The Daily Drift

It's a Scientific Encyclopedia

The Laws of Physics always apply! 

 

Carolina Naturally is read in 196 countries around the world daily.   

And here you thought it was greener ... !

Today is - The Grass Is Always Browner On The Other Side Of The Fence Day

Don't forget to visit our sister blog: It Is What It Is

Some of our reader today have been in:

The Americas

Goshen, Dewey, Palatka, Anaheim, Phoenix, Omaha, Auburn, Throckmorton, Shata, Tampa, Upton, Chicago and Dallas, United States

Lansing, Pikangikum, Ottawa, Montreal, Thunder Bay, Guelph, Niagara-On-The-Lake, Vancouver,  Quebec and Regina, Canada

Buenos Aires, Rosario and Villa Maria, Argentina

Ecatepec and Mexico City, Mexico

Lima, Peru

Salvador, Sao Paulo, Brazil

The Bottom, Sint Eustatius and Saba

Tipitapa, Nicaragua

Europe

Limerick, Ireland

Costa De Caparica, Funchal and Lisbon, Portugal

Crawley, England

L'Olleria, Madrid, Magala, Cadiz and Huelva, Spain

Lille, Antwerp and Brussels, Belgium

Ponte Di Piave, Rome, Milan and Prato, Italy

Warsaw, Gliwice and Krakow, Poland

Chisinau, Moldova

Moscow, Ryazan, Kazan and Novgorod, Russia

Newport, Wales

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Athens, Greece

Asia

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Baghdad, Iraq

Bang Rak and Bangkok, Thailand

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Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Africa

Al Jizah, Egypt

Berea, Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa

The Pacific

Homebush and Melbourne, Australia

Mandaluyong City and Manila, Philippines

Today in History

1492		King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella sign a decree expelling all Jews from Spain.
1840		"Beau" Brummell, the English dandy and former favorite of the prince regent, dies in a French lunatic asylum for paupers.
1858		Hyman L. Lipman of Philadelphia patents the pencil with an eraser attached on one end.
1867		Russian Baron Stoeckl and U.S. Secretary of State Seward completed the draft of a treaty ceding Alaska to the United States. The treaty is signed the following day.
1870		The 15th amendment, guaranteeing the right to vote regardless of race, passes.
1870		President U.S. Grant signs bill readmitting Texas to the Union, the last Confederate state readmitted.
1885		In Afghanistan, Russian troops inflict a crushing defeat on Afghan forces Ak Teppe despite orders not to fight.
1909		The Queensboro Bridge in New York opens. It is the first double decker bridge and links Manhattan and Queens.
1916		Mexican bandit Pancho Villa kills 172 at the Guerrero garrison in Mexico.
1936		Britain announces a naval construction program of 38 warships. This is the largest construction program in 15 years.
1941		The German Afrika Korps under General Erwin Rommel begins its first offensive against British forces in Libya.
1943		Rodgers and Hammerstein's first collaboration, Oklahoma, opens on Broadway.
1944		The U.S. fleet attacks Palau, near the Philippines.
1945		The Red Army advances into Austria.
1946		The Allies seize 1,000 Nazis attempting to revive the Nazi party in Frankfurt.
1950		President Harry S Truman denounces Senator Joe McCarthy as a saboteur of U.S. foreign policy.
1957		Tunisia and Morocco sign a friendship treaty in Rabat.
1972		Hanoi launches its heaviest attack in four years, crossing the DMZ.
1975		As the North Vietnamese forces move toward Saigon, desperate South Vietnamese soldiers mob rescue jets.
1981		President Ronald Reagan is shot and wounded in Washington, D.C. by John W. Hinkley Jr.
1987		Vincent Van Gogh's Sunflowers is bought for $39.85 million.

Editorial Comment

Editorial Comment

Welcome to the new experiment here at Carolina Naturally.
We thought we would coordinate each day's posts more thematically rather than sectional has we have been doing with posts akin to another lumped close together separated by either a picture, cartoon or whimsical type post.

Beginning today ...
Sunday will be all about Science
Monday will be all about Human Interest: Fun, Whimsy and Serious things as well
Tuesday will be all about Politics
Wednesday will be all about the Earth: Man-Made and Natural Wonders and Disasters
Thursday will be all about History
Friday will be all about the Plants and Animals we share the world with
Saturday will be Open Season with postings of any type in the sectional format described above

Do not worry we will maintain the balance of seriousness and hilarity in each day's postings. We would not want to become too 'dry and stuffy' now would we?!

Thanks to you our readers. Now enjoy today's edition of Carolina Naturally.

Non Sequitur

You’ve know you’ve worked too long in a lab when…

You’ve know you’ve worked too long in a lab when…

My fellow scientists, you’re not alone in thinking “is it […]

Professor attacked during lecture

Professor and pundit Tyler Cowen was lecturing about vigilantism yesterday, only to be pepper sprayed in class by a man trying to place him under citizens' arrest. The attacker, who was arrested, appears not to have been a student.

