Category: technology

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In the Last Two Years, Scientists Have Discovered over 50 Species of Plastic-Eating Fungi

This is great news!

If you feel a pang of guilt every time you throw a piece of plastic away and start spiraling into anxiety about the impending climate apocalypse — here is some news that may brighten your day.

Plastic is infamous for its ability to pollute the environment for years and years without degrading. But because the planet is magical, there are certain organisms that can degrade plastic. Dozens and dozens of them, apparently.

In 2011, students at Yale discovered a plastic-eating fungus in Ecuador called Pestalotiopsis microspora. This fungus can digest polyurethane, even in an air-free environment (like the bottom of a landfill).

Photo Credit: iStock

This breakthrough was already good news, but as researchers continued to turn their attention to the subject, it became clear that Pestalotiopsis microspora is not unique among fungi in its ability to degrade plastic.

Researchers at Utrecht University were able to achieve a similar result with Oyster mushrooms and Split gill mushrooms in the lab; this process even resulted in an edible end product. In 2017, scientist Sehroon Khan and his team found another biodegrading fungus in a landfill in Pakistan called Asperillus tubigensis, which is capable of breaking down polyester polyurethane (packing foam).

Sehroon and his team went on to find over 50 other species of plastic-eating fungus since 2017.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Scientists still have a long way to go before this research is applicable on a large scale as a means of plastic recycling.

Still, this is proof that anything is possible here on Planet Earth. You never know where new solutions are going to come from.

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A Genius Modified a Roomba to Yell Swear Words When It Crashes into Something

Michael Reeves needs to start working for NASA as soon as possible. The young man is going places, I’m telling you, and his latest video proves why.

Reeves already has a large following on YouTube, and he probably just gained a whole lot more after he successfully programmed a Roomba to shout swear words when it bumps into things.

Photo Credit: YouTube

Some of his followers on YouTube had been asking for Reeves to make a shouting Roomba and he delivered.

Check this out:

Reeves programmed the device to scream in any voice and any words he wanted it to when he was finished. Of course, the swearing Roomba is a huge hit.

Reeves should also probably start selling these (or at least home-modding kits) because he’d probably make a fortune.

Here’s the full video for your viewing enjoyment.

What a wonderful world we live in…

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Desperate-Sounding Officials Are Using Pizza to Help People Understand Russian Election Interference

Let’s be honest: hearing a story (or, in this case, daily stories) about how Russia used bots and trolls and other vague, internet tactics in order to influence an American presidential election can be kind of hard to wrap one’s mind around.

I mean, this isn’t Cold War tactics like nuclear weapons that we can hide from under our school desks to (pretend we can) survive. Without a concrete thing to point to, officials have found it difficult to really present how big of a deal – and how much of a threat – these actions have been and continue to be to our democracy.

In a last-ditch seeming attempt to meet the masses where they live, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is relying on pizza to get the message apart.

Because if Americans live anywhere, it’s in a pizza parlor.

The agency created an infographic that they shared in a July 25 tweet that puts the Russian interference in the 2016 election in terms of an ongoing, widespread, and passionate disagreement about whether or not pineapple belongs on pizza.

In a nutshell, we’re to imagine that, instead of using clever tactics to pit Americans against each other when it comes to issues of race, religion, sexual orientation, etc., a foreign power wants to encourage a battle to the death over pineapple.

Image Credit: DHS.gov

“To date, we have no evidence of Russia (or any nation) actively carrying out information operations against pizza toppings. This infographic is an ILLUSTRATION of how information operations have been carried out in the past to exploit divisions in the United States.”

The illustration takes people on a fairly thrilling ride examining how foreign powers like Russia can turn ordinary people against their friends, family, and neighbors.

“Foreign influencers are constantly on the lookout for opportunities to inflame hot button issues in the United States. They don’t do this to win arguments; they want to see us divided.”

Some examples of how they use social media to push further division are given as “Being anti-pineapple is un-American! Millennials are ruining pizza! Keep your pineapple off my pizza! What’s wrong with plain old cheese?”

