( Video Link ) Henri Maillardet (b. 1745) was a master maker of automata. This caterpillar, which is less than three inches long and is covered with diamonds, pearls, emeralds and enamel, remains fully functional. Watch it inch across the surface of the glass just like a real caterpillar. It’s an amazing piece of miniature mechanical craftsmanship. Link -via Richard Kadrey
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Caterpillar Automaton, c. 1820
Two linguists argue that modern English isn’t really a West Germanic language, most similar to modern German, Dutch and Frisian, but a North Germanic language, such as Norwegian, Swedish and Danish: Their research and conclusions are brand new and break with those of earlier linguistic professors who believe English is rooted in “Old English,” also known as the Anglo-Saxon language believed brought to the British Isles by settlers from northwestern and central Europe. Faarlund claims Scandinavians settled in the area long before French-speaking Normans conquered the British Isles in 1066. Faarlund and Edmonds also contend that Old English and modern English are two very different languages. “We think Old English simply died out,” Faarlund told Apollon . “Instead, the Nordic language survived, strongly influenced by Old English.” Scandinavian settlers, Faarlund notes, gained control towards the end of the 9th century of an area known as Danelagen, which forms parts of Scotland and England today. Faarlund stressed that “an extremely important geographic point in our research” is that the East Midlands in England, where he says the modern English language developed, was part of the relatively densely populated southern portion of Danelagen. Edmonds and Faarlund also contend that sentence structure in what developed into modern English is Scandinavian, not western Germanic as previously believed. Both today’s Scandinavian languages place the object after the verb, for example, unlike German and Dutch which place the verb at the end of a sentence. Possessive forms can also be the same in both the Scandinavian languages and English, which also can end sentences with a preposition and split infinitives. While that’s sometimes frowned upon in other variations of modern English such as American English, Faarlund argues it’s not possible in German, Dutch or Old English. Link -via TYWKIWDBI | Image: Dik Browne
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Scholars: English Is a Scandinavian Language
According to Wired, the secret to success in the field of programming is facial hair. Notable exceptions include women, of course, and Mark Zuckerberg. Of course, it may also be because those who are the best at what they do can get away with wearing their hair any way they like in the workplace. IT workers fall into different facial hair categories, some of which are shown here. There are twenty types of beards and/or mustaches illustrated in all, so if your profession is not represented here, you can see the rest at Wired. Link (Image credit: Kelsey Dake )
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A Field Guide to Tech Facial Hair
Pope John Paul II nominated Saint Isidore of Seville to be the patron saint of the internet, although the Vatican has not officially designated him so …yet. These things take time. Why St. Saint Isidore? Saint Isidore wrote a 20 book opus Etymologies, also known as the Origins, in which he tried to record everything that was known. Published after his death in 636, it was for a thousand years considered the encyclopedia of all human knowledge. Written in simple Latin, it was all a man needed in order to have access to everything he wanted to know about the world but never dared to ask, from the 28 types of common noun to the names of women’s outer garments. It was a tool by those seeking wisdom much like the internet is used now. There’s even a prayer asking St. Isidore for guidance while surfing the net. Link -via mental_floss
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The Patron Saint of the Internet
Every time you bite into an orange, you are tasting the results of the sunshine that went into the plant. The same sensation comes with other fresh ripe fruits and vegetables. In the orange battery, citric acid reacts with the zinc in nails inserted in an orange to release light energy. But the glow you see is not all that bright -photographer Caleb Charland, who made the battery, said the photograph required 14 hours of exposure! Still, this beautiful picture was worth it. Link -via Colossal
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Energy from a Single Orange
The glassfrog couldn’t be more aptly named. After all, his entire underbelly is translucent like glass. Amazingly, that’s not the only unique thing about these beautiful creatures. They’re also one of the handful of critters where the father actually handles all aspects of parental care. “Females flee as soon as they have delivered the eggs. Then males stay during weeks in close proximity of the egg clutch, improving its survival probability by maintaining it wet and, sometimes, scaring away predators,” says evolutionary biologist Juan Manuel Guayasamin. As a result, the males are also highly aggressive with one another, often fighting for hours. Link
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Who Needs to Dissect Frogs When You Can See Right Through Them?
Candy is dandy and liquor is quicker, but edible deodorant doesn’t only taste sweet, it also makes you smell like roses! Here’s Deo Perfume Candy, the brainchild of food company Beneo : This form of nutricosmetics (nutritional supplements which can support the function and the structure of the skin) is down to the ingredient geraniol, an acrylic monoterpene-alcohol, which is a colourless liquid that can be found in plants such as rose, lavender and vanilla. Geraniol is a natural antioxidant and its fragrance, once consumed as a candy, leaves the body through its pores, creating a naturally sweet smell that can last for hours. Oddity Central has the story: Link (Photo: New Hope 360 )
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The Edible Deodorant
Image: The Metropolitan Museum of Art When ancient Egyptians play Dungeons & Dragons with this D20 die above, we betcha they played with real dungeons! The Metropolitan Museum of Art has a nifty collection of the Ptolemaic Period (304 – 30 B.C.) dice, carved out of serpentinite rock: Link – via CNET’s Crave
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Ancient Egyptian D20 Die
The Japanese military invaded American soil in 1942 when a force of 500 men overtook the Aleutian Islands of Attu and Kiska in Alaska. They captured a Navy weather crew stationed there and occupied the islands, which are the westernmost parts of the USA. It is now known as The Forgotten Battle but the invasion caused widespread outrage in 1942. Pearl Harbor was still a fresh memory, having been attacked on December 7 of the previous year. Now, a Japanese military force had stepped foot on American soil – and the 500 had grown to over 5,000 men. Although Kiska and neighboring Attu (which had been overrun two days previously) were part of the distant Aleutian Islands they were, nevertheless, American. Plans were immediately drawn up to retake the island, known as the Aleutian Campaign. The campaign would not succeed for over a year and would claim many American lives. Today, Kiska is a National Historic Landmark, and abandoned vehicles, weapons, and ordnance still litter the island. Signs warn of unexploded bombs and other hazards. Read about the Aleutian Campaign and see pictures of Kiska from both World War II and today at Kuriositas. Link -via the Presurfer (Image credit: Flickr user Buzz Hoffman )
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The Japanese Invasion of Alaska
I thought I liked driving fast but a speed limit set at 85mph? What are you crazy? This new toll road in Texas links Austin to San Antonio. A private company has shelled out the cash personally for the road, they get to maintain and operate the road for the next 50 years and in return they keep most of the money from the toll. Here is the catch, they are charging $6.17 to use the road. The video does some interesting number crunching and it turns out, at 41 miles, that $6.17 compares pretty favorably to other toll roads across the country if you go by the dollar per mile. Sounds great but I think you have to remember that the rate only holds its value if you are using the whole 41 miles. Either way wherever you are going on the toll, you will be going their fast. Link Unique Daily
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America’s New Fastest Road