Month: February 2017

Love winter weather so much that you want to stay in a hotel room made of ice and snow? You’ve got plenty of options. Expect temps that hover somewhere between 24°F and 40°F, beds made of slabs of ice topped with insulated mattresses, animals skins, and arctic sleeping bags—and the promise that it’s probably a lot colder outside. Check out these winter wonderlands.

1. SORRISNIVA IGLOO HOTEL // ALTA, NORWAY

At the winter adventure resort Sorrisniva, you can roam on snowmobiles, boats, and dogsleds, go ice fishing, and even meet reindeer. You can also stay in the complex’s Igloo Hotel. Rebuilt every winter, the hotel offers 26 rooms and four suites decorated with ice sculptures, as well as an ice chapel, an ice bar, and a restaurant not made of ice where you can warm up.

Sorrisniva’s Igloo Hotel is open until April 2.

2. HÔTEL DE GLACE // QUEBEC CITY, CANADA

Hôtel de Glace in Quebec City, Quebec, has been opening their doors for the winter season since 2001. Almost everything in each of the 44 rooms and themed suites—decorated with feature works by ice sculptors—is made of ice and snow, except for the insulated bedding and the lighting. A few suites also include fireplaces and even private spas, and all guests are invited to try out the nighttime outdoor sauna and spa.

Hôtel de Glace will be open until March 26.

3. HOTEL OF ICE // BALEA LAC, ROMANIA

Located near a glacial lake high in the Carpathian Mountains, Romania’s first ice hotel includes 13 rooms made of lake ice mortared with snow, each equipped with a soft mattress and a warm sleeping bag. There are also four igloos, an ice chapel, an ice restaurant, and an ice bar on the premises.

Hotel of Ice is open until June 16.

4. KIRKENES SNOWHOTEL // KIRKENES, NORWAY

Kirkenes Snowhotel has 24 rooms, each decorated with a different theme from Norwegian culture or nature and set at a steady 24.8°F. Overnight stays include transportation to and from Kirkenes, dinner, breakfast, and if you’re lucky, a glimpse of the Northern Lights.

Kirkenes Snowhotel is open until April 20.

5. ARCTIC SNOWHOTEL & GLASS IGLOOS // SINETTÄ, FINLAND

Arctic SnowHotel in Sinettä, Finland offers up the choice of staying in a snow hotel decorated with ice sculptures or sleeping in a glass igloo, where you can watch the sky for the appearance of the Aurora Borealis. The hotel even advertises an optional alarm service that will wake you up when the lights appear.

Arctic SnowHotel is open until March 30.

6. ESKIMSKA VAS IGLOO HOTEL // POKLJUKA, SLOVENIA

At Eskimska Vas (Igloo Village) in Pokljuka, Slovenia, visitors take on skiing, sledding, biathlons, igloo-building lessons, and snowshoe hikes. After you work up an appetite, you can dine on traditional Slovenian sausage amongst 44 other guests at the Ice restaurant and hydrate at the Ice bar. And if you’d like to stay the night (and relax in temps that range from 32°F to 39.2°F), you can book accommodations in the Igloo Hotel, which houses two large igloos that accommodate eight people and two smaller igloos for two. The beds are made of snow blocks covered with insulation and sheepskins, and the resort also supplies winter sleeping bags.

7. SNOWVILLAGE // YLLÄSJÄRVI, FINLAND

SnowVillage, a resort in Ylläsjärvi, Finland, offers both standard rooms and suites (with temps between 23°F and 28°F) made of ice as well as nearby bathrooms and emergency beds that are heated. Guests, who all receive a diploma to document their stay, can also venture out on excursions that include snowmobiles, snowshoes, and dogsleds. Right now, artists can register to compete for the chance to decorate one of the rooms at SnowVillage next year.

