Picture Of The Day

Picture of the Day

December 17, 2020 Leave a Comment

james webb space telescope

NASA is about to launch a telescope that can witness the creation of stars and planets 13.8 billion years ago

The James Webb Space Telescope is scheduled for launch in 2021. The Webb telescope will be the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It will study every phase in the history of our Universe, ranging from the first luminous glows after the Big Bang, to the formation of solar systems capable of supporting life on planets like Earth, to the evolution of our own Solar System.

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Picture of the Day

December 16, 2020 Leave a Comment

marshall applewhite

Marshall Applewhite was the leader of the UFO religious millenarian cult Heaven’s Gate, whose members committed mass suicide in March of 1997 after drinking applesauce laced with phenobarbital, believing the oncoming Hale-Bopp comet was being trailed by a spaceship that would absorb their souls

On March 26, 1997, 39 members of the Heaven’s Gate cult were found dead in a mass suicide. Led by a self-described prophet named Marshall Applewhite, followers believed that a heavenly UFO was trailing the Hale–Bopp Comet — and this was their only chance to escape Earth before it was “recycled” and wiped clean. Once they hopped aboard, they would be on their way to a much better planet. And since their human bodies were merely “vehicles,” they could safely leave them at any time and ascend to the “next level.”⁠

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Picture of the Day

December 15, 2020 Leave a Comment

Vanmoof TV Box

A bicycle company struggling with damaged shipments used our tendency to scan content and make assumptions by putting a TV image on its box. Damage rates fell 80%

Since early 2016, VanMoof, a Dutch bicycle company, has been shipping its bikes in cardboard boxes with pictures of TVs on their face. VanMoof creative director Bex Rad explains how the bit of trickery was meant to reduce damage.

Bikes are generally thought of as more durable, so shipping companies might not be as careful as they would with a television.

“After a while, fragile labels — which we have tried, believe me — become like wallpaper,”

“We think our solution works better because shipping companies know that if they damage a TV, it ends up being a whole lot more work, so they treat it more delicately.”

The technique has noticeably reduce damages rates: Rad claimsthat the design change led to 70-80% fewer damaged bike products on arrival.

Picture of the Day

December 14, 2020 Leave a Comment

halden prison norway

This is a Nordic prison, which focuses on rehabilitation rather than punishment

The 250 inmates here are locked in their cells for 12 hours a day. But those cells are private rooms, with wood furniture, a shower, a fridge and a flat-screen TV.

Norway spends $90,000 a year to house each prisoner — three times what is spent on inmates in the United States.

The recidivism rate is less than 30 percent, half of what it is in the U.S. And there are more than 2.2 million Americans in prison; Norway’s prison population is one-tenth that, on a per capita basis.

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Picture of the Day

December 11, 2020 Leave a Comment

(photo: PDSA)

Kuno the Belgian Malinois charged through enemy gunfire to save the lives of British soldiers fighting al-Qaeda in Afghanistan is to be awarded the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross. During the raid, he tackled a gunman and was hit by bullets in both back legs

The retired British Army Working Dog suffered life-changing injuries while supporting the British special forces fighting Al Qaeda and has now been awarded the Dickin Medal – the highest award any animal can receive within the British military – from the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA).

To put it into human perspective: that’s the animal equivalent of winning the Victoria Cross, the UK’s version of the Medal of Honor.

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Picture of the Day

December 10, 2020 Leave a Comment

last man to die in ww2

“The Last Man to Die in WWII” Leipzig, Germany April 18, 1945

War photographer Robert Capa took this iconic photo of an American soldier shot and killed by a German soldier in the battle for Leipzig on April 18, 1945. The soldier became known as the ′′ last man to die′′ in WWII after the picture appeared in Life’s Victory Parade magazine.

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Picture of the Day

December 9, 2020 Leave a Comment

how does a grenade work

The Inside Of A Frag And Practice Grenade

How does a grenade work?

Operating the hand grenade is a relatively simple task as there are few moving parts.

The operator uses one hand to hold the safety lever firmly against the grenade body, whilst the other hand is used to remove the safety pin. Providing the operator does not release the safety lever the grenade will not explode.

Once the operator has thrown the grenade, the safety lever will be released, and the striker spring will rotate the striker, until it impacts upon the primer.

The primer ignites a chemical delay fuse, which will burn for approximately four seconds. The delay burns until it reaches the detonator, at which point the detonator will explode and cause an even larger explosion as it ignites the charge.

The contents explode, fragmenting the outer casing (which holds all the explosive inside). These fragments then move outward as shrapnel, damaging the surroundings.

Picture of the Day

December 8, 2020 Leave a Comment

The Worst Traffic Jam Of All Time Lasted 12 Days In China

The China National Highway 110 traffic jam was a recurring massive traffic jam that began to form on August 13, 2010, mostly on China National Highway 110 (G110) and Beijing–Tibet expressway (G6), in Hebei and Inner Mongolia. The traffic jam slowed thousands of vehicles for more than 60 miles and lasted for 10 days. Many drivers were able to move their vehicles only 0.6 mi per day, and some drivers reported being stuck in the traffic jam for five days.

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Picture of the Day

December 7, 2020 Leave a Comment

singer williams dls

The Interior of The Singer Williams DLS Porsche

The DLS started life as your average 1990 Porsche 964-generation 911. The project was commissioned by a Singer client who asked the company for something that’s not only wickedly fast, but also a car that would take lightweighting more seriously than anything Singer has ever built. For that, Singer leaned on its technical partner in the United Kingdom, Williams Advanced Engineering — part of the Formula 1 group.

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Picture of the Day

December 4, 2020 Leave a Comment

bazooka vespa

(photo: R.I.V.A.R.S. Registro Italiano Veicoli Abitativi Ricreazionali Storici, foto di C.Galliani)

Bazooka Vespa – The Vespa 150 TAP scooter was intended for use by French paratroops and armed with a 75 mm recoilless rifle

The 150 TAPs mounted a M20 75 mm recoilless rifle, a U.S.-made light anti-armour weapon. It was very light in comparison to a standard 75 mm cannon but was still able to penetrate 100 mm of armour with its HEAT warhead. The recoil was counteracted by venting propellant gases out the rear of the weapon which eliminated the need for a mechanical recoil system or heavy mount.

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