Samsung's Galaxy Note Edge is doubtlessly one of the strangest phones we've ever reviewed, thanks to that bent display. It took its time coming to the US, but is finally available from the nation's largest operator, Verizon. The biggest drawback to t...

Lunar Swimming

What if there was a lake on the Moon? What would it be like to swim in it? Presuming that it is sheltered in a regular atmosphere, in some giant dome or something.

Kim Holder

This would be so cool.

In fact, I honestly think it's cool enough that it gives us a pretty good reason to go to the Moon in the first place. At the very least, it's better than the one Kennedy gave.

Floating would feel about the same on the Moon as on Earth, since how high in the water you float depends only on your body's density compared to the water's, not the strength of gravity.

Swimming underwater would also feel pretty similar. The inertia of the water is the main source of drag when swimming, and inertia is a property of matter[1]♬ BILL NYE THE SCIENCE GUY ♬ independent of gravity. The top speed of a submerged swimmer would be about the same on the Moon as here—about 2 meters/second.

Everything else would be different and way cooler. The waves would be bigger, the splash fights more intense, and swimmers would be able to jump out of the water like dolphins.

This[2]Not this one. The other one.​[3]The simplest approach, which gives us an approximate answer, is to treat the swimmer as a simple projectile. The formula for the height of a projectile is:

\( \frac{\text{speed}^2}{2\times\text{gravity}} \)

... which tells us that a champion swimmer moving at 2 meters per second (4.5 mph) would only have enough kinetic energy to lift their body about 20 centimeters against gravity.

That's not totally accurate, although it's enough to tell us that dolphin jumps on Earth probably aren't in the cards for us. But to get a more accurate answer (and an equation we can apply to the Moon), we need to account for a few other things.

When a swimmer first breaks the surface, they don't have to lift their full weight; they're partially supported by buoyancy. As more of their body leaves the water, the force of buoyancy decreases, since their body is displacing less water. Since the force of gravity isn't changing, their net weight increases.

You can calculate how much potential energy is required to lift a body vertically through the surface to a certain height, but it's a complicated integral (you integrate the displacement of the submerged portion of their body over the vertical distance they travel) and depends on their body shape. For a human body moving fast enough to jump most of the way out of the water, this effect probably adds about half a torso-length to their final height—and less if they're not able to make it all the way out.

The other effect we have to account for is the fact that a swimmer can continue kicking as they start to leave the water. When a swimmer is submerged and moving at top speed, the drag from the water is equal to the thrust they generate by kicking and ... whatever the gerund form of the verb is for the things your arms do while swimming. My first thought was "stroking," but it's definitely not that.

Anyway, once the jumping swimmer breaks the surface, the drag almost vanishes, but they can keep kicking for a few moments. To figure out how much energy this adds, you can multiply the thrust from kicking by the distance over which they're kicking after breaking the surface, since energy equals force times distance. The distance is most of a body length, or 1 to 1.5 meters. As for the force from kicking, random Google results for a search for lifeguard qualifications suggest that good swimmers might be able to carry 10 lbs over their heads for a short distance, which means they're generating a little more than 10 pounds-force (50+ N) of kicking thrust.

We can combine all these together into a big ol' equation:

\[ \text{Jump height}=\left(\frac{\tfrac{1}{2}\times\text{body mass}\times\left(\text{top speed}\right)^2+\text{kick force}\times\text{torso length}}{\text{Earth gravity}\times\text{body mass}}\right)+\left(\text{buoyancy correction} \right) \] footnote contains some detail on the math behind a dolphin jump. Calculating the height a swimmer can jump out of the water requires taking several different things into account, but the bottom line is that a normal swimmer on the Moon could probably launch themselves a full meter out of the water, and Michael Phelps may well be able to manage 2 or 3.

The numbers get even more exciting when we introduce fins.

Swimmers wearing fins can go substantially faster than regular swimmers without them (although the fastest swimmer wearing flippers will still lose to a runner, even if the runner is also wearing flippers and jumping over hurdles).

Champion finswimmers can go almost 3.2 m/s wearing a monofin, which is fast enough for some pretty impressive jumps—even on Earth. Data on swimfin top speeds and thrusts[4]This paper provides some sample data. suggest that on the Moon, a champion finswimmer could probably launch themselves as high as 4 or 5 meters into the air. In other words, on the Moon, you could conceivably do a high dive in reverse.

But it gets even better. A 2012 paper in PLoS ONE, titled Humans Running in Place on Water at Simulated Reduced Gravity, concluded that while humans can't run on the surface of water on Earth,[5]They actually provide a citation for this statement, which is delightful. they might just barely be able to do so on the Moon. (I highly recommend reading their paper, if only for the hilarious experimental setup illustration on page 2.)

