Curio Cabinet / Daily Curio
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FREEMusic Appreciation Daily Curio #1744Free1 CQ
We've all named inanimate objects, like a boat or a car. In today's Guitar Themed Thursday, we're uncovering why blues legend B.B. King named his guitar "Lucille." If you're under 40, B.B. King was one of the most celebrated musicians of the 20th century. His use of string bending and vibrato—a quavering effect—earned him the nickname "The King of the Blues." King started out playing small gigs in Arkansas and his native Mississippi. One of his regular venues was a ramshackle nightclub in Twist, Arkansas. According to King, the proprietors of the club had an interesting way of keeping warm in the winter. That is, they filled a garbage pail to the brim with kerosene and lit it at the center of the dancefloor. Whatever could go wrong? Miraculously, the dancers always avoided the flaming pail. But one night, when King was playing, two men began brawling and knocked the can over. "When it spilled, it looked like a river of fire, and everybody ran for the front door, including yours truly," said King. Once outside, the bluesman realized he had abandoned his livelihood—his guitar. He raced back into the burning building. King escaped with his ax in hand just as the roof collapsed. The following morning, he learned that two men had perished in the blaze and that the fight had been started over a woman named Lucille. After thanking his lucky stars, King realized how foolish he had been: "I named my guitar Lucille to remind me not to do a thing like that again." The entire world is glad B.B. got out safely, or the thrill would have been gone long ago.
Image credit & copyright: Paul Natkin/Getty
We've all named inanimate objects, like a boat or a car. In today's Guitar Themed Thursday, we're uncovering why blues legend B.B. King named his guitar "Lucille." If you're under 40, B.B. King was one of the most celebrated musicians of the 20th century. His use of string bending and vibrato—a quavering effect—earned him the nickname "The King of the Blues." King started out playing small gigs in Arkansas and his native Mississippi. One of his regular venues was a ramshackle nightclub in Twist, Arkansas. According to King, the proprietors of the club had an interesting way of keeping warm in the winter. That is, they filled a garbage pail to the brim with kerosene and lit it at the center of the dancefloor. Whatever could go wrong? Miraculously, the dancers always avoided the flaming pail. But one night, when King was playing, two men began brawling and knocked the can over. "When it spilled, it looked like a river of fire, and everybody ran for the front door, including yours truly," said King. Once outside, the bluesman realized he had abandoned his livelihood—his guitar. He raced back into the burning building. King escaped with his ax in hand just as the roof collapsed. The following morning, he learned that two men had perished in the blaze and that the fight had been started over a woman named Lucille. After thanking his lucky stars, King realized how foolish he had been: "I named my guitar Lucille to remind me not to do a thing like that again." The entire world is glad B.B. got out safely, or the thrill would have been gone long ago.
Image credit & copyright: Paul Natkin/Getty
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FREESTEM Daily Curio #1743Free1 CQ
If the machines are coming to get us, we might as well fight back. There's a new countertrend in the world of artificial intelligence called adversarial machine learning, where human brains try to fool computers ones. Most devices that we call "artificial intelligence" are actually utilizing machine learning models—algorithms that are fairly "dumb" but get better at recognizing patterns when they are exposed to huge datasets. That is, they "learn" how to make accurate decisions or predictions over time. So it was only a matter of time before somebody figured out how to trick them. In 2017, an attacker made imperceptible changes to a photo of a panda to trick an optical recognition program into thinking it was a gibbon. Slightly more nefarious, they also caused it to confuse a safe for a washing machine. But last month, a team of cybersecurity researchers from China's Keen Labs raised the stakes when they devised a method for fooling the Tesla Model S autopilot. They were able to trick it into changing lanes into oncoming traffic. To do this, they created a "fake lane" by placing tiny square stickers on the roadway. In their tests, the Tesla's autopilot interpreted these squares as a mandatory lane shift to the left, which led the car right into oncoming traffic before it was overridden. Keen Labs said they were conducting the tests to prove that Tesla's "architecture has security risks" which should be taken seriously. In other tests, they were able to control the steering wheel from the back seat, and confuse the automatic windshield wipers. The last one seems slightly less concerning, but they are making a good point. Marvin Minsky, one of the fathers of artificial intelligence, predicted in 1970 that within three to eight years a machine would have the general intelligence of an average human being. 50 years later, we're still trying to get computers to turn on the windshield wipers when it rains!
Image credit & copyright: Javier Zarracina/Vox
If the machines are coming to get us, we might as well fight back. There's a new countertrend in the world of artificial intelligence called adversarial machine learning, where human brains try to fool computers ones. Most devices that we call "artificial intelligence" are actually utilizing machine learning models—algorithms that are fairly "dumb" but get better at recognizing patterns when they are exposed to huge datasets. That is, they "learn" how to make accurate decisions or predictions over time. So it was only a matter of time before somebody figured out how to trick them. In 2017, an attacker made imperceptible changes to a photo of a panda to trick an optical recognition program into thinking it was a gibbon. Slightly more nefarious, they also caused it to confuse a safe for a washing machine. But last month, a team of cybersecurity researchers from China's Keen Labs raised the stakes when they devised a method for fooling the Tesla Model S autopilot. They were able to trick it into changing lanes into oncoming traffic. To do this, they created a "fake lane" by placing tiny square stickers on the roadway. In their tests, the Tesla's autopilot interpreted these squares as a mandatory lane shift to the left, which led the car right into oncoming traffic before it was overridden. Keen Labs said they were conducting the tests to prove that Tesla's "architecture has security risks" which should be taken seriously. In other tests, they were able to control the steering wheel from the back seat, and confuse the automatic windshield wipers. The last one seems slightly less concerning, but they are making a good point. Marvin Minsky, one of the fathers of artificial intelligence, predicted in 1970 that within three to eight years a machine would have the general intelligence of an average human being. 50 years later, we're still trying to get computers to turn on the windshield wipers when it rains!
Image credit & copyright: Javier Zarracina/Vox
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FREEWork Daily Curio #1742Free1 CQ
Here's a terrible idea. A Russian company called StartRocket is developing "orbital billboards" they say will be visible from 250 miles above the Earth. The company plans to launch a cluster of tiny satellites—called cubesats, which are measured in units of 10 x 10 x 10 centimeters—that fly in formation with Mylar sails trailing behind them. The sails form a large image which catches and reflects the sun at dawn and dusk, while the Earth sky is still dark. The company announced last week that its first customer will be an energy drink called Adrenaline Rush, which is owned by the Russian division of PepsiCo. The ad campaign supposedly revolves around "unjustified prejudices against gamers." Sound totally stupid? That's because it is. Cubesats were designed to give engineering students the ability to launch miniature experiments and projects into zero gravity orbit; not to monetize the final frontier. In a bit of good news, PepsiCo in America apparently shot down the idea after it hit the news media last week. Officially, they are blaming the false start on a "language issue" between the American and Russian Pepsi marketing departments. But it would be wise not to trust Pepsi in this area. They are notorious for pushing the celestial advertising envelope. In 1940, they were the first brand to embrace skywriting. In 1985, the corporation convinced NASA to take an anti-gravity Pepsi can up on a Space Shuttle Challenger flight, along with its competitor Coca Cola. The Coke can cost $250,000 to develop while the Pepsi can cost $14 million. A few years later, Pepsi paid Russian cosmonauts to bring a four-foot-tall replica can on a spacewalk from the Mir space station. Frankly, it's just as well for Pepsi that they canned this latest advertising idea before it, um, got off the ground. Carbonated drinks taste terrible in space, and all the carbon dioxide bubbles can cause the astronauts to throw up in their mouths. This is because, in the absence of gravity, the bubbles don't float upward and burst on the drink's surface. Instead they stay in the drink and are swallowed. Pepsi, for the love of it!
