Blogroll

China used more cement in the last three years than the U.S. used in the entire 20th century

Bill Gates recently blew my mind with his blog post. He talks about a book Making the Modern World: Materials and Dematerialization,  by his favorite author, the historian Vaclav Smil. Go read it. Here is a teaser. 

Not the usual aww but I found this guy looking for shade at work today


Watch a teacher help his deaf and blind friend follow a football game.

Hélio Fonseca de Araújo built a miniature soccer field and during his country's game against Croatia, he used his hands to show his buddy Carlos the movement of the action on the field. 

Carlos, 27, began losing his eyesight at the age of 14. But thanks to his friend he was able to experience the agony of his team falling behind and triumph of winning the game just like all of his fellow countrymen for Brazil's opening match. Watch below. The game starts at 4:06. See the reactoion to the goal at 10:06. 

Chuck Yeager is a boss.

If you haven´t already, you should read The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe.  It´s about the pilots engaged in U.S. postwar experiments with experimental rocket-powered, high-speed aircraft as well as documenting the stories of the first Project Mercury astronauts selected for the NASA space program. 
It also tells the story how Charles Elwood "ChuckYeager  became the first pilot confirmed to have traveled faster than sound. He did so of course in the famous Bell X-1. 
What is not so well known is that he did it with two broken ribs. Which he broke the day before when he fell off a horse. Drunk. 
Seriously, read it. 




Whac-A-Mole kitten


Baby turtle flying through the snow


Dung Beetles Navigate by the Stars


After locating a fresh pile of feces, dung beetles will often collect and roll away a large piece of spherical dung.The beetles then climb on their dung balls and dance around in circles before taking off. This dance is not one of joy, however; the insects are checking out the sky to get their bearings.