Monday Mule Pack – Dark Matter, Comic Sans, Life on a Moon, and Wine on a Plane
April 17, 2017
A weekly look at some of the more interesting articles from around the web.
Lots of good science this week.
Researchers capture first ‘image’ of a dark matter web that connects galaxies
“For decades, researchers have been predicting the existence of dark-matter filaments between galaxies that act like a web-like superstructure connecting galaxies together,” said Mike Hudson, a professor of astronomy at the University of Waterloo. “This image moves us beyond predictions to something we can see and measure.”
Awesome.
The oldest known relative of dinosaurs was a total freak, experts say
The new species shows that some features thought to characterize dinosaurs actually evolved much earlier, soon after the split from crocodiles.
Plumes From Saturn’s Moon Enceladus Hint That It Could Support Life
Plumes of gas erupting out of Enceladus — a small moon with an ocean of liquid water beneath its icy crust — contain hydrogen. Scientists infer a lot from that: that there are hydrothermal chemical reactions similar to those that occur at hot fissures at the ocean bottoms on Earth.
How we made the typeface Comic Sans
I’ve only ever used Comic Sans once. I was having trouble changing my broadband to Sky so wrote them a letter in Comic Sans, saying how disappointed I was. I got a £10 refund. In those cases, I would recommend it. The basic theory is that typography should not shout – but Comic Sans shouts.
Um, no. Comic Sans does not shout (unless it’s to say “I’m a fool!”).
‘Charging Bull’ sculptor says ‘Fearless Girl’ distorts his art. He’s fighting back.
Then last month, on International Women’s Day, a new statue of a symbolically brave “Fearless Girl” stole its spotlight — and, Di Modica says, fundamentally corrupted the artistic integrity of his “Charging Bull.”
What a douchebag.
The 20th century held up intellectuals like that, and then discredited them — too many were too wrong about communism and fascism. But we’ve probably over-adjusted, and deprived a generation of a vision of the heroic intellectual. It’s good to have people who think about North Korean disarmament. But politics is most real at a more essential level.
There are 19 types of smile but only six are for happiness
But the truth is far more sinister. Of 19 different types of smile, only six occur when we’re having a good time. The rest happen when we’re in pain, embarrassed, uncomfortable, horrified or even miserable. A smile may mean contempt, anger or incredulity, that we’re lying or that we’ve lost.
The Science Behind What Makes Wine Tastes Better on a Plane
Light Whiskey: How the TTB Saved Bourbon
Distillers proposed that restrictions on proof of distillation, entry proof, and barrel type be eliminated for bourbon and other American whiskeys. Lifting those restrictions, the reasoning went, would both lower production costs and allow them to offer a product closer to the imported whiskeys making up a growing share of the market.Fortunately, the TTB recognized that easing regulations around American whiskey production would have rendered labels like “straight bourbon” meaningless.
The Year Sour Beer Became a Sensation
Unlike the IPA-ization of America—which begins with the release of Russian River’s Pliny the Younger in 2005—or the dessert-ifying of imperial stouts—which owes its beginnings to 3 Floyds’ Dark Lord, circa 2004—the “souring” of beer palates in this country doesn’t seem to have one watershed moment that turned the tide. Ultimately, it was the gradual deification of Cantillon that acted as the bellwether for the upcoming sour revolution.
