March 29th, 2012
It has been a century since the sinking of the Titanic and 247Moneybox.com have at least closed the file on this one.
This doesn’t see to be the case for Professor Donald Olson of Texas State University, however, who suggests that the Moon may have had a role in the catastrophe, and it must be said that it’s quite an interesting theory.
Everyone is well aware of the horrific story that claimed the lives of 1,517 travellers on 15th April 1912 after the “unsinkable” ship collided with an iceberg in the Atlantic sea. Professor Olson and his team of forensic astronomers believe that there may be a connection between the proximity of the Moon to the Earth and the resulting high tide, which may explain the vast number of icebergs that appeared in the Titanic’s path.
According to the physicists, on 4th January 1912 the Sun and Moon aligned, thereby enhancing the gravitational pull on one another, and during this time the Moon was the closest to the Earth than it had been for 1400 years.
As a result, this increased gravitational force on the Earth could have dislodged icebergs, causing them to float aimlessly around the Atlantic and eventually hit the ship.
Whether they’re on to something or not, one thing’s for sure – the debates will rage on and on…
Tags: History
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March 27th, 2012
An astounding and somewhat bizarre story appeared on the Metro website recently as a chicken nugget resembling George Washington was sold on eBay for £5,000!
A bidding frenzy unfolded within an hour of the image of the nugget, superimposed in front of an American flag and fireworks, being uploaded onto the auction site.
We at 247Moneybox.com were sceptical and in typically Britsh fashion felt it quite resembled Charles Darwin from a different angle. But having looked at all the images and even a YouTube video, which we’d urge you to check for yourself, it must be said that there is a certain likeness to the first President of the United States.
And fortunately for one c-lucky patriot, eBay overturned its initial decision to ban the sale of the item on the premise that it violated regulations on expired food.
What next, a chicken wing resembling Justin Bieber? Only in America, we guess.
Tags: Food, Internet
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March 6th, 2012
Ever thought about how much purchasing all the items from the ‘12 Days of Christmas’ song would cost? We neither.
But an article on The Consumerist website tries to pin down the exact cost according to recent retail figures, despite the lack of clarity on how to secure the services of some piping pipers and drumming drummers (Covent Garden, we guess?).
PNC Financial have taken the time to analyse the changing trends in prices over the past few decades and we have apparently surpassed the $100k mark, reaching $101, 119.84.
This represents an astonishing 35% rise compared to five years ago despite the slight difference of 4.4% since 2010.
Coming in at the most expensive item is the seven swans a-swimming, at a whopping $6,300, closely followed by nine ladies dancing, at around $5 dollars cheaper than that.
The cheapest items are the milking maids … although we would love to get our hands on those udderly ridiculous calculations!
Tags: Christmas, Inflation
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March 1st, 2012
According to research by a curious graduate at the University of Michigan, the golden paper wasp, or Polistes Fuscatus, can recognise each other’s faces in a cognitive manner similar to humans. The trait was thought to be specifically human, in that we have evolved particular parts of the brain in order to recognise friend or foe.
The article in Nature magazine goes on to discuss the findings of the experiment, which involved a closely related species of wasp, an electric maze and an array of images of the other species and caterpillars. (And no – I know what you’re thinking – this isn’t a new ITV game show.)
During the test, the wasps tried to locate the safe zone in the maze by using the faces of wasps from their species, the other species and the caterpillars as markers. The golden paper wasps were quick to distinguish between faces of either species but found difficulty in distinguishing between caterpillars, while the other species found it easier to filter between the images of the caterpillars and wasps as opposed to the faces of the wasps specifically.
A truly “buzzing” experiment that begs the question – is this an evolutionary adaptation or something you pick up as you go through life?
Tags: Animals
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February 28th, 2012
Money, money, money is no longer funny, according to an article on the thisismoney.co.uk website. The search engine Yahoo! has said that the FTSE, which records the London Stock Exchange share prices, has drawn more internet searches in 2011 than any other subject.
From the heights of 7,000 points, the FTSE 100 now hovers around the 5,000 mark and it is clear that this trend reflects consumer mood. Echoing this, funnily enough, the second most searched subject is The National Lottery, with people turning their attention to the hope of quick financial gain.
With the third being the Job Centre, it becomes apparent that personal finance really is the big theme of the past year - but it is surprising that Katie Price (a.k.a. Jordan) sits at number four on the list.
And after that, the search is dominated by celebrities, which is to be expected what with the Royal Wedding, the death of Amy Winehouse, and other famous people in the public eye last year.
We say roll on the good times for 2012!
Tags: England, Internet
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February 23rd, 2012
Since the dawn of time, it would seem, schoolchildren have collected conkers for playground tournaments on such a large scale that we feel the London 2012 Olympics Committee has possibly missed a trick.
However, The Telegraph reports on news that is surely set to hurt the youngsters in southwest London: signs have been put up around Richmond Park by its managing company, The Royal Parks, asking the public not to take any chestnuts out of the park or knock them out of trees.
