Tagged: tom scott

I thought this rotating house was impossible. Near San Diego, California, there’s a rotating house: and somehow, all the utilities, the electricity, gas and water, work even on the rotating part. How’s that possible? ■ Al’s site: https://rotatinghome.com ■ The real estate listing: http://navrealestate.co/4903-mount-helix-dr This is not an advert; I received no payment other than…

The first jungle gym was meant to hack kids’ brains Well before the first climbing frame was patented as “jungle gym”, mathematician Charles Hinton thought they might be able to teach kids four-dimensional thinking. ■ Thanks to the Winnetka Historical Society! More from them: https://www.winnetkahistory.org/gazette/j-is-for-jungle-gym/ Original patents referenced: https://patents.google.com/patent/US1471465A/ https://patents.google.com/patent/US1488244A/ https://patents.google.com/patent/US1488245A/ https://patents.google.com/patent/US1488246A/ Also referenced is…

It’s the Matrix, but for locusts. At the Department of Collective Behaviour, part of the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, researchers are putting locusts into simulated worlds, both virtual and physical, in the hope that they can figure out how devastating swarms form and move. ■ About the Centre: https://www.exc.uni-konstanz.de/collective-behaviour/ https://www.ab.mpg.de/couzin Edited by Michelle…

This tiny hovercraft went viral. Hideyasu Ito runs the Micro Hovercraft Laboratory, and I got to meet him and ride his incredible four-bubble hovercraft. ■ The Laboratory: @hideito9042 http://mhlabo.web.fc2.com/ or https://twitter.com/microhovercraft Local producer: Yasuharu Matsuno at Mind Architect Camera and edit: Julian Domanski (This video has an English dub available on supported devices. Change the…

I rode the world’s fastest train. I thought maglev trains were a dead-end technology: but it looks like I was wrong. At JR Central’s Yamanashi Maglev Test Track, I rode Japan’s new maglev. ■ The maglev: https://scmaglev.jr-central-global.com/ ■ The exhibition centre: https://www.linear-museum.pref.yamanashi.jp/english/index.html Local producer: Yasuharu Matsuno at Mind Architect Camera and edit: Julian Domanski (This…

I took a ride on a moving radio telescope The Parkes Radio Telescope, part of CSIRO, is one of the most famous telescopes in the world: and it’s got a unique way of getting equipment up and down from the central section. ▪ More about the Telescope: https://www.csiro.au/en/about/facilities-collections/atnf/parkes-radio-telescope Edited by Michelle Martin https://twitter.com/mrsmmartin I’m at…

I was wrong (and so was everyone) Did 18th century firefighters really let buildings burn? Sources below. ■ AD: 👨‍💻 NordVPN’s best deal is here: https://nordvpn.com/tomscott – with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Here’s the full, thoroughly referenced report: https://www.tomscott.com/corrections/firemarks/ Thanks to historical consultant Paul J Sillitoe: http://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-sillitoe-avi-consultants Thanks to Afonso Noronha for the email sparking…

Why the US Army electrifies this water The Chicago and Sanitary Ship Canal is the path that invasive carp would take to reach the Great Lakes. So to stop them, the US Army Corps of Engineers has installed an electric barrier. Although for obvious reasons, I didn’t get to see it close up. Sources, apart…

I visited the Yellowstone Zone of Death I feel like there are other YouTube channels that would take a different approach here. ▪ With thanks to Professor Brian Kalt: his original article is here: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=691642 — any inaccuracies that have slipped in are mine alone, and this is, obviously, not legal advice! To save you…