Saturday, November 30, 2013
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Singapore 21: a farewell trip on the world's longest flight
As of tomorrow, the longest flight in the world will shuttle passengers on a 747-400 from Sydney, Australia to Dallas, Texas. That 15-hour, 25-minute hop on board Qantas 7 may not be the lengthiest in duration, but at 8,578 miles gate to gate, it'll lead the industry in miles flown. For a few more hours, however, Singapore Airlines' decade-long run from Newark, N.J., to Singapore remains the record holder for both time (more than 18 hours) and distance (9,534 miles). It's a journey that's been on the bucket lists of the world's most ambitious aviation enthusiasts since the city-state's namesake airline first launched the service in 2004, and following tonight's final jaunt, this record-setting A340-500 will touch down at Changi Airport for the very last time.
How The Chinese Used Ice To Build The Forbidden City
The Forbidden City, is one of the largest palaces in the world. It’s a large, sprawling, ancient city, and has baffled historians for centuries as to how it was built. The materials used in its construction were taken from a faraway quarry, and how they got to the city has been a mystery for years. We now know that ice roads were used to transport materials during construction.
The cave dwellers of 21st-century China
China’s high-tech building industry may have been flexing its ample construction muscles for the past decade in places like Beijing and Shanghai, but a few hundred miles away in Shanxi province, an estimated three million people still live in caves.
Never Swim in the Congo: Goliath Tigerfish
Growing up to 5 feet and length and weighing in at over 150 pounds, the Goliath Tigerfish makes a piranha look like a guppy in comparison to this ferocious beast. Locals say it’s the only fish that doesn’t fear the crocodile, and will even devour some of the smaller ones! In rare instances, it’s also been known to attack humans. *Gulp*
Russia’s Secret City: The Most Radioactive Place On Earth
Russia’s Lake Karachay was used in the 1950s as a dumping site for radioactive waste. Now it is the most polluted place on the planet, with enough radioactivity to kill a person in less than an hour. At its height, it was putting more than 200,000 times the normal amount of radioactivity into the area due to poor waste disposal practices.
Insects Don’t Feel Pain
Emotional and physical pain allow us to learn from our experiences and modify future behavior. Nocireceptors, responsible for the sensation of pain, are not present in insects—whose lifespans are too short for pain to be useful. Since insects lack nocireceptors, they cannot experience pain.
How To Build A Fire Pit
You could just build a fire somewhere, then put it out when you're done. Or you could buy one of those metal basins at a place like Williams-Sonoma. But by actually digging into the dirt and constructing a pit whose sole purpose is to contain a campfire — by permanently incorporating it into the tiny speck on the earth that belongs to you — you are making a commitment. A commitment to your family, a commitment to your friends, and a commitment to having fun even when it's cold out.
8 Basic Life-Saving Skills Everyone Should Know
We've featured a ton of survival and MacGyver tips over the years that could help you out of a fix, but what if you're next to someone else who's having an emergency? Don't just stand there as the person chokes or faints! Know what to do in these life-or-death situations.
Mystery of the Forest Swastikas
Over 20 years ago, a landscaper in eastern Germany discovered a formation of trees in a forest in the shape of a swastika. Since then, a number of otherforest swastikas have been found inGermany and beyond, but the mystery of their origins persist.
HOLE-IN-ONE? That's Gunna Cost ya!
Ikuo Ikeda teed it up one sunny morning, swung hard and sent the ball on an arc toward the flagstick.
"Oh my God!'' said Ikeda, the 50-year-old president of a publishing company. A second or two later, the ball dropped into the cup for a hole-in-one.
It could have been an expensive stroke.
Realistically colorized historical photos make the past seem incredibly real
Over the last couple years, an increasingly popular trend online has been to create and share colorized photos from history. Artists such as Jordan Lloyd, Dana Keller and Sanna Dullaway take intriguing old black-and-white photos and bring them to life with color as if they’d been taken only yesterday.
Time Travel Is Banned In Chinese Movies
In 2011, the Chinese government passed guidelines that would largely prohibit any time travel plot devices in television and movies. According to the State Administration of Radio Film and Television, time travel represents “ambiguous values” and “lack of active ideological significance.”
