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November 9, 2016

Newsletter Item for (88435): 12 Fast Facts About ‘Catch Me If You Can’

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12 Fast Facts About Catch Me If You Can

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The trifecta of Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hanks, and Steven Spielberg spelled a hit with critics and audiences alike. Here are 12 things you might not know about Catch Me if You Can.

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Movies

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12 Fast Facts About 'Catch Me If You Can'

November 9, 2016

Newsletter Item for (88450): The UK’s Largest Earthworm Weighs As Much As a Chocolate Bar

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The UK’s Largest Earthworm Weighs As Much As a Chocolate Bar

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A 16-inch earthworm discovered in England (nicknamed Dave) is the heaviest annelid ever recorded in the UK.

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Science

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The UK's Largest Earthworm Weighs As Much As a Chocolate Bar

November 9, 2016

Newsletter Item for (88446): Archaeologists Find Evidence That Prehistoric Peoples Ate (and Possibly Hunted) Whales

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Archaeologists Find Evidence That Prehistoric Peoples Ate (and Possibly Hunted) Whales

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Researchers have found evidence that prehistoric peoples ate—and possibly hunted—whales.

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Stones, Bones & Wrecks

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Archaeologists Find Evidence That Prehistoric Peoples Ate (and Possibly Hunted) Whales

November 9, 2016

Newsletter Item for (88465): 9 People You Should Tip, and How Much You Should Give Them

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9 People You Should Tip, and How Much You Should Give Them

mfna_dek:

Did you know that, in addition to the 15 to 20 percent tip you give your taxi driver, you should also give them $2 for any bags carried? Here are nine people you should tip, and how much you should give them.

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Live Smarter

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9 People You Should Tip, and How Much You Should Give Them

November 9, 2016

Tropical Birds Are in More Trouble Than We Thought

Kate Horowitz

filed under: Animals, birds, conservation, endangered species

Image credit:

Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela

Scientists using remote sensing technology say we’ve been seriously underestimating the threats facing our planet’s birds. Writing in the journal Science Advances, the researchers say the standard wildlife risk assessment is “seriously outdated” and call for change.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List is the world’s go-to database for wildlife risk information. Federal and local government agencies rely on the list when making policy decisions, which means that the list’s accuracy could be a matter of life and death for the species involved.

“The Red List employs rigorously objective criteria, is transparent, and democratic in soliciting comments on species decisions,” Duke University scientist Stuart Pimm said in a statement. “That said, its methods are seriously outdated.”

Technology has advanced light-years in the 25 years since the list’s inception. Pimm, lead author Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela, and their colleagues hypothesized that using satellite data could provide a huge boost to the accuracy of wildlife risk assessments.

The team was especially interested in measuring animals’ areas of occupancy—a metric that provides a pretty reliable indication of a given species’ health or risk.

The researchers decided to focus their experiment on tropical birds in six wildlife hotspots around the world: the Atlantic forest of Brazil, Central America, the Western Andes of Colombia, Madagascar, Sumatra, and Southeast Asia. They then pulled satellite data on the known habitat areas of 586 native birds species, of which 108 were Red Listed as Vulnerable, Endangered, or Critically Endangered. The team combined maps of land use, national park designation, elevation, and forest cover to create a bigger picture of the worlds these birds inhabit.

Image Credit: Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela

That picture was not pretty. The data showed that 210 of the 586 species were in more danger than the Red List recognized, including 189 that are currently categorized as Nonthreatened. Ocampo-Peñuela says some of the discrepancy may come from focusing on habitat size and failing to consider other geographic details like elevation and humidity.

“Some bird species prefer forests at mid-elevations, while others inhabit moist lowland forests,” she said. “Knowing how much of this preferred habitat remains—and how much of it has been destroyed or degraded—is vital for accurately assessing extinction risks,” she said, “especially for species that have small geographical ranges to begin with.”

The researchers offer a “modest” addition to each Red List citation: a single sentence that lays out a species’ area of occurrence and spells out how much of that area is within the species’ preferred elevation, how much of it is natural habitat, and how much is currently protected.

