Month: February 2017

There are a lot of reasons why you wouldn’t want your drawings to come to life. If you need another, check out Christopher Hesse’s edges2cats. The project, which was created with Google’s open-source machine-learning project called Tensorflow, is an image-to-image translation that produces “real” looking cats from your doodles—yet the results aren’t so much cute and cuddly as they are haphazard monstrosities featuring random tufts of fur and distorted eyes.

The algorithm was trained with over 2000 photographs of cats, which gives it the ability to see lines and guess whether they’re supposed to be eyes, tails, or limbs. From there, it appears to grab the clone Photoshop tool and go to nightmare town.

“Some of the pictures look especially creepy, I think because it’s easier to notice when an animal looks wrong, especially around the eyes,” Hesse writes on the site. “The auto-detected edges are not very good and in many cases didn’t detect the cat’s eyes, making it a bit worse for training the image translation model.”

If inanimate objects are more your speed, Hesse also has programs that reproduce buildings, bags, and shoes, which produce less terrifying results. But since the edges2cats program yields the most visceral reactions, the mental_floss team made a few examples of how AI can go horribly (and still wonderfully?) wrong:

[h/t The Verge]

If you missed the BustedTees half-off sale, fear not! Your wardrobe can still get a much needed overhaul thanks to TeeFury’s Presidents Day sale. Ending today, all shirts are 30 percent off, meaning you can start hoarding shirts dedicated to all things geeky. Just use the code TEEPRES2017 and you can honor the presidents in style. 

Below is a small look at what kind of cool shirts, hoodies, and pins are available. Click here to start shopping. 

If you’re a fan of sugary hybrids like Peeps Milk and Swedish Fish Oreos, you’re going to be interested in this news: Peeps-flavored Oreos are real, and they’re on sale now.

Skipping over St. Patrick’s Day entirely, Nabisco has debuted a new Oreo flavor that features golden vanilla sandwich cookies packed with sparkling Peeps creme. The bright pink cookies have caught the eye of the Junk Food Aisle Instagram account, which promptly featured the novel new cookie on its account. As of Wednesday, the seasonal snacks are now available at your local Walmart.

Is this marriage of treats a great idea, or a kind-of-gross gastronomical stunt? The TODAY team taste-tested the cookies, with mixed results. While social media associate Brooke Sassman described the taste as “what I would imagine Easter tastes like,” the sweetness was a bit too much for managing editor Amy Eley. “I love every Oreo in the world—but this one does get REALLY sweet about four chews in,” she said. “I don’t think I could eat a second one.” Sounds like this is one debate that can only be settled by tasting them for yourself.

[h/t CNET]

Robert Downey Jr. and Sammy Davis Jr. are arguably two of the biggest celebrities ever to rock nominal suffixes—but why aren’t they Robert Downey II and Sammy Davis II?

Essentially, it’s because they were named for their living fathers and not another close family member. Both of the nominal suffixes “Jr.” and “II” refer to the fact that the person is the second in his family to have that exact moniker, including middle name. A “II” suffix typically specifies that the first person to bear the name wasn’t the namesake’s father—the “II” likely honors a grandfather, a great-grandfather, an uncle, etc.

Women can also have the suffixes Jr. or II, but it’s not as common, most likely because women historically took a new last name when they got married, negating the Jr. or II distinction. However, the daughter of fashion designer Carolina Herrera still goes by Carolina Jr., even though she has taken her husband’s last name.

But back to one of our original examples: Interestingly, Robert Downey Sr. was also once a junior. The elder Robert Downey was born Robert Elias Jr., named after his dad. He later changed his name to his stepfather’s last name.

Of course, there’s always George Foreman, who has five sons named after himself. And since “Jr. Jr.” isn’t really a thing, George’s sons are George Edward Foreman Jr., George III, George IV, George V, and George VI. (Don’t worry; they all have nicknames.)

Have you got a Big Question you’d like us to answer? If so, let us know by emailing us at bigquestions@mentalfloss.com.

