Posts categorized “Science”.

As we learned from They Might Be Giants, science is way more awexome when set to music.

That’s why I was delighted to discover these two oddities from YouTube user melodysheep. He edited bits from various science TV shows together and then auto-tuned them into melodies. He made science into songs:

Bravo.

From Here Comes Science, the new album by They Might Be Giants!

I really like that the song is ballsy enough to include angels with unicorns and elves in its list of fictional things. Good on ya, guys!

Here is some pretty excellent footage of the recent total solar eclipse that happened over parts of India, China, Japan, and the Pacific. Just look at how dark it gets! The camera they used was pretty impressive; at one point you can actually see solar flares leaping out from behind the moon.

Due to a peculiarity with the way we use numbers to represent times and dates in this country, at 12:34 and 56 seconds in the afternoon today the time/date can be written as:

12:34:56 7/8/9

What’s so special about that? Well, remove all the colons and slashes and this is what you get:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Of course, this is only happening in places where the month gets put before the date gets put before the year. Many places will have to wait until the 7th of August for this particular line-up to occur.

I’m not a numerologist or anything, so I don’t hold any superstitious associations with this date/time. I’m pretty sure the Universe doesn’t give a darn what numbers we use to signify an arbitrary point in time. It’s just a peculiar numeric convergence that I find kinda interesting.

EDIT: It just happened! And… nothing happened.

The Japanese public was allowed to propose a series of experiments that would then be carried out by astronaut Koichi Wakata on board the International Space Station. Most of these “experiments” basically consist of performing physical stunts to see what would happen in a microgravity environment. Here is the highlight reel:

Who says science isn’t fun?

(via Pink Tentacle)

Japanese Honey Bees (Apis cerana japonica) are completely, %100 awexome. How awexome? Check this out:

When a Giant Asian Hornet (Vespa mandarinia) menaces one of their hives, they purposefully leave an opening in the nest to draw in the hornet. That’s right — they set a trap! But when the hornet actually goes in is when it gets completely awexome.

Immediately up to 500 honey bees swarm the giant wasp and surround it in a super-tightly-packed ball of bees. The BEE BALL!

The ball is so tightly packed that the hornet can’t even move. Then all the bees start vibrating their flight muscles, and the friction and energy expended actually raises the temperature in the core of the ball to 117°F (47°C). Giant Asian Hornets can’t survive temperatures above 115°F (46°C). That’s right: THE BEE BALL COOKS THE WASPS TO DEATH.

By killing the hornet this way, the honey bees prevent it from going home and returning with reinforcements.

This one’s a goner!

So, yeah, I’m really into the Bee Ball now. I’ve only been into it for, like, a couple of hours, but I’m REALLY into it. It’s, like, the coolest thing. I got stung in the back of the neck by a yellowjacket over the weekend, which really sucked. If I’d known about the Bee Ball defense, I’m sure I would have whupped that yellowjacket with my Bee Ball before it got me.

More reading on the awexomeness of the Bee Ball:
http://uglyoverload.blogspot.com/2008/10/bee-ball.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apis_cerana_japonica

Awesome guy Three Ninjas has released a little EP titled “Make Sleepstophers.” I’d like to think that it’s named partially after me. The “stophers” part of me. Anyway you should follow the link and buy a copy, ’cause it’s a hoot-and-a-half (if not MORE).

Also you should go see Three Ninjas live sometime, because he is also quite a bit of the hoots (if not MORE).

Oh, and the guy on the CD cover holding the giant plush? That’s none other than PZ Meyers, noted scientist and the guy who runs Pharyngula, a frequently very funny blog about science and anti-science. Getting him to pose for the cover of an album is quite a coup. Not a coup-d’etat or anything that big, but a coup nonetheless.