Here's a terrible idea. A Russian company called StartRocket is developing "orbital billboards" they say will be visible from 250 miles above the Earth. The company plans to launch a cluster of tiny satellites—called cubesats, which are measured in units of 10 x 10 x 10 centimeters—that fly in formation with Mylar sails trailing behind them. The sails form a large image which catches and reflects the sun at dawn and dusk, while the Earth sky is still dark. The company announced last week that its first customer will be an energy drink called Adrenaline Rush, which is owned by the Russian division of PepsiCo. The ad campaign supposedly revolves around "unjustified prejudices against gamers." Sound totally stupid? That's because it is. Cubesats were designed to give engineering students the ability to launch miniature experiments and projects into zero gravity orbit; not to monetize the final frontier. In a bit of good news, PepsiCo in America apparently shot down the idea after it hit the news media last week. Officially, they are blaming the false start on a "language issue" between the American and Russian Pepsi marketing departments. But it would be wise not to trust Pepsi in this area. They are notorious for pushing the celestial advertising envelope. In 1940, they were the first brand to embrace skywriting. In 1985, the corporation convinced NASA to take an anti-gravity Pepsi can up on a Space Shuttle Challenger flight, along with its competitor Coca Cola. The Coke can cost $250,000 to develop while the Pepsi can cost $14 million. A few years later, Pepsi paid Russian cosmonauts to bring a four-foot-tall replica can on a spacewalk from the Mir space station. Frankly, it's just as well for Pepsi that they canned this latest advertising idea before it, um, got off the ground. Carbonated drinks taste terrible in space, and all the carbon dioxide bubbles can cause the astronauts to throw up in their mouths. This is because, in the absence of gravity, the bubbles don't float upward and burst on the drink's surface. Instead they stay in the drink and are swallowed. Pepsi, for the love of it!
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FREE3D Design Daily Curio #1741Free1 CQ
The entire world gasped last week as the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris burned out of control. Miraculously, firefighters were able to save the ancient structure from complete ruin. But it's estimated to take many years—and over one billion Euros—to repair the massive damage. The spire, the roof, and much of the original woodwork were totally destroyed. Complicating the repair efforts is the fact that very little is known about the structure's original design and construction, which began around 1160. If the original builders used drawings or plans, they are long lost. And there is much that engineers don't understand about Gothic construction techniques. All of which could explain why the internet was abuzz about Ubisoft Entertainment's video game Assassin's Creed Unity shortly after Notre Dame began burning. Set in Paris during the French Revolution, the game depicts Notre Dame in exquisite detail. Artists who worked on Unity spent two years building a 3D model of the cathedral that is almost a 1:1 ratio—that is, every inch of Notre Dame is represented on the computer with an inch of pixels. The texture of every brick is accurate, as are the locations of every piece of artwork. Ubisoft has already donated €500,000 towards the rebuilding effort and has offered to make the model available to the French team working on the reconstruction. Although they may not need it, thanks to another 3D model of Notre Dame. A Vassar College art historian named Andrew Tallon created digital scans of 45 Gothic buildings. His model of Notre Dame, which he constructed by taking scans and panoramic photographs from 50 locations, is accurate to within five millimeters. He collected over one billion data points in total. He dedicated his life to figuring out how Notre Dame was constructed before dying of brain cancer last year at the age of 48. But his model lives on, and it just might save the architectural masterpiece he was obsessed with. As Victor Hugo wrote in The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, "When a man understands the art of seeing, he can trace the spirit of an age and the features of a king even in the knocker of a door."
Image credit & copyright: The Verge
The entire world gasped last week as the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris burned out of control. Miraculously, firefighters were able to save the ancient structure from complete ruin. But it's estimated to take many years—and over one billion Euros—to repair the massive damage. The spire, the roof, and much of the original woodwork were totally destroyed. Complicating the repair efforts is the fact that very little is known about the structure's original design and construction, which began around 1160. If the original builders used drawings or plans, they are long lost. And there is much that engineers don't understand about Gothic construction techniques. All of which could explain why the internet was abuzz about Ubisoft Entertainment's video game Assassin's Creed Unity shortly after Notre Dame began burning. Set in Paris during the French Revolution, the game depicts Notre Dame in exquisite detail. Artists who worked on Unity spent two years building a 3D model of the cathedral that is almost a 1:1 ratio—that is, every inch of Notre Dame is represented on the computer with an inch of pixels. The texture of every brick is accurate, as are the locations of every piece of artwork. Ubisoft has already donated €500,000 towards the rebuilding effort and has offered to make the model available to the French team working on the reconstruction. Although they may not need it, thanks to another 3D model of Notre Dame. A Vassar College art historian named Andrew Tallon created digital scans of 45 Gothic buildings. His model of Notre Dame, which he constructed by taking scans and panoramic photographs from 50 locations, is accurate to within five millimeters. He collected over one billion data points in total. He dedicated his life to figuring out how Notre Dame was constructed before dying of brain cancer last year at the age of 48. But his model lives on, and it just might save the architectural masterpiece he was obsessed with. As Victor Hugo wrote in The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, "When a man understands the art of seeing, he can trace the spirit of an age and the features of a king even in the knocker of a door."
Image credit & copyright: The Verge
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FREEPlay Daily CurioFree1 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! Pedal into the weekend with this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
It's Bicycle Day! The most bike-friendly city in the world is Amsterdam. It is estimated that there are two million bikes for just 850,000 people! The city's flat and compact geography makes it perfect for cycling, even if the weather leaves a little to be desired. But the world's most bicycle-friendly city has a dirty little bicycle secret. Over 15,000 of those bikes mysteriously end up in Amsterdam's iconic canals every year! There are many explanations as to how this happens. Some blame the narrow streets, which force cyclists to park their bikes inches from the guardrail-less canal, waiting to be tipped in by bad drivers. Others blame the windy weather. Or thieves, who steal bikes and then ditch the evidence after a joy ride. Then there is the drunks-will-be-drunks theory, which holds a lot of credibility in a city famous for drink, mirth, and pleasure. Historians point to the very origins of the canals for the answer: open sewers. Residents were so used to tossing their, um, stuff into the canals that even when that became illegal they went right on using them as a 100-kilometer-long dumpster. Regardless of why, it's up to city workers to fish the bicycles out each year, so the waterways remaining safe and passable. At one point there were so many bicycles piled under the water that they were damaging the bottoms of the boats. So two full-time employees spend all year blindly fishing bikes out using a giant claw, connected to a crane, on the front of a barge. Now that sounds like a fun job!
Image credit & copyright: Sustainable Amsterdam
It's Flashback Friday! Pedal into the weekend with this favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
It's Bicycle Day! The most bike-friendly city in the world is Amsterdam. It is estimated that there are two million bikes for just 850,000 people! The city's flat and compact geography makes it perfect for cycling, even if the weather leaves a little to be desired. But the world's most bicycle-friendly city has a dirty little bicycle secret. Over 15,000 of those bikes mysteriously end up in Amsterdam's iconic canals every year! There are many explanations as to how this happens. Some blame the narrow streets, which force cyclists to park their bikes inches from the guardrail-less canal, waiting to be tipped in by bad drivers. Others blame the windy weather. Or thieves, who steal bikes and then ditch the evidence after a joy ride. Then there is the drunks-will-be-drunks theory, which holds a lot of credibility in a city famous for drink, mirth, and pleasure. Historians point to the very origins of the canals for the answer: open sewers. Residents were so used to tossing their, um, stuff into the canals that even when that became illegal they went right on using them as a 100-kilometer-long dumpster. Regardless of why, it's up to city workers to fish the bicycles out each year, so the waterways remaining safe and passable. At one point there were so many bicycles piled under the water that they were damaging the bottoms of the boats. So two full-time employees spend all year blindly fishing bikes out using a giant claw, connected to a crane, on the front of a barge. Now that sounds like a fun job!