“With better data, we can make better decisions,” Ocampo-Peñuela said, “and have a greater chance of saving species and protecting the places that matter.”

November 9, 2016 – 2:01pm

November 9, 2016

It’s Deer Season: Here’s How to Stay Safe on the Road

Michele Debczak

filed under: Cars

Image credit:

iStock

Even the most careful driver is vulnerable to run-ins with wildlife on the road. Every November, this threat becomes a greater issue: The month falls within deer mating season and deer hunting season, both factors that push the animals into areas where they wouldn’t normally wander. Because of this, the chances of getting into a deer-related collision are especially high.

It’s important to stay alert behind the wheel no matter what time of year it is, but to better avoid deer specifically, The Dodo recently shared some helpful insights. First and foremost, remember that if you see one deer, there are usually more close behind. Deer travel together, so slow down and remain cautious long after you see one disappear into the woods.

Being crepuscular creatures, deer are most active at dawn and twilight, making the hour between 5 and 6 p.m. the most common time for deer collisions. It’s also the most common time for accidents in general, so be sure to flick your high beams on and keep your eyes peeled once the sun goes down.

In addition to skittish, hormone-addled deer, November also brings with it colder temperatures. When the thermometer dips beneath 32 degrees while it’s raining, black ice can form. This type of ice is extremely dangerous because it is difficult to spot, so survey the pavement before you get into your car. Here are some more road safety tips worth following all year round.

[h/t The Dodo]

November 9, 2016 – 1:00pm

November 9, 2016

One of the First Self-Driving Cars Was a 1986 Carnegie Mellon Van

Shaunacy Ferro

filed under: Cars, computers, History

The first viable self-driving cars are just starting to hit the road, but the technology has been in the works for longer than you might imagine. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have been testing self-driving cars since the early 1980s, according to Motherboard.

Computer scientists at Carnegie Mellon’s Navlab were developing autonomous vehicle technology with the hopes that it could be used for a wide variety of applications not necessarily limited to ferrying around commuters. Their 1983 autonomous vehicle, called the Terragator, was designed to operate on rugged terrain and looked kind of like a refrigerator on tractor wheels. The researchers hoped similar technology could be used for underwater exploration, hazardous waste mapping, and research on other planets.

In 1986, however, they debuted a self-driving vehicle that will look a little more familiar—a van. It couldn’t drive very fast, but it did drive, analyzing the environment with video and laser sensors to keep it on the road. It contained its own computing power, so it didn’t have to be controlled from afar and risk connection issues. But, being 1986, it couldn’t have been any smaller than a full-sized van. It had to house several different desktop computers, plus controllers and internal sensors. Inside, it’s basically a mobile computer lab.

[h/t Motherboard]

Teaser image by MARCEL ANTONISSE/AFP/Getty Images

November 9, 2016 – 1:00pm

November 9, 2016

How the Elements of the Periodic Table Are Used in Daily Life

Kirstin Fawcett

filed under: chemistry, science

Image credit:

iStock

You likely memorized the periodic table in high school chemistry class, but you still might not know how frequently we encounter its elements in our daily lives. Seattle-based designer Keith Enevoldsen, who runs the website elements.wlonk.com, created an interactive version of the educational tool to provide some context for how these substances are actually used, or where they’re found.

Interactive periodic table reveals exactly how we use all those elements https://t.co/J4mGLJpCkX pic.twitter.com/Dv9gJG09VW

— Gizmodo (@Gizmodo) November 9, 2016

Some elements, like gold, helium, and sodium, are no-brainers—but others, like krypton, antimony, and strontium, might surprise you. Get a preview of Enevoldsen’s unique table above, or visit his website for the full experience.

[h/t Gizmodo]

November 9, 2016 – 12:30pm

November 9, 2016

10 Unusual Observation Towers From Around the World

Luke Bather

filed under: architecture, Lists, travel

Image credit:

Tom Parnell via Flickr // CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

We all like to get a sense of where we are in the world. Observation towers—the ones we climb to get a good look around—provide us with the opportunity to survey the beauty of the land for miles without having to scale treacherous mountains. Sometimes, though, the thing you’re looking out from can be just as interesting as the view itself.

