9.
Deep Underground Cemeteries
The city of Jerusalem is plagued by a chronic shortage of burial space for the dead.
It makes sense, considering the massive number of people who have been laid to rest in the
holy city over the last several thousand years.
To combat the problem, workers dug a series of tunnels beneath Jerusalem’s main cemetery
back in 2017.
These spaces will accommodate as many as 22,000 graves in the coming years.
Authorities resorted to this unique solution because, in the words of Rolzur Tunneling
company chief executive Arik Glazer, there simply isn’t enough land at ground level
for the number of burials that are expected to take place in the city in coming years.
The concept of vertical cemeteries is catching on globally, and Israel is at the forefront
of the movement.
It’s becoming increasingly popular in places with dominant religions that forbid cremation.
By taking burials underground, Jerusalem actually revived an ancient custom that was common
between 1,600 and 2,000 years ago.
In fact, this is what helped the idea gain approval from Israel’s chief rabbi.
It’s like going back thousands of years and placing the dead in niches carved out
of the rock.
The main difference is that the new subterranean cemetery is strikingly modern, with LED lighting
and an elevator that transports visitors 164 feet (50 meters) down to the site.
8.
Golden ‘Sun Bowl’
When archaeologist Michał Sip was tasked with leading routine excavations at a construction
site outside Vienna Austria, he didn’t plan on finding anything too exciting.
Much to his surprise, the team unearthed a 3,000-year-old golden bowl decorated with
a sun relief.
At first glance, the Ebreichsdorf bowl, as it’s come to be called, doesn’t seem like
a big deal.
Measuring just 8 inches (20.3 cm) in diameter, the artifact is actually rather small.
It’s made from a thin metal consisting of 90 percent gold, five percent silver, and
five percent copper.
Inside the bowl, the team found two gold bracelets, some gold wire, and fragments of decomposed
cloth or leather.
Sip told the Polish Press Agency that the deteriorating pieces were probably once part
of a decorative scarf that was used during religious ceremonies.
Sip described the fascinating find as the “discovery of a lifetime.”
Similar bowls have been elsewhere, including in Spain, France, Germany, Scandinavia, and
Switzerland.
But this is the first bowl of its type ever found in Austria, and the second of its kind
discovered “east of the Alpine line,” according to Sip.
These vessels trace back to the ancient Urnfield culture, which began spreading throughout
Europe as far back as the 12th century B.C.
They’re named for their tradition of burying urns filled with cremated remains in fields.
The team found over 500 artifacts total at the site, including bronze items and clay
pottery.
The bowl became the property of the Austrian government to ensure that members of the public
will get an opportunity to see it on display, and that the artifact won’t become lost
in a private collection.
7.
Planet Venus May Have Been Livable
Venus is “hellish” today, with a bone-dry surface and an atmosphere that’s hot enough
to melt lead, according to Live Science.
But it may not have always been like this.
In recent years, experts have increasingly come to consider the possibility that the
planet Venus was once able to support life.
At one time, the second planet from the Sun may have been home to vast oceans and a hospitable
climate that persisted for billions of years, according to some studies.
Some scientists even believe that it’s possible for certain lifeforms to still exist in the
clouds that sit 30 miles (50 km) above the surface, because the temperatures and pressures
are similar to those at sea level on Earth.
A new study, however, challenges the idea that life does or ever could have existed
on Venus.
Researchers reexamined a previous model, which suggested that the planet went through a cooling
period that allowed it to host liquid water.
The theoretical model claims that moisture was present thanks to clouds, which bounced
condensation back to the planet’s surface.
At the time, the Sun was still young and much fainter than it is today, and Venus had yet
to become the blazing-hot, barren rock it is now.
As part of the recent study, scientists created a new climate model of ancient Venus, and
it yielded much different results.
The team found that clouds were likely limited to the side of the planet facing away from
the sun, known as the nightside, and they were not at all conducive to life.
The clouds did not bounce light away, and may have even caused a greenhouse effect by
trapping heat.
Simply put, in the words of astronomers James Kasting and Chester Harman, who addressed
the topic in the journal Nature, “Venus was always a hellhole.”
6.
A Parasite Within A Parasite
In 1991, an ecologist named Ilkka Hanski introduced a butterfly called the Glanville fritillary
to the remote Finnish island of Sottunga.
His plan was to study how the isolated population could survive in the harsh habitat.
