Boston Residents Tackle Severe Winter Weather With Good Humor And A Little InsanityThough the 2015 winter has been brutal for many East Coast cities in the United States, few have had it as bad as Boston. The city was bombarded by an astounding 7.5 feet of snow, caused by four blizzards that rammed through the area in just three weeks. With spring still a few weeks away, the foul weather is not expected to let up anytime soon. While the dreary prospects would be enough to dampen the spirits of most, hardy Bostonians have opted to embrace the excess white fluff and enjoy it in some unusual ways....
Read news articleEco-Friendly Designer Transforms Garbage Into Glamorous OutfitsMost artists have a favorite material they like to work with. For 28-year-old Kristen Alyce, it happens to be trash. The eco-conscious designer uses her incredible talent to transform garbage like empty drink bottles and Skittles wrappers into glamorous outfits that sell for thousands of dollars....
Read news articleStick-On Nanowafers Could Mean An End To Messy Eye DropsThose of you that have suffered from dry eyes, severe allergies or experienced an infection know how difficult it is to apply eye drops. The most annoying part is that even after you have managed to administer the medicine, most of it streams out with the first blink. In fact, that is the reason doctors always recommend multiple applications. Now, some researchers have come up with a stick-on nanowafer that will alleviate the aggravation and also help heal faster....
Read news articleX-Ray Technique Allows Researchers To Read Scorched Herculaneum ScrollsWhen Italy's Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, it buried not only the city of Pompeii, but also the nearby resort town of Herculaneum. In 1752, an excavation team discovered a large number of papyrus scrolls inside an entombed Herculaneum villa. Though the exterior of the scrolls that were rolled up for storage are carbonized and resemble pieces of charred wood, the interior is remarkably well preserved....
Read news articleBeagle Scores Rare Win At America's Prestigious Westminster Kennel Club Dog ShowThough there are numerous dog shows held all around the country, none is as prestigious as the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Now in its 139th year, the "Super Bowl" of the canine world, is America's oldest dog show. This year's event which was held at New York City's Madison Square Garden from February 17-18th attracted 3,000 hopeful pooches representing over 190 dog breeds....
Read news articleChina Gets Ready To Usher In The Year Of Goat/SheepLike most Asian countries, China has numerous festivals. However none is celebrated with as much enthusiasm as the Lunar New Year or Spring Festival, which begins on Thursday, February 19th. The age-old tradition that will usher in the year 4713, was started to celebrate the advent of spring. Today it is the longest and the most significant of all Chinese festivals....
Read news articleVideo Of The Week - Why We Celebrate Presidents' DayWhile Presidents' Day appears to be largely about sales, there is more to this holiday. Observed on the third Monday of February each year, it is a day to honor all US presidents, past and present. Prior to 1968, Americans celebrated two holidays - February 12th and 22nd in honor of Abraham Lincoln's and George Washington's birthdays respectively....
Read news articleThe Alaskan Town Where Most Residents Live Under One Roof!At first sight Whittier, which lies 65 miles southeast of Anchorage, looks just like any other picturesque town in Alaska. However, look closer and you will notice that there are no cute little homes scattered around. The only structures you will see are a few buildings, the most prominent ones being the Buckner Building and the Begich Towers....
Read news articleTaiwan's New Law Imposes Fines On Parents That Allow Kids To Spend "Excessive" Time On Electronic DevicesAs our world goes increasingly digital, kids are spending an inordinate amount of time with their electronic devices - smartphones, computers and tablets. This has raised concern among experts who believe that this habit is detrimental to children's well-being. Now the government of one country has taken an unusual measure to try curb this "harmful" activity....
Read news articleFriday The 13th - Lucky For Some, Unlucky For Most?It's Friday the 13th! While a select few like Taylor Swift will simply "shake it off" and even release a new music video, there are millions of others that will not step out of their homes today. That's because when the 13th which is already considered unlucky by many, falls on a Friday, the fear factor rises exponentially. While nobody knows for sure why the combination of the 13th with Friday is so feared, there are many theories....
Read news articleThe Debate About Network Neutrality And Why You Should CareOn February 26th, the five members of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will vote on the important issue of Internet neutrality. So why should you care? Imagine this scenario: You are trying to access your favorite website, video game or movie, only to find that it is blocked unless you pay extra! That could very well become a reality if Net neutrality is not maintained....
Read news articleE-Nable Connects 3-D Printer Owners And Designers To Those In Need Of ProstheticsWhile 3-D Printing technology is still a young innovation, it is already being used to create a wide variety of products: action figures, musical instruments, fabrics, and even food! But for all of the fun and whimsical items that can be produced, the most exciting application of this radical invention is the printing of artificial limbs. Its low cost structure makes it ideal for those that are unable to afford traditional prosthetics which can run tens of thousands of dollars....
