fact
Chimps Recognize Butts the Way Humans Recognize Faces
Researchers now believe chimps recognize butts the way humans recognize faces.
The recently departed Zaha Hadid, one of the most famous contemporary architects in the world, was an artist long before her first building was ever built. Inspired by Suprematists like Kazimir Malevich, her drawings reflect the abstract art of the Russian avant-garde. Now, some of her early art will be on display in London, as Dezeen reports.
The exhibit will be at the Serpentine Sackler Gallery, whose building she renovated in 2013, and where she served as a trustee starting in 1996. It will showcase her art from before her first building was complete in 1993, covering paintings and drawings from the 1970s until the 1990s, including some rarely seen sketches from her private notebooks.
“Conceived as Hadid’s manifesto of a utopian world, the show reveals her all-encompassing vision for arranging space and interpreting realities,” the gallery press release explains. Check out some of that utopian-minded artwork:
‘Vision for Madrid’, Spain, 1992; © Zaha Hadid Foundation
Wireframe Sculpture Perspective – 2010 ‘Victoria City Aerial’ Berlin, Germany, 1988; © Zaha Hadid Foundation
‘Metropolis’, 1988; © Zaha Hadid Foundation
The show runs from December 8 until February 12.
[h/t Dezeen]
December 7, 2016 – 8:30am
Know someone with a great sense of humor? Give your friends and family the gift of laughter with a funny holiday card.
You wouldn’t expect pickles to play a big role in Christmas, but you can find pickle ornaments on trees around the world. This can be attributed to a (false) story that Germans used to hide a pickle on the tree; the child that finds the pickle first gets a special gift and good luck. While the story isn’t exactly true, the salty cucumbers have wiggled their way into Christmas folklore all the same. Send this festive pickle card to the foodie or German-phile in your life.
Find It: Amazon
Fires can’t be lit underwater, but we won’t let that get in the way of a good pun.
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The Christmas song “Feliz Navidad” has been a holiday staple since the 1970s. The only way we can think to improve it is with a few sheep in antlers.
Find It: Etsy
Winter is coming! This card, which comes with a bright green envelope, is blank but you can have the seller type in any message you would like.
Find It: Amazon
Having little arms can be tough, especially around the holidays. This poor T.rex has a little extra room in the sleeves, but we think he’s pulling it off anyway.
Find It: Etsy
The next time you go caroling, bring a llama to hit those high notes.
Find It: Amazon
It’s hard to imagine that anyone wouldn’t want a holiday card with a festive pug on it, so stock up for the holidays. These cards come in packs of eight so the whole family can enjoy looking at that cute pooch.
Find It: Amazon
Instead of milk and cookies, you should just leave out some Milkbones for Santa Paws.
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Slow the season down a bit by adding a sloth to the mix.
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Show your kids how hip you are with today’s slang. These cards come in packs of eight and say “Merry Christmas!” inside.
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Ball up the Christmas lights, crank up The Clash, and enjoy some eggnog with the Demogorgon.
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Santa Claus has his hands full this year, so a different Saint Nic might show up in your chimney this year. Just make sure to hide the Declaration of Independence.
Find It: Amazon
December 7, 2016 – 8:00am
| Questions: | 5 |
| Available: | Always |
| Pass rate: | 75 % |
| Backwards navigation: | Forbidden |
Pearl Harbor
Tuesday, December 6, 2016 – 10:25
The holiday season is a time for gift giving, eggnog, and, of course, ugly sweaters. While some people might find the purposively tacky sweaters charming, others, like English pub owner Alan Murphy, don’t want to be anywhere near them. Refinery29 reports that all three of Murphy’s establishments in the town Kingston upon Hull have completely banned “fancy dress” this holiday season.
Despite this crackdown on holiday attire, which kicks in after 8 p.m. each night, Murphy says he’s no Scrooge. Instead, he simply wants to preserve the atmosphere of his bars.