8. IGLU-DORF // SWITZERLAND

Iglu-Dorf runs igloo villages in seven different locations: Igloo-Village Davos-Klosters, Engelberg, Gstaad, Stockhorn, Zermatt, Zugspitze, and Andorra. It takes over 3000 man-hours to construct each village of igloos, which are all connected via a series of corridors. Each destination offers up different igloo options from individual two-person units to six-person units and multi-room suites. There are even a few warm igloos made of snow with an insulated interior and some that feature private bathrooms. Want to get a little more creative with your accommodations? Guests at the Engelberg and Zermatt can opt to build their own igloos with a guide.

The last Igloo Village in Switzerland will close April 22.

9. LUMILINNA // KEMI, FINLAND

Every year, the LumiLinna (SnowCastle) is rebuilt in Kemi, Finland, a seaside town near the eastern border of Sweden. The structure is home to a hotel, restaurant, and chapel—all constructed from snow and ice made of sea water. The eco-friendly SnowHotel also features works of art carved into the snow walls of each room. Guests can warm up in the heated 24-hour cafe and bathrooms. Visitors to Kemi should also make sure to visit Santa Claus’ seaside office.

The SnowCastle is open until April 1.

10. ICEHOTEL // JUKKASJÄRVI, SWEDEN

ICEHOTEL in Jukkasjärvi, Sweden (about 124 miles above the Arctic Circle) became the world’s first hotel made of ice in 1989. Originally an art gallery, the structure was transformed into a hotel after a few patrons asked to stay overnight. Since then, the ice hotel has been rebuilt every year. Eventually, warm conventional rooms were added for year-round accommodations.

The complex also includes the new section, Icehotel 365, which is solar-powered and open year-round. Icehotel 365 includes 20 rooms, an ice art gallery, and ice bar. Jukkasjärvi experiences 100 days of round-the-clock sun in the summer, allowing for enough power to keep the ice standing until cold weather returns.

If you want to hop on a bus and set out on a last-minute adventure, a site called Wanderu could help make that whim a reality—and maybe even help you do it on the cheap. The fare aggregator pulls ground transportation schedules from operators like Amtrak and Greyhound, and as Thrillist reports, you can get pretty far on just a dollar.

The site’s Explorer section lets you input your location and the day you want to leave to show you where you can go for the cheapest price. Right now, $1 could get you to Boston or D.C. from New York City, and $5 could get you to Providence, Rhode Island. Well, assuming you’re fine with leaving on a four-hour bus trip at 7 a.m. or 7 p.m. (The site will also show you more luxe options, like express buses and trains.)

It’s a handy feature for getting ideas for your next weekend trip. Even if you aren’t looking for a ticket under $10, the site makes it easy to compare budget bus and train options that similar sites like Kayak or Expedia don’t offer. So even if you discover that yes, you really do have to pay $40 to cram yourself into a bus for four hours, you will at least have saved some time doing it. 

[h/t Thrillist]

It seems nowhere on Earth is safe from the creeping, deadly fingers of pollution. Scientists analyzing deep-sea crustaceans found traces of manmade chemicals in the animals’ bodies. The researchers published their findings in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution.

Amphipods, like the one shown above, are small, eyeless crustaceans that make their homes in the deepest, darkest parts of the ocean. The key to the deepwater amphipod’s survival is its stomach; it is both notoriously unfussy about what it eats, and gifted with special enzymes that help it digest just about anything, including plastic, animal carcasses, and even sunken ships.

But the oceans are a risky place to dine these days. Scientists have found dangerous chemicals, fibers, and pieces of plastic in the bodies of seabirds, mammals, mollusks, and fish alike.

The question for oceanographer Alan Jamieson and his colleagues was simple: How far down do these pollutants go?

To find out, they used deep-sea landers to collect three species of amphipods from the Mariana and Kermadec Trenches in the Pacific Ocean. They brought the animals back to the lab and tested their fatty tissue, looking for traces of 14 different pollutants.

And there they were. High levels of pollutants, including flame retardant chemicals, were found in every sample from every species, regardless of the depth at which the sample was collected. The contamination was so bad, it was comparable to that found in Japan’s Suruga Bay, long known for its high level of industrial pollution.

The authors say the chemicals most likely reached the trenches while clinging to pieces of plastic garbage or the bodies of dead animals from closer to the surface.