David Bowie’s London birthplace may soon be home to a new piece of public art commemorating the late singer, NME reports. Fans have launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for a giant lightning bolt statue, resembling the one painted across Bowie’s face on the cover of his 1973 album, Aladdin Sane.

Before he became a global superstar, Bowie grew up in Brixton, in south London. Today, there’s no shortage of local tributes to the glam rocker: Pop culture pilgrims flock to Brixton to see the three-story yellow Victorian where Bowie spent his childhood, and to view a nearby mural of the rocker, completed by Australian artist James Cochran in 2013.

If it’s built, the lightning bolt statue will likely become one of the neighborhood’s most visible Bowie-themed attractions: Mock-ups of the artwork depict a nearly 30-foot tall, bright red lightning bolt, embedded in the pavement. (The Crowdfunder project poetically describes it as “a nine-metre missive from another dimension, hurled from afar.”) The statue would stand five streets away from Bowie’s birthplace, right next to Cochran’s mural.

This Ain’t Rock’n’Roll, a U.K.-based artist collective, collaborated with members of Bowie’s team to design the statue. According to The Independent, the project already has the local government’s seal of approval; now, all it needs is money. Organizers hope to to raise more than $1.2 million by March 21, 2017. You can donate to the project online, or learn more about it by watching the video below.

[h/t NME]

South Korea is on track to achieve the highest human life expectancy of all time, according to a new study published in The Lancet [PDF]. As the BBC reports, rates in the country are likely to break age 90 by the year 2030.

For their research, Imperial College London and the World Health Organization studied the lifespans of residents in 35 industrialized countries. The life expectancy of a baby born in South Korea today is 82, putting the country in 11th place globally. In the next 13 years, the female life expectancy is set to surpass 90, placing South Korea ahead of current world leaders such as Japan, Switzerland, and Singapore. The country’s male lifespan will also increase, but to the lower age of 84.

The upward trends projected for South Korea can be seen across the globe. Life expectancy rates are projected to improve in every one of countries researchers analyzed. As male and female lifestyles become more similar, the mortality gap between genders will also start to close. The probability of a worldwide life expectancy boost was found to be 65 percent for women and 85 percent for men.

According to the study, the countries with the longest lifespans by 2030 will be the following: South Korea, France, and Japan for women, and South Korea, Australia, and Switzerland for men. The United States likely won’t earn a top slot. By that time the American life expectancy is predicted to be 80 for men and 83 for women, the worst statistics of any wealthy country. The U.S. currently ranks 31st overall.

The researchers cite lack of universal healthcare and high inequality as factors holding the country back. The nations that perform best, on the other hand, “do so by investing in their health system and making sure it reaches everyone,” researcher Majid Ezzati tells the BBC.

The new findings not only apply to projected life expectancy at birth but also past age 65. Most of the gains made in longevity will come from improved health in seniors rather than reduced mortality rates in children. The study is based on the assumption that countries will continue to progress in the same direction over the coming years. Unforeseen factors, such as natural disasters or medical breakthroughs, could skew the data one way or the other.

[h/t BBC]

 
Astronomers say they’ve discovered seven Earth-size planets in tight orbit around a cool, dim star about 39 light-years from us—and all seven are located in the habitable zone that could potentially host life. This is the first time a planetary system oriented to this kind of star has been detected—and its discovery holds the potential to lead us to a lot more exoplanets. An international team of researchers reported their findings in a letter published today in the journal Nature.

“It’s the first time we have seven planets in this temperate zone…that can be called terrestrial,” lead author Michaël Gillon, of Belgium’s Université de Liège, said in a press briefing. “So many is really, really surprising.”

TRAPPIST-1 is an ultracool dwarf star that’s 1/80th the brightness of the Sun and similar in size to Jupiter. All seven planets in its system are within 20 percent of the size and mass of Earth, and their density measurements indicate they’re likely of rocky composition. They’re clutched by TRAPPIST-1 in tight orbits—all would fit well within the orbit of Mercury. But unlike in our solar system, where such closeness to a hot star renders life impossible, the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system, with its cool celestial heart, could potentially host liquid water and organic molecules.