Basically, the lesson is that you should consume all of your media – especially online media – with a hefty dose of skepticism, and if someone is intent on stirring the pot, make sure to ask yourself what’s in it for them.

Oh, and as for pineapple on pizza? To each her own.

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Think You Know What the World Looks Like? Here’s the True Size of Each Country.

Maps maps maps!

There were maps on the walls of our classrooms every year of our childhood. We look at them to get around (some of us even use maps on paper!), and Google uses them to help us get from point A to point B.

But it turns out those maps aren’t entirely accurate.

Because it is likely that every map you’ve ever seen is based on the Mercator projection, which was designed almost 450 years ago and has some pretty serious flaws.

It was presented by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569, and though it’s been useful for exploration – it allows for the plotting of a straight-line course on a globular planet and maintains the true shape of a country – translating a three-dimensional globe into two-dimensional map distorts both size and distance the closer you get to the poles.

So, maps haven’t been reflecting the size of many countries accurately since, well…forever.

Not only that, but the map has been accused of having political undertones that reinforce a Eurocentric colonial view of the world.

Now, though, companies like Yahoo and Google are using an Equal Earth projection map created by a group of contemporary cartographers in 2018 – one that overcomes many of the numerous issues with the Mercator projection.

Climate data scientist Neil Kaye created a map visualization that alternates between the Mercator projection and the true projections, and the resulting GIF is pretty fascinating to watch.

Russia, Canada, and Greenland completely changed size, while parts of Europe, Asia, and the Americas also shrink quite a bit.

In original maps, Greenland appears larger than Africa when, in reality, they’re not even close – Africa is 14x bigger than Greenland.

“Each country is projected to the spherical projection and placed at the center of where it appears in the Natural Earth projection,” he explained on Reddit. “There was then some manual tweaking of countries that are closer to the poles. …This demonstrates you can’t fit shapes on a sphere back together again once you put them on the flat.”

So even though this map gives us more accurate country size, it still doesn’t give us entirely accurate country shape.

That’s just a reality of geometry – you can’t reproduce the surface of a 3-d object entirely faithfully on a 2-d plane.

But in the name of people who enjoy accuracy everywhere, I say bring on the (more) correct maps of the world!

I wonder how many classrooms are going to need new maps, though.

Oh, well, I’m sure the teachers can afford it. (sarcasm font)

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Here’s an Easier Way to Use Your Cheese Grater

Two things are certain when it comes to grating cheese for recipes and the like: First, freshly grated cheese tastes and melts way better than the pre-shredded stuff you buy in the bag, and second, I absolutely hate grating cheese. It makes my wrist hurt, I often scrape my knuckles, and it takes forever (relatively).

But wait…

There’s a better way!

If you’ve got a standard, four-sided cheese grater, there’s a good chance you haven’t been using it to its full potential. According to Menu World, instead of holding it vertically in one hand, you should lay it down on a table or counter and grate your cheese from side-to-side instead of up-and-down.

The action prevents the grater from moving around while you hold it, is easier on your arms, and, since you’re putting pressure downward, should help the process go a bit quicker. It also allows the cheese to collect inside the grater instead of on the counter or straight into a bowl.

An extra tip? For easier grating, coat the grater with cooking spray ahead of time, especially if you’re attempting to grate a soft or sticky cheese.

Oh, and here’s one more – you can use an old toothbrush to help get all of those annoying little holes cleaned out afterward, saving your knuckles and your sponges during that process, as well.

It seems like such a simple thing! It’s kind of a wonder that many of us have never thought of it before now – but if you’re feeling silly, don’t worry, because you’re definitely not alone!

People everywhere have been taken aback, including me – and I gotta say, I can’t wait until it’s time to grate some more cheese!

I’m sure it won’t be long. Because, you know.

Cheese.

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Meet the World Champion for Excel Spreadsheets. Yes, This Is a Real Thing.

There is at least one person in this world who will be telling the Whole Truth when he brags about his Excel mastery to potential employers…and he is just 17 years old.

An international competition for Excel spreadsheets took place in Anaheim, California, recently. The competition is limited to participants from ages 12 to 22.

