The first science fiction magazine in Spanish, how to reach Alpha Centauri in 20 years, the destabilization of Earth's core and the origin of the watermelon. Whoa! So many nice things? Yes, all that and much more in the Recommended Links.
La Novela Fantástica (1937), the First Science Fiction Magazine in Spanish: "One of the most fascinating episodes of Argentine literature took place in 1937. In May, Buenos Aires newsstands displayed a small magazine with a two-color cover, titled La Novela Fantástica. It shared the racks with the newspapers Crítica and La Nación, and with the magazines Caras y Caretas and Billiken, perhaps dwarfed by the large format and prestige of these publications. Only one issue appeared, which went unnoticed and was quickly forgotten. However, something makes it special: the fact of being the first science fiction magazine in the Spanish language."
One Hundred Million Laser Beams to Reach Alpha Centauri in 20 Years: "A spacecraft propulsion system with one hundred million laser beams emitted from Earth has been designed to explore the worlds of our second closest star, Alpha Centauri. The Breakthrough Starshot project requires the design of an ultralight spacecraft, acting as a light sail, to travel at unprecedented speed across tens of billions of kilometers to the star about four light-years away, arriving at the destination in 20 years."
The Giant Wind Turbine That Is Five Times More Efficient Than Current Ones: "The Norwegian company Wind Catching Systems (WCS) has presented its revolutionary floating wind turbine design that instead of a single turbine has more than 100. According to its creators, each of these structures produces the same amount of energy as 25 conventional turbines, enough to supply 80,000 homes. Floating wind farms are presented as a future alternative to those we already have on land and to fixed-base offshore ones. The advantage of having these systems at sea is that they receive stronger and more constant winds."
Why Were There No Lethal Germs in America Waiting for the Spanish?: "It is undeniable that Europeans developed a great advantage in weapons, technology and political organization over most of the non-European peoples they conquered. But that advantage alone does not fully explain how, initially, so few European immigrants came to replace such large proportions of the native population of America and some other parts of the world. […] Many more American Indians died in bed from Eurasian germs than on the battlefields from European weapons and swords."
Earth's Inner Core Is Destabilized: "A phenomenon of as yet unknown causes generates an imbalance in the growth of Earth's inner core: it grows faster beneath Asia than beneath South America. This disproportion could have serious consequences for the Earth's magnetic field, which acts as a 'shield' against harmful solar particles."
Tips for Keeping a Young Brain Longer: "Only in the last ten generations has human life expectancy doubled. But this brilliant triumph of progress and medicine also has its dark side: living longer has made us more prone to brain deterioration that prevents us from enjoying old age in optimal conditions. In a society increasingly concerned with health, preventing our brain from aging worse than our body has become one of the greatest concerns."
A Cretaceous Snail and Its Five Offspring Preserved in Amber: "The body and shell of a female land snail has been discovered exceptionally well preserved shortly after the birth of her offspring, which is also preserved in amber. Land snails are generally preserved as shells or fossilized snail traces, while the preservation of their soft bodies is a rarity. This is the case of the new find dated 99 million years ago, both of the snail and its offspring."
7 Secrets of Sex in Ancient Rome: "Roman citizens were allowed any sexual activity, as long as their attitude was dominant. They could penetrate women, men, or barely pubescent adolescents without any remorse. They could also receive oral attention without loss of reputation. What they must not do under any circumstances, if they wanted to preserve their dignity, was serve as an object of pleasure."
The Alchemical Birth of Scottish Whisky: "You cannot travel to a place and stay aloof from typical products; gastronomy is part of the tourist experience and if you set foot in Asturias you will have to try cider; if you go to France, champagne; if it's Mexico, tequila will be the drink, and so on. I speak only of drinks because the case that concerns me today is Scotland, where it is clear that the protagonist is whisky and if taking home a pack of mini bottles of various types is a classic, it will be rare that a visitor is not also offered a distillery tour."
The Origin of the Watermelon: "About 4,300 years ago, someone drew a melon on the wall of a tomb in Egypt. It is big, fat, green and generously striped: everything one expects a watermelon to be. It is next to grapes and other fruits, suggesting it was eaten as we eat watermelon today, raw and for its sweet taste. This detail from a painting in the tomb of Khnumhotep at Saqqara was a puzzle. Although scientists believed that the wild ancestors of the watermelon came from the African continent, no one knew of the existence of a wild watermelon near the Nile Valley. Where did this melon come from?"
Kailasa, the Impressive Temple in India Carved in the 8th Century from a Single Rock: "Another clear example of millenary beauty, harmony in proportions and polished and exact techniques is the Kailasa Temple, in the Maharashtra region (India). Built from a single carved block of stone, it is considered one of the most impressive temples of Indian rock-cut architecture and is part of the 34 monasteries and temples that make up the complex known as the Ellora Caves."
How the World Loved the Swastika, Until the Nazis Appropriated It: "In the Western world the swastika is synonymous with fascism, but the symbol goes back thousands of years and has represented good fortune in almost every culture in the world. As more evidence emerges of its pre-Nazi past in Europe, can this ancient emblem ever free itself from its association with evil? In the archaic language of Sanskrit, the swastika means 'well-being'. The symbol has been used in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism and is presumed to be of Indian origin."
Videos
Pizza-making machine, the Trojan riddle, bonsai transformation, 'Lord of the Rings' without special effects, duck with a prosthetic leg, the ballet of error, Vikings also have to wear helmets, transforms trailer into a cute little house, vaccines don't produce magnetism, don't eat grapefruits near balloons, professional climber, compilation of Cyberpunk 2077 errors, coins under a hydraulic press, a hovering superconductor, demolished power plant, distant rains, camels with radio-controlled jockeys, the babysitter is a predator, video made with 3,700 images, a brief history of evil, the chameleon's kiss and the short films Quartz (art), The Silent Lay Steady (horror) and Snore (puppets and blood). To finish, a sliding door simulator à la Ace Ventura.
https://old.neoteo.com/reface-app/Galleries
Fireflies in Japanese temples, Hotel California as a graphic novel, the café bar in black and white, the pop art of James Rawson, dead celebrities if they hadn't died, pop art by Pius Bak, the fantastic dystopia of Gal Barkan, color photos of the United States from the 30s and 40s, the first photos of Ganymede sent by Juno, Tibetan demons, Animated Dump, and Visual Dump. That's all, sorry.
And that's it. Not the best edition, but definitely the best I've done while asleep. A hug.
