Celebrating the end of the week with an eclectic round up of positive news stories.
Europa Clipper
After decades of dreaming of Jupiter’s moon Europa - and the vast ocean that probably lies beneath its icy surface - scientists are now weeks away from sending a spacecraft there. NASA has confirmed that its $5 billion spacecraft - the Europa Clipper - will launch on schedule. With a mass of more than 3.2 tonnes, a height of roughly 5 metres, and a width of more than 30 metres with its solar panels fully unfurled, Europa Clipper is the largest spacecraft that NASA has ever built for a planetary mission. The spacecraft’s launch window opens on 10 October.
Snooze Button
Chances are we’ve all used the weekends to catch up on sleep. Whether you’re parenting 24/7, cramming for exams, or working ’round the clock, weekends are often prime time to squeeze in some extra shuteye. And now there’s one more reason to hit snooze: It may benefit heart health. In a recent study, researchers found those who compensated for lost sleep on weekends were 19 percent less likely to develop cardiovascular conditions (i.e. heart disease, heart failure, and stroke) when compared with those who compensated the least on Saturdays and Sundays.
Daytime Naps: Napping during the day may slow down brain shrinkage and cancel out up to seven years of ageing, a study suggests. Perhaps a study such as this - demonstrating the health benefits of short naps - will help to reduce any stigma that still exists around daytime napping. So, spread the word - it's good for you.
Record Breaker (Sort Of)
Portolan charts were a very practical type of nautical navigational chart and first appeared around the Mediterranean in the Middle Ages. They were so named as a derivation of the Italian "portolano", meaning "related to ports or harbours." The seeming simplicity of a Portolan in being an easily understood "ready reckoner" for sea captains 700 years ago belies the scaled accuracy of the Portolan ... or where they came from. This Portolan Chart just sold at auction for $302,400 - triple its high estimate to become the most expensive Portolan ever sold at auction, though in a tale that reads like the plot of a best-selling novel, the previous record holder (which sold for $239,400), turned out to have been misdated, and the eagle-eyed President of Barry Lawrence Ruderman, a San Diego-based map dealer, recognized it for what it was, and the map was subsequently sold (but not at auction) for $7.5 million.
Pumpkin Capital
Did you know there’s a pumpkin capital of the world? The small village of Morton, Illinois - population just over 17,000 - processes more than 85 percent of the globe’s canned pumpkin, thus earning the coveted title. Naturally, Morton celebrates this fact with an annual pumpkin festival, complete with parades, pageants, and plenty of pumpkin-flavored treats. This year’s festivities just kicked off.
World's Oldest Joke
The Guinness World Record for the world’s oldest joke (defined as having a clear set-up and punchline structure) goes to a Sumerian proverb dating from 1900 BCE and it’s the kind of thing kids today would still find funny - it’s a fart joke. Sumerian is one of the world’s oldest languages. It’s from ancient Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq). The joke was found on a tablet from the Old Babylonian period and may date back as far as 2,300 BCE. As you might expect, it's not wildly funny, but here it is: 'Something which has never occurred since time immemorial; a young woman did not fart in her husband's lap.'
The Next Frontier
The world’s largest wave-energy converter device is set to begin trials off the coast of Orkney, Scotland. Called Wave Energy Demonstration at Utility Scale to Enable Arrays (WEDUSEA), this €19.6 million ($21.3 million) project is funded by the EU and consists of partners from industry and academia in France, Ireland, Germany, Spain, and the UK. Wave energy converters (WEC) are the next frontier of clean energy technology. They can tap into the vast energy reserves in sea waves without producing planet-warming emissions. While offshore wind farm installations are occurring rapidly, they are still tough to execute. In comparison, WECs offer a way to tap into another perennial energy resource through relatively easier-to-execute projects.
“Although I understand that all days are equal with 24 hours each, most of us agree that Friday is the longest day of the week and Sunday the shortest!” D.S. Mixell
On This Day
13 September 122: Building begins on Hadrian's Wall, Northern England.
Today's Articles
Casbah Coffee Club: You can now stay at the place where the Beatles played some of their first gigs.
Mood Boosting Video
Marble Machine: Is this the world's weirdest musical instrument?