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Here’s the most amazing part of flying we hope you’ll never have to experience
It’s hard to comprehend when you’re waiting to deplane upon arrival, and even more dumbfounding once you see it: every airplane you’ve ever been in can be evacuated in less than 90 seconds.
The killer cure for alcoholism in Russia
Alcoholism and Russia have a long and destructive history together. Alcohol abuse costs that country half a million deaths a year, most of them men of working age. It also costs billions of dollars in lost productivity. Male life expectancy in Russia is just 60 years, and the Russian population is predicted to shrink nearly 20 percent by the middle of the century, in part because of the drinking. Every problem, though, creates a market for a cure.
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Famous Brand Logos Recreated With Honest Slogans
Nashville-based graphic designer Clif Dickens has recreated the logos of famous brands to include “what people really think” for his website cheekily titled ‘Honest Slogans.’ Have a look at our favorite picks from the collection.
The secret world of cargo ships
THE BRIDGE OF a modern ship is a shock on first encounter. Although this place is still known as the wheelhouse, the wheel at the helm is not wooden and impressive, but mundane plastic, the kind that would suit a video arcade game. Nearly all else is automated. A bank of screens contains radar, ECDIS — an electronic chart system — and AIS, an automatic identification system that transmits the ship's name, speed and heading, and other details to other ships, port authorities, and well-equipped pirates. There is radio, a gyrocompass and magnetic compass, a tachometer and echo sounder.
On a modern shipping vessel, what's in the hold is unknown — even to the people moving it.
On a modern shipping vessel, what's in the hold is unknown — even to the people moving it.
Your Tough-Love Guide to Getting Enough Sleep
November 3rd marks fall’s Daylight Savings Time, also known as that day when it is suddenly dark before we leave the office. But while DST might be a legit excuse to “lose” an hour of sleep, it’s really not going to fly any other of the 364 nights of the year. This is what we learned when we checked in with four experts in the sleep field to find out (sometimes shocking) consequences are of not getting enough shut-eye.
Shanghai police crowd more than 60 surveillance cameras on single overhead bar watching one road; demolish most of them after media attention
Over 60 surveillance devices watching one road in Shanghai shock passersby, draw public outrage over concern of wasting public money.
Beautiful cityscape photos by and of thrill-seekers who are far too comfortable atop skyscrapers
Now, the internet is full of crazy people climbing terrifyingly tall structures and then taking pictures and video of their exploits. But Ryobai’s work seems to take this horrifying hobby and move it into the realm of fine art.
Sunday, November 03, 2013
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I Hit "Fever Mode" Today On My 'Fever Aqua Nine © 2004 Sankyo'
Fever Aqua Nine © 2004 Sankyo
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Single Bonus - One line of gold dolphins
Big Bonus - Two or more lines of gold dolphins or all sea animals
During the time reels are spinning, there are three possible screen background "yokoku" events: a turtle and killer whale, ray, or shark will be seen swimming. Any of these yields a 100% chance of a reach. There is also a reel-based "yokoku" event: if the reels stop on sea animals formed in a pattern like:
and if this pattern comes out continuously in successive spins, there is a high chance of a win. During this pattern, if a single dolphin in the center space pattern appears like this:
it's an automatic win.
During a reach, there is a step-up "yokoku" event pattern that involves a mermaid: if the mermaid just swims there is just a small chance of a win. If she stops and hovers near the reels, then it's an automatic super reach. Finally, if she makes a action as if she is praying then it's an automatic super reach and your odds of winning increase.
There are four reach patterns:
Normal: Very low chance of winning. Usually automatic win if during "bonus" mode.
Friends of the Ocean Super Reach: Only occurs during an "all sea animals" super reach. High chance of winning.
Wink Super Reach: Mermaid winks. Low chance of winning.
Pray Reach: Cut-scene of mermaid praying. Medium chance of winning.
There are also several automatic win patterns:
If you see a white dolphin.
If you see a cut scene of a trolling line being pulled quickly through the water.
If the mermaid appears during the Friends of the Ocean Super Reach.
If the cameo-looking mermaid above the screen lights up it's an automatic big bonus win.
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During normal play, the background screen is blue, during big bonus play it's pinkish, and during chance time play it's green-ish.
How China Profits From Our Junk
In this excerpt from the forthcoming Junkyard Planet, author Adam Minter explores China's central role in the world's vast global recycling trade.
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