The first three planets were spotted in early 2016 by some of the same researchers involved in the current findings, including Gillon. As the planets cross in front of the star during their orbits, they cause the star, which emits light in the infrared, to briefly dim. Such transits, or eclipses, provide a common way for astronomers to detect exoplanets.

Using telescopes in Chile, South Africa, Spain, the UK, and Morocco, the researchers followed up on these transit signals multiple times in 2016, most notably in late September with a 20-day, nearly continuous monitoring of the star using the Spitzer Space Telescope, currently located about 145 million miles from us in an Earth-trailing orbit around the Sun. By moving our view off the Earth, researchers were able to detect 34 separate transits. This turned out to be the result of seven planets—six in near-resonant orbit—crossing in front of their home star. (The transit of the seventh was detected only once, so the orbit of this planet, known as TRAPPIST-h, hasn’t been determined yet.)

The planets have relatively narrow surface temperature fluctuations—about 100 degrees—despite their proximity to their home star. (Compare that to Mercury, which has temperature variations of nearly 1200F.) The researchers write that three of the planets—E, F, and G—“could harbour water oceans on their surfaces, assuming Earth-like atmospheres.”

They’re probably tidally locked, meaning the same hemisphere of each planet always faces the star. Because they’re so close to each other, they can influence each other’s movements, causing eccentric orbits. The result is a planetary system that looks more like Jupiter and its Galilean moons than our own solar system. The planets likely formed outside the system and were pulled into it, and it’s entirely possible the seven so far identified are not alone.

 University of Montreal astrophysicist Lauren Weiss tells mental_floss, “It’s an exciting discovery! The TRAPPIST-1 system demonstrates that even the smallest stars in our galaxy can form a multitude of planets.”

Weiss, who was not involved in the current study, researches exoplanetary systems—their masses, density, composition, and orbital dynamics. She says of the TRAPPIST-1 system, “These planets are all of sizes that are consistent with rocky compositions. In addition, the mass measurements the authors have conducted are consistent with rocky compositions for the planets.”

Most planet-hunting efforts have been focused on brighter stars and bigger planets—and these efforts have been fruitful. Consider NASA’s Kepler mission: as of today, astronomers using the space telescope have detected 2330 exoplanets.

But the TRAPPIST-1 discovery suggests that we shouldn’t overlook the potential that even cool, dim stars have to lead us to new planets. About 15 percent of stars in our neighborhood are ultracool dwarfs like TRAPPIST-1. Moreover, M dwarf stars like this one are by far the most abundant in the galaxy, says astronomer Jackie Faherty, senior scientist the American Museum of Natural History, who studies them.

“When I heard that the number of planets around Trappist 1 had increased from three to seven, I was taken aback,” Faherty tells mental_floss. “The thought that the galaxy must be bursting at the seams with planets immediately sprung into my head.”

What makes them especially appealing is that because they are dim and small, a relatively substantial amount of light is blocked when a near object—like a planet in a close orbit—crosses in front of one. That makes planetary transits easier to spot.

What does this discovery suggest about the number of Earth-like planets in the galaxy? “There are 200 billion stars in our galaxy, so do the count. You multiply by 10, and you have the number of Earth-size planets in the galaxy—which is a lot,” study co-author Emmanuël Jehin, of the Université de Liège, said in the press briefing.

And as for finding life on one of the TRAPPIST-1 planets? Gillon said that short of traveling to one and collecting a sample, we can’t say for certain life exists on any of them, but the presence of certain molecules in combination with one another will be a likely indicator. “If you have methane, oxygen or ozone, and CO2, you have a strong indication of life and biological activity,” he said in the press briefing. The combination is key—the presence of any one of these on its own isn’t enough to indicate biological life, Gillon noted.

The James Webb Space Telescope, an infrared telescope slated for launch in October 2018, will greatly help in this effort, he says: “Methane and, for instance, water could be detected with the James Webb telescope, and give us a very good insight on the atmospheric properties of the planet.”