“We have spent a fortune making this place nice and we feel we need this dress code, much in the same way some upmarket restaurants won’t allow sportswear,” he told the Hull Daily Mail. “We don’t want to attract stag dos and large office parties in a place which only has room for 70 people. We don’t want 15 lads all dressed in Christmas jumpers making a beeline for the bar and making life difficult for others.”
[h/t Refinery29]
December 7, 2016 – 6:30am
Got a friend or family member on your list who’s always traveling to adventurous locales or going off the grid in the great outdoors? Whether they’re into mountain biking day trips or through-hiking excursions that last months, your favorite wilderness enthusiast likely requires quite a bit of gear for their activities. Take a look at some of the latest, greatest gadgets out there.
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This small speaker is made for your outdoor-loving friend who likes to stop and smell the roses—or listen to some tunes, as it were. It boasts a 24-hour battery life, extra bass for a rich sound, and Bluetooth, to easily connect to a phone or tablet. Bonus: It’s water-resistant, so they won’t have to worry about it getting damaged if there’s rain at their campsite or the speaker gets wet on a float trip.
Find It: Amazon
Know someone who’s new to outdoor adventures and they need everything? Get them this kit, from a company that hand-selects great gear and rounds it up in convenient packs perfect for gifting. This starter package includes all they need to get going—from a sleeping pad and head lamp to a stove, water filtration system, and a few freeze-dried meals.
Find It: Isle Box
For the person who hikes or camps for days: This portable, battery-powered gadget will guarantee they’ve got clean H2O on their trip. With ultraviolet light, it purifies 1 liter of water in just 90 seconds, killing more than 99.9 percent of bacteria, viruses, and protozoa—so they can sip safely.
Find It: Amazon
The great outdoors isn’t the only place worth exploring. Pop Chart Lap’s color-coded map shows the entire solar system and traces the path of every spacecraft and instrument that’s ever completed a mission out in space.
Find It: Pop Chart Lab
Even the most adventurous outdoorsman likes to kick up their feet after a long day in the wild. This portable hammock is made of ultra-durable rip-stop polyester. Plus, it folds up to store in an attached pocket and weighs just over a pound—so it’s easy to pack and take on the go.
Find It: Amazon
This rugged canvas cooler has a bottle opener on the zipper pull and can hold up to 36 cans—but it boasts an adjustable shoulder strap, so it’s comfy to carry as your outdoorsy friend ventures into the wilderness. Plus, it’s got a removable lining, making clean-up when they get home easier.
Find It: Amazon
Ensure your nature-loving buddy is never left in the dark with this lightweight lantern. Its USB rechargeable battery stays strong for 52 hours and can serve as a backup power source for their phone. It can be easily clipped to a backpack or jacket during hikes or camping trips, or mounted to their bike for safety on an early-morning or nighttime ride.
Find It: Amazon
This compact new camera from GoPro captures super-clear 4K video and 10 MP photos during any activity. It’s waterproof up to 33 feet, and has voice control so your friends can start filming even when their hands are full—or busy holding a fishing pole or climbing a rock wall. Afterward, it automatically uploads footage to a connected GoPro Plus cloud account.
Find It: Amazon
It’s not too late to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service. The pass grants your nature-loving friend entrance to national parks and national wildlife refuges, from Yellowstone in Wyoming to Acadia in Maine, for an entire year. Plus, it covers amenity fees at national forests and grasslands.
Find It: National Park Service
Stay connected to your friends or family members who venture into the backcountry or otherwise go off-grid. The waterproof device connects with a phone or tablet via Bluetooth and generates its own radio signal so they can send texts or GPS locations to others with a goTenna, or download a map—even when they’re somewhere remote and without cell service or wifi.
Find It: Amazon
Uncommon Goods’s Scratch Map begins in a basic brown hue but gets more colorful as your travel-loving pal treks around the globe: They can use a coin to scratch off the cities or countries they’ve visited, revealing bright pops of color underneath.
Find It: Uncommon Goods
December 7, 2016 – 6:00am
How Harry Potter Shaped Modern Internet Fandom. The Potterverse grew, with its fans, into something much more than just books and movies.
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The 10 Best TV Episodes of 2016. Yes, we know that’s a matter of opinion.
