STUFF: News, Technology, the cool and the plain weird

[MIKA27]

Giant New Zealand Carnivorous Snails Are Anything But Slow

Video: I’ve never seen a snail moving this fast in my life, but then I’ve never been to New Zealand where these creatures come from. The snails had to adapt to their isolation and became bigger and carnivorous.

[MIKA27]

4 Totally Fake Currencies That Changed The Course Of Real Wars

At the tail end of his time as Commander of US Forces Afghanistan, General David Petraeus commented that “money is my most important ammunition in this war”. It was far from an original thought. In fact, you could argue that currency is the most important and least acknowledged wartime weapon.

Banknotes, in a way, make the perfect ammunition: They hold universal value across many cultures. They’re small, light and pack easily. Most countries already possess the infrastructure to print them. And maybe most importantly, they represent stability — or the lack of it.

So for centuries, armies have waged shadow wars with the stuff, using tactics as straightforward as the British sparking hyperinflation in Revolutionary War-era America and as murky as waging a psychological war against Iraqi troops via propaganda banknotes in Gulf War. Take a look at a few examples below.

The Secret Agents That George Washington Hanged

The history of counterfeiting goes way, way back in America — even before America was. During the Revolutionary War, Congress created a American currency to fund its war against England which, in turn, launched a plan to destabilize its unruly little brother’s booming colonial economy by introducing fake Continental cash into the supply, sparking hyperinflation.

According to Military History Now, two British loyalists were enlisted to travel across the 13 colonies distributing the fake cash — this was called “shoving”. By the time they were apprehended, the duo had $US10,000 in counterfeit Continental money between them — and George Washington had both hanged.

Hitler’s Failed Counterfeit Operation

During World War II, the Nazis developed a similar plan — an operation designed to destabilise the British pound by causing massive inflation. Often exploiting slave labour in concentration camps, they forged millions of fake £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes — producing counterfeit notes so perfect, it took years for the Bank of England to distinguish some from legitimate bills.

There’s an incredible amount of scholarship (and plenty of fictional accounts) of this so-called Operation Bernhard — check out a memoir from one of the counterfeiters here.

Blanketing Vietnam With Fake Money

The US had experimented with propaganda bills at the end of World War II, and by the time the Vietnam War was underway in 1965, it had launched a full-fledged campaign. The approach was simple: print counterfeit notes, but use one side of those notes to convey a message about the war.

There were dozens of designs and variations used. For example, US forces would print high-quality copies of the North Vietnamese dong notes that looked just like the real thing, except for a blank spot that could be filled in to fit specific aims, like “Return to reunite with your son and family, live in peace and happiness.”

According to a 1966 issue of International Banknote Society Journal, the US dropped as many as 400 million of these leaflets over Vietnam between 1965 and 1966. Here’s how one pilot remembered the massive operations:

The contents of the boxes weren’t generally known by the crews, other than that they were leaflets. The boxes were sealed and designed so they didn’t break apart until the box reached the end of the static line and the leaflets thus deployed behind and below the aeroplane.

But the other side was in on the action too: As the Currency Collector’s John Sandrock points out (PDF), Viet Cong banknotes were soon being printed with ornately-drawn scenes of fighters bringing down American helicopters:

Dropping 29 Million Bills Over Iraq

The Gulf War didn’t last long, but the US Army wasted no time staging a massive psychological warfare campaign during that time.

Over the course of the brief war, the US Army dropped some 29 million leaflets over Iraq, most of them printed with “money” on one side and propaganda on the other.

Some of the banknote designs were actually borrowed from the bills dropped over Vietnam — others contained detailed directions about how to surrender. The note above reads: “The bearer of this leaflet is allowed to cross the lines of the Allied Forces and receive good treatment until you reach the headquarters of the Coalition closest. You are also allowed our brother join Iraqi Forces Combined Forces with a clear conscience and without doing you any harm. Will be treated according to the Geneva Convention.”