This Brilliant Invention Helps Disabled Kids Walk and Play

Debby Elnatan's young son, Rotem, has cerebral palsy. He has very limited mobility. She wanted to find a way to help him experience upright movement, so she invented the Upsee. It's a harness that straps a child to the legs and waist of an adult. Both the child and the adult wear sandals that are joined together and slip over their shoes. With the adult's assistance, the child can step, walk, dance and even kick. Both can keep their hands free while doing so.
Elnatan took the Upsee to Leckey, a child accessory manufacturer in Lisburn, Northern Ireland. On Monday, the company released Upsee for global distribution. You can find a promotional video below.

(Video Link)

Woman Has Her Own Skull Replaced with a 3D Printed Plastic One

A Dutch woman had a rare bone disorder that caused her skull to grow from 1.5 centimeters thick to 5 centimeters thick. Among other problems, this disorder gave her terrible headaches and reduced her eyesight.  Eventually, it would kill her. So surgeons led by Dr. Bon Verweij at the University Medical Center Utrecht replaced her skull with a plastic one produced by a 3D printer.
Dr. Verweij had worked with skull implants before, but never as large as this one. The operation was nonetheless tremendously successful. The patient has regained her sight and recovered enough to return to work. You can read more about her case at Wired.

 

What we lose if we lose antibiotics

This is about more than just the ability to treat an infection, important as that is, writes Maryn McKenna.

If antibiotics no longer work, we also lose organ transplantation, cancer treatments, kidney dialysis, safe childbirth, many types of surgery, and cheap meat.

First comprehensive atlas of human gene activity released

First comprehensive atlas of human gene activity released

A large international consortium of researchers has produced the first […]

Medical Marijuana Legalization Doesn’t Lead to More Crime

Texas Study: Medical Marijuana Legalization Doesn’t Lead to More Crime

The legalization of medical marijuana has sparked debate across the […]

Clusters of ‘broken hearts’ may be linked to massive natural disasters

Clusters of ‘broken hearts’ may be linked to massive natural disasters

Dramatic spikes in cases of Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, also called broken […]

Sleep, Chronic Pain and Zombies

Sleep may stop chronic pain sufferers from becoming zombies

Chronic pain sufferers could be kept physically active by improving […]

Chronic stress in early life causes anxiety, aggression in adulthood

Neurobiologists find chronic stress in early life causes anxiety, aggression in adulthood

In recent years, behavioral neuroscientists have debated the meaning and […]

Autism linked to second-trimester fetal brain development

Scientists found differences in the brain structures of kids with autism compared to kids who don't have autism.

Those specific structures form during the second trimester of pregnancy, suggesting that autism is something that is present long before birth

Ziggy

Archeologists Discover Tomb of Attila the Hun

Construction workers building the foundations of a new bridge over the Danube River in the Hungarian capitol of Budapest, have unearthed a spectacular 5th century sepulcher. The analysis of the monument revealed that it was the burial chamber of a great Hunnic leader, most likely  that of King Attila himself.

“This site is absolutely incredible!” explains Albrecht Rümschtein, an historian from the Lorand Eötvös University in Budapest and member of the team of specialists investigating the tomb. “We found many horse skeletons, as well as various weapons and other artifacts, all traditionally associated with Huns. These objects include a large sword made of meteoric iron, which could certainly be Attila’s legendary “Holy War Sword of the Scythians”, allegedly given to him by the god Mars himself. In fact, this definitely seems to be the resting place of the almighty Attila, but further analysis needs to be done to confirm it.”
Nicknamed “the scourge of God” by roman historians, Attila was the ruler of the Huns, a nomadic people originating possibly from Central Asia. He ruled from 434 A.D., until his death in 453 after a feast celebrating his latest marriage to a beautiful and young Gothic princess named Ildico. He led many military raids on both the Eastern and Western Roman Empires provoking what has become known as the Barbarian Invasions or the Great Migration, a large movement of Germanic populations that greatly accelerated the fall of Rome and the advent of the Middle Ages in Europe. He his considered by most Hungarians, as the founder of the country.
The discovery of this funerary site could bring many clarifications concerning the origins and identity of the Hunnic people and of Attila himself, which have both been sources of debate for centuries. The analysis of pieces of pottery and jewelry found on the site, should bring a new light on their cultural origins and trade networks, and help scientists better understand this badly documented people.

The Vikning Sun-Compass ... After Dark

Secrets of the Viking Sun-Compass -- After Dark

A clever combination of Viking sunstones and a specialized sundial might have enabled Vikings to navigate after sunset.

1,300-Year-Old Egyptian Mummy Had Biblical Tattoo

1,300-Year-Old Egyptian Mummy Had Biblical Tattoo

A mummy of an Egyptian woman dating back to 700 A.D. has been scanned and stripped to reveal a tattoo on her thigh that displays the name of the biblical archangel Michael.

Roman Emperor Dressed as Pharaoh in Newfound Carving

Roman Emperor Dressed as Pharaoh in Newfound Carving

An ancient stone carving on the walls of an Egyptian temple depicts the Roman emperor Claudius dressed as an Egyptian pharaoh, wearing an elaborate crown.