Biologist Katherine Dafforn of the University of New South Wales weighed in on the research in an accompanying editorial. She concludes that “Jamieson et al. have provided clear evidence that the deep ocean, rather than being remote, is highly connected to surface waters and has been exposed to significant concentrations of human-made pollutants.”

 
Astronomers at the University of Texas and the Space Telescope Science Institute have devised a way to clear visual noise from satellite images, revealing a glimpse of our universe in its infancy. They shared their findings on the preprint server arXiv.

The current hypothesis about our universe’s early days goes something like this: In the beginning, there was the Big Bang, with all its attendant spark and electrical charge. Some time after that, all went dark. Then the first galaxies bloomed, bringing with them clouds of energy that re-ionized and lit up the sky. Lovely as this story sounds, it’s been difficult to prove, as these old, old, old galaxies have long since grown pale and indistinct amidst the bright chaos of newer celestial goings-on.

Lead author Rachael C. Livermore and her colleagues figured that if they could dim or shut out some of that newer radiance, they might stand a chance of finding the ancient galaxies.

Their solution: a technique called wavelet decomposition, which can mask high-volume brightness the same way noise-canceling headphones shut out sound.

“The wavelet transform allows us to decompose an image into its components on different physical scales,” the authors wrote. “Thus, we can isolate structures on large scales … and remove them, allowing objects on smaller scales to be identified more easily.”

They applied this new method to Hubble telescope images of star clusters Abell 2744 and MACS 0416. And it worked like a charm. Selectively turning down the brightness revealed 167 never-before-seen galaxies, all quite elderly and faint.

The authors say their discovery provides “strong support” for the theory of re-ionization. They and other astronomers will have boatloads of new images to examine quite soon, as the James Webb Space Telescope is scheduled to launch in 2018.

Planning a wine and cheese party? Make sure what you’re using to serve snacks is just as cute as your food is delicious.

1. MOUSE TRAP; $22

At first glance, this item just looks like an oversized mouse trap. Ingeniously, the snapping part of the trap can be removed to reveal it’s actually a cheese slicer. A chunk of cheese can be displayed and sliced on the 9-inch-long board—just don’t invite any mice to the party.

Find it: Amazon

2. MOUSE BOARD; $30

If a mouse trap is a little too macabre for your shindig, consider this adorable alternative. Assemble your cheeses on the 8-inch-long board and slice them up with a mouse-shaped knife that can be stored in the Tom and Jerry-esque mouse hole at the bottom.

Find it: Amazon

3. STATE SLATE; $20

Celebrate cheese from all over the United States with this patriotic slate. You can even grab a piece of chalk and write down the names of all the cheeses for hungry guests.

Find it: UncommonGoods

4. LOG AND AXE; $25

Give your cheese a rustic presentation with this log and axe set-up. The solid beech cutting board is shaped like a log and comes with an axe-shaped knife to help you bring out your inner lumberjack.

Find it: Amazon

5. MARINER WHEEL; $32

Invite all your sailor friends over for snacks with this nautical cheese board. When each of the four differently-shaped knives are placed into their respective holes in the board, the board looks like a ship’s wheel.

Find it: UncommonGoods

6. CHEESE DEGREES; $20

Make sure everyone gets an even amount of cheese with this obsessively precise cutting board. Whether you want perfect cubes or exactly portioned triangles, this cheese board can help ensure that everything is perfectly sliced.

Find it: Amazon

7. THE STATES; $28

Celebrate your home state with a bamboo cutting board that’s made to order. Each state can be customized to say anything you would like, so long as it fits. The Michigan board that’s pictured is particularly great because its shape gives you a place to set your wine glass down.

Find it: Etsy

8. VOODOO DOLL; $28

Pull out this voodoo doll-shaped board when you’re feeling a little vindictive. You can hack away at meats and cheese and then store the knife appropriately in the wooden doll’s back.

Find it: Amazon

9. AMPERSAND; $48

Delight your guests with some knowledge about where the ampersand comes from while using this board, which lets you fill a twisting line of crackers around three different cheeses.

