Month: September 2016

For most of us in the United States, showers are such a common luxury, we hardly ever think about them. Elsewhere around the world, things are a little different.

In the infographic below, from High Tide Technologies, you can see how much a shower costs residents in countries around the world—from China and Argentina where it’s only three cents, to Papua New Guinea where it’s $3.38 (calculating for a 17-gallon, 8.3-minute rinse). Those prices are based on a 2012 report from the International Water Association, and for residents in Papua New Guinea, that number means a shower costs about 70 percent of an average person’s daily income. In the United States, a shower costs around 16 cents.

In places like Ethiopia, the price of a shower is also paid in time: some residents—usually women—spend hours of their day traveling to get clean water to bring back home. Around the world, about 780 million people don’t have access to clean water at all.

To learn more, check out the infographic below. It’s a good reminder of the extravagance that is sanitary H2O, and might make you think twice about how you use this precious resource.

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If you’re looking for a tasty way to help the environment, consider swapping your lawn for a vegetable garden. According to a recent study in the journal Landscape and Urban Planning, each kilo of vegetables you grow can cut greenhouse gases by two kilograms. Over time that can add up: Researchers found that vegetable gardens, if properly managed, could substantially help states reach their greenhouse gas reduction goals.

Researcher David Cleveland of UC Santa Barbara calculated the environmental impact of home vegetable gardens in California by looking at a range of factors: He considered how much energy would be saved by replacing supermarket produce with homegrown veggies, as well as the impact of composting organic waste and using gray water for garden irrigation.

His findings were encouraging, with a few caveats: According to Cleveland, vegetable gardens can help lower greenhouse gas emissions, but only if they’re properly managed. Home farmers need to make sure they’re composting properly or else their organic waste could actually end up emitting, rather than reducing, greenhouse gases like nitrous oxide and methane. However, with care, Cleveland estimates that vegetable gardens could help the state of California meet its 2020 greenhouse gas reduction goals, contributing up to 7.8 percent of its target.

While vegetable gardens aren’t for everyone, Cleveland claims they can have plenty of benefits for people willing to put in the effort. “In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, there are other potential environmental, social, psychological, and nutritional advantages to growing food yourself, whether in a household, community or school garden,” Cleveland explains. “However, the degree to which those benefits are realized can depend on small things. Our hope is that this research helps motivate households, communities and policymakers to support vegetable gardens that can contribute to mitigating climate change.”

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YouTube channel How Ridiculous is making the most of a 150-foot tower by dropping all sorts of things over the side.

Recently they’ve discovered Line-X—a fancy protective spray commonly used on trucks and other utility vehicles. The YouTube team sprayed various products with the thick black spray, giving the items a hard armor. Once the spray dried, they launched the products off the side of their tower and onto the pavement to see what would happen. Amazingly, the hard shells didn’t even dent. 

The first item thrown from the tower was a watermelon; the rind survived the fall but the pink insides were pretty squished. The next was an egg that seemed to survive the landing, followed by a light bulb that completely shattered within its pristine shell. 

After the few successful runs, the team decided to really put the spray to the test: They dropped a bowling bowl coated in Line-X onto an axe wedged in the ground. Finally, the seemingly indestructible spray met its match, as the bowling ball broke in two.

[h/t SPLOID]

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Two Major Bridget Jones Fans Attempt to Be Objective About Bridget Jones’s Baby. They fail, but have a great time dishing about the new movie.
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The Transformers Movie Is More Than Just Nostalgia. The 1986 animated film produced to sell toys is still worth a watch in 2016.
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Should Restaurants Charge a Penalty Fee for Uneaten Food? Some are already doing it.
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The Battle of Palmdale. How A Rogue 1950s Drone Fiasco Ended With 208 Rockets Fired At Southern California. 
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Even When Recycled, Old Computer Parts End Up Where They Shouldn’t. We ship them off to developing countries, where standards are lax.
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How the crack epidemic crippled three generations of a family. Sheldon Johnson Sr, Sheldon Johnson Jr., and Sheldon Johnson III kept the cycle of broken families going.
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Why I still smile at street harassers. The desire for safety and respect shouldn’t have to blunt a woman’s desire to interact with the world around her.
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10 Internet Lies That Won’t Die. The stories are too good to stop passing around.  

