Therizinosaurs

Therizinosaurs were theropod dinosaurs with a very distinctive set of characteristics. Possessing long necks, wide torsos, and hind feet with four toes, therizinosaurs also had unique hip bones that pointed backwards and were partially fused together. However, the most striking characteristics of these dinosaurs were the enormous claws on their hands, which could reach lengths of three feet. Furthermore, skin impressions from at least one therizinosaur indicate that they were covered in what? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Bizarre Camouflage Skills of the Cuttlefish Have Finally Explained by Science

The animal kingdom is home to all manner of weird and wonderful defense tactics, but the camouflage skills of cuttlefish, squid and octopuses surely rank among the most impressive.These masters of disguise have the incredible ability to change the … Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Buffalo Creek Flood (1972)

More than 100 people were killed and thousands more left injured or homeless when a dam in West Virginia’s rural Buffalo Creek Valley gave way. It had been built out of sediment left over from coal mining and collapsed after a heavy rainfall, sweeping away two more dams in its path. The collapse unleashed approximately 130 million gallons of black waste water onto the residents of the valley below. A study done 17 years later found that residents still suffered what lasting psychological effect? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

John Harvey Kellogg (1852)

Remembered today as the co-creator of corn flakes, Kellogg was a physician and food reformer. He founded a sanitarium in Battle Creek, Michigan, based on the principles of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in conjunction with his own eccentric ideas about health. He and his brother invented a flaked breakfast cereal for patients, but a feud developed between the two over flake recipes and business rights. At the end of his life, he sent his brother an apology, but it was not received in time—why? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Schmidt Sting Pain Index

The Schmidt Sting Pain Index is a scale that rates the relative pain caused by the stings of nearly 80 species of insects in the Hymenoptera order, which includes wasps, bees, and ants. It is mainly the work of entomologist Justin O. Schmidt, who spent years subjecting himself to the stings, ranking them, and describing some of the experiences in colorful detail. Which insect’s sting was described as producing “trembling in the form of a totally uncontrollable urge to shake the affected part”? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Human-Sheep Hybrids Could Grow Human Organs for Transplant and Even Cure Diabetes

Scientists have created human-sheep hybrids in a step towards human organ production in animals. The approach could one day supply organs for transplantation in humans, and even offer a cure for type 1 diabetes. Researchers Hiro Nakauchi from Stanford … Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

The Calaveras Skull Hoax Begins (1866)

What began as a practical joke became a famous, decades-long scientific hoax when a prominent geologist not only fell for it, but vigorously defended it as real. After miners in Calaveras County, California, claimed to have found a human skull deep within a mine, Harvard University Professor Josiah Whitney—then the State Geologist of California—announced that it was the earliest evidence of humans on the continent. Where might the miners who planted the skull have obtained it in the first place? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Fiesta sa EDSA

The Fiesta sa EDSA is a commemoration of the bloodless People Power Revolution in the Philippines from Feb. 22-25, 1986, in which the dictatorial regime of Ferdinand Marcos was toppled. Two key government officers rebelled in protest of Marcos’s oppression and demanded his resignation. Pro-Marcos forces threatened to annihilate them, but two million unarmed people, with offerings of flowers, food, and prayers, provided a human shield and overcame the military’s firepower. The day is marked with ceremonies at the site of the revolution in Quezon City, a part of Manila. Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary