Rtersieva

The White War—a snow-bound World War I battle between Italy and Austria—claimed the lives of countless soldiers way up in the Alps. Now, melting ice is revealing frozen soldiers, some of them perfectly preserved—but not Captain America-preserved—for nearly a century.

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An anonymous reader writes "Mathematics Ph.D. student Jeremy Kun has an interesting post about how mathematicians approach doing new work and pushing back the boundaries of human knowledge. He says it's immensely important for mathematicians to be comfortable with extended periods of ignorance when working on a new topic. 'The truth is that mathematicians are chronically lost and confused. It's our natural state of being, and I mean that in a good way. ... This is something that has been bred into me after years of studying mathematics. I know how to say, “Well, I understand nothing about anything,” and then constructively answer the question, “What’s next?” Sometimes the answer is to pinpoint one very basic question I don’t understand and try to tackle that first.' He then provides some advice for people learning college level math like calculus or linear algebra: 'I suggest you don't worry too much about verifying every claim and doing every exercise. If it takes you more than 5 or 10 minutes to verify a "trivial" claim in the text, then you can accept it and move on. ... But more often than not you'll find that by the time you revisit a problem you've literally grown so much (mathematically) that it's trivial. What's much more useful is recording what the deep insights are, and storing them for recollection later.'"

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According to physicists, there are three, er, two and a half different theories on how a person would die if they got sucked in by a black hole: stretched like a spaghetti noodle, burnt like a toast and maybe even scrambled. Nova PBS explains that if the argument on how people would die if swallowed by a black hole were to ever be settled, it would "revolutionize the fundamental laws of nature". Watch and learn why in the video below

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From Drinks

Some of Belgium's finest. [Photographs: Mike Reis]

How can you not love a country known for its love of waffles, chocolate, French fries, and beer? Belgium is my version of Guns 'n' Roses' Paradise City, where the grass is green and the beers are plenty.

And not only are the beers of Belgium vast in quantity, they're vast in quality, diversity, and cultural importance. Every beer that we credit to the country's name seems to have a history and character that's independent of its neighbors on the shelf. If you're put off by intensely bitter IPAs or bland canned lagers, the Belgian beer section at your local bottle shop may be a good place to start your love affair with beer.

Here's a guide to get you started:

Abbey Ales

When I think of Belgian beer, the image that comes to mind is that of an enrobed monk, tipsy off his own supply, hoisting a clunky chalice full of beer. Actually, it's pretty much just the St. Bernardus logo. The image may not be rooted in reality, but the abbey ales of Belgium are a great place to get started when you're exploring Belgian beer. I'm talking about dubbels, tripels, and quadrupels: the beers made famous by monastic brewers and their secular imitators. Let's dig into 'em a bit:

Dubbel, Quadrupel, and Belgian Strong Dark Ale

So, the dubbel. The name means (wait for it) "double," in Dutch. But where does that name come from? What's being dubbeled? is there some type of "single" floating around there with a funny Dutch spelling?

Fine questions.

Here's the thing: historians can't seem to agree on where the dubbel/tripel/quadrupel naming comes from. There isn't an exact mathematical relationship between the styles as the names imply, and the "singel" remains an elusive beast that rarely leaves the walls of the few monasteries where it's made. What is clear is that the styles maintain a loose increase in strength between them. Dubbels are, as a whole, stronger than singels. Tripels are, as a whole, weaker than quadrupels.

Back to the singel. It's pretty tough to find unless you're hanging out in a monastery. It's also less clearly defined than its big brothers. The name singel is applied primarily to the generally pale, generally low-alcohol beers that are made by the monks in monastic breweries to keep for themselves. They don't want (at least in theory) to be too tipsy for their monky obligations, so a lower-alcohol beer is a must. Calling it "singel" just seems natural given its relative weakness to the more established dubbels and tripels, but as a style, it is less stringently quantified than either of those. I should note that a few secular breweries make these beers commercially, too, but they aren't common.

The dubbel is more clearly defined. Brown ales of different sizes, flavors, and production methodologies have been made in monasteries for a long time, but in 1926, the style took its modern form when the Westmalle monastery released a beer called Dubbel Bruin. The beer was a success and a wave of imitators solidified dubbel as a recognized style.

These are reddish brown-colored ales of moderate strength (think 6-8% ABV) that, nowadays, are made not just in monasteries, but by secular breweries around the world. Classically, they are made with an ingredient that you might not expect: heavily caramelized beet sugar. The sugar imparts much of the deep color characteristic to this style and lightens the beer in body, fermenting completely and creating a bunch of alcohol along with it. It also leaves behind a pleasant raisin-like flavor. The type of yeast used for fermentation is important as well, yielding a wide range of fruity, peppery, and spicy flavors that give the style a deep complexity and low level of residual sugar.

Quadrupels are basically just amped up versions of the dubbel—stronger in every way with identical ingredients producing more of the same flavors. We're talking big time plum, raisin, caramel, and pepper flavors alongside a noticeable alcoholic bite (these beers can veer upwards of 12% ABV). The quadrupel name isn't accepted by everyone and some prefer to stick with a less-specific catch-all: Belgian strong dark ale.

Tripel

The origin of the tripel is a matter of much debate, too. One thing is certain: like the dubbel, the modern tripel was popularized by the Westmalle monastery. Also like the dubbel, the tripel is brewed with a good portion of beet sugar included in the recipe, but this time, the sugar isn't caramelized. It still raises the alcohol level and lightens body, but it doesn't impart significant color—the beer's beautiful golden hue comes primarily from the use of lightly kilned malt. Expect a beer filled with apple, pear, citrus, or banana-like fruitiness, clove-like or peppery spice, and a drying but (ideally) subtle hit of alcohol on the finish. Slightly stronger than dubbel, tripel boasts a lofty ABV of around 7-10%, but remains dangerously drinkable.

Farmhouse Ales

Leaving the monastery, let's shift our gaze to the farmland of what is now Northern France and Northern Belgium. This area is the birthplace of the farmhouse ales, saison and bière de garde. As the name implies, these are beers rooted in pastoral living—brewed and consumed with the ebb and flow of the seasons.

Saison and Bière de Garde

Saison (which means "season" in French, you'll get it in a minute) was born of necessity. The winter months are hard on farmers—you can't grow much and there just isn't a lot of money coming in. So what can you do? Well, if you've got leftover grain from the previous fall's harvest, you can make beer for the seasonal workers that will tend to your fields in the warmer months. Surplus grain gets used, your workers get some safe hydration, and after brewing, you can feed the spent grain to your livestock. It's the ol' win-win-win.

Bière de garde served a similar purpose. The name translates to "beer for keeping." These were beers designed to be stored—kept for the warmer months when brewing good beer was tough and farm life was hectic with obligations outside the brewhouse, but everyone was still thirsty.

Saison and bière de garde have similar histories, but stylistically, they are somewhat different. Saison is pale, highly-carbonated, and super-dry, defined by citrusy aromatics, an assertive peppery yeast character, and a level of floral, earthy hoppiness rarely seen in Belgium. But saisons aren't restricted to the Belgian borders&mash;American brewers and others around the world have embraced the style as well. In the past few years it's a style that's been tweaked, pushed around, and celebrated more than most in the US, with black, imperial (stronger), and heavily spiced variations finding their way to shelves. Even the Belgians have been known to make variations on the style that can be dark, spiced, or brewed with unusual grains.

Despite the stylistic breadth in what brewers call "saison," the beer world generally accepts one beer as the grand-daddy benchmark of the style as we know it today. Brasserie Dupont's Saison Dupont Vieille Provision, known simply as "Saison Dupont" by most, is a true classic in the beer world and serves as the model for many imitators. It's a dry, pale beer with a lively hop presence, some citrus and apple-like fruit flavor and a peppery, yeast-derived finishing bite.

Bière de garde is a bit more refined. It lacks the lithe energy of its pretty sister, trading it for maltiness and strength. Like saison, there's more diversity within the style than you might expect—you'll find bière de garde to be available in pale (labeled "blonde"), amber ("ambrée"), and brown ("brune") varieties, each with a different expression of malt flavor. Blonde versions tend to be doughy, honey-like, and lightly caramelly, ambrée examples emphasize that caramelization, and brune versions supplement the caramel with a toasty, more dense malt complexity. In all versions, the yeast is less prominent in flavor than in saison—bière de garde is fermented at cooler temperatures than most ales, which limits the fruitiness and spiciness that can come from warmer fermentations.

Other Belgian Ales

Belgian Strong Pale Ale and Belgian Blonde

Belgian strong pale ale (also known as Belgian strong golden ale) is a more recent invention, credited to Belgian brewers Duvel Moortgat. The beer that started it all is known simply as Duvel (that's "devil" in Flemish) and it took its current bright golden form in the 1970s. Crisp, strong, and extremely highly carbonated, Duvel and its imitators are not totally dissimilar to the tripel style, but tend to be drier, lighter in color, and a bit more bitter. As a reference to the demonically-named pace-setter, many beers within this style are named with reference to hell and the underworld, like Russian River's Damnation, The Lost Abbey's Inferno, Het Anker's Lucifer, and others.