Born in New Jersey in 1956, David Copperfield has been surprising and entertaining audiences with his illusions for decades. To celebrate his 60th birthday, we’re taking a look at his best stunts, from making the Statue of Liberty disappear to walking through the Great Wall of China. Without further ado, prepare to be amazed by nine of Copperfield’s most memorable illusions.

1. SURVIVING NIAGARA FALLS

In a 1990 TV special, Copperfield has his arms and legs chained and his body restrained in a yellow raft. After being locked in, a fire blazes underneath him, and he’s dropped into the water above Niagara Falls. In this nail-biting stunt, Copperfield has less than 60 seconds to escape (via a Jet Ski attached to the raft contraption) before falling over the edge of the rapids. His raft does fall over, but a minute later, we see him alive and well, dangling from a helicopter’s rope. Reflecting on the stunt, Copperfield told the Las Vegas Sun that he feared for his life while preparing. “I remember going to my hotel room every night and dreaming about how I was going to die. It was really, really horrible,” he said.

2. WALKING THROUGH THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA

In a 1986 TV special, Copperfield appears to travel through the Great Wall of China, walking into one wall and out the other side a few minutes later. As crowds on each side of (and above) the wall watch the illusionist’s silhouette inside a lighted box, he appears to enter the wall, in a Harry Potter platform nine and three-quarters style. He then exits on the other side of the wall. And to add a healthy dose of drama, the audience can hear Copperfield’s heartbeat via a heart monitor, which flatlines moments before he comes out of the wall.

3. ESCAPING FROM ALCATRAZ

In 1987, Copperfield traveled to San Francisco to escape from Alcatraz prison, the former maximum-security federal penitentiary once considered to be one of the most secure prisons in the world. With dramatic music playing, he stands behind bars (wearing a straitjacket, naturally) with two minutes and 30 seconds until the first planned detonation. After getting out of the straitjacket, he turns three coins into a tool to pick the lock of a cell door, conjures a cat out of a box to distract guard dogs, and escapes via helicopter, wearing a police uniform, and cradling his feline accomplice.

4. MAKING THE STATUE OF LIBERTY DISAPPEAR

Arguably Copperfield’s best-known illusion was making the Statue of Liberty disappear (and then reappear). During a live TV event in April 1983, the illusion features an audience sitting on Liberty Island, facing the Statue of Liberty. After Copperfield raises a sheet to obscure the statue, the statue appears to be gone. To prove to the audience that the statue isn’t there, a helicopter flies above and searchlights move through the space. Copperfield remarked that the point of the illusion was to emphasize the importance of freedom and “how precious liberty is and how easily it can be lost. I can show with magic how we take our freedom for granted.”

5. FLYING

Copperfield shared that as a child, he was lonely and often dreamed of flying. Although he has “flown” above a stage in many live shows, he first “flew” in his 1992 TV special. He begins the stunt by holding a bird in his hand and marveling at its ability to fly. He then takes flight, moving gracefully through the air, and assistants spin big hoops around him. He also floats in a glass box and flies while holding a woman from the audience. Want to spoil the illusion? Copperfield “flies” by wearing super strong wires that are controlled by a computer and too thin to be visible.

6. TELEPORTING

Called “Portal,” this illusion has a bit of everything—random audience participation, Polaroid photos, an emotional father and son reunion, a beach in Hawaii, and teleportation. With an audience member, Copperfield vanishes from a suspended platform and soon appears on a beach in Hawaii.

7. CUTTING HIMSELF IN HALF WITH A LASER

In this illusion, green lasers appear to cut Copperfield in half, across his waist. He then separates the lower half of his body from the upper half and moves around the stage in two pieces before coming back together.

8. MAKING AN AIRPLANE DISAPPEAR

Two years before making the Statue of Liberty vanish, Copperfield was already making massive objects—such as a seven-ton jet aircraft—disappear. Fifty blindfolded spectators stand around the plane, forming a human chain. After screens block the plane from view and lighting reveals the plane’s silhouette, the plane vanishes.

9. FLOATING OVER THE GRAND CANYON

Copperfield enlisted singer Bonnie Tyler to provide the live soundtrack to his 1984 stunt when he floated over the Grand Canyon. Part ’80s music video and part illusion, the stunt features Copperfield in a seated position levitating through oval sculptures before floating across the Grand Canyon. The stunt ends with Copperfield back on land, embracing Tyler. What a rock star.