Tens of thousands of Iraqi soldiers had surrendered within just a few weeks — according to Military History Now, you can see some soldiers holding the leaflets in this video. Check out 14 of the other designs here.

[MIKA27]

This Farmer Reinvented The Wheel To Build A Better Wheelchair

It’s one of the most stale idioms in the book: “Don’t reinvent the wheel”. But that didn’t stop Gilad Wolf, the Israeli inventor who found that comfortably getting around in a conventional wheelchair was nearly impossible. Instead, Wolf set out to reinvent his wheelchair wheels.

Drawing from everything from farm equipment to the innovations at the Rad-BioMed Technology Accelerator in Tel Aviv, Wolf’s invention, called SoftWheel, is a more efficient and comfortable riding wheel.

The SoftWheel’s design features a rim that has three shock absorbing compression cylinders. This suspends the wheel’s hub while evenly distributing mass along the chair, giving the rider the ability to easily descend stairs and overcome bumps.

Unsurprisingly, the SoftWheel was found to work perfectly in other applications, too. Within minutes, they were able to hook their prototype up to a bike, which produced a visibly smoother and faster ride, as seen in this video.

If you want a pair they won’t come cheap — SoftWheel will go on sale at the end of this year for somewhere around $2000. That might seem hefty, but it’s a small price to pay if it reduces medical injuries caused by wheelchair vibrations.

[MIKA27]

This Site Broadcasts Radio From Wherever The Sun Is Rising

There’s something about the sound of the morning news that seems eminently hopeful. For some of us, it’s NPR, but of course every place has its own variation — which is why Global Breakfast Radio, which lets you listen to the radio wherever the sun is rising, is so cool.

All you have to do is head to the website and click play, and you’ll hear a broadcast from wherever the sun is rising. It also shows you a handy sun map to track the progress of the Earth’s turn. As I’m writing this, dawn is happening in Arizona and Chihuahua, La Paz, Mazatlan.

Wired UK got an inside look at the project, which was designed and built by awriter named Seb Emina and a systems artist named Daniel Jones, and reports that you’ll hear a hugely diverse list of stations if you listen closely:

Among the stations included are a traditional “oompah” station from Germany called “Alpenmelodie”, a kids’ broadcaster from Novosibirsk in Russian Siberia, and a Chamorro music station from a small village in Guam which has been broadcasting since 1954.

Head over to Global Breakfast Radio to check it out. It doesn’t guarantee that you’ll feel that indescribable optimism of the early morning all day, but it’s fun nonetheless.

[MIKA27]

Man Imprisoned 13 Years Late Granted Early Release

A "clerical error" gave belated prisoner Cornealious "Mike" Anderson, who had been convicted of armed robbery more than a decade ago, time to get married, raise children, pay taxes and ultimately gain clemency from a sympathetic judge.

A Missouri man who was sent to prison 13 years late after officials discovered no one had told him where to go was granted an early release on Monday.

Judge Terry Lynn Brown commended Cornealious “Mike” Anderson for leading an “exemplary” life outside of prison, NBC News reports. “You’ve been a good father,” the judge said. “You’ve been a good husband. You’ve been a good taxpaying citizen of the state of Missouri.”

All of that was thrown into disarray when a SWAT team arrived at Anderson’s house last summer, following up on a 13-year-old conviction for armed robbery. The Missouri Department of Corrections had overlooked his prison sentence due to a “clerical error.”

Anderson’s subsequent imprisonment gained national attention when it was featured in an episode of This American Life.

[MIKA27]

You Won't Believe What People Are Searching For On Google

For the best part of 20 years now the phrase "Google it" has been synonymous with getting answers quickly and solving those questions that drive you mad.

It's revolutionised the way we absorb information, the way we learn and made the world that much smaller. There's approximately 400M search requests made every minute on Google.

But there's always those search terms which we conduct in the privacy of our own homes, safe behind our luminous screens, anonymous to the world (except Google). Those devious, embarrassing or sneaky terms we need solutions for.

