A unique opportunity to see a comet that only the Neanderthals saw, species that never existed, the greatest dog killer in history, the saddest man in the world and the Monopoly experiment. That's just a sample of what you'll find in these Recommended Links of the Week. If you want more, keep reading—I promise you won't be disappointed. Welcome and enjoy!
Science and History
In January we receive a visit from a comet that only the Neanderthals and the first Homo sapiens saw
"A comet identified last year could be bright enough to be seen with the naked eye when it passes close to the Sun and Earth, specifically from late January to early February 2023. According to NASA, it will be about 160 million kilometers from the Sun on January 12 and 42 million kilometers from Earth between February 1 and 2: the new moon on January 21, meanwhile, seems to be an excellent opportunity for spotting it."
Six species that never existed, although science thought they were real
"The accounts of explorers and travelers gave rise to creatures that never really existed, but were believed in for centuries. Naturally, in this category we think of legendary animals of popular folklore, the so-called cryptids, such as the Loch Ness Monster, the Yeti, Bigfoot, or the chupacabra. But beyond these myths, there are other species whose existence made its way into encyclopedias, science pages, or museums, and came to be regarded as true by scientists or academics."
Why Genghis Khan traveled with a cart full of worms
"What do Genghis Khan, the US Civil War, and the UK's health service have in common? The answer is, perhaps surprisingly, worms. Yes, you read that right, worms. You see, flies, like most insects, have a complete metamorphosis from egg to adult, going through the larval and pupal stages. In many species of flies, during the larval stage they have the form of worms and are scientifically known as maggots."
The greatest dog killer in history
"One spring day in 1937, Juliet Tuttle got out of her limousine in Eastchester, a town in New York State, and approached two dogs playing in a park. She took a small bag from her pocket and fed the dogs. Meanwhile, her own dog, a terrier, waited in the limousine. A woman watched the strange scene from across the street at a bus stop. Hours later, one of those dogs was dead and the other, sick. And the Irish setter belonging to the woman at the bus stop had died."
The hairy frog, the amphibian with retractable claws
"No matter how you look at it, the appearance of Trichobatrachus robustus is at least shocking or striking. It is a species of frog that seems to have the rather unattractive habit of growing hair, which is why in Spanish-speaking countries it is known as the hairy frog. The English are a bit more squeamish and call it the horror frog, although more recently it is often nicknamed the Wolverine frog. It can only be found in Africa, mainly Cameroon, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Nigeria, and Angola, near rivers in humid tropical forests."
Jim Henson and why children are not stupid
"Have you ever worked with children? I have, and I can tell you it's quite an experience. Once, at a role-playing event, I ran a game of that wonderful fantasy gem that is Aventuras en la Marca del Este aimed at children. I was always fascinated by the evil that was so characteristic and yet so innocent. Children are a strange audience, they settle for little and, at the same time, are the hardest and most demanding when they set their minds to it. That's why I believe every good storyteller should know how to tell stories for children. And there, no one could hold a candle to Henson."
"A Brazilian team from the National Indian Foundation (Funai) confirmed his death last August 27 and the news went around the world. Judging by his advanced state of decomposition, he must have been dead for four weeks. Since his name was unknown, the press referred to him as 'the man in the hole', a designation more fitting for a freak show attraction than for an extraordinary human with an equally extraordinary life."
"About how, as a result of unequal advantages, the player with power grew to the point of being disrespectful to the other player without those privileges. Today I'm going to show you how it was done. Many volunteers were called to play Monopoly 1 vs 1, and at random it was chosen that one player would have a series of privileges, such as rolling two dice, receiving double salary, and receiving double the money of the other person. Obviously from the beginning of the game the players realized the inequality in the game, where you can see the rich player with an even happier tone."
Frank Frazetta, the king of fantasy who left his mark on Conan or Mad Max
"Among Frazetta's works, the covers he made for the reissue of the Conan novels in the 60s stand out, which powerfully contributed to rescuing Robert E. Howard's character from oblivion. In them he created the definitive image of that invincible muscular hero. Illustrations that served as the basis for John Buscema's version in Marvel comics, the most famous of the character. Illustrations that, at the time, were a complete revolution, since no one had seen anything like it, not even Frazetta himself."
We are half human, half bacteria: what can the microbes that populate our body do for us
"We are not alone. Never entirely. Although they cannot be seen with the naked eye and make no noise, one is always accompanied by thousands upon thousands of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and yeasts, archaea, and protozoa. An immense living world of microbes populates, in reasonable harmony, the skin, the vagina, the mouth, the lungs, and especially the intestine, to help humans in such elementary functions as protecting themselves against external pathogens or metabolizing certain foods. It is the human microbiome, a complex ecosystem of microbes that functions as another organ inside the body."
The childhood of Bobby Fischer: the chess prodigy who 'wandered' the streets of New York
"Passersby, police officers, public works employees; anyone who crosses their path sees only two teenagers, because that's what they are, two thirteen-year-old boys. Few would suspect that one of them will become, in a couple of years, one of the most famous people in the country. And a few years later, one of the greatest celebrities on the entire planet. He is the thinnest, with brown hair, humble clothing, and a disheveled appearance. His name is Robert James Fischer, and he will burst into history when he is not yet old enough to shave."
Which animals perceive time the fastest?
"New research reveals that animals that perceive time most quickly are small ones, those that can fly, or marine predators. In the largest study of its kind to date, Dr. Kevin Healy from the University of Galway analyzed the speed at which more than 100 animals perceive changes in the world, which is known as temporal perception. The researchers found that animals with fast-paced lifestyles have visual systems capable of detecting changes at greater speed."
Videos
VIDEOS: Death toll of World War II by country, ant biting in extreme close-up, elephants and their sense of humor, Jerry Seinfeld in Pulp Fiction [DeepFake], Mount Everest from base to summit in 3D, Joe Pencil trapped in the Comix Zone (the Sega Comix Zone prototype), puts a flashlight in his eye socket, the evolution of art by an AI, traditional manufacturing of Shogi and Go boards, Primitive Technology: Reed water filter / siphon, a cosmos from nothing, recreation shows how the Moon could have formed in a matter of hours, the smallest and cheapest truck in the world, slow-motion art, and the short films FTL and Bambi Meets Godzilla (1969) in 4K.
Galleries
GALLERIES: The ugliness of baby elephants, the process of a xenomorph suit, retro video game ads, detailed photos of insects, the circuit of the classic Casio F-91W, realistic tattoos of things, the futuristic Citroën GS Camargue concept from 1972, artist recreates their works with AI, Cherie Currie covered in fake blood, 11 containers for a luxury house, the Animated Dump of the Week and, of course, the Visual Dump.
https://old.neoteo.com/la-atraccion-que-salvo-miles-de-bebes-prematuros/As always, this is where I say goodbye until next week. So... bye!