Image credit & copyright: Sustainable Amsterdam
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FREEPoetry Daily Curio #1740Free1 CQ
You might be surprised to find that the best-selling poet in the U.S is not the current National Poet Laureate, or Shakespeare, or even an English speaker. It's the 13th-century Persian theologian Rumi, widely considered the greatest poet of Islamic tradition—and currently an Amazon Best Seller. He was born in 1207 C.E. in modern-day Afghanistan, as Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī. He received a robust education and also benefited from extensive travel. Rumi and his family were forced to flee 2,500 miles west from Afghanistan to escape the brutal invasions of Genghis Khan. Along the way, they toured the Middle East and stopped at Mecca, before settling in modern-day Turkey. There, as an adult, Rumi became a teacher at a madrasa, or religious school. But it wasn't until after Rumi encountered a wandering holy man named Shams al-Dīn, or "Sun of Religion," that he waxed poetic. The two became inseparable friends, devout students of Islam, and possibly lovers. Then, three years later, Shams disappeared mysteriously. Some say Rumi's jealous students and family members murdered Shams; others believe he departed for mystical reasons. At any rate, Rumi was distraught. He fled his home in search of Shams, ending up hundreds of miles away in Syria. Eventually he realized that his friend was still in his heart and memory; and returned home to write 3,000 love songs to Shams, as well as 2,000 four-line quatrains and his 26,000-couplet masterwork, Masnavi. He took up dancing, better appreciated his other relationships, and lived happily until his death at 66. His cosmological philosophy is best summed up by this quote: "I have neither a soul nor a body, for I come from the very Soul of all souls." Maybe click on the Amazon link above and give Rumi a read, to honor National Poetry Month?
Image credit & copyright: BBC News
You might be surprised to find that the best-selling poet in the U.S is not the current National Poet Laureate, or Shakespeare, or even an English speaker. It's the 13th-century Persian theologian Rumi, widely considered the greatest poet of Islamic tradition—and currently an Amazon Best Seller. He was born in 1207 C.E. in modern-day Afghanistan, as Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī. He received a robust education and also benefited from extensive travel. Rumi and his family were forced to flee 2,500 miles west from Afghanistan to escape the brutal invasions of Genghis Khan. Along the way, they toured the Middle East and stopped at Mecca, before settling in modern-day Turkey. There, as an adult, Rumi became a teacher at a madrasa, or religious school. But it wasn't until after Rumi encountered a wandering holy man named Shams al-Dīn, or "Sun of Religion," that he waxed poetic. The two became inseparable friends, devout students of Islam, and possibly lovers. Then, three years later, Shams disappeared mysteriously. Some say Rumi's jealous students and family members murdered Shams; others believe he departed for mystical reasons. At any rate, Rumi was distraught. He fled his home in search of Shams, ending up hundreds of miles away in Syria. Eventually he realized that his friend was still in his heart and memory; and returned home to write 3,000 love songs to Shams, as well as 2,000 four-line quatrains and his 26,000-couplet masterwork, Masnavi. He took up dancing, better appreciated his other relationships, and lived happily until his death at 66. His cosmological philosophy is best summed up by this quote: "I have neither a soul nor a body, for I come from the very Soul of all souls." Maybe click on the Amazon link above and give Rumi a read, to honor National Poetry Month?
Image credit & copyright: BBC News
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FREESTEM Daily Curio #1739Free1 CQ
What if there were some way to minimize the detrimental effects of global warming by injecting light-diffracting particles called sulfate aerosols into Earth's upper atmosphere. The idea, called solar geoengineering or sky dimming, has been around for a while but is taboo among climate scientists for fear it will discourage the public from embracing emission cuts. That changed last month when a team of researchers from Harvard, MIT and Princeton published a paper in Nature which predicts the impacts of geoengineering. The authors found that no major land area will face more intense weather events with geoengineering than what would already occur under climate change. Specifically, they used several high-resolution climate models to compare two scenarios. In one scenario, carbon levels in the atmosphere double from their pre-industrial levels. In the second scenario, carbon levels still double, but geoengineering is used to reduce the intensity of the sunlight hitting the earth's surface. The researchers write that, according to their models, the second scenario cut the dangers of climate change roughly in half. What's more, in every region of the world, the results showed things would be no worse off in the geoengineering scenario. That's a big deal because it's always been assumed that any attempts to mess with mother nature to combat global warming would result in both winners and losers. These results imply there would be no losers, just barely winners, modest winners and big winners. To be clear, nobody is saying solar geoengineering is actually feasible. At least not yet. Seeding sulfate aerosols that high up in the atmosphere is still technically impossible, not to mention likely to cost trillions of dollars if it ends up being possible. But what the researchers are saying is that we should begin investing research dollars into the idea. Since the world is likely to fall short of the emission targets required to reverse climate change, geoengineering could be the way we make up the difference. I have to admit I'm a bit confused. Isn't injecting stuff like sulfate aerosols into the atmosphere how we got into this mess in the first place?
What if there were some way to minimize the detrimental effects of global warming by injecting light-diffracting particles called sulfate aerosols into Earth's upper atmosphere. The idea, called solar geoengineering or sky dimming, has been around for a while but is taboo among climate scientists for fear it will discourage the public from embracing emission cuts. That changed last month when a team of researchers from Harvard, MIT and Princeton published a paper in Nature which predicts the impacts of geoengineering. The authors found that no major land area will face more intense weather events with geoengineering than what would already occur under climate change. Specifically, they used several high-resolution climate models to compare two scenarios. In one scenario, carbon levels in the atmosphere double from their pre-industrial levels. In the second scenario, carbon levels still double, but geoengineering is used to reduce the intensity of the sunlight hitting the earth's surface. The researchers write that, according to their models, the second scenario cut the dangers of climate change roughly in half. What's more, in every region of the world, the results showed things would be no worse off in the geoengineering scenario. That's a big deal because it's always been assumed that any attempts to mess with mother nature to combat global warming would result in both winners and losers. These results imply there would be no losers, just barely winners, modest winners and big winners. To be clear, nobody is saying solar geoengineering is actually feasible. At least not yet. Seeding sulfate aerosols that high up in the atmosphere is still technically impossible, not to mention likely to cost trillions of dollars if it ends up being possible. But what the researchers are saying is that we should begin investing research dollars into the idea. Since the world is likely to fall short of the emission targets required to reverse climate change, geoengineering could be the way we make up the difference. I have to admit I'm a bit confused. Isn't injecting stuff like sulfate aerosols into the atmosphere how we got into this mess in the first place?