Find it: UncommonGoods

10. SAY CHEESE; $19

Smile! It’s cheese time. This mouth-shaped cheese board looks just as happy about the selection as you do. Underneath all the food, the board says “say cheese” in the center.

Find it: Amazon

11. OBSESSIVE CHEF; $33

This product comes with a series of lines to guide the cutter, including how to medium dice, small dice, brunoise, fine brunoise, batonnet, allumette, julienne, and fine julienne. The lines are burnished instead of printed, so they’ll never get worn away.

Find it: Amazon

Say goodbye to the cumbersome experience of cooking with a spatula or tongs—this unique pan lets you flip your food with ease, no master chef skills required. The Happycall pan is essentially two nonstick pans combined. Once your food is done cooking on one side, you can close the lid and flip the closed pan upside down for a more evenly cooked concoction. Thanks to a magnetic handle, the pans stick together and keep your food in place. Meals with a lot of moving or liquid parts (like say this Grilled Cheese Eggplosion) are a lot easier to manage when they can be flipped with one fluid motion.

Since the top can be closed, the pan helps cook food faster and guards against oil splatter. The double-sided pan also has silicone-lined edges to keep any grease or liquids from escaping during the flipping process. 

If you’re looking to improve your cooking game, you can grab one of these cooking innovations for $45.25 on Amazon.

[h/t Oddity Mall]

The winners of the 2017 Grammy Awards. And in case you’re wondering, here’s what they wore.
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Watch incredible sky dancers perform at the 2017 Wind Games. The extreme sport of indoor skydiving has become a real art form.
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Why Did Medieval Artists Give Elephants Trunks That Look Like Trumpets? Was it just because they looked cool that way?  
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How Scientists Collected a Piece of the Sun. Brought here by the spacecraft Genesis, it’s now stored in Houston.
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Why You Should Never Kiss a Toad. He won’t turn into a prince, and you might be poisoned.
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Rio’s Olympic venues, six months later. It didn’t take long for them to fall into ruin.
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Is Snapchat the next tech titan? With 161 million daily users, it’s the perfect time to go public.
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The Time Cats Delivered the Mail in Belgium. They weren’t very good at it.

Can the works of Shakespeare be improved upon? Nahum Tate certainly thought so.

Medical codes can get incredibly specific. When you go to the hospital, the doctor won’t just enter your diagnosis as “concussion” or “traffic accident”—you’ll go into the system as suffering from an “animal-drawn vehicle accident” or having been in an “unarmed fight or brawl.” The beauty of these medical codes is that you can track exactly how many people went to the hospital after crashing their horse-drawn buggy. The healthcare search site Amino recently did exactly that, finding out the causes of a disproportionate number of injuries in every state through health insurance claims.

Amino’s researchers combed through 244 million health insurance claims in its database between 2012 and 2016, looking for the injuries that stuck out in each state compared to the national average. Tennessee, for instance, sees 1.6 times more injury diagnoses related to motor vehicle crashes than the national average.

The data (larger image here) represents only injuries that were reported and recorded by doctors, so it’s possible that a ton of people get in fist fights in places other than New York but just don’t go to the doctor for it. The data is simplified so that the 3000 medical codes for physical injuries down are combined into 170 common terms, like calling all 38 types of contusions “bruising.”

Amino found that New York is home to over 10 percent of the medically documented fist fights (the aforementioned unarmed brawls). There were 35,000 New York fist fight injuries diagnosed during the period analyzed, compared to around 296,000 nationally. Indiana’s most disproportionately common injury is “struck by object.” Rural states like Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, Idaho, and Nebraska were home to a disproportionate number of the 43,000 “animal-drawn vehicle accidents” across the country—with 1000 (two percent of the national total) taking place just in Nebraska. Hawaii sees far more patients after “near drowning” than other states, as you might suspect of a state surrounded by water.

The major question is, what’s happening to people’s faces in Louisiana? And why are Missouri’s animals so dangerous?