Irony Alert: Anti-Israel Protest to 'Flood the Tree Lighting for Gaza'

Are you a paranoid Penny or a nervous Neville when you go into a hotel room? Have you ever looked at a mirror with suspicion and recalled all those movies with two-way mirrors‚ and wondered how to check what you are looking at? Well‚ there are a few tricks for that!What is a two-way mirror?The first two-way mirror was patented in the US back in 1903. These are panels that look like mirrors on one side‚ but are pretty much tinted windows on the other. Think back to all those crime shows‚ specifically the interrogation room scenarios.Often these panels can be referred to as either two-way or one-way mirrors‚ half-silvered mirrors‚ or one-way glass. While there are many names for it‚ the better terminology is probably transparent mirror. These are laminated glass products that have been encased in a thin layer of metal‚ which results in a mirrored surface that reflects some of the light.Fingernail trickThere is one very simple test that you can do‚ and that involves placing your fingernail against the reflective surface. If there is a gap between your fingernail and the image of the nail‚ then congratulations! You have a bona fide genuine mirror.More upsetting is the other scenario. If your fingernail directly touches the image of your nail‚ this means that it is probably a two-way mirror.This test works due to where the reflective part of the mirror is. In a transparent mirror the reflective part is often laid right at the surface; with an actual mirror‚ there is often a layer of clear glass to protect the reflective part.There are times that the reflective surface is laid first‚ but these are normally expensive mirrors‚ and you are not likely to encounter these in hotels.This trick does have some drawbacks‚ as the unpracticed observer could mistake an ordinary mirror for a transparent one. Judging whether an object is placed up against a mirror can be affected by the angle or size of the mirror‚ the type of object used‚ and the lighting present.  Mirror placementOften transparent mirrors are not hung on the wall‚ but actually set into it. If there is a wall behind the mirror‚ then chances are that it is an actual mirror.The lighting placement is also important. The lighting where the hidden observers are needs to be darker than on the person in front of the mirror. If you press your face up against the mirror and cup your hands around your eyes (blocking out the light from the room you are in)‚ you can sometimes see through the transparent mirror.Audio testGently tapping your fingers against the mirror can also give a clue. Mirrors typically have backing and are placed in front of walls. This means a gentle finger tapping will produce a dull thud‚ whereas transparent mirrors would make a hollower sound.  Mirrors be crazyMirrors are crazy objects that are determined to break our brains at their convenience. People commonly scratch their heads over how a mirror can see an object that is hidden by a piece of paper. Luckily‚ we have made a video answering that question.                  People are also confused to learn that mirrors don’t really flip things left to right… You guessed it‚ we have a video answering that question as well.                  Mirrors are strange objects‚ but hopefully with these tricks you can be a bit less paranoid in hotels… maybe.

Turns out there’s more purpose to the design of an airplane window than allowing for aesthetically pleasing birds-eye-view photos or staring out of them pretending you’re in a music video. There’s a reason why they have that little hole and why we have to keep their shades up during takeoff. But what about their most characteristic feature: Why are airplane windows rounded?If you ask a small child to draw an airplane‚ they’ll more than likely draw the passenger windows as little ovals‚ but planes haven’t always looked that way. The de Havilland Comet‚ an early commercial jet design‚ had square windows. But within just five years of their introduction‚ three Comets had a series of tragic crashes.After the third crash in 1954‚ investigations determined that all three crashes had been caused by cracked window frames‚ as a result of their square design. It was revealed that square windows deal very badly with the stress caused by the increasing cabin pressure that comes with high-altitude flying.However‚ high altitude is a necessary element of commercial flight – up high in the sky‚ there’s less drag‚ which in turn means less fuel used. That’s ideal for airlines because it saves them money and reduces the impact of flight on the environment (although scientists are looking into alternatives to traditional fuel). There’s also less turbulence at higher altitudes‚ which makes for a more comfortable flight.So what was the solution? Swap those squares out for ovals. This helps to evenly distribute the pressure exerted on the window and thus reduce the likelihood of cracking.“The narrowest part of the oval will be designed to ensure the curve does not generate unsafe stresses in the surrounding material‚” explained Dai Whittingham‚ chief executive of the UK Flight Safety Committee‚ speaking to MailOnline Travel. “Recently we have started to see some designers opting for more rectangular shapes‚ but these will always have curved corners.”Besides the element of increased safety‚ there are still some more superficial benefits. “Designers prefer oval windows because they can get a larger viewing area which suits the biggest range of passenger sitting heights‚” said Whittingham.  Check out this video by the YouTube channel Real Engineering‚ which explains the physics behind this engineering quirk that has puzzled air travelers ever since.An earlier version of this article was published in January 2016.