This revealing infographic by SearcyFactory highlights some of these unique scenarios, items and events that people needing help and information on. Some are quite innocent (if a little strange) others are truly chilling....

[MIKA27]

Coca-Cola to remove controversial drinks ingredient

The world's largest beverage-maker, Coca-Cola, plans to remove a controversial ingredient from some of its drinks brands by the end of this year, following an online petition.

Brominated vegetable oil, or BVO, is found in Coca-Cola fruit and sports drinks such as Fanta and Powerade.

It will be replaced after concerns an element of the additive is also found in flame retardants.

Rival Pepsi removed the chemical from its Gatorade sports drink last year.

A Pepsi spokesman said it also had wider plans to stop using BVO and had "been actively working to remove it from the rest of our product portfolio".

Pepsi uses the ingredient in its Mountain Dew and Amp Energy drinks.

'Safe'

Coca-Cola spokesman Josh Gold stressed the move to remove BVO was not an issue of safety.

"All of our beverages, including those with BVO, are safe and always have been - and comply with all regulations in the countries where they are sold," he said in a statement.

"The safety and quality of our products is our highest priority."

BVO has been used as a stabiliser in fruit-flavoured drinks as it helps to prevent ingredients from separating.

The health concerns stem from the fact BVO contains bromide, which is found in brominated flame retardants.

According to medical researchers at the Mayo Clinic, excessive consumption of soft drinks containing BVO has been linked to negative health effects, including reports of memory loss and skin and nerve problems.

BVO was dropped from the US Food and Drug Administration's "Generally Recognized as Safe" list of food ingredients in 1970.

However, drinks companies are allowed to use BVO at up to 15 parts per million.

Food activism

Coca-Cola said it would switch to using sucrose acetate isobutyrate or glycerol ester of rosin, which is commonly found in chewing gum.

The Atlanta-based company said two flavours of its Powerade sports drink - fruit punch and strawberry lemonade - have already replaced BVO with glycerol ester of rosin.

Coca-Cola's decision to remove BVO from its drink reflects a growing move among companies to reconsider certain practices due to public pressure.

The campaign against the use of BVO was begun by Sarah Kavanagh, a teenager from Mississippi, who questioned why the ingredient was being used in drinks targeted at health-conscious athletes.

Thousands of people have since signed her online petition on Change.org to have BVO removed from drinks.

[Fuzz]

NEW NEWS! Duff Beer Is Launching In Australia

No exactly true. A Duff beer was released by Lion Nathan back in the 90's, but was taken off the shelves after 20th Century Fox took legal action. Duff UG (not related to the Simpsons) was brought into Aus by a UK firm back in 2011. Oddly enough, Matt Groening stated that he would never licence the Duff name to brew a beer. Wonder how Woolworths managed to get that past the posts (might have to give a few in the know a ring).

Now let's see if they introduce Pawtucket Patriot Ale into Aus!

[MIKA27]

This Terrifying Glass Deck Lets You Walk Off A Cliff

This is the Glacier Skywalk, a newly finished observation deck in Canada’s Jasper National Park, smack dab in the middle of the Rockies of the Great White North. It makes you feel almost like you’re walking on air.

The Glacier Skywalk is the brainchild of Brewster Travel Canada, Sturgess Architecture, and Read Jones Christofferson Engineering. It just opened late last week, but it’s been underway for a few years — as you might expect, a glass bridge on the side of a cliff isn’t the easiest construction job on Earth. The curved structure has a glass floor that cantilevers about 30m from the edge of the cliff.

Scared of heights? Probably avoid this guy, because it’s your only safety net between you and a 280m drop. For the more daring among us, it looks like an incredible way to take in the majesty of the park.

MIKA: I love Canada. never been but it's on my bucket list. Such a beautiful country.