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Is there a biological reason to eat three meals a day? Let’s hope not, as I eat about ten.
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We Tried Gift-Wrapping Tricks And Our Holidays Have Never Been Merrier. Check out which ones worked the best.
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A Killer Mountain Lion Dodges Death Row. But where will he go now?
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Websites are trying various ways to get rid of internet trolls. Here’s what GitHub has been doing.
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Behind the scenes of the ever-enchanting Nutcracker. The Christmas ballet is a thing of beauty, even backstage.
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The Day the Mountain of Fire Was Born. The volcano Eldfell sprang into being on January 23, 1973.
December 7, 2016 – 5:00am
Origami isn’t just for artists anymore—it’s for chefs, too. If you’re looking to save kitchen space or simply streamline your culinary process, try cooking with quirky folding measuring spoons called Polygons.
At first glance, the flat, plastic apparatuses resemble rulers. But if you look closely, you’ll notice etched lines and numbers covering their surfaces. These marks tell you where to fold the level appliances, transforming them into measuring spoons of varying sizes.
Polygons spoons come in two different sizes—one that folds into tablespoons, another into teaspoons. Each includes four measurements that can hold wet or dry ingredients. After you measure out the ingredients and pour them into a mixing bowl, Polygons can collapse back into its original, unbent shape. (Bonus: This allows you to scrape any lingering ingredients off the “spoon,” into the bowl and clean it easily, or save space in a kitchen drawer.)
Polygons recently received full funding on Indiegogo, and the spoons are now available for preorder, with a projected March 2017 delivery date. Learn how the gadgets work in the video below.
December 7, 2016 – 3:00am
You don’t need to get a group together to enjoy the great outdoors—sometimes the peace and quiet is best enjoyed solo. But heading into remote territory by yourself isn’t something you should undertake lightly. Even for short trips, it’s good to be prepared for the possibility that something might go wrong.and you’ll get even more out of your experience if you start out with some basic wilderness skills.Take a cue from the survival experts on HISTORY’s Alone (the season premiere airs December 8 at 9/8c) by studying these essential skills before your next big adventure.
Whether you’re looking to grill some hot dogs or are trying to survive in an emergency, you’ll need to know how to start a fire safely, especially in less than ideal conditions, like just after a rain. There are several different methods you can master, but the basics should include how to use a single match to start a fire without fail, how to choose materials that will burn well, and the best way to construct your firewood. After a downpour, for example, experts suggest cutting down limbs that are high up, which are more likely to have dry spots than fallen limbs resting on the rain-soaked ground.
As an alternative, look for so-called “fatwood”—dried wood that is “fat”, and nearly petrified, with pine resin. This wood is easy enough to spot, and is often located in the stumps of dead pine trees. The resin is extraordinarily flammable—all the better to quickly build a life-saving fire with.
Yeah, you should figure out how to set up a tent before you leave home. But it’s good to have some low-tech ways to shield yourself from the elements, too. You’ll need to find high, dry ground away from trees that are liable to fall in rough weather. The shelter should be small enough to retain your body heat. It’s easiest to build a shelter if you already have something like a tarp, but you can also make a lean-to out of tree branches and leaves or hide out under a crevice.
You can only survive a few days without water, so it’s vital that you know how to find it when you need it. It’s too heavy to carry enough of it to last for a whole multi-day trip, so you’ll need to figure out other ways to get the water on the go. Heading downhill and looking for dark soil are good places to start as far as finding water sources go, but then you’ll need to boil it or use some kind of water purifier before you start drinking. In cold conditions, you can make snow into drinkable water by mixing it with liquid water and placing the bottle near your body between layers of clothing.
You should know the difference between poisonous plants (especially ones like poison oak or poison ivy), edible plants, and plants that can be used for first aid purposes. Some moss can be used as bandages or wound treatments; coconut shells can be used to make rope; and others provide a last-ditch food source.
When traveling by foot, each extra item you bring adds weight to your pack, making your journey that much harder. Learn what exactly your trip will demand of you, and figure out how to pack accordingly. Even better, learn how to repurpose different items for multiple uses—you’ll be able to save that much more space.