Belgian blonde (sometimes spelled blond) beers are slightly less strong than either Belgian strong pale ales or tripels at around 6 to 8% ABV. Often sweeter than Belgian strong pale ales, these tend to taste less bitter with more fruity flavors derived from fermentation. Both Belgian strong pale ales and blondes are usually made with the same sugar used for making tripels, so these are a bit lighter-bodied than you might expect given their strength.

Belgian Pale Ale

Given the name, it feels strange that Belgian pale ales don't have a lot in common Belgian strong pale ales. These actually more closely resemble English pale ales—amber to copper in color with a toasty malt quality and a moderate strength (around 4.5 to 6% ABV). Expect a fruity and peppery yeast aroma that's more subdued than most Belgian ales, with a mild earthy hoppiness that may poke through on the finish.

Witbier

Witbier (also known as bière blanche or simply by its translated name, "white beer") has roots that can be traced back to the Middle Ages, but interest in the style waned around the turn of the 20th century amidst the rising popularity of pilsner and pale lagers. By the 1950s, nobody was making witbier commercially and it was considered to be extinct. Then a man named Pierre Celis stepped in, singlehandedly reviving the style at his brewery in Hoegaarden, Belgium.
That name Hoegaarden probably sounds familiar. Celis found wild success with his beer, and later sold the brewery to the company that would become Anheuser-Busch InBev. The beer has been sold worldwide ever since, spawning a resurgence in the style's popularity.

Brewed with unmalted wheat, coriander and orange peel, witbier is ultra-refreshing—tart, light in body, moderate in alcohol (think 4.5-5.5% ABV), and with a pleasant balance of citrusy and spicy flavors from the yeast used to ferment it.

Sour Ales

Lambic and Gueuze

Though witbier has clawed its way out of obscurity, lambic has remained a product of rarity, hanging out on the fringes of the mainstream as an object of geeky desires. It is still produced by just a handful of companies—the lambic game isn't one you can just step into. The product's scarcity is necessitated by a time-consuming method of production that few fully understand and can require several years between kettle and shelf. Most lambic lovers also prescribe to the notion that it can only be produced in its region of origin: the area around Brussels.

Traditional lambic is funky stuff—fully dry and bracingly sour. To create this signature flavor, the brewer starts the lambic-making process more or less like he or she would any beer: by steeping grain in water and boiling the resulting liquid. From here, things get weird. Lambic is the result of something called 'spontaneous fermentation.' Instead of carefully regulating fermentation using lab-cultured yeasts and sanitized stainless steel vessels, the brewer ferments the beer using the wild yeast and bacteria that constantly float around us in the air.

After boiling, the still-hot liquid is left to cool in a shallow, kiddie pool-looking vessel called a coolship. Here, yeast and bacteria settle into the liquid (now called "wort") and begin to multiply. Then, the wort is transferred to oak barrels. Those floating organisms, along with those that live in the barrels, start to do their thing. Like any beer fermentation, sugars in the wort are consumed to produce alcohol, but the wild buggies in there also produce a bunch of sour and funky flavors not encountered in your everyday pint. That's what makes lambic so unusual.

But the name "lambic" covers a bit more than just a single type of beer. It's more commonly used to refer to all of the beer styles made from a spontaneously fermented lambic base. This includes not just that simple "lambic," also known as unblended lambic, but also gueuze, fruited lambic variants, and some other oddities.

Unblended lambic is rarely found outside of Belgium—it's uncarbonated and served almost exclusively on tap. Blended products are much more common.

Gueuze (this is a tough one to pronounce properly—most just say "gooze") is one of those. It's a blend of young and old lambics—pale, dry, and complex, with funky flavors that range from oaky, cheesy, and barnyard-like to lemony, honey-like, and briny. You might hate it (you'll probably love it).

Fruited lambics are just what they sound like: lambics with fruit added. You might have encountered some of these on the dusty shelves of your local corner store. Chances are, those dusty bottles have an unfermentable sweetener added. The beer inside is ultra-sweet and very low in alcohol (most are around 2.5% ABV). These can be decent beers for dessert pairings, but if you're looking for a beverage of depth and complexity, you'll want a more traditional example (hint: the word "oude" on the label is a tip-off that you're on the right track).