[MIKA27]

No exactly true. A Duff beer was released by Lion Nathan back in the 90's, but was taken off the shelves after 20th Century Fox took legal action. Duff UG (not related to the Simpsons) was brought into Aus by a UK firm back in 2011. Oddly enough, Matt Groening stated that he would never licence the Duff name to brew a beer. Wonder how Woolworths managed to get that past the posts (might have to give a few in the know a ring).

Now let's see if they introduce Pawtucket Patriot Ale into Aus!

[Fuzz]

Unfortunately, never happened.

[MIKA27]

First Video Of The US Army Flying Truck In Action

Advanced Tactics has released the very first video showing the Black Knight Transformer flying through the desert.

It is, as hybrids are, slightly goofy both on earth and in the air. The spayed rotors and boxy carriage are no elegant design. But, hey, the thing can fly. Black Knight Transformer is designed to cruise at up to 240km in the air on autonomous medical evacuation and resupply missions. On the ground, the transformer can be driven just like a normal truck. Say hello to the flying truck of the future.

[MIKA27]

Watch As This Map Tracks The Whales Swimming Around Hawaii

Would you rather be swimming off the coast of Hawaii right now? You aren’t alone, and I can’t get you there — but your imagination and the Smartmine Whale Tracking map can!

This interactive animated map was put together by the earth sciences and tech company GeoEngineers using data from the Cascadia Research group. It lets you follow sperm, beaked, false killer, and pigmy killer whales around the islands, while projecting wind and ocean currents. You can even choose to stalk an individual whale.

The map isn’t without its glitches, though — unless, as it’s reporting right now, there’s a secret whale tunnel underneath Honolulu. Nonetheless, it’s amazing to see how the whale’s tracks match up with the ocean currents as they happen. [Smartmine]

[MIKA27]

This Tiny Metal Pill Is The Smallest Pacemaker Ever Implanted

The world is one step closer to a future where tiny ship-like vessels travel through our veins and fix our health problems. Recently, doctors across the United States implanted the world’s smallest pacemaker into cardiac patients. The device is roughly the size of a large vitamin and is attached directly to the heart without invasive surgery.

The Medtronic Micra TPS is indeed futuristic. One-tenth the size of a normal pacemaker, the miniaturized technology doesn’t even require wires. Unlike existing devices which are installed into a cavity beneath the skin that doctors carve out through an incision in the chest, the Micra TPS is inserted through a large vein in the thigh and pushed up to the heart using catheters. It latches onto the muscle with metal ties and regulates the heartbeat with electrical impulses.

Believe it or not, the Micra TPS isn’t necessarily the most advanced pacemaker in development. That honour might go to this Tic Tac-sized pacemaker. However, it looks like the Medtronics device could be the first to hit the mass market. The current trial involves 780 patients at 50 medical centres around the world. If all goes well, getting a pacemaker could be almost as easy as getting an IV in the future.

[MIKA27]

Watch The Best US Air Force Combat Squadron Dogfighting Like In Top Gun

http://youtu.be/3t5WVjYLBVs

Maverick and the Goose have nothing on the pilots of the 67th Fighter Squadron — the Fighting ***** flying out of Kadena Air Base in Japan, who won the Raytheon Trophy for air-to-air excellence. The combat action starts at the 1:40 mark.

The 67th has won the Raytheon Trophy some half dozen times now, making it the most-winning squadron in the entire USAF. This award, formerly known as the Hughes (as in Howard Hughes) is awarded to the top air-superiority and air-defence squadrons each year, has been since 1953. Units are rated on their performance, operational mission performance, organisational readiness inspection results, training exercise participation, unit achievements and awards, individual achievements and awards and unit incentive programs.

MIKA: In case you want to know the song playing at the beginning, that's Avenged Sevenfold "Hail to the King".. Love that band!

[MIKA27]

A Year-Long Bath Will Reveal The Secrets Of This Sub

In 1864, three years after the onset of the American Civil War, an ingenious new form of seafaring combat vessel ventured into the dark waters of Charleston Harbor and into the annals of history. Now researchers and historians are finally ready to begin piecing together what happened to the HL Hunley that fateful February night — but first, the Confederate attack sub will need a good long soak in the tub.

