While the U.S. is still debating about getting rid of the humble penny, Sweden is rapidly moving towards abolishing currency altogether. Though this may sound radical, it is a natural evolution in this digital society where a vast majority of transactions are already being conducted using credit or debit cards....
Read news articleThough we always hear about how polluted our oceans, lakes and seas are, it is rare to witness the contamination without at least wading into the waters. However, such is not the case for the residents that live in the vicinity of Bangalore's largest body of water - Lake Bellandur. They get to both witness and experience the toxic effects of the pollution that spews out in the form of fluffy white foam, every single day of the year!...
Read news articleWhile for humans the expression "sleep with one eye open" is just a metaphor to keep alert, for some animals it is a way of life. Called unihemispheric sleep, it is the ability to snooze with one eye open and the corresponding half of the brain awake, while the other half rests....
Read news articleWhile world population continues to increase, our freshwater supplies appear to have stagnated and in some cases even trickled to a halt. Residents all the way from California to Brazil are battling multi-year droughts. Earlier this year, some citizens of Sao Paola were so desperate that they drilled through basements and parking lots to try access groundwater. Experts estimate that there are currently a billion people in the world that lack clean drinking water....
Read news articleProsthetics have come a long way since the first known artificial limb - A wood and leather toe was created for an Egyptian noblewoman nearly 3,000 years ago. However, though they have certainly become increasingly sophisticated and nimble they remain extremely expensive, not to mention very industrial looking....
Read news articleTwo Belgian men have come up with a way to take fine dining to a whole new level - Literally! Diners at their pop-up and franchised restaurants enjoy gourmet meals perched upon floating platforms suspended 180-feet above ground with the help of a giant crane!...
Read news articleOn September 25th, US first lady Michelle Obama and China's first lady Peng Liyuan announced that the recently born giant panda at Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington D.C. would be called Bei Bei. The name which means 'precious treasure' in Mandarin Chinese, was selected from a list suggested by officials at the zoo and the Wolong Nature Reserve in China....
Read news articleStonehenge, a prehistoric monument located in Wiltshire, England, is one of the world's most well-known ancient religious and burial sites. Situated amidst a dense complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments, the modest looking circle of stones that are visited by millions of tourists annually were declared a World Heritage Site in 1986. Now it appears that the ancient tombstones that are believed to date all the way back to 2,000 B.C. have some bigger competitors right in their own backyard....
Read news articleSome sculptors like to create clay masterpieces; others prefer metal. Then there is Theo Jansen. This Dutch artist uses PVC tubes to build giant Strandbeests (beach animals in Dutch). Part work of art, part fantastical creature, the multi-legged insect-like creations are both awe-inspiring and terrifying!...
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