1. PENNINE TOWER

By today’s standards, Pennine Tower, near Lancaster, England (above), is much more interesting to look at than the view it boasts. Erected in 1964 and opened the following year, the tower forms part of a rest stop on the M6 Motorway and acts as a halfway point on a drive between London and Edinburgh. The incredible 72-foot brutalist tower was originally home to a 24-hour restaurant and observation deck—used to look at the motorway below and glimpse the future of road travel.

It’s since earned the honor of becoming a Grade II listed building in the UK for reasons of historic and architectural interest, with its citation from Historic England stating that the tower is “reminiscent in form to an airport control tower, evoking the modern glamor of 1960s air travel and also drawing on the progressive urban movement of this period of constructing towers with restaurants and observation platforms.” Sadly, due to changes made in fire safety regulations in the UK, the tower has been closed to the public since 1989, but some urban explorers have still managed to find their way inside.

2. TUBORGFLASKEN

Wikimedia // CC BY-SA 3.0

No, you’re not seeing things—that indeed is a giant beer bottle. Built by Tuborg Brewery in 1888 and standing at a modest 85 feet tall with an observation deck in the bottle top, Tuborgflasken was built for display at the Nordic Industrial, Agricultural, and Art Exhibition in Copenhagen. It also helped to announced the advent of bottled beer to the people of Denmark. Originally it contained Denmark’s first-ever mechanized elevator, but that has since been replaced by a much more maintenance-friendly spiral staircase. The bottle has since moved from Copenhagen and sits proudly in the town of Hellerup, Denmark, returning to Copenhagen just once in 1988 for its centenary celebration.

3. FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT’S GAS STATION

Mike Procario via Flickr // CC BY-ND 2.0

This may be cheating a bit since it’s not so much a tower as an observation deck, but when Frank Lloyd Wright designs something, you can’t ignore it. Originally included in Wright’s design for the utopian Broadacre City, the gas station is the only structure from those plans to come to fruition, albeit in the relatively unassuming town of Cloquet, Minnesota.

The gas station was made a reality in 1956, after Wright designed a house for a Cloquet native named R. W. Lindholm. Lindholm happened to be in the oil trade, and seeing an opportunity, Wright convinced him to open a gas station in his hometown. One of the most notable elements of this gas station, which is still in operation today, is the second floor glass-fronted observation lounge. All part of Wright’s automobile-focused vision of the future, in which he claimed the gas station was “the future city in embryo,” which would “naturally grow into a neighborhood distribution center, meeting-place, restaurant … or whatever else is needed.”

4. SELJORD LOOKOUT POINTS

Just over 100 miles west of Oslo, Norway lies Lake Seljord—a perfect example of picturesque Norwegian scenery, but postcard views aren’t the only thing you’ll see here. Dotted along the shoreline at various points you’ll notice wooden periscope-like structures standing 39 feet tall and facing inward towards the lake. Built in 2011 and designed to blend in with the landscape around them while still managing to be gorgeous pieces of minimalist architecture, these towers serve as more than just higher vantage points for natural beauty; they’re used to look for monsters.

That’s right, Lake Seljord is allegedly home to a serpent-like monster named Selma, Norway’s answer to the Loch Ness Monster and a cryptid so intertwined with the folklore of the area that it appears on the Seljord Coat of Arms. It turns out that building these towers may well have been a smart move, as in 2012 a 17-year-old girl captured footage of what she believes to be Selma from her vantage point on one of those very towers.

5. MUR NATURE OBSERVATION TOWER

Who says scientific study has to take place in a lab? The Munich-based architectural film Terrain certainly doesn’t believe so, as they’ve built an observation tower with art, nature, and science in mind. Modelled on a double helix, this beautiful structure juts out above the treetops near the river Mur in Gosdorf on the border of Austria and Slovenia. At 89 feet tall, it offers amazing views of the surrounding landscape for any hikers willing to climb the 168 steps, but it also serves as a place of scientific observation for the Mur Nature Reserve’s river renaturation project.