The Hunley proved to be a mixed blessing for the Confederacy. On one hand, the 12m long, 6.8-tonne hand-cranked semi-submersible was the first such submarine to sink a Union frigate (the USS Housatonic), proving the effectiveness of the design. On the other hand, the eight man vessel killed 21 crew members in three (three) separate sinkings during her brief service.

The Hunley‘s first success was also her final attack. Just after she sank the Housatonic, she mysteriously sank off the coast of Charleston NC and remained lost until 1995. Five years after being rediscovered not far from a busy shipping lane, the Hunley was raised from the seafloor in a widely-publicized 2005 effort by the Friends of the Hunley conservation group.

As the conservation team explains on its website:

Preventing the disruption of an artifact’s equilibrium is the primary purpose of archaeological conservation. Any artifact retrieved from a marine environment should be placed back in water as soon as possible before it starts to dry out or react with oxygen in the air. For this reason, the H.L. Hunley submarine was raised from the seabed and immediately transported to the Warren Lasch Conservation Center. The vessel was kept wet through the use of a water sprinklers during its eight-hour transit to the lab. Once at the laboratory facilities, the submarine was placed in a custom-built, 55′ x 18′ x 9′ (16.8 x 5.5 x 2.75 m) metal conservation tank and filled with fresh water.

The water was refrigerated to 50°F (10°C) over a 3-day period in order to retard the growth of fungus and algae as well as to cut down the rate of corrosion. The water chemistry in the tank is monitored continuously for pH, temperature, chlorides, conductivity, and oxygen.

In addition, the hull of the submarine is being subjected to an impressed current system designed by Corrosion Control Incorporated, which inhibits further corrosion, until the interior has been fully excavated. Following the excavation, the use of other corrosion inhibitors will be employed in the conservation process in order to stabilise the vessel.

Over the last nine years, conservationists and historians have carefully excavated the interior of the submarine, clearing away a century’s worth of sediment and recovering the bodies of those who died on board. It wasn’t until last year that researchers were able to see that the charge canister that sank the Houstonic was attached to just a 5m spar. This handle would have been far too short to sufficiently protect the Hunley’s crew from the resulting shockwave, and suggests that they may have been rendered unconscious by the blast, unable to crank the propeller which also pumped in air. However, a closer look at the hull will be required to confirm if this really was the case. And that’s where the 288,000 litres of sodium hydroxide comes in.

See, the sea salt and sand and grit and marine life that have infested the Hunley’s hull over the last 100 years can’t simply be scraped off, for fear of damaging the antique structure underneath. So instead, conservationists plan to fill the vessel’s 288,000-litre conservation tank with the mildly corrosive hydroxide mixture and let the vessel soak for three months. This should be enough to sufficiently loosen the sediment.

“Chiseling away the concretion will allow us to travel back in time, potentially helping us learn what happened to the Hunley and her crew that night,” Lt Gov Glenn McConnell, the chairman of the South Carolina Hunley Commission, said in a statement.

Once the sub has had its soak, another nine months of scrubbing and scraping will be necessary to fully eliminate the encrustment and another four years of conservation to pull the salts out of the hull so that it can eventually be put on display in a new museum in North Charleston.

[MIKA27]

This Insect Farm Grows Fly Larvae For Your Dinner

They’re safer than fish, healthier than beef and cheaper than chicken — bugs: they’re what’s for dinner. To help get a few more of these insects into our diets, a forward-looking designer has built the Fly Factory, a system for breeding fly larvae for human consumption.

The Fly Factory is a self-contained insect farm that could be installed in a greenhouse or even a commercial kitchen. It’s the concept of Icelandic product designer Búi Bjarmar Aðalsteinsson, who built the prototype while at the Icelandic Academy of the Arts and has it currently on display at the Reykjavík Art Museum.