Because of the reduced gravity on the Moon, the water would be launched upward more easily, just like the swimmers. The result would be larger waves and more flying droplets. In technical terms, a pool on the Moon would be more "splashy".[6]The SI unit of splashiness is the splashypant.

To avoid splashing all the water out, you'd want to design the deck so water drains quickly back into the pool. You could just make the rim higher, but then you'd spoil one of the key joys of a pool on the Moon—exiting via Slip 'N Slide:

I 100% support this idea. If we ever build a Moon base, I think we should absolutely build a big swimming pool there. Sure, sending a swimming pool's worth of water (135 horses) to the Moon's surface would be expensive.[7]If you decided to bundle a backyard pool into individual two-liter bottles, and sent them in 3,000 batches of 10 each via the startup Astrobotic, it would cost you $72 billion (according to their website's calculator). But on the other hand, this lunar base is going to have people on it, so you need to send some water anyway.[8]Sending a supply of water and a filter system is probably cheaper than sending a replacement astronaut every 3 or 4 days, although I encourage NASA to run the numbers on that to be sure.

And it's really not impossible. A large backyard swimming pool weighs about as much as four Apollo lunar landers. A next-generation[9](or, heck, previous-generation) heavy-lift rocket, like Boeing's NASA SLS or Elon Musk's SpaceX Falcon Heavy, would be able to deliver a good-sized pool to the Moon in not too many trips.

So maybe the next step, if you really want a swimming pool on the Moon, is to call Elon Musk and ask for a quote.

President Barack Obama is previewing parts of his State of the Union address in a bid to drum up support ahead of the big speech, and his latest effort is breaking some ground -- both in the policy and how he's presenting it. The head of state took t...

Winter sucks.

Because it's so cold banana peels fucking SHATTER.

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And pants stand up on their own.

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Because beloved stuffed animals are reduced to plugging drafty windows.

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And parking garage ticket machines need jackets.

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“What a riddy!”

When 13-year-old Jennifer O'Neill went missing from Muirhead near Glasgow on Monday, there was obvious concern.

Twitter

But then O'Neill responded on her Facebook page in the most amazingly Scottish way imaginable.

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Merry Christmas, folks. Happy Jar / Business Cat will be back on the regular in the new year.

It’s THE GROSSEST.

Kombucha is a popular fermented tea drink that everyone is going nuts about right now.

flic.kr / Creative Commons

It tastes really great, and most of the more popular brands don’t have any additional sugar or added bad stuff.

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In addition to being effervescent and refreshing, some claim that kombucha is really good for you and your guts! It's like the perfect drink!

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Nope! Nothing weird or horribly upsetting about kombucha!

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PARIS—Following the fatal terrorist attack Wednesday at the offices of French newspaper Charlie Hebdo, sources confirmed this afternoon that it is sadly not yet clear whether this very article will ultimately put human lives at risk. 

She’s just totally game for anything.

Jodie Foster

After Jodie Foster's speech at the Golden Globes went viral, of course SNL had to do some sort of skit about it. Kate was spot on with her impression of Jodie and impeccably recreated her speech.

NBC Studios

Jane Lynch

When she played Jane Lynch on SNL's Hollywood Game Night skit. Kate had us constantly doing double takes to make sure that it wasn't actually Jane Lynch. "Jane" gleefully declares that she is America's "#2 Lesbian."

NBC Studios

Carmela DeAngelis-Soprano

SNL mashed up The Carrie Diaries with The Sopranos and gave us this beautiful skit. Kate plays a high school aged Carmela who had us experiencing SERIOUS Soprano flashbacks. When "Carmela" says "Screw you Tony Soprano!" it's absolutely superb.

NBC Studios

Cecilia Gimenez

You're probably googling who the hell Cecilia Gimenez is because you most likely have no idea who she is, and that's okay. Gimenez is a woman from Spain who horribly restored a painting of Jesus. BBC even went as far as to say it resembles a "crayon sketch of a very hairy monkey in an ill-fitting tunic." Kate's personal spin on this was hilarious and you will never again forget who this elderly woman is.

NBC Studios

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Stressed-Out 8-Year-Old Looks 12

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January 6th, 2015: Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #1 comes out TOMORROW! AHHHHHH let's all buy it okay?? Let's do that thing I said! The first review of the book is out and I am blushing at how great that review is! – Ryan

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Today, I asked my boyfriend how he felt about me and he said, "You're the hottest seven I've ever met." FML

ALBANY, NY—Having barely lost in the championship game against his former college roommate, local 28-year-old Tim Beaumont, a man who spent roughly 300 hours playing fantasy football this year, was reportedly rewarded for his efforts Tuesday with a ...