The top prize went to John Dumoulin, a 17-year-old from northern Virginia. He’s never worked in an office — he’s in high school, and he works at Chick-fil-A part-time.

John first learned about the competition through an IT class at school. He scored the highest score on the Microsoft Excel 16 certification exam in Virginia, leading him to a national competition and then the international competition, where he won $10,000 in prize money.

John says he was surprised to learn that people actually take these competitions very seriously.

Here is an interview with John:

“Some of the foreign countries, they’ve been training for hours and hours and hours on end,” he said.

Photo Credit: Excel Easy

“When you first meet the international students, everyone’s friendly, but when they find out you’re competing against them in the same category, they get this fire in their eyes. They want to win.”

“Most of us in an office think that we know how to use Excel. These kids really know,” said Aaron Osmond, general manager of Certiport, the company that runs the competition.

UPDATE: In 2018, the competition had more than 760,000 candidates from around the world. In the final round there were over 152 students from 51 different countries. The format of the competition was varied in that competitors could choose between 2013 or 2016 versions of PowerPoint, Word, or Excel. There were six winners for each category and version.

Here is an interview with the world champion Kevin Dimaculangan. He shares his experience and what his plans are for his future:

Here is a short documentary style video that shows you what people in Malaysia do to qualify for the Excel World Championships. Competitors get 40 minutes. Three tasks. There are only five finalists. And only one winner goes on to represent their country in the Excel World Championships.

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Scientists Discovered a Giant Structure Under the Surface of the Moon

Space keeps getting less and less mysterious every day, doesn’t it?

This most recent discovery concerns the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the moon, one of the largest preserved impact craters in the Solar System. The US and China, among others, have been particularly interested in the area, and now NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission has discovered something truly massive beneath it.

The structure weighs 2.18 billion kilograms and stretches more than 186 miles deep, suggesting that it might be leftover from the asteroid that formed the crater, says lead author Peter B. James.

“Imagine taking a pile of metal five times larger than the Big Island of Hawaii and burying it underground. That’s roughly how much unexpected mass we detected.”

The mission was out to measure subtle changes in the gravitational field of the moon, then use the observations to study the moon’s internal composition, but what they discovered was a surprise to everyone involved.

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“The vast loneliness up here of the Moon is awe-inspiring, and it makes you realize just what you have back there on Earth. The Earth from here is a grand oasis to the big vastness of space.” — Apollo 8 astronaut Jim Lovell Fifty years ago today, this iconic 'Earthrise' photo was taken aboard Apollo 8 by Bill Anders. Before humanity ventured to the Moon, our view of our home planet consisted of what we could see from horizon to horizon. It was not until this stunning photo (along with many others) came back to Earth with the three Apollo 8 astronauts in December 1968 that we saw Earth as a vibrant, delicate, blue and white globe framed by the velvety blackness of space. This iconic picture shows Earth peeking out from beyond the lunar surface as the first crewed spacecraft circumnavigated the Moon. Image credit: NASA #space #earth #nasa #earthrise #moon #lunar #earth #iconic #picoftheday #1968 #apollo8 #apollo #astronaut #astronomy #planet #science

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“When we combined that [data] with lunar topography data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, we discovered the unexpectedly large amount of mass hundreds of miles underneath the South Pole-Aitken basin. One of the explanations of this extra mass is that the metal from the asteroid that formed this crater is still embedded in the Moon’s mantle.”

The team isn’t sure exactly what they’ve found at this point, though computer simulations indicate it is possible that when an asteroid hit the moon roughly 4 billion years ago it embedded itself in the mantle, never sinking into the moon’s core.

Another theory is that the mass formed when the moon was still solidifying – as the magma of the moon cooled and hardened, perhaps a concentration of oxides may have developed.

More research will follow, but anything we learn from the unique basin should help scientists understand how and when the moon formed, as well as give us an idea as to how it might weather an impact from an asteroid in the future.

And when it comes to space, the more information we have, the better.

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If Influencers Ask for Free Food, This Ice Cream Truck Owner Charges Them Double

Business owners have given away free food for many years.

