Robbie Gonzalez

Can You Solve One Of Archimedes’ Most Challenging Puzzles?

Archimedes was the greatest mathematician of antiquity. He was also a lover of puzzles, which he would devise and pose to his contemporaries. This week, we present you with two versions of what is arguably Archimedes’ most challenging puzzle ever. Art by Jim Cooke I am speaking of Archimedes’ Cattle Problem. Said puzzle appears below,…

Oh My Glob – Adventure Time Is Being Turned Into A Movie! 

MATHEMATICAL! Pendleton Ward’s dark, funny, technicolor weirdfest (aka Cartoon Network’s Adventure Time) is being developed into a feature-length animated film by Warner Bros. According to Deadline, who broke the news, the project is being produced by Chris McKay and Roy Lee. CN and Ward are involved, as well: McKay (one of the exec producers of…

The Moon, Venus, & Mars In A Single Frame

On February 20, skygazers were treated to a dramatic astronomical dance between Venus, Mars, and the moon. Not since 2008 had these three objects found themselves in such close quarters. Kevin Bourque captured the trio (and some nice earthshine, to boot) in this arresting photograph. Photo featured by kind permission of Kevin Bourque Bourque tells…

Humans possess a remarkably keen sense of smell (a recent estimate puts forth that we can discriminate more thana trillion different odors) – so why are we so bad at describing smells? At The New Yorker, Alastair Gee explores several theories as to why our scent lexicon is so lacking.

Here’s How A Mob Of Sheep Could One Day Save Your Life

When a crowd needs to pass through a small doorway – an emergency exit, for example – the opening can quickly become obstructed. Recently, researchers have been using sheep to understand how they might mitigate this potentially catastrophic bottleneck effect. The above video was shot by Iker Zuriguel and his colleagues at the University of…

Everything You Need To Know About The New, More Effective HPV Vaccine

A recently approved vaccine called Gardasil 9 protects against more strains of HPV and HPV-related cancers than any vaccine currently available. But who should get it? And how did it get so much better? Here’s a complete rundown on the state of the art in HPV-cancer prevention. Image Credit: Getty In June 2006, the U.S.…

Rats remember acts of kindness, and then reciprocate. A study published this week inBiology Letters showed rats remember who is nice to them and return the favor later.National Geographiccalls it “the first evidence of direct reciprocation in nonhumans.” We’re not so sure about that last part, but it’s an impressive finding, nonetheless.

Aerogel Sure Makes A Funny Sound, For A Supermaterial

If you’re familiar with aerogel, you know that it’s one of the lowest–density materials on Earth. But even if you’re versed in this supermaterial’s physical properties, you’ve probably never thought about what aerogel sounds like. This video answers that question. https://gizmodo.com/this-is-a-picture-of-the-lightest-substance-on-earth-461681135 I don’t know what I was expecting, but… it certainly wasn’t that. Even watching…

How To: Build A World-Class Insect-Photography Rig For Under $6,000

Six thousand bucks is a lot of money, but it’s small change compared to the price of many professional camera kits. That’s why this instructional post from Alex Wild caught my eye. Wild is talented photographer, and his subjects are mostly insects (we’ve featured his work on io9 on multiple occasions), which makes sense; he’s…

Russia Will Stay With The International Space Station Through 2024

Russia announced Tuesday it plans to remain affiliated with the International Space Station through 2024, at which point it will undock its modules to create its own, separate orbital outpost. Above: The ISS, as photographed by a crew member aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-132) on May 16, 2010 | Credit: NASA. The Obama administration announced…

Sometimes Evolution Looks Like Donald Trump’s Hair And That’s Okay

In the Amazon, there is a species of a bird whose babies mimic the appearance of a toxic species of caterpillar that resembles Donald Trump’s hair. (Spot the difference above, and after the jump.) Evolution! Ugly as sin, but damn effective. We have procured images of the baby bird and its doppelgängers. We present them…

President Obama Has Vetoed The GOP’s Keystone XL Pipeline bill

The Keystone bill cleared the senate in January and passed in the House earlier this month, but the legislation was swiftly vetoed this afternoon by President Barack Obama. Above: Demonstrators rally in support of Obama’s pledge to veto legislation approving the Keystone XL pipeline, on January 10, 2015 | Credit: Jose Luis Magana / AP…

Could There Be Another Planet Behind The Sun?

Universe Today’s Fraser Cain nails it in just five words: “No. Nooooo. No. Just no.” But then he explains how we know this, and what would happen if a planet were to suddenly materialize, in an orbital position hidden from our view by the Sun. Eventually, our orbits would intersect, and there’d be an encounter.…

These Statements Are Both True, But One Is Easier To Believe

Presented with these two semantically identical statements, people will believe the top one more than the bottom one. Why is this? And what does it tell us about John Keats’ famous dictum about beauty and truth? Osorno is a city in Chile. This statement is a fact. But not everyone is familiar with Osorno’s municipal…

Lawmaker Asks If Women Can Swallow Camera… For Gynecological Exams

During a debate over abortion legislation Monday between Idaho lawmakers, Republican state representative Vito Barbieri asked whether it would be possible for a woman to swallow a small camera, so that doctors might perform a remote gynecological examination (presumably, à la capsule endoscopy). Above: Vito Barbieri | Credit: Matt Cilley/AP According to the Associated Press,…

The Psychology Behind Anti-Vaccination

Hank Green takes a different tack in confronting and understanding the anti-vaccination movement in a recent episode of SciShow, in which he explores a handful of the many, many cognitive biases and logical fallacies to which anti-vaxxers (and the rest of us) are so readily susceptible. https://gizmodo.com/the-12-cognitive-biases-that-prevent-you-from-being-rat-5974468 https://gizmodo.com/8-logical-fallacies-that-fuel-anti-science-sentiments-1679442426 See also this recent episode of It’s…

New Theory Claims Yawning Evolved To Help Humans Eat Insects

According to Emma Kowal of Harvard University, yawning evolved in our hunter-gatherer ancestors to be a highly efficient method of bug-consumption. Her argument is thoroughly and impressively researched, logically presented, undeniably captivating, and hilariously wrong. Kowal’s presentation on yawning as a means of “high throughput entomophagy” (i.e. large-scale bug eating) was awarded second place at…

Gorgeous Banknotes Feature Flora, Fauna—And Skeletons Under UV Light

For her Master’s project, graphic designer Barbara Bernát created a fictional currency she calls the Hungarian Euro. Instead of people or monuments, the obverse and reverse of Bernat’s notes feature beautiful illustrations of European animals and plants; beneath UV light, the skeletal anatomies of the former become visible. Photos by Richárd Kelemen, all images used…

This Week’s Puzzle Is As Easy As Pie

You can solve this week’s puzzle with a pie (traditional or pizza) and slicer, a pen and paper, or a little math. The choice is yours. Sunday Puzzle #21: Slicing Pie One straight slice through one whole pie divides the pie into two pieces. Simple enough. A second straight cut, crossing the first, will produce…

A man’s death has led to the discovery of a new virus in Kansas. “We do not yet fully know how people become infected with Bourbon virus,” the CDC reports. “However, based on what we know about similar viruses, it is likely that Bourbon virus is spread through tick or other insect bites.”