Top 10 Most Visited National Parks
Posted on October 25, 2022
| 10 minutes
| 1918 words
| Arica Deslauriers
Bucket ListIn 2009 almost 63 million visitors flocked to our country's stunning national parks. Just a handful of parks considered the gems of the United States National Park System and the names most familiar to the public received most of these visitors.
But these popular parks are more than clichéd family vacation destinations; look past the crowds and dig deeper into these household names to uncover the fascinating science of our national treasures.
[Read More]Tracking Belief in Bigfoot (Infographic)
Posted on October 25, 2022
| 3 minutes
| 584 words
| Patria Henriques
The big hairy monster we call Bigfoot has both eluded and fascinated many, with blurry photos and even blurrier video being some of the best evidence the creature exists.
Bigfoot stories of sightings vary on some details and the type of "evidence." In 2008, two Georgia men claimed they had a body, photos of the body and DNA evidence of a Bigfoot. A few days later, evidence surfaced that the DNA was that of an opossum and the body was really a frozen gorilla suit.
[Read More]Weird gadget may cure hiccups, early study suggests
Posted on October 25, 2022
| 4 minutes
| 777 words
| Arica Deslauriers
A simple device could be the solution to a deeply annoying problem that's plagued humanity for millennia: the hiccups.
When a bout of hiccups strikes, the brain stem shoots signals to the diaphragm that cause the muscle to contract and pull a gulp of air into the lungs; then the epiglottis, a flap of tissue behind the tongue, flips over to cover the windpipe and triggers the characteristic "hic" sound that give hiccups their name, Live Science previously reported.
[Read More]Weird Saturn hexagon covered in 'sandwich-like' layers of haze
Posted on October 25, 2022
| 3 minutes
| 632 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
(opens in new tab)There's an extensive system of haze layers in the bizarre hexagon on Saturn(opens in new tab), a new study has found.
"Saturn's Hexagon(opens in new tab)" is a swirling maelstrom at the planet's north pole that, as its name implies, has an odd, hexagonal shape. The hexagon is an ever-present cloud pattern that "stands" as tall as an enormous, whirling tower(opens in new tab) on the planet.
[Read More]What has no eyes, walked on stilts and died in 'Paleo Pompeii'? This ancient weirdo.
Posted on October 25, 2022
| 4 minutes
| 641 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
Paleontologists recently announced the discovery of an "exceptionally well preserved" ancient animal near the eastern shore of Lake Simcoe in southern Ontario, Canada, in a stone quarry that is such a hotbed for marine fossils that scientists have dubbed the area "Paleo Pompeii."
Named Tomlinsonus dimitrii, the species represented by the specimen is part of an extinct group of arthropods known as marrellomorphs that lived approximately 450 million years ago, during the Ordovician period, the research team reported in a new study.
[Read More]Why Is Cadmium So Dangerous?
Posted on October 25, 2022
| 2 minutes
| 322 words
| Fernande Dalal
The discovery of cadmium in McDonald's "Shrek Forever After" movie-themed drinking glasses has led to a nationwide recall and fear over how the toxic metal could affect young children.
"A very small amount of cadmium can come to the surface of the glass, and in order to be as protective as possible of children, CPSC and McDonald's worked together on this recall," said U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) spokesman Scott Wolfson.
[Read More]Will California's giant redwoods survive the raging wildfires?
Posted on October 25, 2022
| 2 minutes
| 383 words
| Trudie Dory
The ancient giants were standing when Jesus was born, and they were still upright when the Normans conquered Britain.
But will the majestic redwoods(opens in new tab) of California's coast survive the lightning-sparked fires raging across the state?
One of the biggest conflagrations in the state, the CZU complex fire in San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties, has severely damaged Big Basin State Park, which is home to a sprawling stand of these ancient redwoods, SFGate reported(opens in new tab).
[Read More]1st case of omicron variant in US confirmed in California
Posted on October 24, 2022
| 3 minutes
| 450 words
| Trudie Dory
Officials have confirmed the first known omicron variant (B.1.1.529) case in the United States.
The case was an individual who had returned to California from South Africa on Nov. 22 and tested positive for COVID-19 on Nov. 29, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said at a White House briefing on Wednesday (Dec. 1). None of the individual's close contacts have tested positive, he said.
[Read More]5 Ways to Save Money on Fresh Produce
Posted on October 24, 2022
| 3 minutes
| 477 words
| Patria Henriques
Extreme couponing: It's a thing now. And it seems to have sparked a resurgence in coupon clipping across the nation. Even I have been lured by the idea of getting my groceries for a fraction of their retail value. But after a few weeks of collecting and clipping, I realized that not only is this hard work, but it is also almost impossible to find coupons for fresh produce — and I'm not the only one.
[Read More]540,000-Year-Old Shell Carvings May Be Human Ancestor's Oldest Art
Posted on October 24, 2022
| 5 minutes
| 987 words
| Trudie Dory
The ancient, big-bodied relatives of modern-day humans not only ate freshwater shellfish, but engraved their shells and used them as tools, a new study finds.
Researchers in Java, Indonesia, discovered engravings on a shell that dates to between 540,000 and 430,000 years ago. The ancient artwork could be the oldest known geometric carving made by a human ancestor, the researchers said.
It's unclear what the engraving — a series of slashes and an "
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