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FREEWork Daily Curio #1738Free1 CQ
Pigweed, also known as Palmer amaranth, is the biggest threat to your diet that you've never heard of. It's a weed so potent it can suffocate an entire field of soybeans in its first season. Roundup, the herbicide produced by Monsanto, has been killing pigweed since the 1980s (if you follow the news you'll know it may also be killing the people who use it). In 1984 Monsanto created genetically engineered seeds that were tolerant to high doses of glyphosate, the generic name for Roundup. Farmers could spray Roundup liberally and their crops would be the only thing left standing. At first, crop scientists declared they had defeated weeds forever. But then an alarming thing started happening. Pigweed also became immune to Roundup. Within a few years, glyphosate-resistant pigweed had spread like wildfire across the Midwest. Since then, the cotton industry alone has invested over one billion dollars trying to defeat this "superweed." Biotech firms finally developed two new herbicides—called 2,4-D and dicamba—along with seeds that were genetically altered to resist both. For a few years, the pigweed was under control and farmers breathed a sigh of relief. But last year, researchers at Kansas State University discovered pigweed that had developed a resistance to 2,4-D and dicamba. Plus, dicamba began damaging crops of nearby farms wherever it was applied—a phenomenon known as "dicamba drift." Farmers who refused to use the genetically-modified seeds incurred damages in the hundreds of thousands of dollars; and they weren't happy about it. In 2017, an Arkansas farmer murdered his neighbor farmer over a dicamba drift dispute. Dicamba is also killing off vegetation that honey bees and other pollinators depend upon. Fewer pollinators mean a lower yield of all crops. C'mon people, when are we going to finally learn that you can't mess with mother nature?!
Image credit & copyright: Nick Nelson/Agweek
Pigweed, also known as Palmer amaranth, is the biggest threat to your diet that you've never heard of. It's a weed so potent it can suffocate an entire field of soybeans in its first season. Roundup, the herbicide produced by Monsanto, has been killing pigweed since the 1980s (if you follow the news you'll know it may also be killing the people who use it). In 1984 Monsanto created genetically engineered seeds that were tolerant to high doses of glyphosate, the generic name for Roundup. Farmers could spray Roundup liberally and their crops would be the only thing left standing. At first, crop scientists declared they had defeated weeds forever. But then an alarming thing started happening. Pigweed also became immune to Roundup. Within a few years, glyphosate-resistant pigweed had spread like wildfire across the Midwest. Since then, the cotton industry alone has invested over one billion dollars trying to defeat this "superweed." Biotech firms finally developed two new herbicides—called 2,4-D and dicamba—along with seeds that were genetically altered to resist both. For a few years, the pigweed was under control and farmers breathed a sigh of relief. But last year, researchers at Kansas State University discovered pigweed that had developed a resistance to 2,4-D and dicamba. Plus, dicamba began damaging crops of nearby farms wherever it was applied—a phenomenon known as "dicamba drift." Farmers who refused to use the genetically-modified seeds incurred damages in the hundreds of thousands of dollars; and they weren't happy about it. In 2017, an Arkansas farmer murdered his neighbor farmer over a dicamba drift dispute. Dicamba is also killing off vegetation that honey bees and other pollinators depend upon. Fewer pollinators mean a lower yield of all crops. C'mon people, when are we going to finally learn that you can't mess with mother nature?!
Image credit & copyright: Nick Nelson/Agweek
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FREEMusic Daily Curio #1737Free1 CQ
If you visit the ancient Croatian city of Zadar, on the Dalmatian Coast of the Adriatic Sea, you won't find anything very ancient about it. That's because the ancient part of the city, which is 3,000 years old, was almost entirely destroyed by bombing during World War II. When Zadar decided to invest in a public art project to spruce up its mostly concrete post-war public spaces, they came up with an unlikely choice: a concrete sea organ. Called the Morske Orgulje, it is a project by the Croatian architect Nikola Bašić which uses the ocean waves to make music. It looks like a series of 230-foot wide steps which descend into the ocean, but each step has channels for the water to enter. Behind the channels are massive pipes of different lengths, diameters, and tilt. These connect to a resonant chamber. When the water and air enter the submerged pipes, the number of which changes with the tide, air is forced back out of the channels in the upper stairs. The result is a constant drone of chime-like sounds, although they are always different. Today marks the fourteenth anniversary of the organ being open to the public. Take a listen to this amazing invention here. It's public art you can hear!
If you visit the ancient Croatian city of Zadar, on the Dalmatian Coast of the Adriatic Sea, you won't find anything very ancient about it. That's because the ancient part of the city, which is 3,000 years old, was almost entirely destroyed by bombing during World War II. When Zadar decided to invest in a public art project to spruce up its mostly concrete post-war public spaces, they came up with an unlikely choice: a concrete sea organ. Called the Morske Orgulje, it is a project by the Croatian architect Nikola Bašić which uses the ocean waves to make music. It looks like a series of 230-foot wide steps which descend into the ocean, but each step has channels for the water to enter. Behind the channels are massive pipes of different lengths, diameters, and tilt. These connect to a resonant chamber. When the water and air enter the submerged pipes, the number of which changes with the tide, air is forced back out of the channels in the upper stairs. The result is a constant drone of chime-like sounds, although they are always different. Today marks the fourteenth anniversary of the organ being open to the public. Take a listen to this amazing invention here. It's public art you can hear!
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FREEMind + Body Daily CurioFree1 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this starry-eyed favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Food snobs rejoice! The Michelin Guide is famous for its star ratings for haute cuisine restaurants. In 2017, for the first time, Michelin revealed exactly how it produces its guide. It takes an army of 500 "inspectors" who comb assigned regions of the globe. The average inspector travels 19,000 miles, eats at 250 restaurants, and stays at 60 hotels each year. Inspectors go on the road for three weeks of every month; then spend the fourth week compiling their results, calibrating them with their colleagues, and preparing their next trip. When it comes time to send the new guide to print, all inspectors meet with the management team in a series of "Star Sessions" to normalize ratings. Stars are only assigned with unanimous consent—otherwise, inspectors may be sent back for a second visit.
A restaurant's Michelin star rating can make or break it. Getting any stars at all is a big deal. A recent Chicago guide reviewed 500 restaurants, giving only one a three-star rating, four a two-star rating, and 20 restaurants one star. Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay reportedly broke down in tears when Michelin stripped his New York restaurant of its star and wrote a review that called the food "erratic." Ramsay said it was akin to being dumped by a long-time girlfriend. But, increasingly, other chefs are rejecting or "returning" their Michelin stars. In 2013, chef Julio Biosca returned the Michelin star held by his restaurant Casa Julio in Valencia, Spain, because he tired of needing a complicated tasting menu and wanted to do something simpler and more innovative. Then, the Belgian chef Frederik Dhooge returned his star because he wanted to cook fried chicken, which Michelin considers a "non-star-worthy dish" (say what?). Australian chef Skye Gyngell declared her star was "a curse" after diners complained that her "shabby chic" restaurant, Petersham Nurseries Café in London, had dirt floors. So she returned it. Jeez, all this fuss over a little red book that was just trying to sell more tires!
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this starry-eyed favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Food snobs rejoice! The Michelin Guide is famous for its star ratings for haute cuisine restaurants. In 2017, for the first time, Michelin revealed exactly how it produces its guide. It takes an army of 500 "inspectors" who comb assigned regions of the globe. The average inspector travels 19,000 miles, eats at 250 restaurants, and stays at 60 hotels each year. Inspectors go on the road for three weeks of every month; then spend the fourth week compiling their results, calibrating them with their colleagues, and preparing their next trip. When it comes time to send the new guide to print, all inspectors meet with the management team in a series of "Star Sessions" to normalize ratings. Stars are only assigned with unanimous consent—otherwise, inspectors may be sent back for a second visit.