Traditional fruited lambics have the funky flavors of gueuze complemented by a heavy dose of bright, fresh flavor imparted by the fruit of choice. To make these beers, the fruit is usually jammed right into the barrel, kickstarting another fermentation that eats up all of the fruit's sugars leaving a dry finished beer. Much of the fruit's flavor is left behind, and the color of the beer can be dramatically affected by the fruit. Cherry lambics, known by the Dutch word for cherry, kriek, are the most common, but raspberry (framboise), grape, and stone fruit are commonly used as well.

Sadly, there are few producers of traditional lambic left in the world, but a surge in popularity in the American market for lambic has helped the ones that do exist to thrive. New producers are slowly learning the craft and bringing product to market, and not just as brewers. It's common practice for lambic producers (for example, Tilquin, Oud Beersel, and others) to buy wort from other breweries, fermenting, blending, and bottling the beer in their own name.

Flanders Red and Flanders Brown

Lambic isn't the only sour thing happening in Belgium. Flanders sour ales have a similarly tart thing going for them. These are beers indigenous to the northern half of Belgium and are available in two varieties: red and brown (AKA oud bruin).

Despite their Belgian origin, Flanders red ales likely drew their inspiration from the tart blended porters that once dominated the English beer market. Eugene Rodenbach, who is credited with the style's inception, brought knowledge of porter blending techniques back to Belgium after a stint studying brewing in England. At his family's Rodenbach Brewery, he created the torch-bearing examples of the style. Deep red in color, Rodenbach's sour ales are packed with berry, plum, and balsamic vinegar-like flavor, with acetic sourness coming from a bacterial fermentation in oak vessels.

Flanders brown ales are similar beers, but tend to be a bit maltier. Fruit flavors trend toward plums, figs, and dates more so than red berries and there tends to be a bit less vinegar-like sourness.

About the author: Mike Reis is a Certified Cicerone working as Minister of Education for California-based distributor Lime Ventures. Previously, he co-managed the beer program at San Francisco's Abbot's Cellar and The Monk's Kettle. Follow him on Twitter @beerspeaks or find him behind a pint near you.

sciencehabit writes "A new theory about the foods that can extend life is taking shape, and it's sure to be a controversial one. Two studies out this week, one in mice (PDF) and another primarily in people (PDF), suggest that eating relatively little protein and lots of carbohydrates — the opposite of what's urged by many human diet plans, including the popular Atkins Diet — extends life and fortifies health."

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From Drinks

The Queens Kickshaw boast one of America's most extensive cider lists.

A few years back, ordering a glass of cider was simple. All you needed to do was belly up to the bar and say "I'll have a cider." and the bartender would pour you a pint of whatever was available: Woodchuck, Hardcore, Ace, or even Original Sin. Back then, ordering cider by name wasn't necessary; there was never more than one on the list.

But the last few years have brought about some change in the cider scene. With the rise of the American cider pub, dozens of new cider makers every year, and a recent wave of European imports, today's cider drinker has more options than ever before. In Queens, New York, Queens Kickshaw offers over 30 ciders by the glass or bottle. And out in Seattle, Capitol Cider has 20 ciders on tap alone.

A long cider list can feel daunting at first, but it is also the gateway to your new favorite cider. And once you know the lay of the land—and a few good questions to ask—choosing the right glass for any occasion is easy.

Sweet or Dry?

Every beverage director and bar owner we asked said the first question they always ask a guest is about sweetness, and everything follows from there. If you're looking for something juicy, fruity, and sweet, don't be ashamed! If you're craving something dry and tannic, voice your preference right away. This simple choice reduces any cider list in half.

What Else Do You Drink?

Are you a fan of Champagne? Then you'll probably like a crisp, effervescent cider. Prefer a funky Belgian Lambic? Grab yourself a bottle of Spanish sidra. In fact, any experience with beer, wine, or even previous ciders makes for an excellent starting point when you're chatting with a server about which cider to order. David Flaherty, Beer & Cider Director at Terroir in New York City, tells us that "having a good sense of what someone likes will give a server a great sense of what journey to take them on."

You can help your server recommend something you'll like by mentioning a few of the characteristics of your favorite beverage. Perhaps you like when a Chardonnay has some rich oak character, but you also like the zingy acidity of a Sauvignon Blanc. Those are keys that can help a server recommend a cider you'll enjoy.

