If you’re a Jetsons fan on the internet these days, you’re probably living the dream right now. Because, if you look really closely at the futuristic cartoon show’s backstory, the main character, George Jetson, may have just had his birthday.
Scientists at universities in the UK and the Netherlands have been testing out a system in which algorithms parse through high-resolution images taken by satellites to identify elephants and their locations, which could help protect these endangered pachyderms from poaching and habitat loss. Plus: scientists discover a type of electric eel, previously thought to be loners, hunt - and zap - prey in groups.
Country great Hank Thompson's signature song was called "The Wild Side of Life," but getting an elephant as a pet is pretty wild even by his standards.
Judging by my kids' toy collections I thought fluorescents were already about as bright as possible. But chemists at Indiana University and the University of Copenhagen have found a way to make the brightest fluorescent materials ever made. Plus: for World Elephant Day, meet Lucy, the elephant-shaped hotel on the Jersey Shore.
On this day in 1862, President Abraham Lincoln wrote to the king of Siam, now Thailand, to say thanks, but no thanks, to the king's offer of a herd of elephants. It was a gracious letter, which was appropriate because elephants themselves have lovely manners.
I appreciate the great struggle to rid the country of slavery as much as anyone, but that story is somewhat well-worn ground. Wouldn't it have been even more interesting to see Steven Spielberg and Daniel Day-Lewis take on the tale of Lincoln and the elephants?