A restaurant's Michelin star rating can make or break it. Getting any stars at all is a big deal. A recent Chicago guide reviewed 500 restaurants, giving only one a three-star rating, four a two-star rating, and 20 restaurants one star. Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay reportedly broke down in tears when Michelin stripped his New York restaurant of its star and wrote a review that called the food "erratic." Ramsay said it was akin to being dumped by a long-time girlfriend. But, increasingly, other chefs are rejecting or "returning" their Michelin stars. In 2013, chef Julio Biosca returned the Michelin star held by his restaurant Casa Julio in Valencia, Spain, because he tired of needing a complicated tasting menu and wanted to do something simpler and more innovative. Then, the Belgian chef Frederik Dhooge returned his star because he wanted to cook fried chicken, which Michelin considers a "non-star-worthy dish" (say what?). Australian chef Skye Gyngell declared her star was "a curse" after diners complained that her "shabby chic" restaurant, Petersham Nurseries Café in London, had dirt floors. So she returned it. Jeez, all this fuss over a little red book that was just trying to sell more tires!
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FREEMusic Appreciation Daily Curio #1736Free1 CQ
To celebrate Sibling Day, we're uncovering the forgotten life of Maria Anna Mozart: the equally talented older sister of legendary musical composer Wolfgang Mozart. Known as "Nannerl," she was born in Salzburg on July 30, 1751, five years before her brother. Both of the Mozart siblings were plunged into music at tender ages. Their father Leopold devoted his life to tutoring the two, starting off with keyboard lessons for seven-year-old Nannerl. When Wolfgang started picking out notes on his sister's keyboard, Leopold decided to teach them both to play the harpsichord as well. They progressed at an astonishing pace and shared a knack for composition. Just three years after their first mutual lesson, the duo began performing in royal courts across Europe. They dazzled the aristocracy with virtuoistic shows often over three hours in length. Count Karl von Zinzendorf of Austria jotted these notes in his journal after witnessing the two prodigies play: "Little [Wolfgang] plays marvelously… His sister's playing is masterly, and [the prince] applauded her." But Maria Anna's promising career in music came to an abrupt end when she became a teenager and eligible bachelorette. At the time, it was considered outrageous for a woman to earn money, let alone shirk domestic responsibilities. So, as Wolfgang amassed more and more fame touring the world, Maria Anna solemnly composed on sheet music sent to her by her brother. She married and was widowed in 1778, and remained forever loyal to her father—even after his tyrannical behavior led to the family's estrangement from Wolfgang. Though none of Maria Anna's music has survived, many written accounts portray her as a genius—one comparable to Wolfgang. If that's true, what a shame the world never heard her music. Just imagine all those Romantic Maria Anna Spotify playlists and "Baby Maria Anna" CDs that never came to be!
Image credit & copyright: Johann Nepomuk della Croce / The Art Archive / Corbis
To celebrate Sibling Day, we're uncovering the forgotten life of Maria Anna Mozart: the equally talented older sister of legendary musical composer Wolfgang Mozart. Known as "Nannerl," she was born in Salzburg on July 30, 1751, five years before her brother. Both of the Mozart siblings were plunged into music at tender ages. Their father Leopold devoted his life to tutoring the two, starting off with keyboard lessons for seven-year-old Nannerl. When Wolfgang started picking out notes on his sister's keyboard, Leopold decided to teach them both to play the harpsichord as well. They progressed at an astonishing pace and shared a knack for composition. Just three years after their first mutual lesson, the duo began performing in royal courts across Europe. They dazzled the aristocracy with virtuoistic shows often over three hours in length. Count Karl von Zinzendorf of Austria jotted these notes in his journal after witnessing the two prodigies play: "Little [Wolfgang] plays marvelously… His sister's playing is masterly, and [the prince] applauded her." But Maria Anna's promising career in music came to an abrupt end when she became a teenager and eligible bachelorette. At the time, it was considered outrageous for a woman to earn money, let alone shirk domestic responsibilities. So, as Wolfgang amassed more and more fame touring the world, Maria Anna solemnly composed on sheet music sent to her by her brother. She married and was widowed in 1778, and remained forever loyal to her father—even after his tyrannical behavior led to the family's estrangement from Wolfgang. Though none of Maria Anna's music has survived, many written accounts portray her as a genius—one comparable to Wolfgang. If that's true, what a shame the world never heard her music. Just imagine all those Romantic Maria Anna Spotify playlists and "Baby Maria Anna" CDs that never came to be!
Image credit & copyright: Johann Nepomuk della Croce / The Art Archive / Corbis
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FREEHumanities Daily Curio #1735Free1 CQ
Happy Birthday, James Parkinson! He's the doctor after whom Parkinson's disease is named. His 1817 essay entitled An Essay on the Shaking Palsy inspired a French neurologist to name the disease "Parkinson's Disease"—which he classified in 1861. Parkinson was born in London in 1755 and followed his father's surgical career by attending the London Hospital Medical College and the Royal College of Surgeons. While he is most remembered today for his work in medicine, he was also active in social reform and politics. Using the pen name "Old Hubert," he published radical pamphlets that were very critical of England's then-Prime Minister William Pitts and King George III. Parkinson felt the government wasn't doing enough for the underprivileged. They were also upset by two sedition acts Pitt had passed through Parliament, known as the Two Acts, which stated any meetings or actions which were against his government amounted to treason. He joined a secret society called the London Corresponding Society for Reform of Parliamentary Representation, which became increasingly radicalized. Five members of the society, including Parkinson, were accused of plotting to assassinate King George III by using an air gun to shoot a poisoned dart at him at the State Opening of Parliament. They were arrested and jailed before the alleged "Popgun Plot" could occur, in supposed violation of the two sedition acts. But eventually they were released due to lack of any hard evidence. Some historians believe the Popgun Plot may not have existed at all; instead it was fabricated by the government to show the need for the Two Acts. Regardless, after the event, Old Hubert stopped publishing articles and Parkinson focused on his medical and scientific research. As for the Two Acts, they remained wildly unpopular, and were overturned in the Reform Act of 1832—eight years after Parkinson's death.
Happy Birthday, James Parkinson! He's the doctor after whom Parkinson's disease is named. His 1817 essay entitled An Essay on the Shaking Palsy inspired a French neurologist to name the disease "Parkinson's Disease"—which he classified in 1861. Parkinson was born in London in 1755 and followed his father's surgical career by attending the London Hospital Medical College and the Royal College of Surgeons. While he is most remembered today for his work in medicine, he was also active in social reform and politics. Using the pen name "Old Hubert," he published radical pamphlets that were very critical of England's then-Prime Minister William Pitts and King George III. Parkinson felt the government wasn't doing enough for the underprivileged. They were also upset by two sedition acts Pitt had passed through Parliament, known as the Two Acts, which stated any meetings or actions which were against his government amounted to treason. He joined a secret society called the London Corresponding Society for Reform of Parliamentary Representation, which became increasingly radicalized. Five members of the society, including Parkinson, were accused of plotting to assassinate King George III by using an air gun to shoot a poisoned dart at him at the State Opening of Parliament. They were arrested and jailed before the alleged "Popgun Plot" could occur, in supposed violation of the two sedition acts. But eventually they were released due to lack of any hard evidence. Some historians believe the Popgun Plot may not have existed at all; instead it was fabricated by the government to show the need for the Two Acts. Regardless, after the event, Old Hubert stopped publishing articles and Parkinson focused on his medical and scientific research. As for the Two Acts, they remained wildly unpopular, and were overturned in the Reform Act of 1832—eight years after Parkinson's death.