Aðalsteinsson’s project was inspired by a widely disseminated United Nations report called “Edible Insects,” which pointed to insects as a sustainable, high-protein food source which could help battle food insecurity. Just when you look at the farming aspects, bugs deliver more punch per pound than other protein source: They eat pretty much any type of organic waste and require far less food and water than other animals need to grow.

The Fly Factory acts like a type of composting system, similar to the worm bins many people have in their backyards. The larvae eat table scraps and excrete nitrogen-rich waste which can be used as fertiliser. Plants can be grown in the larvae poop, and then the larvae themselves are harvested for eating. It’s kind of the perfect kitchen appliance, a garbage disposal and self-replenishing refrigerator all in one.

In addition to designing his insect factory, Aðalsteinsson has also become a bug chef, perfecting his recipes like larvae pate and coconut-chocolate larvae pudding. The larvae, which are high in fat and protein, do not taste like bugs, says Aðalsteinsson. “They taste like chicken,” he tells Dezeen. “There is no distinct taste. It depends on how you spice them and how you prepare them.”

Aðalsteinsson’s factory is part of a larger concept that includes a high-end restaurant that will help make bugs more intriguing to discerning palates. That’s a great plan to help the idea worm its way into the consciousness of the culinary elite. But eating bugs is going to become a very democratic part of dining — you shouldn’t be at all surprised to see insects on a menu near you, soon.

[MIKA27]

Electric Dragster Hits a Record 184 MPH in the Quarter Mile

Don “Big Daddy” Garlits can add another record to his impressive resume–fastest quarter mile run ever made in an electric vehicle.

Garlits, who is 82, tripped the lights at 184.01 mph with an elapsed time of 7.258 seconds. That was well short of the 200 mph benchmark he’d hoped to set, but he still obliterated the previous record by 24.16 mph.

“We didn’t get the 200 but we set a new record,” he said in a statement after last week’s attempt. “Our 200 is coming up next!”

It seems somehow appropriate that Garlits, widely considered the father of drag racing, would set such a record. Fifty years ago he became the first man to hit 200 mph in a gasoline-powered dragster, and he’s set a slew of records in the years since.

He made the latest run for a record at Bradenton Motorsports Park in Florida in Swamp Rat 37. The car uses a lithium-polymer battery array comprised of four packs, two on each side of the car. Each pack contains 300 cells for a total of 1,200 cells, making a maximum of 420 volts with a current of 3,600 amps. All that juice feeds six 7.5-inch series-wound DC motors. Total output is 1,500 kilowatts, or about 2,000 horsepower.

Nitro-burning top-fuel dragsters can produce 8,000 horsepower and handily hit 300-plus mph, but that’s an impressive amount of power for an electric vehicle, even one fabricated by legendary dragster builder Brad Hadman.

The car made six runs on April 30. The first, made at just 30 percent power, sent Garlits through the quarter in 10.90 seconds at 129mph. Another run at 50 percent power took 8.75 seconds and hit 151 mph. Garlits really let ‘er fly on the fifth run, hitting 178.42 mph. For his sixth and final run, Garlits went all-out and reached 184.01 mph. The chute was just a bit late coming out, and Garlits ran into the sandy run-off area at the end of the track. He was fine, but the car sustained some damage to the underbody.

All in all, though, a fine day’s work, and Garlits’ team says it will be back.

“I think we’ll tinker with the gearing and be looking for more power control to the motors so that we have full current delivery,” said Mike Gerry, who designed the SR-37. “We hope we can turn it around soon for another test and record attempt. We should get 200 next time out and I think we can break into the sixes [seconds].”

The previous record was held by Dennis Berube who hit 159.85 mph in 2007 with his Current Eliminator V. Beyond the quarter-mile course, and Ohio State University’s Buckeye Bullet has the electric vehicle land speed record at 307 mph.

Check out an on-board video of the record run, including the run-off into the sand.

