"Is 'Huh?' a universal word? Conversational infrastructure and the convergent evolution of linguistic items is a new paper in PLoS One by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. The authors propose that "Huh" is a word, and that convergent evolution has driven multiple, unrelated languages to produce it.
"Huh" is the universal word
Sunday, November 10, 2013
"Huh" is the universal word
Posted by Blacky at 3:53 pm 0 comments
Friday, November 08, 2013
Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) slams Philippines, may be most powerful typhoon to ever hit land
The typhoon known as Super Typhoon Haiyan (or Super Typhoon Yolanda, as it is referred to within the Philippines) hit the central islands of the Philippines on Friday, with wind speeds at almost 200 miles an hour. For comparison, a commercial airplane takes off at speeds in the range of 160mph.
Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) slams Philippines, may be most powerful typhoon to ever hit land
Posted by Blacky at 4:18 pm 0 comments
11 Free Google Helpouts To Get Expert Tips For Your Everyday Problems
Google Helpouts is a new service that connects you to real experts who can help you with a variety of problems. Whether it’s a household plumbing problem, a tricky tech problem or how to stick to your diet, there’s someone on Helpouts who can assist. Here’s a look at some of the best and most useful Helpouts we could find.
11 Free Google Helpouts To Get Expert Tips For Your Everyday Problems
Posted by Blacky at 2:31 pm 0 comments
The Scientifically Best Time To Drink Coffee
Ever wonder what the best time is to drink your coffee? You probably know it is not a good idea to drink part of your daily dose of caffeine in the afternoon. Especially for those who have problems sleeping. But, do you ever drink your coffee and feel like it just didn’t work?
The Scientifically Best Time To Drink Coffee
Posted by Blacky at 2:28 pm 0 comments
Super Typhoon Haiyan Barrels Toward the Philippines
One of the most powerful cyclones ever observed is on track to cross over the Philippines on Friday morning Eastern time.
Super Typhoon Haiyan Barrels Toward the Philippines
Posted by Blacky at 2:26 pm 0 comments
In the news: 2013 – The Year of Solar Flare
Are science fiction literature authors correct when they write about solar flares causing Earth’s communications to fail and causing catastrophes worldwide or is this simply a convenient plot device? The year 2013 has seen the most solar flares since 2003 because the Sun’s magnetic field cycle is reversing polarization, as it does every 11 years. This reversal causes larger and more frequent solar flares, which explains why this year has seen a large number of these impressive solar weather occurrences in many years.
In the news: 2013 – The Year of Solar Flare
Posted by Blacky at 2:25 pm 0 comments
Thursday, November 07, 2013
Deaths, Australia, 2012
This release contains statistics for deaths and mortality in Australia.
Deaths, Australia, 2012
Posted by Blacky at 9:32 pm 0 comments
Monday, November 04, 2013
Not All “Viruses” Are Viruses: 10 Malware Terms Explained
Most people seem to call every type of malware a “virus”, but that isn’t technically accurate. You’ve probably heard of many more terms beyond virus: malware, worm, Trojan, rootkit, keylogger, spyware, and more. But what do all these terms mean?
Not All “Viruses” Are Viruses: 10 Malware Terms Explained
Posted by Blacky at 11:16 pm 0 comments
Saturday, November 02, 2013
Blowing Up A Building In Slo-Mo Is A Great Way To Start The Month
Is there a better way to ring in November than watching a controlled explosion? Sure there is, if said explosion was captured by a Phantom Flex high-speed camera at 2500 fps. The Slow Mo Guys are back and after playing around with a couple of grenades (please don’t try that at home) they set their sites — or viewfinder — on their largest explosion yet.
Blowing Up A Building In Slo-Mo Is A Great Way To Start The Month
Posted by Blacky at 12:52 pm 0 comments
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Earth's Hellish 'Twin Sister' Discovered
Two studies of an Earth-sized planet circling the sun-like star Kepler-78 show it has Earth-like amounts of iron and rock, the first world of its size that scientists have been able to calculate both density and diameter.
