We recently wrote about how some people taste their words. The French, however, are concerned that diners no longer adequately taste their food, so they have invented a restaurant in which patron eat in the dark, in order to block out all the other distracting senses, where complete strangers share the same table, where they don’t know what they will be served, except that it will be delivered by blind waiters.
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There is a lot of controversy about whether Apocalypto, the new Mel Gibson film about the ancient Mayans, is historically correct. Despite Gibson’s desire to create a work that reflects the truth about the Mayan world, one expert says that the film is not authentic.
Professor Michael Aakhus says, “If you like action films, you should enjoy it, but if you are going to learn history, stick to your books.” Aakhus thinks that Gibson exaggerated the violent aspect of Maya culture. He says, “Human sacrifice did occur, but not to the extent that is shown in the film.” He adds that, “Ritualized killing is not unknown to us. Our own practice of capital punishment, when looked back on in 500 years, I am sure will appear brutal and senseless.”
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Over 5 years ago, we warned that dangerous ancient microbes could be released when glaciers melt, due to global warming. Scientists now think that flu viruses that have been frozen in Siberian lakes for centuries could be released by birds, as the climate changes, causing the lakes to melt.
In New Scientist, Catherine Brahic quotes researcher Scott Rogers as saying, “Our hypothesis is that influenza can survive in ice over the winter and re-infect birds as they come back in spring.” He thinks that frozen lakes act as “melting pots” for flu viruses, allowing viruses from one year to mix with those from earlier years.
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Sunspot 930 sent a powerful solar storm toward earth from an X3 class solar flare, and the unstable sunspot has a 35% chance of emitting more X class solar flares at any time. The solar storm resulting has the potential to damage satellites and expose passengers in high flying aircraft to excessive radiation. The astronauts aboard the space station took shelter in a radiation shielded area of the craft. Sunspot 930 began as an unusual ring shaped formation that exploded so violently that it sent a shock wave across the entire surface of the sun. It is now a massive sunspot three times the size of the earth. It is in the process of rotating away from earth, but if another flare takes place within the next 24 hours, its effects will be felt on earth.
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