According to the Pew Research Center, members of the 114th Congress are much more religious than the public they serve, with only one member describing herself as religiously unaffiliated compared with 20 percent of the general public.

Overeaters and lazy trouser-wearers rejoice!

This item is known as the Belty, and it has just been unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Bloomberg via Getty Images Michael Nagle

It's a prototype of a belt that will automatically loosen when the wearer sits and tighten when he/she stands.

The Belty will also automatically expand if you've eaten too much, and tracks your waistline measurement, offering advice when it's time to shed a few pounds.

AFP / Getty Images ROBYN BECK

The belt has been developed by French company Emiota, which specialises in wearable tech (or "awarable" tech, as the firm calls it).

Emiota's Johann Gobba models the Belty.

AFP / Getty Images Robyn Beck

It's still only at the prototype stage, but Emiota said it hopes to have the Belty on the market by the end of the year.

Bloomberg via Getty Images Michael Nagle

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Punderful, just punderful.

justasimplerachel.tumblr.com / Via yearinreview.tumblr.com

the-time-goddess-of-221b.tumblr.com / Via yearinreview.tumblr.com

imnotpooping75.tumblr.com / Via yearinreview.tumblr.com

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Today, my mom called me into the living room to say that she had something important to tell me. She then explained how she and my dad had "talked things over" and wanted me to know that they accept me and love me no matter what. Apparently my mom thinks I'm lesbian. I'm not. FML

National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest 2014

Over 18,000 pictures were submitted to the 2014 Traveler Photo Contest, including images of ice caves, magical desert views, and intriguing scenes from cultures around the globe.

First place went to Marko Korošec's apocalyptic photo of a storm cloud near Julesburg, Colorado, US (below). National Geographic Traveler director of photography Dan Westergren said: "This winning photo of a supercell over the plains of eastern Colorado stopped the judges in our tracks.

"What makes the picture particularly strong is that except for the cloud, the rest of the scene is quite ordinary. The crazy UFO-looking shape gives the impression that it's going to suck up the landscape like a tablecloth into a vacuum cleaner. The unresolved tension in the image makes me want to look at it over and over."

Grand Prize - "The Independence Day" by Marko Korošec

"While on stormchasing expeditions in the Tornado Alley in the USA, I have encountered many photogenic supercell storms. This photograph was taken while we were approaching the storm near Julesburg, Colorado, on May 28, 2013. The storm was tornado-warned for more than one hour, but stayed an LP [low precipitation] storm through all its cycles and never produced a tornado, just occasional brief funnels, large hail, and some rain." – Marko Korošec

Marko Korošec / National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest / Via travel.nationalgeographic.com

Second place – "First Time" by Agnieszka Traczewska

"Mea Shearim, ultra-Orthodox district of Jerusalem. Newly married, Aaron and Rivkeh after the wedding ceremony are to stay together for the very first time, alone. Their marriage was arranged by families. Eighteen years old, the candidates confirmed the choice in result of one meeting only. Since then, until the wedding day, they were prohibited to meet or even talk." – Agnieszka Traczewska.

Agnieszka Traczewska / National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest / Via travel.nationalgeographic.com

Third place – "Diver in Magic Kingdom" by Marc Henauer

"Green Lake (Grüner See) is located Tragöss, Austria. In spring, snowmelt raises the lake level about 10 metres. This phenomenon lasts only a few weeks, covering the hiking trails, meadows, trees. The result is magical-to-watch diving landscapes." – Marc Henauer

Marc Henauer / National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest / Via travel.nationalgeographic.com

Merit – "Foggy Small Town" by Duowen Chen

"This photo was captured at noon, 25 December 2013, from the castle, which is located on the edge of the small town and is the perfect viewpoint for the panorama of the almost intact historical town. The fog and mist suffused and gave the town a sense of mystery." – Duowen Chen. Location: Český Krumlov, South Bohemian, Czech Republic

Duowen Chen / National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest / Via travel.nationalgeographic.com

