Excavation of an ant colony: “
Jennifer Lum points us to this fascinating segment from the TV documentary ‘Ants! Nature’s Secret Power.’ Jen says, ‘Scientists poured cement into an ant colony structure and then excavated it (I imagine the ants died). It revealed an amazing network of fungus gardens and tunnels and garbage pits.’
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If some people have a propensity to benefit from medical treatment that is bogus (placebo effect), while others don’t, and if this is a genetic difference, then I’d like to propose that it’s really a “mind over matter” gene which makes that difference. These people (everyone among the group raise your hands proudly) truly have the ability to manipulate physical reality simply with their beliefs/ideas/visualizations. I know I consider myself to fall slightly into this category (having some pretty intense visualization experiences becoming immediately real), yet have always just kind of assumed it’d be available to everyone.
Anyway, here is the article.
thinking much about new cities, nested cities, cohesive cities.
check out the details on this one proposed for moscow, the whole island is a new mini city (or is it just a huge huge mall?):
For a little costume inspiration, I’d like to offer you the city by city zombie photo finder!
This is just one of many amazing LOL observations of poorly placed advertising featured on the oddee site.
In 1958, Ray set a new world’s record in water skiing. He skied 1,000 miles on the Columbia River in 33 hours and 27 minutes non-stop. His method of covering this great distance over a small section of the river was to go round and round over an oval-shaped course 12 1/2 miles long. He made the entire trip on one ski.
The old record of 715 miles was set by John Musser of St. Joseph, MO in September 1957. De Fir was informed at the 725 mile mark that he had set a new world mark, but he decided to go on for the 1000 mile record without stopping. He had decided to make the record try after taking a water ski trip to Astoria and back in July. He reportedly felt so fresh after that jaunt that plans were made to assault Musser’s record.
His total intake of nourishment while on the water consisted of two quarts of soup, three
sandwiches, three pieces of chicken [two dropped in the water], one orange, one quart of
chocolate milk, and 12 stubbies of beer.
The last 250 miles were the roughest, and Ray found that both fatigue and monotony
were riding with him on the ski. Around his neck a small portable radio carried music
from station KVAN of Vancouver, WA. The disc jockey provided appropriate jive in
cooperation with the event to help break the wearisome grind which was rapidly showing
its effect on the lone skier. Twice in the last 200 miles in spite of the lively music, Ray
fell asleep on his feet. To combat this irresistible urge to doze off, he beckoned for the
other boats milling around in the water to swing in close so that he could talk to them.
The heel of his right foot was painfully tender from the constant trip hammer action of the
ski on the water. This forced him to place all of his weight on the left leg for practically
the reminder of the 200 miles.
Wild orangutans have been spotted using naturally occurring anti-inflammatory drugs.
Four individuals have been seen rubbing a soothing balm onto their limbs, the first known examples of orangutans self medicating. Great apes have never before been seen using drugs in this way. Remarkably though, local people use the same balm, administering it in a similar way to treat aches and pains.
Truman Show Disorder: “Montreal psychiatrists Joel and Ian Gold are studying the Truman Show Delusion, a mental illness they’ve identified where individuals are convinced that they are the stars of imaginary reality TV shows. By the way some people act on Flickr and YouTube, I’d say that this disorder, with varying severity, may be more common than we realize. From Canada.com:
While (Joel) Gold says they could have easily called their new disorder the EDtv Delusion or the Matrix Delusion — both films that refer to an unreal existence– three of the five patients he treated at the storied mental health hospital directly likened their plight to The Truman Show, the 1998 film about Truman Burbank, an affable suburbanite who slowly becomes aware that his every movement is broadcast 24/7 to voyeuristic viewers around the world.
The five patients Dr. Gold treated were white men between the ages of 25 and 34, the majority of whom held university degrees. ‘I realized that I was and am the centre, the focus of attention by millions and millions of people,’ explained one patient, an army veteran who came from an upper-middle-class upbringing.
‘My family and everyone I knew were and are actors in a script, a charade whose entire purpose is to make me the focus of the world’s attention….’
‘The wish for fame is a form of grandiosity, and the fear of threats such as surveillance can bring about paranoia,’ said the Montreal-based (Ian) Gold, 46, who specializes in delusion.
‘New media is opening up vast social spaces that might be interacting with psychological processes.’
Truman Show Delusion (Canada.com, thanks Lyn Jeffery!)
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(Via Boing Boing.)