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FREEBiology Daily Curio #1734Free1 CQ
As Bugs Bunny knows, never count the Tasmanian Devil out. That's what biologists in Tasmania are counting on, as the world's largest carnivorous marsupials battle extinction. The entire Tasmanian devil species is threatened with extinction from a communicable cancer called Devil facial tumor disease, or DFTD. DFTD is a rare kind of parasitic cancer that spreads when one infected Devil bites another. Since the Devils fight constantly and voraciously, DFTD is rapidly infecting the entire population—which exists only on the Australian island of Tasmania. The diseased animals form large tumors on their faces that grow so large within a year or two that they can no longer eat. Since the disease was first discovered by a Dutch photographer in 1996, it has spread uncontrollably. By 2007, scientists believed the species would be extinct in 35 years. Then something interesting started happening. A few Devils started living longer with DFTD, showing a propensity to resist it, and then had offspring that were immune. Within eight generations, or 16 years, the Devil population has started to bounce back. Researchers now estimate that there is only a 20 percent chance the Tasmanian devils will go extinct in the next 100 years. Just in case, local scientists have transported a population of healthy Devils to nearby Maria Island where hopefully they should propagate disease free. Either way, it looks like the Devils will be romancing for the foreseeable future.
Image credit & copyright: CraigRJD via iStock
As Bugs Bunny knows, never count the Tasmanian Devil out. That's what biologists in Tasmania are counting on, as the world's largest carnivorous marsupials battle extinction. The entire Tasmanian devil species is threatened with extinction from a communicable cancer called Devil facial tumor disease, or DFTD. DFTD is a rare kind of parasitic cancer that spreads when one infected Devil bites another. Since the Devils fight constantly and voraciously, DFTD is rapidly infecting the entire population—which exists only on the Australian island of Tasmania. The diseased animals form large tumors on their faces that grow so large within a year or two that they can no longer eat. Since the disease was first discovered by a Dutch photographer in 1996, it has spread uncontrollably. By 2007, scientists believed the species would be extinct in 35 years. Then something interesting started happening. A few Devils started living longer with DFTD, showing a propensity to resist it, and then had offspring that were immune. Within eight generations, or 16 years, the Devil population has started to bounce back. Researchers now estimate that there is only a 20 percent chance the Tasmanian devils will go extinct in the next 100 years. Just in case, local scientists have transported a population of healthy Devils to nearby Maria Island where hopefully they should propagate disease free. Either way, it looks like the Devils will be romancing for the foreseeable future.
Image credit & copyright: CraigRJD via iStock
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FREEPlay Daily Curio #1733Free1 CQ
Ring, ring. Since the 1980s, a French town nestled on the Iroise Coast in Brittany has been battling a bizarre problem. Bright orange plastic telephones shaped like the cartoon cat Garfield have been washing up on their beaches for thirty years. The phones have become a symbol of the plastic ocean pollution problem which plagues the Finistère region, with volunteer beach cleaners collecting orange plastic fragments of the mysterious phones for years. Last year, an anti-litter group calling itself Ar Vilantsou began running advertising campaigns featuring the orange Garfield phones—whose eyes open when the receiver is removed from the cradle. It was the ad campaign which finally solved the mystery. A local farmer, who didn't know the problem still persisted, remembered that the first Garfield phone had washed up in the 1980s after a particularly nasty storm, when he was a teenager. He guessed that a container had fallen off of a barge, and knew where to look: a secluded sea cave that is only accessible at low tide. Sure enough, when he led officials there, they found a shipping container wedged in a fissure of the cave still half full of vintage plastic Garfield phones. As yet, unfortunately, they have not figured out how to remove the container or its contents. Whoever can solve that problem will not only rid the beautiful coastline of its orange plastic plague, but they will also find an eager audience for the vintage phones. They are currently selling for upwards of $200 on eBay!
Image credit & copyright: Fred Tanneau via AFP/Getty Images
Ring, ring. Since the 1980s, a French town nestled on the Iroise Coast in Brittany has been battling a bizarre problem. Bright orange plastic telephones shaped like the cartoon cat Garfield have been washing up on their beaches for thirty years. The phones have become a symbol of the plastic ocean pollution problem which plagues the Finistère region, with volunteer beach cleaners collecting orange plastic fragments of the mysterious phones for years. Last year, an anti-litter group calling itself Ar Vilantsou began running advertising campaigns featuring the orange Garfield phones—whose eyes open when the receiver is removed from the cradle. It was the ad campaign which finally solved the mystery. A local farmer, who didn't know the problem still persisted, remembered that the first Garfield phone had washed up in the 1980s after a particularly nasty storm, when he was a teenager. He guessed that a container had fallen off of a barge, and knew where to look: a secluded sea cave that is only accessible at low tide. Sure enough, when he led officials there, they found a shipping container wedged in a fissure of the cave still half full of vintage plastic Garfield phones. As yet, unfortunately, they have not figured out how to remove the container or its contents. Whoever can solve that problem will not only rid the beautiful coastline of its orange plastic plague, but they will also find an eager audience for the vintage phones. They are currently selling for upwards of $200 on eBay!
Image credit & copyright: Fred Tanneau via AFP/Getty Images
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FREESTEM Daily CurioFree1 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this fun(gi) favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
There is a fungus among us. Beneath us, actually. An underground network of white, thread-like, fungi inhabits much of Earth's soil. Called mycelia, these branching threads form massive fungal colonies that produce most mushrooms and can cover many square miles. One mycelium colony in eastern Oregon is the size of 1,665 football fields. Since the 19th century, biologists have known that mycelia colonize the roots of plants and form a partnership known as a mycorrhizal association. Plants provide carbohydrates (sugar) to the fungi in exchange for water and nutrients like carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous.
But in the last 20 years, biologists have discovered a multitude of mycorrhizal partnerships that exist between aboveground plants, using the mycelia as a communication network. This has prompted fungus experts to nickname the mycorrhizae "nature's internet" and "the wood wide web." Those crazy biologists. Actually, it's pretty amazing what they have discovered. Large trees lend nutrients to nearby seedlings via mycelia, helping them survive their early years. Trees release chemical signals into the mycelia to warn other trees when they are being attacked. Tomato plants detect that neighboring plants are under attack and increase their defense responses before the harmful pathogens arrive. Just like the real internet, there are a few bad actors as well. Sycamore, Eucalyptus, and acacia trees release chemicals into the mycelia which harm their neighbors, leaving more resources for themselves. Unfortunately for the plants, sending out all those sugary signals also makes their roots more tasty to insects, worms, and critters. No wonder the gophers will stop at nothing to eat the roots of my tomato plants!
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this fun(gi) favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
There is a fungus among us. Beneath us, actually. An underground network of white, thread-like, fungi inhabits much of Earth's soil. Called mycelia, these branching threads form massive fungal colonies that produce most mushrooms and can cover many square miles. One mycelium colony in eastern Oregon is the size of 1,665 football fields. Since the 19th century, biologists have known that mycelia colonize the roots of plants and form a partnership known as a mycorrhizal association. Plants provide carbohydrates (sugar) to the fungi in exchange for water and nutrients like carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous.
But in the last 20 years, biologists have discovered a multitude of mycorrhizal partnerships that exist between aboveground plants, using the mycelia as a communication network. This has prompted fungus experts to nickname the mycorrhizae "nature's internet" and "the wood wide web." Those crazy biologists. Actually, it's pretty amazing what they have discovered. Large trees lend nutrients to nearby seedlings via mycelia, helping them survive their early years. Trees release chemical signals into the mycelia to warn other trees when they are being attacked. Tomato plants detect that neighboring plants are under attack and increase their defense responses before the harmful pathogens arrive. Just like the real internet, there are a few bad actors as well. Sycamore, Eucalyptus, and acacia trees release chemicals into the mycelia which harm their neighbors, leaving more resources for themselves. Unfortunately for the plants, sending out all those sugary signals also makes their roots more tasty to insects, worms, and critters. No wonder the gophers will stop at nothing to eat the roots of my tomato plants!