Trust the House

If you're in a gastropub and they have 5 English ciders and one French one, stick with what the house knows best. Ask what the bar or restaurant specializes in, and give them a chance to share the ciders they're proud of.

Ignore What You Can Buy Later

Why pay twice as much for a cider that you can easily buy at your local bottle shop? If you've opted for wait service instead of take-out, then choose a cider that matches the occasion. Any bar specializing in ciders could have options that are more interesting than what's at your local supermarket, and they may have ciders on tap that are never sold in bottles.

Seven Magic Words

At this point, you've probably narrowed the cider list down to a handful of choices. Now is the time to unleash your secret weapon on the server. Simply point to your remaining choices and ask: "What can you tell me about these?" Your server can probably tell you where the cider comes from, what apples are in it, and what makes each cider different and interesting.

That's it! Now, all you have to do is put the cider in your mouth. Take a picture of the bottle or tap handle and jot down a few notes on your phone. That way, you'll remember any winners, and have an extra piece of information when it's time to order the next round.

About the author: Christopher Lehault is a New Jersey-based cider journalist, craft beer documentarian, and home brewer. Follow his cider adventures on Facebook, Google+, and Twitter.

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See how Benedict Cumberbatch and the VFX team at Weta Digital brought Smaug to life in this new making-of video from The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. The movie’s home release is set for April 8th

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Mount Everest might be the be-all, end-all of mountaineering, but it's also a dumping ground for the climbers striving upon its face—which is littered, as National Geographic puts it, "with garbage leaking out of the glaciers and pyramids of human excrement befouling the high camps." This week, Nepal announced a new rule aimed at cleaning it up.

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"Like so many Americans, she was trying to construct a life that made sense from things she found in gift shops."

Colin Delehanty and Sheldon Neill recently hiked over 200 miles through Yosemite National Park with their backpacks filled mostly with camera gear. The effort was worth it based on the spectacular time lapse video they just uploaded to Vimeo.

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The official lyric video for the song "Cloud Factory" from Finnish melodic metallers SONATA ARCTICA can be seen below. The track is taken from the band's eighth studio album, "Pariah's Child", which will be released on March 28 via Nuclear Blast. The cover artwork for the CD can be seen below. Commented SONATA ARCTICA vocalist/keyboardist Tony Kakko: "It has some kind of an ear-worm factor. It's not a bad thing to have in a single. A story about how dad already sees his young son going to work in the same factory he still goes and where his dad and dad's dad went before him, and how that pleasantly vicious circle never ends." "Pariah's Child" track listing: 01. The Wolves Die Young 02. Running Lights 03. Take One Breath 04. Cloud Factory 05. Blood 06. What Did You Do In The War, Dad? 07. Half A Marathon Man 08. X Marks The Spot 09. Love 10. Larger Than Life "The Wolves Die Young" video can be seen below. The clip was filmed in January at Sibelius House in Lahti, Finland and was produced by Patric Ullaeus of Revolver Film Company, who has previously worked with DIMMU BORGIR, LACUNA COIL, IN FLAMES, SONIC SYNDICATE and KAMELOT, among others. Commented Tony Kakko: "There are some instant SONATA 'greatest-hits' songs there, which feels good. "I think we reached the result we had in mind, each of us in our own field. "We went on to create the next SONATA ARCTICA power metalesque album and I think we achieved it adequately. "I have to say that I had drifted pretty far away from those 'days of thunder,' that speedy, happy-go-lucky attitude. "I was happy to notice this style can still make me smile. It's good. Music has to do that to me. It also shows the other older songs in a totally new light for me. "I can now understand and appreciate why the fans enjoy what we did in the early days." Regarding the new CD title and cover artwork, Kakko said: "As always, it's pretty hard coming up with a name for the new baby. I tried to approach it from many angles; how this is our eighth album and how easy it would be to abuse that fact. All the symbolism of figure eight, eternity and so on. But that just did not feel right, as it's been done so many times. Then I started to think how we'd in ways abandoned our 'totem animal,' the wolf and all what comes with the territory. "As the music on the album is bowing more towards the 'old' SONATA, meaning more power metal-style elements and wolves in many of the songs in one form or another, it was clear we need a wolf on the cover. An abandoned wolf. A pariah. Or pariah's child, actually. The new generation to bring the old logo back." SONATA ARCTICA last August parted ways with bassist Marko Paasikoski and replaced him with Pasi Kauppinen (SILENT VOICES, ex-REQUIEM, WINTERBORN). The band will launch a European headlining tour in support of "Pariah's Child" on April 10 in Eindhoven, The Netherlands.