6. PYRAMIDENKOGEL TOWER

Roland Buzzi via Flickr // CC BY 2.0

This may be the highest tower on this list, sitting at 2700 feet above sea level at the peak of an Austrian mountain called Pyramidenkogel. It also holds the title of being the world’s tallest wooden observation tower, at 328 feet tall. It isn’t the original tower though; the original was built in 1950 as a war memorial, before being replaced in 1968 by a futuristic-looking concrete monolith. That tower was eventually demolished in 2008 and in 2013 the latest incarnation of the tower was opened.

Boasting some pretty incredible views from the observation deck is one thing, but the tower itself is worthy of some lasting glances—a beautiful, twisted helix design that almost seems to flow upwards from the ground below. That’s not the best part though: Pyramidenkogel tower is home to Europe’s longest covered slide. Spiraling down the center of the tower for almost 400 feet, you can expect to reach a speed of around 15 mph, which is pretty fast when it’s just you in a huge metal tube on top of a mountain.

7. JUBILEE TOWER

Doris Antony via Wikimedia // CC BY-SA 4.0

You’d think having a share of the Alps would be enough of a thrill for Austria, but they really love their observation towers. Jubilee Tower (or Jubiläumswarte as the locals call it) is situated on the outskirts of Vienna, Austria. Originally there was a wooden tower built on this site in 1898-’99 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the reign of Emperor Franz Joseph I, but it only lasted a few months before a storm destroyed it, leading to one being erected out of steel shortly thereafter. In 1956 that tower was replaced by the one you can climb today. Sitting at a cool 1500 feet above sea level, it offers views of up to 100 miles away on a clear day. Third time’s a charm, huh?

8. KNOXVILLE SUNSPHERE

mark m via Flickr // CC BY-ND 2.0

Despite what you saw on The Simpsons, the Knoxville Sunsphere isn’t actually full of gorgeous wigs. Don’t let that disappoint you though—this is a 266-foot tower with a 75-foot wide, 24-karat gold orb at the top of it.

Built for the 1982 World’s Fair, the Sunsphere instantly became a Tennessee icon. Its orb is made from 360 glass panels coated in 24-karat gold dust and allegedly costing $1000 per panel to make. Boasting a 360-degree observation deck and restaurant, it was initially a popular attraction. Sadly, its popularity waned and the Sunsphere fell into disrepair and neglect for most of the ’90s. A brief attempt at reopening in 1999 didn’t help matters, but it never really left the public consciousness, appearing in Knoxville sports team logos, on postcards, and even on state driver’s licenses. Finally, in 2007 the Sunsphere’s panoramic views of Knoxville were reopened to the public and the tower has been operating ever since.

9. CANTON TOWER

8ware via Flickr // CC BY-ND 2.0

Canton Tower is currently the tallest building in China. It sits on the banks of the Pear River in the Haizhu District of Guangzhou and is an eye-watering 1954 feet tall. Open since 2010, one of the coolest features of this tower is the observation deck, which is officially referred to as a “Horizontal Ferris Wheel Bubble Tram.” Essentially a series of pods (or bubbles) on rails, a group of people can sit inside a single bubble as it travels around the circumference of the building at 1492 feet above the ground.

10. BA i360

Adam Butler via Flickr // CC BY 2.0

i360 is British Airways’ new observation tower, built along the coastline of Brighton, England. Billed as a sort of vertical pier and costing £46 million (around $59 million) to build, it stands at a gigantic 531 feet tall, making it the world’s tallest moving observation tower. Up to 200 passengers are free to roam around what is essentially a giant glass donut as it ascends to a height of around 450 feet, offering panoramic views of the British coast. The tower hasn’t had the most successful of launches however, with 180 passengers getting stuck up there for two hours in September. Still, we’re sure they appreciated the prolonged look at the view.

November 9, 2016 – 12:00pm

November 9, 2016

Don’t Miss Wednesday’s Best Amazon Deals

Smart Shopping Team

filed under: shopping

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, November 9.

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!