A fifth force of nature may have been discovered by scientists at the Institute for Nuclear Research at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (Atomki). The team was closely monitoring how an excited helium atom emitted light as it decayed, and the particles ended up splitting at an unusual angle, 115 degrees, which couldn’t be explained by known physics. They called this new particle X17 because they calculated its mass at 17 megaelectronvolts. Read more for a video and additional information.
Emily Koford, a 20-year-old from Texas, almost slipped and fell at the Grand Canyon after accidentally stepping off a ledge. She was hiking at the Arizona attraction on Monday with her mom Erin when they went to a rock near the edge of the rim for a photo. Erin Koford was standing near the edge when Emily began backing up with the camera, still facing her mom, trying to get a full-body shot. Read more for a video showing what happened next.
The Ocean Cleanup, a nonprofit that aims to rid the oceans of harmful plastic founded by entrepreneur Boyan Slat, has unveiled “The Interceptor,” a new vessel that collects plastic from rivers, then deposits the waste into floating dumpsters. Put simply, it’s a catamaran that glides across rivers while channeling plastic toward a conveyor belt, which then gets deposited into attached dumpsters. Read more for two videos and additional 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.
Photo credit: The Paper
Shanghai police arrested 25 suspects over a counterfeit anime toys / figure operation that netted over $42,000,000 USD. It all kicked off when back in June, police in the Huangpu district received a tip from an unnamed source and discovered these roughly made toys being sold in many shops, which included famous brands like Bandai Namco, Megahouse and Nintendo. Read more for additional pictures and information.
Dentist and video game collector Eric Naierman spent $1.02-million on a recent trip to Denver, and it wasn’t for a vacation home, but rather 40 classic video games. These aren’t just any games you can find at garage sales, as all of them are factory sealed, and most are first-edition releases that a third-party grading company graded one of a kind. Read more for a video showing some of these graded video games and additional information.
The last thing you’d probably expect to see while sailing your catamaran towards Fiji in the Pacific Ocean is a 150-square-kilometer pumice island drifting towards Australia, but that’s exactly what one couple encountered. How did this bizarre phenomenon happen? Researchers are saying it was due to an underwater volcanic eruption near the island of Tonga. This pumice island reportedly spans the size of over 20,000 football fields and is several inches thick. Read more for a video and additional information.
Photo credit: iDropNews | The Sun
Steve Jobs, the former chairman, chief executive officer (CEO), and co-founder of Apple Inc., may have passed away in 2011, but someone spotted his doppelganger in Egypt recently and decided to snap a photo for the world to see, or at least Facebook users. The image quickly was shared around social media, and some users say that it’s not just the look, but something about the way he sits that channels the energy of Steve Jobs. Read more for the full image and additional information.
Where there’s a will, there’s a way, and that holds especially true for this group of teens from Nigeria. These group of eight from northern Nigeria have now become social media stars for making science fiction movies using a broken smartphone. They call themselves the Critics Company and started this whole journey back in 2016 using special effects they learned from YouTube videos. Read more for a video and additional information.
It’s official, we’re getting a new “The Matrix” movie. This fourth installment in the franchise will see stars Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss will reprising their roles as Neo and Trinity. Lana Wachowski, co-creator of the original trilogy, will co-write, direct and produce the film, while being joined by writers Aleksandar Hemon and David Mitchell, as well as producer Grant Hill. Read more for a behind-the-scenes video and additional information.