Merit – "A Well Earned Rest in the Sahara" by Evan Cole

"This photo, of Moussa Macher, our Touareg guide, was taken at the summit of Tin-Merzouga, the largest dune (or erg) in the Tadrat region of the Sahara desert in southern Algeria. Moussa rested while waiting for us to finish our 45-minute struggle to the top. It only took 10 minutes of rolling, running, and jumping to get to get back down. The Tadrat is part of the Tassili N'Ajjer National Park World Heritage Area, famous for its red sand and engravings and rock paintings of cattle, elephants, giraffes and rhinos that lived there when the climate was milder." – Evan Cole. Location: Summit of Tin-Merzouga, Tadrat, Tassili N'Ajjer National Park, Algeria

Evan Cole / National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest / Via travel.nationalgeographic.com

Merit – "Divine Makeover" by Mahesh Balasubramanian

"Taken during the Mayana Soora Thiruvizha festival, which takes place every March in the small village of Kaveripattinam, the day after Mahashivarathiri (the great night of Shiva). The festival is devoted to Angalamman, a fierce guardian deity worshipped widely in southern India." – Mahesh Balasubramanian. Location: Kaveripattinam, Tamilnadu, India

Mahesh Balasubramanian / National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest / Via travel.nationalgeographic.com

Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2014

Two and a half thousand photos from amateurs and professional photographers were entered into this year's astronomy photography contest, run by the Royal Observatory Greenwich.

A luminescent aurora photographed in Iceland's Vatnajokull National Park was the overall winner, showing a vivid reflection of the green lights in the waters of the Jokulsrlon Glacier lagoon.

Merit – "Light Source" by Marcelo Castro

"[A] young monk finds a perfect light source to read his book inside of his pagoda." – Marcelo Castro. Location: Old Bagan, Burma

Marcelo Castro / National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest / Via travel.nationalgeographic.com

Merit – "Khotso Peace at Devil's Knuckles" by Byron Inggs

"On arrival at Jonathan's Lodge, our horses took to celebrating liberation from their heavy burdens. With the backdrop of the Devil's Knuckles and the afternoon's glow, how could I not take advantage of these magnificent creatures rejoicing in the afternoons glow. This was the end of the first of a three-day horseback ride through Bushman's Nek, up the Drakensberg escarpment, and into Lesothos' Sehlabathebe National Park." – Byron Inggs. Location: Jonathans Lodge, Qachas Nek, Sehlabathebe National Park, Lesotho

Byron Inggs / National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest / Via travel.nationalgeographic.com

Overall winner – "Aurora Over a Glacier Lagoon" by James Woodend

"A vivid green overhead aurora pictured in Iceland's Vatnajokull National Park reflected almost symmetrically in Jokulsrlon Glacier lagoon. A complete lack of wind and current combine in this sheltered lagoon scene to create an arresting mirror effect giving the image a sensation of utter stillness. Despite this, there is motion on a surprising scale, as the loops and arcs of the aurora are shaped by the shifting forces of the Earth's magnetic field." – James Woodend

James Woodend / Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2014

Royal Horticultural Society Photographic Competition 2014

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) sought out the best garden photographer of the year with its annual contest, awarding first place to Alain Jouno for his atmospheric photo of a foggy winter’s morning in the Parc Botanique de Haute Bretagne, Brittany, France.

Winner, Deep Space – "Horsehead Nebula (IC 434)" by Bill Snyder

Bill Snyder / Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2014

Honourable mention, Places – "Destroyed Homs" by Sergey Ponomarev

"Birds fly over the destroyed houses in Khalidiya district in Homs, Syria. In the vast stillness of the destroyed city centre of Homs, there are large areas where nothing moves. Then, suddenly, wind blows a ripped awning, or birds fly overhead." – Sergey Ponomarev. Location: Homs, Syria

Sergey Ponomarev / National Geographic 2014 Photo Contest / Via photography.nationalgeographic.com

Honourable mention, Places – "The Storm" by Aytül Akbaş

"During I was taking photo with my nephew, the storm came and I caught this beautiful moment." – Aytül Akbaş. Location: Kocaeli, Turkey.

Aytül Akbaş / National Geographic 2014 Photo Contest / Via photography.nationalgeographic.com

"The View" by Christine Fitzgerald

Christine Fitzgerald / RHS Photographer of the Year 2014

Highly commended – "Roe Deer in a Bluebell Wood" by Don Hooper

Don Hooper / RHS Photographer of the Year 2014

Third place, Seasons – "Bluebell Wood" by David Shandley

Dave Shandley / RHS Photographer of the Year 2014

CBRE Urban Photographer of the Year 2014

The CBRE photo contest set out to find the most arresting urban images of the year, to "enhance its understanding of the built environment on a global scale by seeing urban areas through different eyes".

German photographer Marius Veith beat off 11,500 entries from 79 countries to claim first prize with his photo of a jeweller arranging her stock.

