You know, I often wonder if students could actually benefit from textbooks with more — and more interesting — pictures. I’m not saying a history class should be reading grown-up picture books, but wouldn’t some good pics make discussions of the Teapot Dome scandal more engaging?
Well, if nothing else, we can supplement those dry, dusty tomes with some more fascinating material and still learn a few things from it. And, as a bonus, there’s no test on any of this stuff.
1. Auroras have been known to hug coastlines, and no one knows for sure why.
Whether it’s the Northern Lights or the Southern Lights, scientists have been hard pressed to explain why these amazing atmospheric light displays would care what’s happening on the ground below.
2. Harvard researchers created a robotic stingray that incorporates real, living rat cells.
With a skeleton made of gold and fins made of silicone — layered with a rat’s heart muscle cells — the stingray can swim toward light. So, yeah, it’s a real, working cyborg.
3. On a route between Copenhagen and Hamburg, this passenger train boards a ferry.
Can you even imagine the engineering it would take to get a train on and off a ferry safely every time?
4. No, this isn’t a finger someone found on their property, but it would sure make you do a double take, wouldn’t it?
It’s a mushroom called stinkhorn , and yes, stinkhorns smell awful.
5. There’s also a variety of mushroom that looks like a rose, which would be much nicer to stumble upon.
Is it called the “Rose Mushroom?” Of course not. It’s called chicken of the woods , naturally.
6. Saturn’s north pole is home to a huge, hexagon-shaped storm.
First discovered by Voyager spacecraft in the ’80s, astronomers at NASA say it towers hundreds of kilometers above Saturn’s clouds, but they’re not sure how and why it formed as a hexagon.
7. Just as a reminder of how small spy cameras can be, here’s one in the middle of a screw.
Not that we want to ramp up your paranoia levels or anything, but it’s worth remembering.
8. In Cuzco, Peru, you can still see evidence of the almost impossibly precise work done by Incan masons.
This angled block was cut to fit so well that it didn’t need any mortar — nor did any other stone in this wall.
9. Apparently, new power line workers can train to work on power lines indoors, where real poles have been installed.
I never thought they would train indoors, but you don’t want to have to cut training short for weather, I guess.
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10. Just to get some more perspective on how large the world’s biggest animal is, here’s a guy standing next to a blue whale’s skull.
Just their tongues can weigh as much as an elephant!
11. Weight isn’t a big deal for a tiger’s tongue, but texture sure is.
Just like a house cat’s tongue, only larger and clearly meant for more serious business in the wild.
12. This view from the inside of an SR-71 Blackbird’s cockpit underscores how incredibly complex a machine it was.
And just how talented, focused, and knowledgeable the pilots had to be!
13. This amazingly intricate suit of armor made for Henry II of France shows the pinnacle of 16th century craftsmanship.
As parade armor, it likely never saw battle, which is why it still looks so good more than 450 years later.
14. Some more recent high-end craftsmanship is on display inside this Rolls Royce from 1926.
The 1% sure rode differently back in the day — when did they stop putting Persian rugs in cars?
15. This picture is different in its reflection than it is on the wall.
To be fair, that almost certainly changes depending on the angle you look at it from, not whether you see it in a mirror or not.
16. The sun shining through this clear globe lamp has left a scorch mark on the lawn below, showing the arc of the sun as the day progresses.
I’d love to see someone mark the times of day on the grass, too.