Read news articleVideo Of The Week - Can You Spot The Octopus?An underwater diver filming the beautiful coral in the Caribbean captured a rare sight - a perfectly camouflaged octopus emerging from its hiding place with its skin transforming from the dull green of the coral to a beautiful sky blue. Jonathon Gordon says that he was just trying to get a closer look at an unusual shell and had no idea that the creature was there, until he was just about a meter away....
Read news articleJellyfish Are More Than Aimlessly Drifting Bags Of GelatinThe appearance of large jellyfish blooms is often met with dismay. That's because though these floating blobs of gelatin are essential for the ecosystem and an important food source for certain marine animals, they are very destructive. In addition to inflicting painful stings, large groupings of the invertebrates frequently clog commercial fishing nets and even cause power stations to shut down....
Read news articleFrank Gehry's Latest Design Is Being Compared To A "Crumpled Brown Paper Bag"Frank Gehry is famous for his offbeat architectural designs like the enormous glass sails of the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris and the titanium fish scales of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. His latest building, the first in Australia, is as radical - so much so that critics have likened it to a crumpled brown paper bag....
Read news articleNao, A Humanoid Robot To Debut At Japan's Mitsubishi BankIn April 2015, Japan's Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group will welcome a new kind of employee - a humanoid robot called Nao. The bank's first non-human hire that stands 58-centimeters (22.8 inches) tall and weighs a mere 5.4 kilograms (12.7 pounds), is the brainchild of France's Aldebaran Robotics - a subsidiary of Japan's Softbank....
Read news articleWhy Seeing Elsa's Ice Powers Are Enough To Send Shivers Down Your SpineEver had goose bumps on your arms when viewing videos of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, or experienced a shiver crawl down your spine whilst watching Disney's Frozen? Turns out there is a scientific explanation for that. According to British researchers just seeing someone shiver is enough to lower your body temperature by several degrees. While this phenomenon does not compare to Elsa’s powerful freezing capabilities, it sure proves that we all have a small amount of chilly magic, just waiting to be unleashed!...
Read news articleDonations Pour In For Detroit Man Who Treks 21-Miles To Work Every Day!The next time you hear someone complaining about their "horrendous" commute you may want to tell them about Detroit resident James Robertson, whose daily round trip journey to and from work is an astounding 46 miles. Not impressed? How about if we tell you that about 21-miles of it is completed on foot!...
Read news articleExtended Winter Or Early Spring? Groundhogs Make Their Predictions!February 2nd was Groundhog Day. This meant that woodchucks (and other animals) all across North America revealed their predictions about the length of this year's winter. Among them were legendary weather forecaster Punxsutawney Phil and rising superstar, Staten Island Chuck....
Read news articleVideo Of The Week - Head Of School Sings "Let It Go" Parody To Announce Snow DayWhat's better than receiving an e-mail informing you of a "Snow Day"? How about a music video with your Head of School lip-synching "School is Closed" to the tune of Frozen's super hit song "Let it Go?" That's exactly what Matt Glendinning, the Principal at the Moses Brown School in Providence, Rhode Island, did to announce that school would not be in session on January 27th....
Read news articleThe (Two) Eagles Has Landed! Helium Powered Balloon Complete Historic Trans-Pacific FlightOn January 25th at about 6.30 am local time, Troy Bradley of Albuquerque and Leonid Tiukhtyaev of Russia embarked on a historic balloon flight from Saga, Japan, to the shores of North America. Their trans-Pacific flight aboard Two Eagles was an attempt to break the world distance record established in 1981 by four men on a hot air balloon dubbed Double Eagle V....
Read news articleJames Patterson Creates "Self Destructing" Book To Market Latest ThrillerWith between 600,000 and a million books being published or self-published just in America each year, it is getting increasingly hard for writers to get their books noticed. Most stick to old-fashioned tactics like book tours that allow them to connect with their existing readers and attract new ones. However, there are a few that pull some amazing marketing stunts to get their publications noticed....
Read news articleBaby Birds Mimic Toxic Caterpillars to Fool PredatorsAnimals adapt in various ways to protect themselves from predators. Some take on the smell of the food they consume, while others build decoys. But very few are able to do what the cinereous mourner that resides in the Peruvian Amazon rainforests has done. This dull gray bird has evolved such that its chicks not only closely resemble a brightly colored toxic neighbor, but also act like it!...
Read news articleSuper Bowl Sunday Is All About The . . . Food?The countdown has begun - in less than three days, Americans all across the country will hunker down to watch the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots battle it out for the title of National Football League Champion. Called Super Bowl Sunday or Super Sunday, it is the most watched annual television program in the United States....
Read news article