[MIKA27]

Can You Catch Your Own Football Pass

Is this real or fake? I don’t know (yet). Of course I could catch my own pass if I threw the ball straight up, but what about this case? If you could do it like this, it would be pretty tough.

[MIKA27]

See the First Trailer for the New Batman Show Gotham

Batman is about to begin again.

Last night during 24: Die Another Day Fox premiered the first trailer for Gotham, the new show (officially ordered to series yesterday) that focuses on the early career of James Gordon, the man who’ll one day become commissioner of Gotham City and Batman’s trusted confidant in the ongoing fight against evil.

Southland‘s Ben McKenzie takes the role of Gordon in the series, with Terriers veteran Donal Logue playing fellow cop Harvey Bullock. As you can see from the trailer, the series will feature younger incarnations of familiar Batman villains—including Catwoman, the Riddler, and the Penguin—as well as a particularly young Bruce Wayne, as played by Touch‘s David Mazouz.

The trailer promises “the origins of the infamous city,” but whether or not the series turns out to be more Smallville than Arrow—or, worst-case scenario, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.—remains to be seen. Gotham will launch this fall on Fox.

MIKA: I'm one of the biggest Batman fans around, will look forward to watching this one. A prequel could be good. Hope it's not corny like Agents of SHIELD.

[MIKA27]

Yellowstone Caldera: More Magma, Less Eruptible

The Yellowstone Caldera (the lowlands in the middle) with Yellowstone lake, taken from STS-92 in October 2000

As usual, people are trying to rabble rouse when it comes to the Yellowstone Caldera. All these rumors that the government is trying to hide evidence of an impending eruption are pure fantasy, but that doesn’t stop some people from acting out their delusions to the detriment of others who fall prey to this misinformation. Yes, the Yellowstone Caldera is a massive volcano that has the potential to produce huge eruptions, but no, there are no indications right now that any sort of eruption will happen any time soon — and I’d be surprised if we see an eruption in our lifetime (just like any volcano that hasn’t had a confirmed eruption in the last ~70,000 years).

However, we’re always learning more about the caldera and its underpinnings. A new study by Jamie Farrell and others in the Geophysical Research Letters examined the geometry and properties of the Yellowstone magma reservoir using seismic data from earthquakes registered on the Yellowstone Seismic Network between 1984-2011. These seismic waves travel at different speeds depending on the material that they are passing through, so small changes in the arrival of seismic waves at different seismometers can be used to deduce the composition of said material. This means that examining seismic waves from tens of thousands of earthquakes can produce an image of the interior of the Earth — a process called tomography.

Farrell and others (2014) took this massive collection of seismic data and applied models to determine what the likely composition of the material beneath the caldera is. They did this by examining anomalies in the speed of seismic waves, where low velocity zones correlate with areas that could harbor magma, hydrothermal fluids, gas or other fluids. They can then render a models of the areas (see below) that have low velocity … and then interpret whether they think that is the magmatic reservoir or hydrothermal areas (or neither).

Seismic profiles underneath Yellowstone, where red are zones of lower velocity. These zones are magma/mush or hydrothermal features (heated fluids).

Based on these data, Farrell and others (2014) have modeled a large, shallow zones of lower seismic velocity that they interpret as the magmatic system beneath the Yellowstone Caldera (see above). This isn’t surprising as it has been imaged before. However, these new data also reveal a zone extending from the northeast boundary of the caldera that they interpret as a zone of shallow magma or hydrothermal fluids (or both). So, the magma body at Yellowstone might extend outside the known boundary of the caldera.

Now, before people get all uppity about that, this is what you might expect if you consider how much North America has moved since the last large eruption (~640,000 years ago). The Yellowstone hotspot is stationary and North America is moving across it, burning a path known as a hotspot track. As time goes by, the focus of magmatism at Yellowstone should be moving to the northwest.

