In 1987, an Alaska Airlines 737 collided with a fish in midair. Today, the company flies a plane affectionately named the Salmon-Thirty-Salmon. The fish was dropped by an eagle, which the airport manager attributed to “the law of the jungle” and “as the larger bird approached, the smaller bird dropped its prey.” 10
A man tried to pay $137 traffic ticket…
A man tried to pay $137 traffic ticket with 137 dollar bills folded into origami pigs, delivered in two Dunkin Donuts boxes. 10
37% of public school teachers use personal money…
37% of public school teachers use personal money to buy food more than once a month for their hungry students. They spend an average of $35/month. With 3.1M teachers in the US, teachers are spending about $400M/year of their personal money to feed hungry students. 00
Camp Century, a top-secret US military base…
Camp Century, a top-secret US military base, was built under the ice sheets of Greenland in 1960 to house missiles. Built under the cover of climate research, it housed 200 people and was powered by the world’s first portable nuclear reactor. Denmark didn’t uncover the base’s existence until 1995. 00
IKEA is legally a “nonprofit” organization…
IKEA is legally a “nonprofit” organization — a designation which dramatically reduces its tax burden — despite reported global sales of €26bn (≈$28B) annually. 00
A Naked Mole Rat can survive up-to 18 minutes…
A Naked Mole Rat can survive up-to 18 minutes without oxygen by dropping its heart rate and switching to fructose based anaerobic respiration. 00
You’re Going to Lose it Over Thursday’s Amazon Deals
Image credit:
amazon / istock
As a recurring feature, our team combs the Web and shares some amazing Amazon deals we’ve turned up. Here’s what caught our eye today, April 27.
Mental Floss has affiliate relationships with certain retailers, including Amazon, and may receive a small percentage of any sale. But we only get commission on items you buy and don’t return, so we’re only happy if you’re happy. Good luck deal hunting!
GADGETS
Amprobe BAT-200 Battery Tester for $6.26 (list price $7.95)
Serenilite Hand Therapy Stress Ball – Kiwi for $10.99 (list price $17.99)
KITCHEN
OXO Good Grips Nylon Potato Masher for Non-Stick Cookware for $6.99 (list price $9.59)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from My Frontier for $17.99 (list price $29.99)
The Bob’s Burgers Burger Book: Real Recipes for Joke Burgers for $12.01 (list price $19.95)
Lodge L9OG3 Cast Iron Round Griddle, Pre-Seasoned, 10.5-inch for $14.29 (list price $24.00)
Pictek Apple Slicer, Stainless Steel Apple Peeler Corer and Slicer with Suction Base, Slicing Coring and Peeling Machine, Red for $15.99 (list price $39.99)
HOME
Seville Classics Foldable Storage Cube/Ottoman, Charcoal Grey for $19.99 (list price $24.99)
The Original Asia 18″ Teak Shower Bench for $129.95 (list price $149.99)
Natures Miracle Laundry Boost Stain and Odor Additive – 32 FL Oz for $5.59 (list price $6.99)
Sterilite 01553V01 5 Shelf Unit, Flat Gray Shelves & Legs, 1-Pack for $30.70 (list price $60.00)
Organize It All 2-Tier Shelf with Towel Bars (1753W-1) for $14.55 (list price $30.02)
Puredown Feather and Down Pillow, Standard Size, Set of 2 for $31.99 (list price $59.99)
Affresh Washer Machine Cleaner, 6-Tablets, 8.4 oz for $9.26 (list price $13.98)
O-Cedar Multi-Use Scrunge Scrub Sponge (Pack of 6) for $8.99 (list price $9.99)
HEALTH AND BEAUTY
Active Wow Teeth Whitening Charcoal Powder Natural for $24.99 (list price $29.99)
Gardinesca Beard Oil for $15.99 (list price $31.99)
Conair Velvet Touch Paddle Hair Brush for $4.25 (list price $6.99)
Revlon Pro Collection 1875W Infrared Dryer for $16.19 (list price $29.99)
OFFICE, SCHOOL, AND ART SUPPLIES
Prismacolor Premier NuPastel Firm Pastel Color Sticks, 12-Count for $9.51 (list price $13.99)
Singer Quilting Twin/Specialty Needles for $7.99 (list price $9.99)
Sullivans Tailor Scissors, 8-Inch, Gold for $9.66 (list price $19.99)
Silhouette Rhinestone Starter Kit for $22.89 (list price $39.99)
Scotch Precision Ultra Edge Scissors, 8 Inch, 3-Pack (1458-3AMZ) for $18.12 (list price $25.62)