Now, influencers have popped up all over, especially on Instagram, looking to promote products and services. The catch? You know it: in exchange for their promotions, they want free products or services – or cash! Larger influencers with millions of followers can make a lot of money for exposure posts. For example, Kendall Jenner raked in $250,000 for one post promoting the disastrous Fyre Festival.

But are influencers losing their charm? Joe Nicchi, an LA ice cream truck owner, recently took a public stand against them.

He’s constantly being hit up by influencers wanting his delicious soft serve in exchange for a post on their Instagram stories. And when they offer him exposure for his food…

That’s right. Influencers pay double! His cones run about $4 each, so if an influencer asks for a free cone, they pay $8. So what ticked him off? According to VICE:

“Last Thursday, I got an event request to do a party on a weekend for 300 people in exchange for the word they love to use, which is ‘exposure.’ I can’t do that; I can’t work for free.”

300 people!? Unreal. This begs the question: Are influencers taking this “marketing strategy” too far?

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The “thank you card” is a nice touch…

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Nicci started his company back in 2014 as a way to make side income while working as an actor. You’ll find him on the streets of LA in a 1960s Mister Softee truck offering a simplistic menu ― chocolate, vanilla, or a twist cone. With the constant influx of influencers asking for free food, he had to put a stop to it all. He’s a small business owner and can’t afford to give away his “bread and butter.”

“The first 30 seconds of talking, they say ‘Hey, I don’t know if you follow me or not,’ so they tell me their screen name and say ‘If you want to hook me up with a cone, I’ll post it to my story. I’m like are you out of your mind? This is a $4 ice cream.”

What these Instagrammers seem not to understand (or care about) is the cost involved with swapping exposure for a product. They are asking Nicci, who is looking to sell to costumers, to “pay” for exposure (to who? He doesn’t know…) by giving out free ice cream. There’s just NO guarantee he’ll see any benefit.

So what if someone has 20K followers – are any of them in LA? What are the chances that they will buy his ice cream and how would he know?

“We work a lot of these [food truck] events on the weekends, and I’m not going to sound like a douchebag, but we have really long lines. It’s evident that we’re a popular business, but I’ve had many young Millennials who say things like ‘I’m surprised that you only have 5,000 followers.’ What does it matter? I have a line down the street. If Instagram went away tomorrow, I would still exist.”

Not all influencers take advantage, and the influencer bubble will burst soon, I’m sure. But in the meantime, Nicci can get back to what he been trying to do all along: Sell ice cream.

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10 Facts About Chernobyl That Will Give You the Creeps

A devastating nuclear disaster took place at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Soviet Union on April 26, 1986. The incident is back in the public consciousness right now due to the success of the HBO show Chernobyl that dramatizes the events surrounding the accident.

Much of what happened before, during, and after the 1986 event is still the cause of much debate due to the secrecy of the Soviet Union. But one thing is for sure: the Chernobyl accident is considered the worst nuclear power plant disaster in history.

Here are 10 facts about the terrifying Chernobyl disaster and its aftermath.

1. Casualty rate: Unknown

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It’s sometimes strange how different paths in life come together and suddenly your path takes an unexpected direction. The path towards Chernobyl with @jonadbo. We have been there twice now and it remains such a special place because of its history. We ended up there to photograph abandoned locations and we got fascinated by the history. Ofcourse I have watched the HBO series and it’s made so accurate. It’s very realistic and I recognized so many places. I hope that the ghost town of Prypjat remains protected from mass tourism, that it does not deteriorate even more and that nature can still run its own way. So keep it nice. In the end we all have our reason to visit this city. First picture: @jonadbo #pripyat #chernobylzone #chernobyl #ukrain #decay #abandoned #deserted #netflix #disaster #rooftop #tsjernobyl #urbex #urbexphotography #belgiumphotography #belgiumphotographer #canonbelgium #urbexkings #abandonedafterthedark #urbextopia #urbexbelgie #forgotten #forgottenplace #chernobyltour @urbexchampions @urbex_kings @urbexeurope @urbex_3336 @abandonedafterdark @urbex_utopia @urbex_supreme @deurbex

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The number of victims that can be blamed on the accident ranges anywhere from 4,000 to 90,000. Two people died in the initial blast, 29 people died from radiation sickness in the months after the accident, and there are literally thousands that may die from radiation-related causes in the future.

