The Scale of the Known Universe
We mere Homo sapiens are notoriously awful at putting things into perspective. And not just when it comes to the fact that breaking up with your boyfriend or missing that one really cool party is not, in fact, “the worst thing to ever happen, EVER” (I hear the Black Plague was actually much, much worse).
We are also incredibly bad at putting cosmological size and time into a scale that makes sense to us. The universe is old. Really old (how old?). And we humans are not so old. Likewise, the (known) universe is very big. VERY BIG. This video from AMNH uses actual astronomical observations to try and convey exactly how big it really is.
Check out these previous looks at the scale of an expanding universe, this interactive tool to zoom in and out on the size of everything, and a video exploration into the sizes of atoms up to the universe using food.
Of course, you shouldn’t ever feel worthless. You should just enjoy knowing how much is out there waiting to be known. You’re a unique snowflake. Yes, even you. But that guy over there? Jury’s out on him.
(by AMNHorg)
The Wikipedia blackout presents a horrifying picture of a world with no knowledge. So does the Fox News website, which is running normally.
I noticed that!
(Source: themadgirlwithabox)
To a text-based life-form, unpredictable syntax and poor grammar is a source of huge discomfort. Ill-fitting grammar are like ill-fitting shoes. You can get used to it for a bit, but then one day your toes fall off and you can’t walk to the bathroom. Poor syntax is even worse. Change word order and a sentence is useless for anyone Yoda except you have.
(Source: mcavoys)
Imagine that you are French. You are walking along a busy pavement in Paris and another pedestrian is approaching from the opposite direction. A collision will occur unless you each move out of the other’s way. Which way do you step?
I remember one joke he (Noel) wrote here - we walked past a garden and this dog was barking at us. We walked a bit further, it was still barking, we were miles away to the point it was a dot in the distance, and it was still barking. Noel turned around and said, ‘I think he might have a telescope.
(Source: bucksfreepress.co.uk)
Early Bird Special: Even though Ross Everett went through the trouble of recording this video to remind Future Him of his New Year’s resolutions for 2012, I’m still fairly certain he won’t follow through with salad dressing.
Simpsons Did It of the Day: The impoverished, crime-ridden Comuna 13 (San Javier) neighborhood of Medellín, Colombia, recently christened what is most likely the world’s tallest outdoor escalator.
A steep climb that would take the barrio’s 12,000 residents 35 minutes to scale can now be surmounted in less than six thanks to a 384-meter-long (28-story-tall) moving staircase installed by the city.
Mayor Alonso Salazar hopes the $6.7 million escalator will help reduce some of the district’s rampant violence. Officials from Brazil expressed interest in bringing similar convenience to Rio de Janeiro’s infamous favelas.