During the summer, billions of bugs travel through the sky. They soar across invisible highways, thousands of feet above our heads—but in the video above, NPR science correspondent and Radiolab co-host Robert Krulwich provides us with an up-close look at the critters. Learn why they fly so high, what happens when the insects reach their final destination, and which bug was once spotted flying 19,000 feet above the ground. 

[h/t The Kid Should See This]

Banner image: iStock 

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With hackers and data breaches making headlines around the world, protecting your sensitive personal and financial information is more important than ever. But safeguarding your name, birthday, Social Security number, passwords, and credit card numbers can be a big job. Here are eight smart ways to protect yourself against identity thieves who want to steal your information to rack up purchases, open accounts in your name, or file fraudulent tax returns.

1. SIGN UP FOR MOBILE BANKING ALERTS.

Besides regularly reviewing your credit card and banking monthly statements, sign up for alerts. Most financial institutions will contact you by email or text when an uncharacteristically large withdrawal or purchase above a certain amount occurs. Download your bank’s official mobile app so you can monitor your accounts from your phone. And if you spot any unauthorized purchases, contact your financial institutions immediately. 

2. MONITOR YOUR CREDIT REPORTS.

Every 12 months, you can get a free copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit reporting agencies. Read your credit reports to make sure that they don’t contain any incorrect addresses or accounts that you didn’t open. If you see something suspicious, contact the credit reporting agencies and your bank, stat.

3. DON’T BE LAZY ABOUT PASSWORDS.

Saving passwords to your computer’s password keychain may save you time, but doing so can make you vulnerable to a security breach. Besides using complex usernames and passwords (random strings of letters, numbers, and symbols), you should change your passwords regularly, especially for your banking logins. And only sign in to banking websites when you’re on a private, trustworthy Wi-Fi network.

4. BE WARY OF UNSOLICITED EMAILS.

Identity thieves can trick you by sending you an email that looks as if it came from a legitimate company with which you do business. If these phishers send you an unsolicited email from what appears to be your bank, be careful. Don’t click on any links in the email, or you run the risk of getting malware installed on your computer. Scammers may also call you, claiming to be an employee of your bank and asking you to reveal your account number, Social Security number, or other personal information. Instead of responding, contact your bank directly (using the number on the back of your card) to find out if the email or call is legitimate.

5. USE A CROSS-CUT SHREDDER.

The internet allows plenty of fun new opportunities for hackers to steal your identity, but low-tech identity thieves aren’t yet a thing of the past. Because these thieves steal your trash, looking for mail or other documents that contains your personal information, it’s important to get in the habit of using a cross-cut shredder. Before you throw them out, shred any credit card offers, bank statements, utility bills, receipts, and even the labels on your prescription pill bottles.

6. LIMIT WHAT YOU SHARE ON SOCIAL MEDIA.

Identity thieves love over-sharers. Whether you share your birthday on your LinkedIn profile, your phone number on Facebook, or your pet’s name on Twitter, you’re making yourself vulnerable to identity thieves who may be on the hunt for answers to your security questions. For all your social media accounts, make sure your privacy settings are strong, you aren’t friends or connections with people you don’t know, and you haven’t unknowingly shared too much personal information.

7. SECURE YOUR MAILBOX.

Some identity thieves steal mail from mailboxes, hoping to find bank or credit card statements, pre-approved credit card offers, and other sensitive documents. To safeguard yourself against this type of identity theft, put a lock on your mailbox and retrieve your mail as soon as possible after it’s delivered. If you have outgoing bills to send, drop them off at the post office (or a secured drop-off box) instead of leaving them in your unlocked mailbox. And when you leave town, get a mail hold from the post office so your mail doesn’t pile up.

8. KEEP IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS IN A SAFE.

Putting all your important documents in a safe can protect your information from getting into the wrong hands. Keep your Social Security card, passport, birth certificate, extra checks, copies of your health insurance cards, and a printed page of your important passwords in a safe. Just make sure to bolt your safe to the ground, otherwise a thief can take the safe with him.

Even if you diligently change your passwords every month and shred your documents before tossing them, identity theft can happen. Head to Allstate.com for the answers to questions you may have about adding identity restoration coverage to your policy.

The otherworldly creatures in Ridley Scott’s Alien franchise are some of the most elegant monsters in science fiction. That’s because they—and their whole world—were inspired by, and later designed by, the Swiss artist H.R. Giger, whose style is a kind of dark, hypersexualized, ghostly steampunk.