Earth's Hellish 'Twin Sister' Discovered
Posted by Blacky at 8:33 pm 0 comments
10 Surprisingly Inspirational Quotes From Evil People
Just because you’re a horrible human being it doesn’t mean that you don’t have something insightful to say. In fact, several of history’s worst people have said some truly inspiring things. Here are some that we’ve found especially perceptive.
10 Surprisingly Inspirational Quotes From Evil People
Posted by Blacky at 8:25 pm 0 comments
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
New Wolfram Problem Generator: Practice and Learn
We are proud to announce Wolfram Problem Generator, a website where students decide which topic they want to practice and we provide the questions and solutions. This is an exciting new way to help students with their classes: previously, students provided their own practice questions and Wolfram|Alpha helped them find answers with Step-by-step solutions. Students can now ask Wolfram|Alpha for help with practice and homework questions and can do practice problems with Wolfram Problem Generator.
New Wolfram Problem Generator: Practice and Learn
Posted by Blacky at 10:21 pm 0 comments
Five Ancient Cannons Rescued From Blackbeard's Sunken Ship
Looking like something straight off Davy Jones’s ship in the Pirates of the Caribbean, five cannons saw air for the very first time in almost 300 years yesterday as they were lifted from what’s believed to be legendary pirate Blackbeard’s sunken ship.
Five Ancient Cannons Rescued From Blackbeard's Sunken Ship
Posted by Blacky at 10:06 pm 0 comments
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
How to burn 20 hours of video on a single long-play DVD
Creating your own video DVDs has really become easy in recent time. Most programs ship with all required components so that you only need to use a single one to convert all video files in the appropriate format before the converted data is burned on a disc.
How to burn 20 hours of video on a single long-play DVD
Posted by Blacky at 6:08 pm 0 comments
Long-form YouTube: videos of entire long-distance train journeys
YouTube has been an existence-proof of forms of video that were lurking in potentia, unable to come into existence due to limitations of the distribution channel. The two-to-three-minute video has now been firmly established as a genre (with the six-second video hot on its heels), but there's plenty of room at the long end of the scale. Case in point: subculture of YouTubers who post full-length train journeys, hours and hours' worth -- and if that's not long-form enough, how about 134-hour sea crossings?
Long-form YouTube: videos of entire long-distance train journeys
Posted by Blacky at 5:28 pm 0 comments
Star Wars bloopers
Unexpectedly hilarious! Sound kicks in at 0:45s.
Star Wars bloopers
Posted by Blacky at 8:06 am 0 comments
Monday, October 28, 2013
Five Best Travel Routers
you’re hitting the road and taking your gadgets with you, a good travel router will help you share the Wi-Fi in your hotel, office or anywhere else. The best ones do it with no hassle, easy setup, and small form-factors that slip nicely into a carry-on bag. Some even keep your gadgets charged while they’re connected.
Five Best Travel Routers
Posted by Blacky at 11:41 am 0 comments
10 Things You Didn't Know About 'The Simpsons'
For over 20 years, The Simpsons have been the most famous animated family in the world. YouTube channel Alltime10s dug deep to find some facts that even super fans might be surprised to learn.
10 Things You Didn't Know About 'The Simpsons'
Posted by Blacky at 11:37 am 0 comments
Thursday, October 24, 2013
The 20 Scariest Google Street View Sightings
Google's Street View technology does more than capture mundane shots of city streets. As the platform has evolved, Google has offered striking images from exotic places like the Galápagos Islands, Mount Fuji and the Eiffel Tower. You can even take a look inside CERN's Large Hadron Collider. But Street View has also revealed unintentional surprises, from murder and mayhem to people's most embarrassing moments, and it has the potential to capture terrifying images, too.
The 20 Scariest Google Street View Sightings
Posted by Blacky at 10:04 pm 0 comments
Watch All Six Apollo Moon Landings In One Glorious Video
NASA successfully landed six moon missions from 1969 to 1972 — and had one legendary failure. It was a monumental era for NASA, and thanks to bonkers YouTube user lunarmodule5, now you can ride along on a space video mashup of all six heart-pounding landings at once. It’s breathtaking.
Watch All Six Apollo Moon Landings In One Glorious Video
Posted by Blacky at 10:02 pm 0 comments