Ever since the 1960s, seismologists on multiple continents have detected a mysterious pulse generated like clockwork, every 26 seconds. But in the last 60 years no one has been able to figure out what this sound actually is.

The “heartbeat of the Earth” was first documented in 1962, by John Oliver, a researcher at the Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory, Columbia University. He figured out that it was coming from somewhere in the southern or equatorial Atlantic Ocean, and that it was more intense during the Northern Hemisphere’s summer months. Then, in 1980, Gary Holcomb, a geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, also discovered the mysterious pulse, noting that it was stronger during storms. But for some reason, the two researchers’ discoveries remained virtually unknown for over two decades, until a graduate student at the University of Colorado, Boulder, once again detected the “heartbeat” and decided to look into it.

Read More »

Catching fish as small as a penny would be nothing short of embarrassing for the average fisherman, but in Japan it’s a source of pride, as in the old art of Tanago Fishing, the smaller the fish is, the bigger a catch it represents.

Most fishermen believe that the bigger the fish they catch, the greater their fishing skill is, which is why you routinely see them posing only with very large fish, and hear them telling tales about veritable sea monsters that only narrowly eluded them. However, things are very different in Japan, a country where minimalism is pervasive in all aspects of life, from gardening, to architecture. Fishing makes no exception, so it’s not very surprising that fishermen judge their skills not by how large their catch is, but by how small it is.

Read More »

A Michigan-based businessman has created the world’s first mobile bowling alley by converting a 53-foot, semi-truck trailer into an exclusive entertainment center on wheels.

Inspired by popular companies like such as Amazon, Uber and Grub Hub, which relied heavily on convenience to achieve business success, a Detroit entrepreneur decided to bring bowling to the masses, instead of the other way around. To this end, Terence Jackson Jr. has been working on converting a 53-foot semi-trailer truck into a mobile bowling alley for years, but due to several obstacles he had to overcome, the two-lane facility was only unveiled last month.

Read More »

CopenHill isn’t just the world’s largest waste-to-energy powerplant, it’s also a masterpiece of architectural design, incorporating a giant ski slope and hiking trail on its winding roof, and a massive climbing wall on one of its sides.

Waste processing powerplants don’t usually make great tourist attractions, but Copenhagen’s newest achievement in its quest to become the world’s first carbon-free city is something that has to be experienced. Not only is CopenHill capable of converting 440,000 tons of waste into clean energy every year, but it’s also an exciting entertainment for people looking to engage in outdoorsy activities near the center of Denmark’s capital city. During the summer, its winding roof doubles as a green hiking trail, while in the winter season it becomes an artificial sky slope. Did I mention that it has the “tallest artificial climbing wall in the world” on its facade?

Read More »

If you’ve ever wanted to hold a girl’s hand and take long romantic walks in the moonlight, but could never actually find a girl to do that with, there’s now a high-tech device you can try.

Developed by a research team at Gifu University, in Japan, “My Girlfriend in Walk” is an ingenious device that aims to recreate the experience a girlfriend’s hand, without an actual girlfriend. The act of walking hand in hand with the opposite sex, be they partner or friend, can be very satisfying, but we don’t always have someone to do it with. Luckily, technology has evolved enough to provide a viable surrogate, kind of…

Read More »

A Colorado man had to be taken to the emergency room after suffering a rare allergic reaction to cold after stepping out of the shower into a cold shower.

Reported last month in the Journal of Emergency Medicine, the strange case of an unnamed 34-year-old man from Colorado who developed a serious allergic reaction to cold temperatures has left many medical experts scratching their heads. The man’s family allegedly found him on the floor after he collapsed soon after stepping out of the shower. He was struggling to breathe, his skin was covered in hives and he had very low blood pressure. When paramedics arrived, they diagnosed him with a life-threatening, whole-body allergic reaction known as “anaphylaxis”.

Read More »

Anastasia Poznyak, a young cat lover from Sankt Petersburg, managed to adopt two baby lynxes from a Russian fur farm and has since been sharing her home with them despite her neighbors’ complaints.

Anastasia was always a cat person, but somehow she had wound up with eight dogs – six huskies, a Samoyed, and an Inuit dog – as pets. She still wanted to get a cat as well, so a few years ago she started searching for a feline that her eight dogs would get along with. That’s how she learned that in Russia, operating lynx fur farms, where the large wild cats are bred for their luxurious coats, was still perfectly legal. Designer clothes made from real lynx furs are apparently very popular in Russia, so the cruel business can be very profitable. The good news was that she could adopt a lynx cub from such a farm.

Read More »

Helen Nugent is the Toronto-based pie maker who specializes in stunning, intricately designed pies that are definitely way too good to eat.

