be the most unique of all. Simply put, it’s a wooden Rube-Goldberg-inspired chair that not only massages the back, but can even pour you a glass of wine. For those who don’t know what a Rube-Goldberg machine is, it’s basically one designed to perform a simple task in an indirect and overly complicated way. Read more for a video and additional information.
Photo credit: OpenAI
San Francisco–based AI research lab OpenAI managed to successfully train a robotic hand to manipulate a cube with extraordinary dexterity. That’s right, using a reinforcement-learning algorithm, the hand taught itself how to manipulate the cube with a technique modeled after how animals learn. It simulated various conditions, and trained the robot to solve the cube to keep going regardless of any unknown physical factors. Read more for two videos and additional information.
English-American scientst Dr Peter Scott-Morgan is dying from a terminal illness, and plans on becoming the world’s first full cyborg. Scott-Morgan was diagnosed with an incurable terminal motor neuron disease in 2017, a condition that damages parts of the nervous system and affects the body’s ability to function properly. The final stage of this transformation is called laryngectomy, which requires that his voice box be surgically removed to reduce the risk of aspiration because it prevents food, liquids and saliva from going into the lungs, thus causing pneumonia. Read more for a video of his avatar and additional information.
Photo credit: bionerd23
Tourists are now allowed to enter the control room of Reactor 4 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. This room is significant because the decisions made on that fateful day in 1986 contributed to the worst nuclear accident the world has ever seen yet. For the past 20+ years, visitors were only permitted to observe the abandoned schoolyards, amusement parks, and classrooms outside the nuclear plant since they aren’t considered dangerous anymore. Read more for two videos and additional information.