The chestnuts, also known as conkers, form the resident deer’s staple diet, particularly in the winter. This hasn’t stopped the move as being described as “officious” by park visitors and walkers. They feel that for a park its size - it is in fact the largest of London’s Royal parks - there should be enough conkers to go around for everyone.
The sign reads: “Please do not take chestnuts. Please leave chestnuts for the deer. Our deer need to eat chestnuts to get them through the winter. The more you pick up, the fewer they have to eat. So please don’t take chestnuts home, or knock them from the trees. Thank you for helping us look after our precious wildlife.”
Oh deer…
Tags: Animals, Children, England
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February 21st, 2012
The Home Office’s advisory council for the misuse of drugs (ACMD) has carried out an official inquiry with the help of police experts on the use of cocaine in Britain, and astonishingly, more than one in ten banknotes circulating around the UK have traces of cocaine on them.
You’ve probably heard this before, in 2005, when the figure was around 4% - less than half the 11% figure it is today. Cocaine use in Britain is the highest in Europe and even exceeds the US and Australia. Police have been trying to find a link between men in their early 20s and the powder, citing longer pub hours as a potential contributing factor as people were using it to carry on drinking for longer.
The Guardian reports on this rising phenomenon of drug use by white males, usually aged 18-45, who typically have work, homes and no serious convictions. Despite this, some of the police officers interviewed claimed that cocaine use had broken the social and class barriers associated with cocaine use specifically, and was no longer restricted to the fast-paced environment of City life as was the case in the 80s.
The article goes on to discuss the major profits that are being made as a result of the decreasing purity of cocaine sold on the streets, as the drug is cut earlier and earlier in the supply chain.
The times, as they say, are indeed changing.
Tags: Leisure, Society
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February 16th, 2012
There may be plants on distant planets that have developed black foliage and flowers to survive, according to new research, reports the BBC.
Forms of vegetation that are black or grey, enabling plants to absorb more light to photosynthesise, could have evolved on planets orbiting dim “red dwarf” stars, according to the research which looked at many star systems. The research is the combined work of scientists from St. Andrews, the University of Dundee and the Open University.
These dark colours would absorb light across the entire wavelength so that they would be able to use as much light as possible for an energy source, as well as blocking harmful UV light.
The star system was modelled with two or three stars with various combinations of Sun-like and dim stars. The researcher then added planets to these models, orbiting around one or more of the stars.
The model suggests that photosynthesis on these planets, albeit that plants would have to adapt to very different light conditions, would resemble that of our own planet, with plants using energy from the Sun to convert carbon dioxide and water into oxygen.
If the light source is from a dim star, then it is thought that plants would be black and grey, but there could be some other exotic outcomes which are unknown. For example, plant life receiving light from dim stars and other suns could lead to difference colours on the spectrum.
Tags: Science
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February 14th, 2012
You may have read our previous blogs on how magpies hold grudges and parrots flock together (all of which can be found in our ‘Animals’ category on the blog website), but this story about ravens is genuinely starting to make us reconsider the use of ‘bird brains’ as an expression of stupidity.
According to a study by German and Austrian scientists, ravens attract one another’s attention by pointing and sharing much in the same way that humans do. This form of communication has only previously been seen in apes, and we may not be giving these birds as much credit for their intelligence as is due.
Reporting in The Daily Mail, the researchers observed the wild birds gesturing with their beaks, usually to members of the opposite sex, in order to bring them closer. By sharing things like twigs, moss and stones, much in the same way a human would offer to share a gift or food to make a friend, they could strengthen existing relationships or indeed attract potential mates.
Could “Planet of the Ravens” have potential for a Hollywood blockbuster…? Hmmm.
Tags: Animals
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February 9th, 2012
Research at Keele University has recently demonstrated what we all probably practice (and would secretly argue we knew): that swearing can actually help to relieve pain on a psychological level. But before you start running your mouth, the results also show that those who curse more often in general everyday life do not benefit as much from the full pain-relieving effects.
In an interesting experiment, subjects were asked to place their hands in ice-cold water for as long as they could. As the pain got more and more unbearable, the findings showed that using curse words, as opposed to neutral ones, allowed the subjects to hold their hands in for longer.
Those who normally didn’t swear managed to reach 140 seconds while swearing during the experiment, which was twice as long as when they used a neutral word; however, the subjects that regularly used foul language (up to 60 times a day) could only muster 120 seconds and there was no difference when they repeated the test using neutral words.
The article in The Telegraph discusses the findings with the researchers involved, and it would appear that swearing is a way for humans to express strong emotions. As such, it can be a useful way to relieve short-term pain as it helps to induce an equally strong emotional response reminiscent of the “mind over matter” phenomenon.
If you swear regularly, it seems that the emotional response is somewhat desensitised as your brain is more emotionally engaged with this kind of language.
Don’t believe it? Check the results for yourself here, as published in The Journal of Pain.
Tags: Science
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