Shrinky Dinks Jewelry for $5.64 (list price $10.00)
School Smart 081943 Websters Tote Tray, 12″ x 8 x 5″, Yellow for $7.38 (list price $11.30)
Love2Knit Interchangeable Knitting Needle Set, US10-15 for $23.81 (list price $29.95)
OUTDOORS, GARDEN, AND SPORTS
PetSafe SSSCAT Spray Deterrent for $29.95 (list price $34.95)
TOOLS
Stanley 84-079 6-Piece Bi-Material Mini Plier Set for $12.99 (list price $25.80)
Black & Decker BDEG400 6-Amp Angle Grinder, 4-1/2-Inch for $28.99 (list price $44.99)
Kidde FA110 Multi Purpose Fire Extinguisher 1A10BC, 1 Pack for $19.98 (list price $42.99)
TEKTON 30508 Wood Handle Rubber Mallet Set, 3-Piece for $12.76 (list price $25.73)
Meguiar’s G18216 Ultimate Liquid Wax – 16 oz. for $16.97 (list price $22.99)
April 27, 2017 – 11:00am
Math and Nature Inspired This Artist’s Mesmerizing Spiral Sculptures
Image credit:
iStock
You don’t need to be a math expert to appreciate John Edmark’s “Blooms.” When photographed with a short shutter speed or under a strobe light, the rotating sculptures take on an otherworldly energy. But knowing the numbers behind Edmark’s designs makes them even more impressive.
Edmark, an artist and professor at Stanford University, uses the Golden Angle when sculpting his spirals. The Golden Angle is derived from the Golden Ratio, which (as Edmark describes it) is when “the smaller is to the larger, as the larger is to the whole.” In a circle, that angle comes out to roughly 137.5°. This number appears all over the place in nature, from the spiraling sequence of leaves in succulents to the arrangement of seeds in sunflowers.
John Edmark recreates this perfect pattern in his studio. To see how his does it, check out the video from SciFri below.
[h/t Sploid]
April 27, 2017 – 7:00am
Still Capital-izing
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Wednesday, April 26, 2017 – 10:12
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Scientists Decode the Secret of Glowing Mushrooms
Image credit:
Cassius V. Stevani/IQ-USP, Brazil
Artists’ conception of multicolored glow. Image Credit: Cassius V. Stevani/IQ-USP, Brazil
We’re just going to come right out and say it: mushrooms are weird. They pop up without warning and they can change the weather. Many of them can also glow in the dark, and we don’t know why. Now, at least, we might know how, as researchers writing in the journal Science Advances reveal the bizarre, “promiscuous” process of fungal bioluminescence.
Lots of animals light themselves up, glowing or flashing to send messages, find prey, or flirt with potential mates. And scientists have a pretty good understanding of how that happens. When a pair of enzymes called luciferin and luciferase combine with energy and oxygen, the resulting chemical reaction makes a compound called excited oxyluciferin. But excitation is not sustainable, so the oxyluciferin releases its fizzy energy in the form of light.
Scientists hypothesized that fungi were probably doing something similar (although really, with fungi, anything is possible).
Neonothopanus gardneri in the dark. Image Credit: Cassius V. Stevani/IQ-USP, Brazil
To learn more, an international team of researchers analyzed extracts from two glowing mushrooms, Brazil’s Neonothopanus gardneri and Vietnam’s poisonous Neonothopanus nambi.
They found that both species were sticking with the traditional luciferin-luciferase playbook … kind of. They were definitely making their own proprietary blend similar to excited oxyluciferin.
But the luciferase that the mushrooms were using was, in the scientists’ words, “promiscuous”—that is, it was happy to mix and mingle with multiple types of luciferin. And while the only bioluminescent fungi we know about all glow green, the researchers write that the luciferase’s indiscriminate approach could lead to a rainbow of lights in different colors and intensities.
“Future work on the isolation, characterization, and heterologous expression of the luciferase will stimulate the development of fungal bioluminescence–inspired applications,” the authors write. In other words, hey, we know about this bizarre thing now. We might as well use it.
April 27, 2017 – 6:30am