Thanksgiving may already be behind us this year, but there’s never a bad time for a pie, especially one that looks as amazing as those made by Helen Nugent, a self-taught food artist who abandoned her career in corporate communications to focus on her passion, baking. Today, Helen is recognized as one of the world’s leading pie artists, has her own cookbook, and collaborates with various food-themed magazines and even the Food Network. And to think it all started with a photo of a beautiful pie she saw on the internet…

Read More »

A 41-year-old tattoo artist and body modification enthusiast who calls himself Orc had two giant fake tusks fitted onto his bottom row of teeth, in an attempt to make himself look like a real-life orc.

Orc, who hails from the Brazilian town of Iguatemi, in Mato Grosso do Sul, got his first tattoo at the age of 15, and has since developed a passion for tattoos and body modifications, undergoing several procedures that have left him looking rather unique. The 41-year-old father of one has both eyes tattooed black, about 80% of his body covered in ink, a split tongue, several subdermal implants and sliced ears, but it’s his mouth that draws most people’s attention. Orc spent over $500 having a pair of large tusks fitted over his bottom teeth to make himself look like the fictional creature depicted in popular films and video games like Warcraft.

Read More »

The idea that a simple paint could could compete with modern air-conditioning sounds crazy, but researchers at Purdue University say it could become a reality thanks to a cool new “radiative cooling paint” they developed.

Engineers at Purdue University recently unveiled a revolutionary white paint that they claim can keep surfaces up to 18 degrees Fahrenheit (7.8 degrees Celsius) cooler than their ambient temperature, by absorbing almost no solar energy and actually sending heat away from the surface it is covering. Think of it as a way of turning basically any space into a refrigerator, only without the energy cost.

Read More »

A Chinese man has become popular in his home country for adopting the role of “bad uncle” and scaring strangers’ children into finishing their meals and going to bed early.

I remember my mom telling me that the Boogey Man would get me if I didn’t listen to her, but in China, the “bad uncle” is a more popular figure, and I dare say a more efficient one now that kids can finally associate a face to the name. That’s right, parents trying to get their kids to be more obedient can try the services of a bad uncle for hire, who will record a video of himself frowning and making faces at the camera to scare kids into listening to their parents, for a fee.

Read More »

Mexican artist Amadeus Garuda combines his passion for plasticine modeling and his love of all things geek to create some of the most stunning sculptures we’ve ever seen.

Amadeus, who goes by Dr. Garuda on social media, is a truly multitalented artist. He starts out by drawing a detailed sketch of his chosen character, in the particular pose he plans on recreating. He then start work on the metal wire frame of the sculpture itself, setting it over the sketch multiple times, to make sure it is correctly bent in the right places. Next, he crumples aluminum foil on the frame, and starts applying strips of red modelling clay. Using only his fingers, a scalpel and a cylindrical rod, he molds the clay into stunningly detailed anatomical parts, creased fabric, armor, and more.

Read More »

The Wall of Wind is the world’s largest wind simulator, an impressive contraption capable of generating winds of up to 157 miles per hour (70m/s), comparable to those registered during category 5 hurricanes.

In order to better protect against the devastating force of hurricanes, you first have to study them and test various materials against the powerful winds they generate. With this idea in mind, engineers at the International Hurricane Research Center (IHRC) and College of Engineering and Computing (CEC) at Florida State University spent 15 years building and perfecting the Wall of Wind, an impressive installation capable of replicating hurricane-force winds.

Read More »

A Scottish football club may regret its decision to replace human cameramen for an AI-operated camera system, after it hilariously kept mistaking a linesman’s bald head for the ball, thus denying viewers of the action on the pitch.

Last month Inverness Caledonian Thistle Football Club, commonly known as Caley Thistle or Caley Jags, which competes in the Scottish Championship, the second echelon of the Scottish Professional Football League, proudly announced that it had installed the AI-powered Pixellot camera system at its Caledonian Stadium. The system was designed to replace human cameramen with artificial intelligence-controlled cameras designed to follow the ball on the football field. Only the plan to automate live broadcasts of its home games went awry last week, when Pixellot managed to annoy viewers by constantly mistaking a linesman’s bald head for the ball during a game with Ayr United.

Read More »

Waterfalls are notoriously slippery, so trying to climb them without specialized gear is usually a bad idea, but at the Bua Thong Waterfalls in Thailand’s Chiang Mai province visitors can climb almost vertical falls using only their hands and feet.

The so-called Sticky Waterfalls get their name from the incredibly grippy limestone rocks that the water runs over. They feel like a very hard sponge to the touch and even though they can be described as prickly, you can easily climb them barefoot without hurting yourself. Because no algae or slimes adheres to this callous rock surface, the limestone creates enough friction to prevent slipping, allowing anyone in decent physical shape to climb even the steepest parts of the waterfalls.

Read More »