Winner, Our Solar System – "Ripples in a Pond" by Alexandra Hart

"The sun's boiling surface curves away beneath us in this evocative shot that conveys the scale and violence of our star. The region of solar activity on the left could engulf the Earth several times over with room to spare. The sun's outer layers behave as a fluid, as alluded to in the image's title, and are constantly twisted and warped by intense magnetic forces." – Alexandra Hart

Alexandra Hart / Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2014

RHS Photographer of the Year winner – "The Parc Botanique de Haute Bretagne, Brittany" by Alain Jouno

Alain Jouno / RHS Photographer of the Year 2014

Overall winner – "Mask of Society" by Marius Veith

Marius Vieth / CBRE Urban Photographer of the Year 2014

Winner, Asia-Pacific – "Net Mending" by Ly Hoang Long

Ly Hoang Long / CBRE Photographer of the Year 2014

Second place, Under 11 – "My Wildlife Picture" by Sara Hussain

Sara Hussain / RHS Photographer of the Year 2014

Highly commended, Seasons – "Island Mist" by Robert Fulton

Robert Fulton / RHS Photographer of the Year 2014

"Morning Massage" by Arunava Bhowmik

Arunava Bhowmik / CBRE Photographer of the Year 2014

Velux Lovers of Light Photography Competition 2014

Roof windows manufacturer Velux set out to celebrate the beauty of daylight in all seasons with this year's instalment of its annual contest. Graham Colling from Bloxwich, West Midlands, UK, won first place with his photo "Early Light" (below), taken while on a morning woodland walk.

Winner, Age 13–15 – "A Distant Silhouette" by Sarah Scarborough

Sarah Scarborough / CBRE Photographer of the Year 2014

Winner, Age 16–25 – "Christmas Tram" by Szabolcs Simo

"Christmas tram on the riverside of Danube in Budapest." – Szabolcs Simo

Szabolcs Simo / CBRE Photographer of the Year 2014

Overall winner – "Early Light" by Graham Colling

"Well, it promised to be a great day and it was here in the West Midlands. I headed for a small Forestry Comission plantation just north of Cannock. The colours were great, but the depth of the wood prevented the low sun from penetrating too far. I walked eastwards to get closer to the edge of the wood and suddenly came across this scene. I used the trunk of the tree to reduce the strength of the sun's rays but actually preferred this shot when it had moved from behind the trunk." – Graham Colling

Graham Colling / Velux Lovers of Light

Today, I found out my 7-year-old daughter really did lie about my husband's "other girlfriend" as revenge for being grounded, and that he never cheated on me at all. We're well into our divorce proceedings and he won't forgive me for not believing him when he denied it. FML

ICE SLIDES.

The annual Ice and Snow Festival kicked off Monday in the northern Chinese city of Harbin, with countless frozen sculptures illuminated in every color of the rainbow.

Kim Kyung-Hoon / Reuters

The festival has been held in China for the last 30 years.

Kim Kyung-Hoon / Reuters

Each year, thousands of tourists brave freezing temperatures to see the incredible frozen sculptures.

Kim Kyung-Hoon / Reuters

Giant blocks of ice are stacked together to construct enormous frozen buildings.

Kim Kyung-Hoon / Reuters

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D-Link has just jumped the router shark with its latest AC5300, AC3200 and AC3100 Ultra Performance models. On top of speeds up to 5.3Gbps for the AC5300 model, the 802.11ac devices feature, um, striking looks that hopefully won't frighten small chil...

We got a tip a few weeks ago from Luncher Chris who noticed the prices at The Famous Halal Guys have increased from $6 to $7. Sure enough, all of their carts in the vicinity of 53rd and 6th now have menus that read $7 for any rice dish. One of the guys at the [...]

“For there’s no one as burly and brawny/As you see I’ve got biceps to spare.”

This video has had nearly a million views, and that's because it's amazing.

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In fairness Gaston did try to warn the guy...

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...but he didn't listen.

Reminder: No one’s quick as Gaston / No one’s neck’s as incredibly thick as Gaston’s / For there’s no man in town half as manly.

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However, it's worth remembering that the despicable Gaston has been bested before...by this young girl.

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Sony's once-forbidden The Interview is now seemingly ubiquitous, but there's one place where you can't get it: North Korea, the country that inspired the movie (and allegedly, the hacking campaign) in the first place. If defector and activist Park Sa...

Yes? No?

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Dang, look at that thing go.

In case you were wondering, this is what happens when you leave an ingrown hair in your face for a few months.

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It gets very...

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Very...

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Very...

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