From the U-2 Dragon Lady and A-12 Oxcart , to the SR-71 Blackbird and D-12 Ramjet Drone , there's been no shortage of exotic aircraft (and UFO sightings) in the skies over Nevada's Area 51. But among the most extreme examples of bleeding-edge avionic design tested was the otherworldly Boeing Bird of Prey.

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What makes green tea green and black tea black? Is one better for you than the other? Learn about the differences between these two types of tea...

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From the Japanese schoolgirl who murdered her classmate after she called her a "goody-goody," to the boy who murdered his father's pregnant fiancée because he was jealous of being replaced – check out 8 child murderers that will leave you stunned.

Video footage of Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser, the Croatian cello duo known as 2CELLOS, performing a cover version of AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" can be seen below. 2CELLOS became an overnight Internet sensation with their self-made music video of themselves performing MICHAEL JACKSON's "Smooth Criminal" on their cellos. Within days "Smooth Criminal" racked up over five million views on YouTube, and legend Elton John invited them to join him on his tour. "We always try to put our own spin on it, do something different with the song and present it to the people in a new and fresh way," 2CELLOS told GoodMorningAmerica.com. "We try to add an extra classical dimension to those well-known evergreens through our cellos." Hauser added: "We cover songs that we love and we play music that we are passionate about. These songs have to mean something to us, and of course, they have to sound great on the cello." Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser have been playing the cello since childhood. Both completed their studies — Luka at the acclaimed Royal Academy of Music in London, Stjepan at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. Luka has performed throughout the world at renowned venues such as London's Wigmore Hall, Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, Vienna's Musikverein and Konzerthaus. He has won a series of international prizes including first prize at the 2009 VII Lutoslawski International Cello Competition in Warsaw. Stjepan has performed in numerous European countries, South Africa, New Zealand, Asia and the U.S., with debuts in London's Wigmore Hall, Royal Albert Hall, South Bank Centre and Amsterdam's Concertgebouw. He was the last pupil of Mstislav Rostropovich. In his short career, Stjepan's accolades include winning twenty-one first prizes in national and international competitions and performing twice for Prince Charles in Buckingham and St. James's Palaces.

I bought this $6 bottle of Trader Joe's rum for a recipe I was working on a few months back, and after using the few tablespoons I needed, it has sat at the back of my liquor cabinet collecting dust ever since. Because let's face it: a $6 bottle of rum tastes pretty much like a $6 bottle of rum, and that's nothing I'm excited to have in my cocktail at the end of the day.

In a recent sweep of the dark corners of my kitchen, I unearthed this bottle and thought to myself, Self, I bet you could do something with this rum to make it taste amazing. And that's when inspiration struck.

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Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes "Jorge Cham, author of the comic strip Ph.D. comics, recently found himself on a bus crossing the Israel-Jordan border sitting next to Eilam Gross, head of the Atlas Higgs Group, one of the two groups that found the famous particle. When Cham asked Gross for feedback on the Higgs Boson animation he had done last year, Gross told Cham 'It's all wrong' and noted that he had yet to see a truly correct explanation of what the the Higgs Boson is. For the next three hours Gross, also known as the 'Mick Jagger of physics,' told Cham the story of the Higgs Boson and asked him to put it into a new comic strip. The result is a new comic re-explaining the Higgs Boson. 'So how does this explain things like inertia?' 'That's another bus ride.' As an interesting side note Gross was once asked what Higgs was good for and replied that when [J.J.] Thomson discovered the electron, in 1895, he raised a glass of champagne and proposed a toast 'to the useless electron.'"

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Forget owling or horsemanning! 'Riccing' is the latest viral trend where people pose for pictures while squeezed into a confined space, such as the inside of a cupboard, oven or refrigerator. Check them out.

Shawn Reeder made this impressive time-lapse of New Zealand after he decided to leave his home to become a film maker travelling around the world. His first stop was the country he always wanted to travel to "for as long as [he] can remember." Looking at this video, it was a good decision.

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sciencehabit writes "When you hear a friend's voice, you immediately picture her, even if you can't see her. And from the tone of her speech, you quickly gauge if she's happy or sad. You can do all of this because your human brain has a 'voice area.' Now, scientists using brain scanners and a crew of eager dogs have discovered that dog brains, too, have dedicated voice areas. The finding helps explain how canines can be so attuned to their owners' feelings."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.