Some animals have big brains – humans‚ for one. Some have large heads. Some‚ we recently learned‚ are almost entirely heads. But what if we told you that one animal is able to learn without either a head or a brain? Meet the brittle star‚ a five-armed bundle of nerves that has shown itself to be a surprisingly quick study.Classical conditioning is a type of learning whereby an animal forms associations between different stimuli. The discoverer of this phenomenon was a Russian-Soviet scientist called Ivan Pavlov‚ who conducted numerous experiments on dogs. By ringing a bell immediately prior to feeding the dogs‚ Pavlov caused them to start associating the sound of the bell with the imminent arrival of food. After a few repeats of this‚ the dogs would start salivating as soon as they heard the bell‚ whether or not food was later provided.If you think humans would be above such things‚ think again. Some ethically questionable experiments in the early 20th century showed that humans can absolutely be classically conditioned. The buzz or ping of someone’s smartphone can be enough to have you unconsciously reaching for your own phone‚ because you’ve learned to associate that sound with a new message.So that’s dogs and humans ticked off‚ but what about other organisms? The team behind this latest research were interested to find out whether echinoderms‚ the group including starfish‚ sea urchins‚ and sea cucumbers‚ could learn via this process. A few studies did exist in starfish‚ but for the rest of this animal family‚ these were uncharted waters.Sixteen black brittle stars (Ophiocoma echinata) were placed in individual tanks with cameras to record their behavior over 10 months. Half of them went through a training phase‚ during which the lights would be dimmed for 30 minutes each time they were fed their favorite treat: shrimp. The other half got the same amount of shrimp and also had their lights switched off for the same length of time‚ but crucially‚ these two events were not happening simultaneously.Brittle stars do not love the limelight at the best of times. These guys mostly spent their days hiding behind the filters in their tanks‚ but soon a difference began to emerge between the trained and untrained groups. The trained brittle stars began to creep out from their hiding places as soon as the lights were dimmed‚ anticipating the prompt arrival of some tasty shrimp.In other words‚ they had learned to associate darkness with food.  Most excitingly for the researchers‚ the animals retained their newly learned behavior even after a 13-day break from training‚ when the lights were dimmed repeatedly without food being provided.“Knowing that brittle stars can learn means they’re not just robotic scavengers like little Roombas cleaning up the ocean floor‚” said lead author Julia Notar in a statement. “They're potentially able to expect and avoid predators or anticipate food because they’re learning about their environment.”But with no head or brain‚ it begs the question of how they’re able to achieve such a feat. “People ask me all the time‚ ‘how do they do it?’” Notar said. “We don't know yet. But I hope to have more answers in a few years.”What we do know is that‚ without a central processing hub‚ the brittle star’s nervous system works very differently to our own. Nerve cords run along each of its arms‚ joining together in a ring near its mouth‚ but there’s no one focal point calling the shots.“Each of the nerve cords can act independently‚” Notar explained. “It’s like instead of a boss‚ there's a committee.”The study is published in the journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.