Hanski got more than he bargained for when he unintentionally released a trio of parasites.
One of the parasites lives within some of the butterflies, and the other two live inside
of that parasite.
It’s essentially a Russian doll of parasites.
One of the parasites, Hyposoter horticola, are wasp larvae that are injected into Glanville
fritillary caterpillars from the outside.
They emerge from their host’s abdomen and proceed to spin a cocoon around the dead caterpillar.
The other two parasites nest inside the wasp larvae.
One is a type of wasp called a hyperparasitoid, and the other is a bacteria.
After the wasp larva kills its caterpillar host, the hyperparasitoid kills the wasp larva.
Days later, the eggs hatch, and the larvae eat the dead caterpillar.
Shockingly, the Glanville butterfly has survived numerous near-extinction events on the island.
Their resilience can be attributed to Hanski’s decision to introduce a genetically diverse
population when he began his experiment 30 years ago.
But the parasites are also thriving.
Unlike the Glanville butterfly, their populations are not limited to Sottunga.
These skilled fliers have spread elsewhere throughout the Åland archipelago, including
to other Glanville populations that are separate from the Sottunga butterflies.
They’ve even reached previously uninhabited islands.
Experts used the accidental introduction of parasites as a fascinating case study, but
have pointed out a major lesson learned from it: that scientists need to carefully consider
the possible implications of introducing a species to a new habitat, including other
creatures it may bring with it.
5.
Meteorite Lands In Woman’s Bed
British Columbia resident Ruth Hamilton was sound asleep in her bed recently when a meteorite
crashed through her roof and landed next to her pillow.
The rock narrowly missed her head when it crashed just inches away, showering her with
debris and awakening her with a loud bang.
What are the odds???
Hamilton jolted awake and rushed to turn her light on.
She discovered the meteorite between the two pillows on her bed.
It was roughly the size of a fist and weighed 2.8 pounds (1.3 kg), according to the New
York Times.
Hamilton dialed 911, and the officer who reported to the scene determined that a local construction
company had not set off any explosions nearby.
Interestingly, a spokesperson mentioned seeing a bright light in the sky around the time
that the rock plunged through Hamilton’s roof.
He also said that the object exploded and caused several large booms.
It was then that Hamilton put two and two together and realized that the rock came from
space.
Thousands of meteorites slam into the earth every year, but most go unnoticed because
they tend not to land near people.
In fact, it’s incredibly rare for one of these otherworldly objects to come into such
close contact with someone.
There are only a handful of recorded cases of this happening.
One famous instance happened back in 1954, when a meteorite struck a woman named Ann
Hodges while she slept in her Alabama home.
The softball-sized chunk of space debris hit Hodges in the side, leaving a painful bruise.
Hamilton realized she could’ve been seriously harmed and was left shaken by the close call,
which struck at a time and place when a person expects to feel their safest – at home,
in their bed, in the middle of the night.
Do you have any good meteor stories?
Let me know in the comments!!
And now for number 4,but first I wanted to give a big shout out to Jo Kim Sarabia who
is a new subscriber! welcome!!
If you are new here be sure to subscribe if you haven’t already, because we have lots
more videos about amazing discoveries coming up!!
4.
Ancient Cave Tombs
While excavating the ancient city of Blaundos in modern-day Turkey, archaeologists recently
discovered 400 rock-cut chamber tombs dating back some 1,800 years.
Blaundos was founded during the time of Alexander the Great and was still around throughout
the Roman and Byzantine eras.
The tombs found there make up one of the world’s largest rock-cut necropolises.
Many of the burials contain numerous sarcophagi, indicating that families often reused the
same tomb for several generations.
Archaeologist Birol Can explained that it was normal for a family to reopen a tomb each
time they had to bury another family member.
They performed a funeral ceremony while placing the deceased inside, then closed the tomb
back up.
Blaundos was situated on a hill among a surrounding valley as part of one of the world’s longest
canyon systems.
For this reason, it made the most sense to bury the dead in rock-cut tombs that were
built into the canyon’s slopes.
Archaeologists have known about Blaundos for over a century-and-a-half, but only began
thoroughly excavating the site in 2018.
In addition to the tombs, they’ve found a theater, two temples, a public bath, a gymnasium,
aqueducts, city walls, and a gate.
Can mentioned that there are also several known religious, public, and civil structures
underground.