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FREEWorld History Daily Curio #1732Free1 CQ
Today is World Rat Day! To celebrate, we're holding a Rodent Themed Thursday and discussing Queen Victoria's self-appointed royal ratcatcher, Jack Black. Black lived in 19th-century England when widespread rat infestations terrorized England's crops, spoiled food reserves, and spread diseases. Naturally, ratcatchers were esteemed and in high demand. And Black was the king of the ratcatchers. He had mastered the art of catching vermin barehanded as a child and concocted an ingenious marketing ploy as an adult. Wearing a gold-banded top hat, a green overcoat, and a sash bedecked with rat-shaped medallions made from melted-down saucepans, Black swaggered the streets of London referring to himself as Queen Victoria's personal "rat and mole destroyer."
The title befit Black. Using just his hand, he once nabbed 300 rats from a single hole in a wall, stuffing them all into his coat pockets. He employed a legion of ferrets as pest-hunters and a pack of dogs to track the ferrets. The eccentric exterminator even trained badgers, raccoons, and a monkey to help him comb basements and sewers. When Black wasn't working in the field, he sold newfangled traps and homebrewed poisons. He increased sales by putting on shows where he would release rats from a domed cage. Instead of fleeing, the rats would scamper about his hands and arms, only to perch on his shoulders and sniff his ears, to the delight of audiences. Black also bred rats. He sold feisty ones to rat-baiters (who unfortunately used them for bloodsport), but domesticated the ones with pleasant dispositions or unique appearances—the first "fancy" rats. Allegedly, Black bred them as pets for the likes of Queen Victoria and author Beatrix Potter. The American Fancy Rat & Mouse Association even credits Black as "the originator of the first true domestic rats." Which means that today's pied and albino varieties likely originated from the Queen's ratcatcher himself!
Image credit & copyright: Henry Mayhew
Today is World Rat Day! To celebrate, we're holding a Rodent Themed Thursday and discussing Queen Victoria's self-appointed royal ratcatcher, Jack Black. Black lived in 19th-century England when widespread rat infestations terrorized England's crops, spoiled food reserves, and spread diseases. Naturally, ratcatchers were esteemed and in high demand. And Black was the king of the ratcatchers. He had mastered the art of catching vermin barehanded as a child and concocted an ingenious marketing ploy as an adult. Wearing a gold-banded top hat, a green overcoat, and a sash bedecked with rat-shaped medallions made from melted-down saucepans, Black swaggered the streets of London referring to himself as Queen Victoria's personal "rat and mole destroyer."
The title befit Black. Using just his hand, he once nabbed 300 rats from a single hole in a wall, stuffing them all into his coat pockets. He employed a legion of ferrets as pest-hunters and a pack of dogs to track the ferrets. The eccentric exterminator even trained badgers, raccoons, and a monkey to help him comb basements and sewers. When Black wasn't working in the field, he sold newfangled traps and homebrewed poisons. He increased sales by putting on shows where he would release rats from a domed cage. Instead of fleeing, the rats would scamper about his hands and arms, only to perch on his shoulders and sniff his ears, to the delight of audiences. Black also bred rats. He sold feisty ones to rat-baiters (who unfortunately used them for bloodsport), but domesticated the ones with pleasant dispositions or unique appearances—the first "fancy" rats. Allegedly, Black bred them as pets for the likes of Queen Victoria and author Beatrix Potter. The American Fancy Rat & Mouse Association even credits Black as "the originator of the first true domestic rats." Which means that today's pied and albino varieties likely originated from the Queen's ratcatcher himself!
Image credit & copyright: Henry Mayhew
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FREESTEM Daily Curio #1731Free1 CQ
Mosquito warriors fight on! Researchers have finally proven what they suspected for a long time: mosquitoes can smell us. Scientists have long known that mosquitos use multiple strategies to hone in on their juicy human meals. They first detect the cloud of exhaled carbon dioxide that surrounds us, from as far as 30 feet away. As they get closer they detect body heat. And once they have landed on us, they taste our skin through their feet while looking for an optimal location to draw blood. But neurogeneticists from Florida International University wanted to understand the role human odor plays in a mosquito's guidance systems. Their study, published this week in Current Biology, reveals that mosquitoes have olfactory receptors in their antennae that are triggered by chemicals in human sweat, known as lactic acid volatiles. The scientists were able to genetically alter these receptors, called Ir8a, in female mosquitos—which are the only gender that bites us. In a series of experiments, the mutant mosquitoes showed much less interest in humans than unaltered mosquitos. Even when they were exposed to garments covered in human sweat, they showed no response to human funk. The scientists believe they may be able to develop a perfume or spray that masks our odor from being detected by mosquitoes. If that works, it could put a major dent in the spread of serious mosquito-borne diseases like dengue, yellow fever, Zika, and malaria. If it smells even half decent I will take baths in the stuff!
Mosquito warriors fight on! Researchers have finally proven what they suspected for a long time: mosquitoes can smell us. Scientists have long known that mosquitos use multiple strategies to hone in on their juicy human meals. They first detect the cloud of exhaled carbon dioxide that surrounds us, from as far as 30 feet away. As they get closer they detect body heat. And once they have landed on us, they taste our skin through their feet while looking for an optimal location to draw blood. But neurogeneticists from Florida International University wanted to understand the role human odor plays in a mosquito's guidance systems. Their study, published this week in Current Biology, reveals that mosquitoes have olfactory receptors in their antennae that are triggered by chemicals in human sweat, known as lactic acid volatiles. The scientists were able to genetically alter these receptors, called Ir8a, in female mosquitos—which are the only gender that bites us. In a series of experiments, the mutant mosquitoes showed much less interest in humans than unaltered mosquitos. Even when they were exposed to garments covered in human sweat, they showed no response to human funk. The scientists believe they may be able to develop a perfume or spray that masks our odor from being detected by mosquitoes. If that works, it could put a major dent in the spread of serious mosquito-borne diseases like dengue, yellow fever, Zika, and malaria. If it smells even half decent I will take baths in the stuff!
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FREEHumanities Daily Curio #1730Free1 CQ
King Richard I, aka Richard the Lionheart, died 820 years ago this week on April 6, 1199. He left quite a contradictory legacy. According to legend he was a buff, bronzed, and powerful warrior who was charismatic, quick-witted, and generous. He was also the protagonist of the Third Crusade, which killed over 20,000 Turks and Ayyubids (today's Kurdish Muslims). At one point he presided over the mass beheading of 3,000 prisoners of war. Then there's the part where he led a rebellion against the rule of his father, Henry II—although it was rumored that Henry had taken Richard's betrothed as his own mistress after first imprisoning her. Richard eventually joined forces with King Phillip of France to defeat Henry's armies and assume the throne. When he was crowned king in July of 1189, he barred all women and Jews from attending the investiture at Westminster Abbey. When some Jews showed up with gifts anyway, Richard's courtiers stripped and flogged them, leading to several days of arson, forced baptism, and murder against London's Jewish population. Yet Richard is remembered in modern times as England's most pious monarch. He has also become something of a gay icon due to his childless marriage, physical depictions, and an unearthed document which stated Richard and France's King Philip "ate every day at the same table and from the same dish, and at night their beds did not separate them." It could also be that Richard owes his historically touched-up image to none other than Robin Hood. In those stories of good and evil, Robin was a supporter of Richard the Lionheart and an enemy-to-the-death of Richard's evil brother, Prince John, who ascended to the throne after Richard's death. Whatever the reason, Richard is the only English King remembered by his epithet rather than his regnal number, which makes him easier to remember. And he's the only one played by Anthony Hopkins in the movies. We can only hope history is as kind to all of us!
