it is no secret what a fucking fan of octopuses i am. they’re the smartest and coolest at everything. i wish i was one. this post from national geographic documents a cephalopod(!!!!) using tools!

via | National Geographic

In the summer of 2007, an enormous spider web was found in East Texas. It caused scientist to ponder its existence and visitors to gasp at its profound beauty.

Ok, ok, Texas. I guess you can be pretty sweet at times. The idea of all these different species of spiders working together to make a football field sized web is a pretty good metaphor for what humans are incapable of doing. Humans are a little too enthnocentric and in need of borders. I can’t tell if the inability too see beyond one’s own tiny little made-up world is sheer laziness mixed with generally being dumb, or if it’s because there are people who have large monetary investments and therefore a great stake in keeping peoples’ worlds small — like if there were no borders defined then they would not be able to logistically maintain control and subsequently profit. How ironic that this happened in Texas, a place that I stereotypically think of as culturally intolerant and as a place where ignorance is virtually encouraged. You guys should thank those spiders for a little positive PR, Tejas. Suriously.

via | Current.tv

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this lady stored hibernating turtles in her refridgerator

from the article:

Mrs Neely who runs the Jersey-based Tortoise Sanctuary, had to set up the fridges because of the particularly mild winter.

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Mrs Neely said: “It’s much easier to maintain a constantly cool temperature with a fridge than it is with our ever-warming climate.”

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Mrs Neely said: “I do sometimes keep a bottle of wine inside because it helps stabilise the temperature.”

Mrs Neely, don’t lie. There’s nothing wrong with being a turtle loving wine-o. That’s what this kid is going to be:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23277685/

from the article:

STOCKHOLM, Sweden – German researchers on Thursday launched a rocket carrying 72 small fish on a brief space flight to study motion sickness.

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[Scientists] said the fish landed safely and appeared to be in good condition.

“They were very happy, I think they want to have another flight,” he said.

C’mon, science. Really? I mean I am generally on your side, but … really? Fish in space?

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/index.php?term=pto-20071029-000003&print=1

[part of the theory:]

The idea that dreams are a dojo for perfecting waking activities fits well with what is already known about practice. Mental rehearsal through visualization improves skills, enhances learning, and changes the brain, polishing performance in almost any domain, from sports to piano playing.

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Some researchers argue that dreams are designed specifically to help us come up with creative solutions. But if that’s the case, it’s infuriatingly inconsistent—and complicated by the fact that we rarely remember our dreams.

Those who awake with brilliant solutions to scientific or artistic problems are the exception. German chemist Friedrich August Kekulé struggled to find the molecular structure of benzene until he dreamed about a snake devouring its own tail and realized benzene was a closed circle—a ring. The self-taught Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan came up with every one of his proofs in dreams. Paul McCartney dreamed “Yesterday,” woke up, and wrote it down.

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