"It stood tall during immense chaos"
This model lighthouse, currently on display in Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, is the kind of object that catches your eyes and pulls you across the room.
The life-size version, assembled in Sumatra after the pieces were constructed in The Hague, is apparently much more impressive: when Krakatau erupted, "killing more than 36,000 people and cooling the entire Earth by an average of 0.6°C for months," the lighthouse survived and "stood tall during immense chaos."
The quest for a crocodile dictionary
By Anthony Ham. New York Times. (gift article)
I knew that crocodiles were both vocal and loud, but I had no idea they could use their entire bodies to communicate--or that they could produce infrasound like whales.
“Like all reptiles, crocodiles and alligators don’t possess a larynx and their vocal cords are rudimentary. And unlike those of most mammals, crocodilian lung muscles can’t regulate the vibrations of those vocal cords. But crocodiles and alligators have overcome their physical limitations to become the most vocal of all reptile species."
Fascinating creatures, but still terrifying:
“Even studying captive crocodiles has its complications: The crocodiles at Australia Zoo kept eating the microphones.”
VIDEO: How Not Sleeping Actually Kills You
By SciShow.
Guinness World Records claims it's unclear whether anyone who attempted the record for going the longest without sleep suffered permanent ill-effects, but this video explains why, exactly, chronic sleep loss is definitely bad for you.
"If you've ever stayed up all night cramming for a test for taking care of a fussy newborn, you know how much the next day sucks. Now try doing that for 18 days, 21 hours, and 40 minutes straight. That is the current world record for the longest amount of time without sleeping. And no one should be trying to break that record. ...you could die."
More:
- While Guinness World Records no longer monitors dangerous attempts to beat this record, they do have a timeline of everyone who's attempted the stunt, most of whom suffered "hallucinations and delusions": What’s the limit to how long a human can stay awake?