Overall, Farrell and others (2014) think that the total volume of the Yellowstone magmatic system is ~200-600 cubic kilometers of melt (the range reflects the uncertainties in their models), which is much more melt than previous estimates. That sounds like a lot … and it is. This volume is smaller that two of the three largest Yellowstone eruptions, but within range of the 1.3 million-year-old Mesa Falls Tuff that erupted ~280 cubic kilometers of rhyolite ash and volcanic debris.

However, there is a big catch. Farrell and others (2014) estimate that this melt is stored in a mush that is only 5-15% molten — that is to say, 85-95% of the reservoir is solid. This makes all that magma extremely difficult to mobilize to eruption, as mushes will likely behave like a solid until ~40% melt. This new estimate is also much lower than the previous estimate that was ~32% melt. This means that Yellowstone is far below the bar for an eruption based on new models of buoyancy-driven eruptions.

So, the Yellowstone Caldera magmatic system might be larger than we previously thought, but much of that magma looks to be locked into a mush that is much less molten … and means its harder to erupt. As the scientists at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory said after this study was publicized at the American Geophysical Union meeting last December: “The new findings do not imply increased geologic hazards at Yellowstone, and certainly do not increase the chances of a “supereruption” in the near future”. All is well-and-good at the world’s largest caldera system, so don’t buy into those “sky is falling” Chicken Little’s out there who like to get their kicks from every blip at Yellowstone. .

The caldera is being watched, but right now, it is just business as usual.

[MIKA27]

FLOYD MAYWEATHER’S WHITE CAR COLLECTION

After defeating Marcos Maidana over the weekend, Floyd Mayweather claims he will make $70 million for just 36 minutes of work. While many critics are challenging that claim, it’s hard to argue that Mayweather has the most impressive car collection of any athlete.

The undefeated boxer took some time to share his lavish whips with the team at DuPont Registry, and it’s everything one would expect from The Money Team’s head honcho. From Ferraris to Lambos, and Bentleys to Rolls Royces, the Money Mayweather has chosen to keep them all white. The craziest part? He also claims that this is only part of his collection, and we don’t think we’d challenge that either.

MIKA: Such nice cars...BUT why in white of all colours!?

[MIKA27]

PEEK-I SPY CAM

The makers of Peek-I might not say they’ve created the perfect hot-girl-at-the-gym-picture-taker, but we will. Peek-I attaches magnetically to the camera lens of your mobile device, then works as a periscope, reflecting the image at a 90 degree angle.

This means you can be at the free weights, pretending to be reading important texts, and with the right touch, you can totally be getting beautiful shots of that blonde on the elliptical behind you. You can capture video or photos from any angle, as Peek-I spins a full 360°. It’s less than an inch long and wide, and comes with a silver or golden chrome finish. Of course they say you can go all James Bond with this thing and play the role of spy, and that’s true, but we think secret shots of sweaty sports bras is plenty dangerous enough. Check out the video below. [Purchase]

MIKA: For all the sticky beaks out there...

[MIKA27]

SKYRUNNER

The SkyRunner is aimed at those who seek the ultimate adrenaline experience. The all-terrain buggy features a lightweight construction allowing it to fly! Thanks to a turbo charged engine, propeller and paragliding wing, this part buggy, part light sports aircraft can take you on a one of a kind adrenaline-fuelled experience whether in the air or on the ground. Available mid 2014.

http://youtu.be/IupTQZa9mRY

MIKA: Now this I love! Now who'd like to split the cost and chip in...? It's only $120K

[MIKA27]

ROTATION 180 PHOTO BACKPACK | BY MINDSHIFT GEAR

The MindShift Gear backpacks let you access your photography equipment like never before, they feature a 180° rotating waist pack allowing instant access to your primary photo equipment, eliminating the need to take your whole pack off to get a shot. The integrated camera waist pack rotates out of the backpack lower section to the front of the body giving you rapid access your gear with no need to disrupt your creative momentum. The integrated rotating belt pack can be removed and used alone.