The researchers are also going to continue the search with the project SPECULOOS (Search for Planets EClipsing ULtra-cOOl Stars). 

“We’ve taken a crucial step of finding life out there,” said co-author Amaury Triaud, of the University of Cambridge. “Here if life managed to thrive and release gases similar to those we have on Earth, we will know. We have the right target.”

How well domestic movies fare at the international box office has quickly become one of the most important contributors to their overall financial success. Rather than simply drop a film into Japanese or Chinese theaters with nothing more than subtitles added, studios have taken to tweaking and customizing major releases for foreign markets. For example, 2013’s Iron Man 3 featured extended sequences referencing China that were left out of the U.S. cut.

The powerhouse computer animation studio Pixar is no different, although their customizations can usually be accomplished less with passports and more with the click of a mouse. The Disney fact guide Oh My Disney recently posted a video offering side-by-side comparison shots of Pixar’s subtle changes for different audiences.

In addition to translating the language in their titles and dialogue, movies like Up can also wind up replacing imagery to make it more accessible to foreign-language viewers. The change jar in Up, which originally read “Paradise Falls,” was screened overseas with a jar depicting an image of Paradise Falls; in Inside Out, a fussy baby is fed bell peppers instead of broccoli in Japan, since broccoli is well-liked in Japan.

You can take a look at more differences in the video below:

[h/t /Film]

What can grow as tall as a skyscraper and live for millennia? That would be the giant sequoia, one of the most impressive tree species on the planet. Here are 10 facts about America’s largest living residents.

1. THEY HAVE THE THICKEST BARK ON EARTH.

The bark of a giant sequoia may be the thickest of any tree we know—on some specimens the outer layer of bark measures over two feet thick at the base. This formidable exterior provides the trees with super-powered protection. Their bark also doesn’t contain any flammable pitch or resin, and if it were to ignite in a forest fire, the girth would slow flames from reaching the wood inside.

2. THEY DEPEND ON FOREST FIRES TO REGENERATE.

Giant sequoias not only can survive forest fires, they thrive on them. When a sequoia grove catches fire, the heat opens up cones on the forest floor and releases the seeds inside. The blaze eats up any brush or deadwood that’s accumulated on the ground while leaving behind nutrient-rich ash in which the saplings can flourish. Forest rangers only became aware of the renewing benefits of fire a few decades ago. Prior to that, they would extinguish every flame they saw then wonder why no new sequoias were growing. Today rangers will intentionally set controlled burns to simulate the natural process.

3. THEY’RE RESISTANT TO DISEASE.

Fire isn’t the only threat a giant sequoia is built to endure. Thanks to a high concentration of tannin, an insoluble chemical compound found in many coniferous trees, the trees are immune to most diseases. Not only does the astringent substance protect the sequoia from fungus, it also safeguards it from insect attacks.

4. THESE BIG TREES COME FROM SMALL SEEDS.

The largest tree on Earth is born from a very tiny seed—91,000 of them add up to a single pound. Giant sequoias can’t sprout from roots or stumps like the coast redwood can, which means all the reproductive responsibilities fall to the seeds. Animals like squirrels, chickarees, and beetles are instrumental in cracking open sequoia cones and dispersing the contents. But for a seed to germinate it needs to make direct contact with bare, mineral soil (which is why fires are so vital). Giant sequoias release 300,000 to 400,000 seeds per year, so there are plenty of chances for the conditions to be just right.

5. THEY CAN LIVE TO BE REALLY, REALLY OLD.

Before the first Olympics were held or the first pyramids were built in Mexico, the oldest living sequoia had already started to grow. The President, located in California’s Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, is estimated to be about 3200 years old. Despite its old age, the giant hasn’t slowed down at all. The annual wood production of older sequoias is actually greater than that of younger specimens. And while three millennia may be more time than you can wrap your head around, it isn’t a record-breaker: Bristlecone pines and Alerce trees both live to be older than giant sequoias.