Sadly, many of the burials at Blaundos were looted throughout history, and now have lost
many of the items of precious jewelry and other valuable artifacts that they once held.
Nevertheless, the team has found plenty of clues to learn about the site from, including
coins, pottery fragments, and paintings that cover the tombs' walls and ceilings.
They plan to perform DNA tests on the human remains that they’ve recovered, in hopes
of learning about the individuals’ genders, ages, diets, and ancestry.
3.
Conjoined Turtles
Staff at a Massachusetts wildlife facility were recently surprised to witness the hatching
of conjoined baby turtles with two heads and a fused body.
The New England Wildlife Center’s Cape Cod branch reported on Facebook that the diamondback
terrapin pair were “very alert” and “active” just days after they emerged from the shell.
The post pointed out that conjoined animal twins don’t usually survive long or have
a high life quality.
Case in point: earlier this year, vets performed surgery to separate a pair of conjoined yellow
belly sliders at the Outerbanks Wildlife Shelter in Newport, North Carolina.
Only one of them survived the operation.
But the newly hatched turtles in Massachusetts are defying the odds, according to the wildlife
center’s Facebook post announcing their arrival into the world.
Having two heads is an extremely rare condition known as bicephaly.
Other known examples include a two-headed viper that was found in Virginia, a dead two-headed
deer discovered in Minnesota, and a dead two-headed porpoise that was removed from the North Sea.
2.
Medieval Beard Comb
More than 1,500 years ago in what is now Bavaria, Germany, a wealthy medieval man between the
ages of 40 and 50 years old passed away.
He was buried with a horse and fine weapons, indicating that he may have been a fierce
warrior.
But the man’s grave also contained luxury items including a pair of scissors and an
ivory comb that experts believe he may have used to groom his beard.
The comb bears images of gazelle-like animals fleeing predators.
It’s noticeably more ornate than most combs found in graves from the middle ages, pointing
toward the man’s high-ranking social status.
Nearby, the team found an equally extravagant burial belonging to a woman.
Her grave contained jewelry, food, and a red ceramic bowl that researchers believe was
imported from North Africa.
The man and woman both passed away sometime during the sixth century, according to a statement
from the Bavarian State Office for Monument Protection (BLfD), which oversaw the excavations.
Several of the grave goods are unusual for the period, especially the comb and the ceramic
bowl.
The pair lived in a region of Germany known as the Ries Crater.
Measuring 16 miles (26 km) in diameter, the area was carved out by an ancient meteor.
NASA reported that it’s difficult to detect in satellite images due to its subtle shape
and low elevation, which help it blend in with its surroundings.
In fact, the man and woman may not have even known they were living in an ancient crater,
even though their settlement follows its faint outline.
1.
Coldest Lab Temperature Ever Recorded
The next item on today’s list proves that new lows aren’t always a bad thing!
Scientists in Germany have achieved the coldest lab temperature ever recorded, measuring out
to 38 trillionths of a degree above minus 273.15 Celsius.
They accomplished this while investigating the quantum properties of an alleged fifth
state of matter called Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC).
In simple terms, this is a gas derivative that only exists under ultra-cold conditions.
Matter starts to behave like one large atom while in the BEC phase.
Scientists have determined that temperature measures molecular vibration.
In other words, the more a collection of molecules moves, the higher the temperature.
All molecular motion stops at absolute zero on the Kelvin scale, which is the equivalent
of minus 459.67 degrees Fahrenheit or minus 273.15 degrees Celsius.
When matter nears absolute zero, it takes on strange forms that we’re not used to.
For example, one study found that light becomes a pourable liquid.
During the recent record-breaking experiment, the team trapped roughly 100,000 rubidium
atoms within a magnetic field inside of a vacuum chamber.
They then cooled the temperature to two-billionths of a degree Celsius above absolute zero, which
was actually a record-setting temperature on its own.
But the team took things a step further and cooled the gas even more.
Doing so required imitating deep-space conditions, so they went to the European Space Agency’s
drop tower in northern Germany.
While there, the researchers dropped the vacuum chamber and rapidly switched the magnetic
field on and off while it free-fell.
This enabled the BEC to float and ground its molecular action almost to a complete stop.
During that time, it reached the new record low temperature and held it for two seconds.
The team estimated that they would be able to hold this frigid temp for as long as 17
seconds in truly weightless conditions.
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