A new species of mosasaur has been discovered in Mexico‚ dating back to the Turonian stage of the Late Cretaceous‚ which makes it around 90 million years old. Retrieved from the state of Nuevo Leon‚ the near-complete mosasaur skull is the first of its genus to be found in Mexico‚ and has a shiny new species name to honor the fossil site’s location.It belongs to the extinct plioplatecarpine genus of Yaguarasaurus mosasaurs‚ a group of extinct marine reptiles that were hunting in the waters of the Late Cretaceous while dinosaurs were stomping around on land. It’s been suggested that they had forked tongues owing to the anatomy of their palates and teeth‚ and also because of the tongues we see in the extant animals thought to be most closely related to them‚ such as snakes and monitor lizards.The new species has been named Yaguarasaurus regiomontanus‚ with the latter half referring to the people of Monterrey (los regiomontanos)‚ which is the nearest city to the fossil site. While only known from its skull‚ it’s estimated to have been 5.2 meters (17 feet) in length‚ making it one of the earliest known large mosasaurs. The fossil skull of Yaguarasaurus regiomontanus.Image credit: Photograph © Lucía M. Alfaro 2023Things would go on to get much bigger‚ however‚ as it’s thought the species Mosasaurus hoffmanni topped a whopping 17 meters (56 feet) in length. Still not bigger than a blue whale‚ mind‚ but one of the longest marine predators ever to swoosh through the oceans (although Predator X may have had it beat when it came to deadly bite strength).With a mouthful of shark conical teeth‚ it's thought mosasaurs were experts at snatching prey and swallowing it whole. They would’ve had a taste for fish‚ sharks‚ cephalopods‚ other mosasaurs‚ and possibly even some birds that were unlucky enough to wind up within biting distance.Y. regiomontanus might suddenly seem a little modest in size compared to M. hoffmanni‚ but its discovery in Mexico has not only landed us with a new species of mosasaur‚ but also fresh insights into the way these animals were spreading and diversifying during the Turonian stage.A reconstruction of Yaguarasaurus regiomontanus's skull.Image credit: Reconstruction © Jorge Ortiz 2023“This is the first report of Yaguarasaurus from Mexico and the most complete of the Americas‚” write the authors. “It is one of the earliest large mosasaurids. Along with Yaguarasaurus columbianus‚ Russellosaurus coheni‚ and an unnamed plioplatecarpine from Texas‚ it documents the rapid diversification and expansion of plioplatecarpines in the marine realm in the Turonian.”The study is published in the Journal of South American Earth Sciences.[H/T: Cosmos Magazine]

If you were in Bogota‚ Colombia‚ on Friday night‚ you might have seen something unusual in the sky: several glowing UFOs that seemed to hover and move in unison. The strange sight was captured by many witnesses who shared their videos and photos on social media‚ sparking a lot of speculation and curiosity‚ reports coasttocoastam.com. The UFOs appeared around 8 pm local time and lasted for about 15 minutes‚ according to some reports. They were seen in different parts of the city‚ such as Chapinero‚ Suba‚ and Usaquen. The objects looked like bright orbs. They also seemed to move in a coordinated manner‚ forming different shapes and patterns. Some witnesses were amazed and excited by the phenomenon‚ while others were scared and confused. Some even thought it was a sign of the end of the world or a divine intervention. Many people wondered if they were witnessing an extraterrestrial visitation or a contact event. However‚ not everyone was convinced that the UFOs were of alien origin. Some skeptics proposed alternative explanations‚ such as drones‚ balloons‚ flares‚ or lasers. Some also pointed out that the UFOs could have been part of a hoax or a prank‚ possibly inspired by the Project Blue Beam conspiracy theory. This theory claims that the government or other powerful groups are planning to create a fake alien invasion or a religious event using advanced holographic technology. So far‚ no official statement has been issued by the authorities or any other organization regarding the UFOs. The origin and nature of the objects remain unknown and unconfirmed. The post Bogota residents witness mysterious glowing UFOs in the sky appeared first on Anomalien.com.