2. A gruesome death

One of the first firefighters who responded to the accident scene was Vasily Ignatenko. He suffered a terrible two-week death from his exposure to radiation, including excreting blood and mucus 25 times a day and coughing up pieces of his own internal organs.

3. Other ailments

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⚠ On April 26, 1986, the fourth block was destroyed, the reactor was completely destroyed. The largest accident of this kind in the history of nuclear energy, the estimated number of dead and wounded and economic damage. ⠀ ⚠ 134 people suffered radiation sickness. More than 115 thousand people from the 30-kilometer zone were evacuated. More than 600 thousand people took part in the aftermath of the accident. During the first three months after the accident, 31 people died, another 19 deaths from 1987 to 2004 can be explained by its direct consequences. ⠀ ⚠ Unlike the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the explosion resembled a very powerful "dirty bomb" – radioactive contamination became the main striking factor.

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People in neighboring areas had to flee their homes and complained of such symptoms as “black spots,” bodies getting “fat, like a barrel,” and turning “black, like coal, and shrinking.”

4. Radiophobia

Because women were terrified of possible radiation poisoning, there were an estimated 100,000-200,000 abortions in Europe after the Chernobyl disaster.

5. Dead trees everywhere

The area around the nuclear power plant became known as The Red Forest because the trees died and turned a ginger color after the accident.

6. Lingerers

Although it’s illegal to live in the area around the plant known as the Zone of Alienation, or the Exclusion Zone, it’s estimated that 130-150 people still live there, many of them older women taking care of their family’s land.

7. Poor animals

If you’ve seen the show, you know that people were not allowed to evacuate with their pets. This actually happened and units were sent in to put the animals down.

8. But…there are still hundreds of dogs there

Descendants of the dogs who survived the aftermath of the disaster still live in the Exclusion Zone. There are an estimated 300 stray dogs here. You can help them out by donating HERE.

9. Tourist spot

Tourists can visit the Exclusion Zone, and it’s actually become pretty trendy after the success of the HBO show about the disaster.

10. Ghost town

There is an abandoned amusement park in nearby Pripyat that looks like something out of a horror film.

While it’s truly terrifying what happened at Chernobyl, the strength that the people of Russia have shown in the face of unimaginable devastation should be commended.

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Tired of Baby Pics? There’s a ‘Baby Blocker’ Plug-In to Block All the Baby Photos on Your Social Media Feeds.

FYI, condoms have about an 85% effectiveness rating (although, to be clear, it’s more like 98% if you use them perfectly correctly), but you know what the best birth control of all is? Being around babies/kids. They WILL eventually annoy or exhaust you, and they WILL give you the opposite of baby fever.

One condom company, Skyn, has come up with an ingenious way to reduce your baby fever even further. They invented a Chrome plugin that will automatically block babies of newborns and toddlers on your social media feed. The plugin replaces the baby photos with photos of other things – landscapes, cars, food, whatever.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

A press release from Skyn explains that the plug-in was prompted by the birth of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s baby Archie, which has apparently led to a flood of baby photos on people’s timelines.

“Numerous baby photos are being shared every hour on Facebook and this is bound to increase over the coming weeks,” explained the company.

“Sexual wellness company Skyn has launched a simple free‐to‐download Google Chrome extension, allowing people to opt‐out of the predictable frenzy of baby photos, following a much-awaited birth.”

Photo Credit: The Baby Blocker

The company went on to say that parents share an average of 1500 photos of their kids from birth to age five, which, WOW. For some people, all these photos “might be a little bit too much.”

“The Baby Blocker was created for them: a simple and fun way to swap baby photos in your feed for images of other things you might like.”

So, for all the curmudgeons who are tired of seeing their friends’ kids’ happy little faces, you now have a way to make Facebook usable again — without offending anyone!

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