Learn to identify poisonous and harmless snakes that frequent the area you’ll be traveling. You’ll also need to learn how to deal with bigger predators, like cougars and bears, should you stumble upon them. Take precautions, like making a fair amount of noise to prevent startling a predator, and keep an eye out for tracks. If you happen to run into a wild cat, keep in mind that though they may be near the top of the food chain, they’re also pretty easily intimidated. If one crosses your path, don’t be afraid to shout, wave your arms, or throw sticks. It will most likely slink away.
It’s relatively easy to navigate by the sun and the moon; people have been doing it for thousands of years. Take a basic natural navigation course to learn how to find your way around without a compass, using the positions of the sun, moon, and shadows, ensuring you never head in the wrong direction for miles. While you’re at it, make sure you know how to read a trail map, and keep the ones you have on hand updated.
Find yourself without a map? Nature provides plenty of hints as to which direction you’re heading. If you’re wandering on a sunny day, place your hand on a nearby rock. In the morning, the eastern-facing side will feel warmer; in the afternoon, the rock’s western face will.
Accidents happen, and the wilderness is the last place you want to be caught unprepared. Should you twist an ankle, scrape a leg, or receive a snake bite, you need to know how to take care of yourself before you can make it to help. What you should have in your kit depends on where you’ll be traveling, but in any case, you should be packing bandages and gauze at the very least.
If you’ve been bitten by a snake, remove jewelry or tight clothing in case the site begins to swell. Keep the injury at or below heart level, and allow it to bleed for 10 to 15 seconds. Next, do your best to clean the wound (do not, however, flush it with water), and do your best to seek medical attention as soon as possible.
When you’re out in the wilderness, you may need to track the progress you’ve made in your journey and how much time there is left in the day. A footstep is about 30 inches long, and most people on flat terrain walk at a speed of three miles per hour. You can use your fingers to estimate how much sunlight you have left: if you place your hand between your view of the sun and the horizon, four fingers represent an hour of sunlight left, with every finger after that representing 15 more minutes.
Hypothermia can be incredibly dangerous if left unaddressed. Learn to recognize the signs, both in yourself and in others. Mild hypothermia can result in what some experts refer to as the “umbles”: stumbles, mumbles, grumbles, and fumbles, due to decreased coordination. (Shivering is also a telltale sign.) Severe hypothermia, surprisingly, is marked by a lack of shivering, as well as an inability to form coherent sentences. It’s important to treat mild hypothermia before it gets to that critical point—add layers where you can, hydrate, and try moving around in quick bursts as a way to raise your body temperature.
It’s especially important as a beginning hiker, backpacker, or general wilderness enthusiast to be able to recognize what is and isn’t possible for your body and skill set. If you’ve never hiked before and have never needed to use an ice pick, it may not be a great idea to set out on the Pacific Crest Trail. If you’re headed into the desert on a hot day and start running low on water, it may be smarter to turn back than to continue on to finish your hike.
See how 10 survival experts fare in one of the most remote—and most dangerous—places on Earth, Patagonia, on the new season of Alone, airing Thursdays at 9/8c on History.
December 7, 2016 – 2:00am
An upcoming edition of The New York Times Magazine will have some extra space devoted to puzzles. The paper’s Sunday, December 18 magazine issue will include a “Puzzle Spectacular,” a one-off, full-page section edited entirely by NYT crossword puzzle editor Will Shortz—America’s leading crossword expert—and his team.
Puzzle obsessives will get a crack at more than 30 different games, including Sudoku, brain teasers, and of course, crosswords. As a nod to fans of the paper’s crosswords—who, according to magazine editor-in-chief, Jake Silverstein, are some of the magazine’s most devoted subscribers—the centerpiece will be the Times’ largest crossword ever.
It’s only available in print, so you’ll have to go outside and buy a real newspaper for once. If you hate holding a paper in your hands, the NYT also just released its first crossword app for Android.
December 7, 2016 – 1:00am