King Richard I, aka Richard the Lionheart, died 820 years ago this week on April 6, 1199. He left quite a contradictory legacy. According to legend he was a buff, bronzed, and powerful warrior who was charismatic, quick-witted, and generous. He was also the protagonist of the Third Crusade, which killed over 20,000 Turks and Ayyubids (today's Kurdish Muslims). At one point he presided over the mass beheading of 3,000 prisoners of war. Then there's the part where he led a rebellion against the rule of his father, Henry II—although it was rumored that Henry had taken Richard's betrothed as his own mistress after first imprisoning her. Richard eventually joined forces with King Phillip of France to defeat Henry's armies and assume the throne. When he was crowned king in July of 1189, he barred all women and Jews from attending the investiture at Westminster Abbey. When some Jews showed up with gifts anyway, Richard's courtiers stripped and flogged them, leading to several days of arson, forced baptism, and murder against London's Jewish population. Yet Richard is remembered in modern times as England's most pious monarch. He has also become something of a gay icon due to his childless marriage, physical depictions, and an unearthed document which stated Richard and France's King Philip "ate every day at the same table and from the same dish, and at night their beds did not separate them." It could also be that Richard owes his historically touched-up image to none other than Robin Hood. In those stories of good and evil, Robin was a supporter of Richard the Lionheart and an enemy-to-the-death of Richard's evil brother, Prince John, who ascended to the throne after Richard's death. Whatever the reason, Richard is the only English King remembered by his epithet rather than his regnal number, which makes him easier to remember. And he's the only one played by Anthony Hopkins in the movies. We can only hope history is as kind to all of us!
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FREEPlay Daily Curio #1729Free1 CQ
Happy April Fool's Day! But this Curio isn't a joke. Researchers in Switzerland have concluded that cheese tastes better if you play hip-hop music to it while it is aging. The experiment—which was conducted over a six-month period beginning last fall—was based on a hunch that sound waves could affect the microorganisms that give cheese its flavor. The scientists exposed nine identical 10-kilo wheels of freshly made Emmental cheese to eight different genres of music: jazz, rock, techno, classical, folk, opera, ambient, and hip-hop. The cheese wheels "heard" the music 24 hours a day through mini transmitters that focused the sound energy inside the wheels for the entire six months of the aging process. The ninth "control cheese" didn't get any music. Afterwards, professional food technologists analyzed all nine wheels and concluded that the ones exposed to music were milder and better aged than the control cheese. They also found the cheeses exposed to lower frequencies were sweeter and that the hip-hop cheese had "a discernibly stronger smell and stronger, fruitier taste than the other test samples." A blind tasting by a panel of Swiss chefs, politicians, and artists also agreed the hip-hop cheese was the best. The scientists think the lower frequencies help to energize the microorganisms that are responsible for the aging process. Next, the researchers hope to focus on which hip-hop is most effective. I'm rooting that Eminem is best for Emmental!
Image credit & copyright: AFP
Happy April Fool's Day! But this Curio isn't a joke. Researchers in Switzerland have concluded that cheese tastes better if you play hip-hop music to it while it is aging. The experiment—which was conducted over a six-month period beginning last fall—was based on a hunch that sound waves could affect the microorganisms that give cheese its flavor. The scientists exposed nine identical 10-kilo wheels of freshly made Emmental cheese to eight different genres of music: jazz, rock, techno, classical, folk, opera, ambient, and hip-hop. The cheese wheels "heard" the music 24 hours a day through mini transmitters that focused the sound energy inside the wheels for the entire six months of the aging process. The ninth "control cheese" didn't get any music. Afterwards, professional food technologists analyzed all nine wheels and concluded that the ones exposed to music were milder and better aged than the control cheese. They also found the cheeses exposed to lower frequencies were sweeter and that the hip-hop cheese had "a discernibly stronger smell and stronger, fruitier taste than the other test samples." A blind tasting by a panel of Swiss chefs, politicians, and artists also agreed the hip-hop cheese was the best. The scientists think the lower frequencies help to energize the microorganisms that are responsible for the aging process. Next, the researchers hope to focus on which hip-hop is most effective. I'm rooting that Eminem is best for Emmental!
Image credit & copyright: AFP
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FREEMind + Body Daily CurioFree1 CQ
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this squeaky-clean favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Handwashing is a big deal. It's the number one way to prevent the spread and contraction of disease. Unfortunately, you are probably doing it wrong. A new study found the Center for Disease Control's (CDC) three-step method ineffective compared to the one taught by the World Health Organization (WHO). The CDC method is simple: apply sanitizer, rub palms together, and rub until dry. It's probably the way you wash your hands. The WHO method is like overkill in comparison. After you get your hands wet with water and soap or sanitizer: (1) rub your palms together; (2) rub your right palm over the back of your left hand while interlacing fingers, then reverse; (3) rub palm to palm again, with interlacing fingers this time; (4) rub the backs of your fingers against the opposing palms with interlocking fingers; (5) clasp and rotationally rub each thumb; (6) rotationally rub each palm with your fingertips. Yikes! See below for the WHO's pictorial explanation for "safely" washing your hands. The study confirmed the WHO method is significantly more effective at killing bacteria. For doctors, nurses, and others around individuals with susceptible immune systems, hand hygiene can save lives. But when researchers observed a group of doctors and nurses at a U.K. hospital attempting to implement the WHO method, the results were not so good. Only 65% of the participants even completed the process, despite being instructed and observed by the researchers. Since the release of the study, the CDC has started a "Clean Hands Count" campaign, stressing the importance of hand hygiene. After writing this Curio, I feel a strong urge to go give my hands a good scrub.
It's Flashback Friday! Enjoy this squeaky-clean favorite from the Curio Cabinet archives.
Handwashing is a big deal. It's the number one way to prevent the spread and contraction of disease. Unfortunately, you are probably doing it wrong. A new study found the Center for Disease Control's (CDC) three-step method ineffective compared to the one taught by the World Health Organization (WHO). The CDC method is simple: apply sanitizer, rub palms together, and rub until dry. It's probably the way you wash your hands. The WHO method is like overkill in comparison. After you get your hands wet with water and soap or sanitizer: (1) rub your palms together; (2) rub your right palm over the back of your left hand while interlacing fingers, then reverse; (3) rub palm to palm again, with interlacing fingers this time; (4) rub the backs of your fingers against the opposing palms with interlocking fingers; (5) clasp and rotationally rub each thumb; (6) rotationally rub each palm with your fingertips. Yikes! See below for the WHO's pictorial explanation for "safely" washing your hands. The study confirmed the WHO method is significantly more effective at killing bacteria. For doctors, nurses, and others around individuals with susceptible immune systems, hand hygiene can save lives. But when researchers observed a group of doctors and nurses at a U.K. hospital attempting to implement the WHO method, the results were not so good. Only 65% of the participants even completed the process, despite being instructed and observed by the researchers. Since the release of the study, the CDC has started a "Clean Hands Count" campaign, stressing the importance of hand hygiene. After writing this Curio, I feel a strong urge to go give my hands a good scrub.