San Francisco-based YouTuber Kristian Williams, who makes video essays on pop culture, dives into everything Giger in his latest video, spotted by Boing Boing. His Alien (1979) designs, Williams says, are “everything we fear about ourselves, exaggerated to the point of surrealism.” Giger created most of the set pieces and costumes himself, making sure they stayed faithful to his unique, twisted vision.

The artist had a background in industrial design, and the logic and real-world functionality of his creations were carefully thought out during the production. The creatures needed to breathe without a nose, so there are tubes on their backs. Their blood is acidic, so they have an exoskeleton (made out of real bones). And it’s no surprise they look grotesquely human: They were made with real human skulls at the tip of their elongated heads.

Learn more about the brilliant design process of the monsters from Williams’s YouTube channel, kaptainkristian:

[h/t Boing Boing]

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STEM careers (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) aren’t what you think. Many take place outside of the laboratories, classrooms, and cubicles typically associated with the field. They’ll keep you on your feet (or treading water) most days. Here are a few likely to pique your interest.

1. BIOENERGY ENGINEER

Bioenergy engineers are focused on creating a cleaner, greener future by harnessing the power of living organisms. In some cases, that means taking waste—which might otherwise stick around landfills for decades—and converting it into renewable energy. These plants, often designed and operated by bio- or other kinds of environmental engineers, take in waste. When heated, the waste’s organic matter is converted into gas, which fuels a combustion engine to produce electricity.

2. NANOTECHNOLOGY ENGINEER

Nanotechnology experts work across scientific disciplines—and industries—to manipulate materials at the molecular or atomic level. The applications for nanotechnology are practically endless, from fabrics with stain-resistant weaves, to targeted drug therapy for patients facing life-threatening illnesses. One thing nanotech experts have in common? Excellent job prospects. According to forecasters, the value of products that use nanotechnology is expected to reach approximately $1 trillion—or 5 percent of the United States’ GDP—by 2020.

3. NUCLEAR MEDICINE TECHNOLOGIST

An important part of treating cancer, heart disease, and other illnesses is the ability to track their progress within the body. Nuclear medicine technologists play a key role here, injecting radioactive dyes that map out a disease’s progress (or lack thereof).

4. INDUSTRIAL PSYCHOLOGIST

This specialty field focuses on how work environments impact employees, from recruitment practices to management philosophies. Industrial psychologists also address that eternal question, “What’s the best way to improve employee morale?” With more companies focusing on employee retention and wellness, industrial psychology is a burgeoning field with high employment rates.

5. FLAVOR TECHNOLOGIST

Behind every wow-worthy chip and fruit drink you’ve tried, there’s a flavor technologist meticulously working away. Combining high-level chemistry and biology, these scientists utilize natural and artificial ingredients to craft the flavors that tickle consumers’ taste buds. And the work’s not confined to the laboratory: Technologists often take field trips to study herbs, extracts, and other raw flavors in their natural habitat.

6. UNDERWATER ARCHAEOLOGIST

History’s treasures aren’t just buried beneath dry land. They’re also hidden at the bottom of lakes and rivers, and covered by rising oceans. That’s where underwater archaeologists come in, working for government agencies, research universities and in the private sector. In addition to the thrill of exploring shipwrecks and other unique finds, underwater archaeologists get to use some pretty high-tech gadgets, like nuclear-resonance magnometers and side-scan sonars.

7. SPACE AGENCY BIOSTATISTICIAN

There are still a ton of unknowns when it comes to the cosmos—including what effects space travel may have on the human body. To that end, NASA has a team of biostatisticians on hand, dedicated to studying how low- and no-gravity environments during far-flung missions affect human physiology—and figuring out the best ways to protect astronauts from harm.

8. ETHICAL HACKER

Nope—that isn’t an oxymoron. Ethical hackers are highly skilled (and often officially certified) computer scientists and programmers hired by financial institutions, government agencies, and major corporations to identify vulnerabilities in a network’s security system. That means anticipating—and finding fixes for—all the different ways potential criminals might be able to gain access to an organization’s digitized information.

Where else can an education in science, technology, engineering, or math take you? Lockheed Martin knows the sky’s the limit—which is why they support STEM students, from elementary school through college, in and out of the classroom. Visit Lockheed Martin’s STEM Education site to learn more about their outreach initiatives and commitment to diversity in the workplace.