6. THEY PRODUCED THE LARGEST LIVING ORGANISM ON EARTH (MAYBE).

Giant sequoias don’t lay claim to the tallest tree on Earth (that distinction belongs to coast redwoods, a close relative), but they do have the largest tree by volume. General Sherman in California’s Sequoia National Park boasts a mass of 52,500 cubic feet, which is over half the volume of an Olympic-sized swimming pool. The trunk alone weighs about 1400 tons or the equivalent of 15 blue whales. According to the National Park Service, all that lumber could be used to build 120 average-sized homes.

As for whether or not General Sherman is the largest living thing on Earth, it depends on who you’re asking. Under some definitions, the title belongs to the Great Barrier Reef or a 100-acre grove of Aspens in Utah that share a single root system. But if you limit the pool to single-trunked trees, the giant sequoia takes the cake.

7. THE DEATH OF TWO SEQUOIAS LED TO THE BIRTH OF THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE.

European-Americans first stumbled upon giant sequoias in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in 1853, according to The Guardian. The initial instinct of gold miners in the area was to chop one of the trees down, an act that took three weeks to complete. Once felled, a section of bark from “Mammoth Tree” was shipped to San Francisco for an exhibition. The bark was propped up to house a piano for performances before eventually ending up on Broadway in New York City. The following year, a second tree, dubbed “Mother of the Forest,” was toppled and its bark sent to the Crystal Palace in London. Meanwhile, the stump that Mammoth Tree left behind was used as a dance floor by flocks of tourists.

Not everyone was complacent to the destruction. In 1864, California senator John Conness urged Congress to pass a bill that would grant protection to Yosemite Valley and the neighboring sequoia grove. He argued:

“From the Calaveras grove some sections of a fallen tree were cut during and pending the great World’s Fair that was held in London some years since…The purpose of this bill is to preserve one of these groves from devastation and injury. The necessity of taking early possession and care of these great wonders can easily be seen and understood.”

Once passed, that bill opened the door for the establishment of the first-ever national park at Yellowstone, and ultimately, America’s National Park Service.

8. THEODORE ROOSEVELT WAS A FAN.

An avid outdoorsman, Theodore Roosevelt was enchanted by the sequoias he saw out West. During a camping trip to Yosemite, his friend and fellow conservationist John Muir convinced the president to add the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias to the park, thus granting the trees federal protection. Roosevelt said of the giants during a 1903 speech in Sacramento:

“As regards some of the trees, I want them preserved because they are the only things of their kind in the world. Lying out at night under those giant Sequoias was lying in a temple built by no hand of man, a temple grander than any human architect could by any possibility build, and I hope for the preservation of the groves of giant trees simply because it would be a shame to our civilization to let them disappear. They are monuments in themselves[…]”

9. ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS GIANT SEQUOIAS RECENTLY COLLAPSED.

Up until January 2017, one of the most intimate ways to experience a giant sequoia was by passing through one. Pioneer Cabin Tree in Calaveras Big Trees State Park had featured a tunnel big enough for a car to pass through since the late 19th century. The owner of the Calaveras North Grove carved out the opening to compete with a similar tree-tunnel attraction in Yosemite. For decades tourists were allowed to drive straight through it, but in recent years the only way to enter the tunnel was on foot. The tree fell to the ground and splintered apart on impact on January 8 during a severe rainstorm. Apparently the loss wasn’t a total shock: The tree had been leaning for years, and prior to receiving its hole it had sustained a fire scar that kept the top from growing.

10. YOU CAN FIND THEM OUTSIDE OF CALIFORNIA.

At one point giant sequoias flourished throughout the Northern Hemisphere, but their distribution has since become much more limited. Most sequoia trees are concentrated in 77 groves located throughout Northern California. A handful of specimens can be found elsewhere, thanks in part to horticultural trends of the 19th century. Exotic gardens were all the rage in England by the time the first sequoia was discovered by European-Americans in the 1850s. Today some of the oldest sequoias growing outside their natural range are housed in British castle gardens and arboretums. They can be spotted in other European countries as well: In France, the trees were once planted along entire streets.