Taiwan is dealing with its worst drought since 1965, and for at least one man, this has been a blessing in disguise. Why? A man, surnamed Chen, was paddleboarding in Taiwan’s famous Sun Moon Lake when he accidentally fell, causing his waterproof pouch-protected iPhone 11 Pro Max to be dropped. Little did he know that one year later the water would recede as the island suffers from a severe water shortage and a worker discovered the device. Read more for the news report and additional information.
You may have seen images of dolphins swimming in the Grand Canal last year, but those were added in post production. This week, two dolphins were actually spotted in Venice, Italy, first starting out in the Grand Canal before swimming over to Giudecca island, where they toured two churches by Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio, before returning home to the Adriatic Sea. This visit was made possible due to the lack of tourists and the many cruise ships that normally arrive. Read more for two videos and additional information.
Photo credit: Rob Lee via Car Scoops
It’s not often that you see a MiG-29 fighter jet, much less have the chance to crash into one, that is unless…you’re an officer at Vasylkiv Air Base in central Ukraine. Apparently, a drunk Ukrainian Air Force captain crashed his Volkswagen Touran SUV into one of these fighter jets. This aircraft belonged to the 40th Tactical Aviation Brigade of the Ukranian Air Force, and the MiG-29 was being towed away to a parking area, when the 47-year-old officer smashed the nozzle of the right-side engine. Read more for additional pictures and information.
Photo credit: Phys.org
Russia has successfully deployed the Baikal neutrino telescope (Baikal-GVD), the largest in the Northern hemisphere. Scientists plan to use this tool to better understand the processes of emergence and evolution of the universe. This floating observatory, which consists strings with spherical glass and stainless steel modules attached to them, was lowered to a depth of 2,500-4,300 feet, around 2.48-miles from the lake’s shore. Read more for two videos and additional information.
Just a few decades ago during the 1980s, video rental shops loaned out VHS and Betamax tapes of movies, although most stores dropped the latter when it lost the format war late in the decade. As time went on, video rental stores began renting DVDs and Blu-ray discs in the 2000s. One man just couldn’t find a local video rental shop, so he decided to build his own during lockdown. Yes, it comes complete with its own “OPEN” sign, shelves of DVD / VHS movies, and even an E.T. figure. Read more for a short video tour.
Some are even surprised that Fry’s Electronics, the go-to chain for technology enthusiasts, has gone the way of RadioShack and Circuit City. Starting with just a single Sunnyvale store in 1985, the chain operated 34 stores in nine states by 2019, and as of last month, it was down to 28 stores. What really set these apart from its competitors were the outlandish themes at some of its locations, ranging from a crashed UFO to Aztec ruins and even “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”. Read more for two videos and additional information.
Photo credit: Red Sea Development Company
Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince, Chairman of The Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC), partnered with architectural firm Foster + Partners for a Coral Bloom concept, which has been carefully designed to seamlessly blend in with the island’s pristine natural environment. The main hub island at the destination is Shurayrah, comprised of 11 hotels. In an effort to deliver a 30% conservation benefit by 2040. TRSDC is will power the entire resort with renewables, underpinned by the world’s largest battery storage system. Read more for a video and additional information.
Remember the jetpack guy from a few months ago? If so, the mystery could have just been solved, and it’s a lot stranger than you think. Apparently, this is not a real human at all, just a remote-controlled mannequin shaped like a real human built by Ralph Kayser. It features a duocopter design with KK 2.15 flightboard, powered by two 250Kv engines that draw power from a 10S 3000mAh Lipo battery. Read more for the videos and additional information.
The New York Times Square New Year’s Eve ball drop happens every year at 11:59 pm. Unfortunately, when the crystal-encrusted ball descends down a pole to welcome 2021 this year, there will be no crowds, just an empty street due to the ongoing pandemic. Expedition 64 astronauts aboard the International Space Station send their warmest greetings to everyone on Earth and decided to recreate the ball drop tradition. Read more for the video and additional information.
Photo credit: Anza-Borrego DRC
An extremely rare lunar rainbow, also known as a moonbow, was spotted by a researcher at the Anza-Borrego Desert Research Center in California. This phenomenon occurs due to the refraction of light in many water droplets, like from a rain shower, and is always positioned in the opposite part of the sky from the moon relative to the observer. Why does it look dimmer than a traditional solar rainbow? It’s because of the smaller amount of light reflected from the surface of the moon. Read more for a video and additional information.