Ripley Entertainment Inc.'s Blog, page 289
February 15, 2019
Goodbye Opportunity: The Little Rover That Could
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
[February 10-16th, 2019] Missing Opportunity, a snowy tribute to da Vinci, a dating app for cows, and the rest of the week’s weird news from Ripley’s Believe It or Not!
Lost On Mars
When the Opportunity rover landed on Mars in 2004, the 400-million-dollar project was only expected to operate for 90 days. Opportunity, however, proved far hardier than NASA engineers expected. It continued to operate for 14 years—55 times is projected lifespan and traveled across 28 miles of the Martian surface. Though it survived several sandstorms, in 2018, it went inactive. After many attempts to regain contact with the rover, NASA finally decided the rover was gone for good this week, declaring mission accomplished.
Opportunity taking the first selfie on Mars.
Snowna Lisa
Armed with a snow shovel instead of a paintbrush, Robert Greenfield of Toronto paid tribute to Renaissance great Leonardo da Vinci by making his own version of the famed Mona Lisa in his back yard. After his hard work was completed, Greenfield insisted his masterpiece be displayed in the “Igloouvre.”
Tudder Dating App
People aren’t the only ones who can have trouble finding love, that’s why UK farmers have all started downloading the Tudder dating app. Launched just ahead of Valentine’s Day, the app features 42,00 profiles of cows available for breeding across the UK. Users can get a good look at a cow, read their stats, and decide whether to swipe right for their own cow.
Bob Ross Painting Class
In an effort to relieve stress for her eighth-grade art students, Brady Sloane—an art teacher at Madison Middle School of Abilene, Texas—decided to channel her inner Bob Ross. She wasn’t the only one, however. She and her students all decided to dress up as the public tv painting legend, donning wigs and blue jeans to paint happy, little trees.
Credit: Greg Jakiewicz
USS Hornet Found At Bottom Of The Pacific
The USS Hornet was an aircraft carrier in World War II, participating in the Doolittle Raid against Tokyo, and the famed Battle of Midway. Though it was seasoned in the naval battles of the Pacific theater, the ship was scuttled off the coast of Japan on October 26, 1942. Lost for decades, a research team has just found the wreckage resting in the murky deep. Much of the equipment sits eerily intact, with tractors still on deck and guns pointed to the surface.
C. Navigea Ltd, R/V Petrel
The Greatest Misquotes In History
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
We’re a quotable society, and we love to echo the famous words of others. However, many of the most popular quotes we love to recount are actually wrong. Here are some of our favorite legendary misquotations.
Gandhi: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”
This short, pithy quote has long been attributed to Gandhi, and although the message sounds right, the words don’t exactly sound like his. The New York Times states that the closest quote we have to this that we know was said by Gandhi is, “If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change… We need not wait to see what others do.”
Machiavelli: “The ends justify the means.”
Machiavelli certainly had this attitude in mind when he wrote his 16th-century political manifesto The Prince. Still, he didn’t actually say it, and instead, a similar quote we do have attributed to him is less ruthless: “One must consider the final result.” Another, almost identical quote can be attributed to the poet Ovid who wrote in Heroides: “The result justifies the deeds.”
Neil Armstrong: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
This one’s a bit weird and complicated. Neil Armstrong is often quoted as having said, “That’s one small step for man…” which, grammatically, is not what he meant to say. In this sense, the word man represents the same idea as mankind, making the quote kind of wonky.
However, Armstrong swore for years that he said the words “a man” and that people were unable to hear the word “a.” Over time, he relented, saying he might have misspoken simply because he was nervous, but in 2006, a computer programmer actually analyzed the audio and stated that the word “a” was, in fact, said.
Marie Antoinette: “Let them eat cake!”
Marie Antoinette never actually said this. Instead, it came from a book titled Confessions by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, which was published in 1782—11 years before Marie Antoinette was executed. Also, the line was “Let them eat brioche,” a kind of heavy, bread-like French pastry. It’s likely the attribution to Marie Antoinette occurred because the people of France were highly incensed with the Royals, and the belief simply fueled the flames of revolution.
Gloria Steinem: “A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.”
Gloria Steinem herself actually credits Australian writer Irina Dunn with this phrase, which Dunn says she wrote on the door of public bathrooms when she was a student in the 70s. According to Steinem, the quote is directly related to the witticism: “God needs man like a fish needs a bicycle.”
Marilyn Monroe: “Well-behaved women rarely make history.”
Marilyn Monroe never said this. Instead, it was a quote from writer and Harvard professor Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. In addition, the wording used was “Well-behaved women seldom make history.” Ulrich penned the quote in 1976 and wrote a book with the same title in 2007.
Oscar Wilde: “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”
Although this sounds exactly like something Wilde himself would say, these words are never actually a part of any of his writings. He has similar quotes, however, that we can certainly attribute to him, and one is this: “Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.”
Patrick Henry: “Give me liberty or give me death!”
Patrick Henry’s 1775 speech at the Virginia convention wasn’t written down, so we have no record of what exactly he said on that day. The quote comes from William Wirt’s biography of Henry, which he wrote in 1817, and which was widely discredited by his peers like Thomas Jefferson. In addition, the famous quote is also very similar to one from a play written in 1712: “It is not now time to talk of aught/But chains or conquest, liberty or death.”
By Julia Tilford, contributor for Ripleys.com
February 14, 2019
February 13, 2019
February 12, 2019
This Space Survival Kit Has Everything A Stranded Cosmonaut Needs
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
While it took the engineering expertise of hundreds of engineers, scientists, and pilots to ensure that Russian cosmonauts could survive space itself, landing back on Earth didn’t always mean they were out of danger.
Unlike their Apollo mission counterparts, who touched down in the ocean and were picked up via ship, the Russian space program lands its cosmonauts in the desert of Kazakhstahn—or at least they try to.
In the early days of space programs, calculating for landings was a difficult process, as re-entry vehicles suffered through the intense forces of Earth’s atmosphere while hurtling with a velocity of up to 36,000 feet per second. Even the slightest miscalculation or change in trajectory could result in astronauts landing hundreds of miles off course. Just in case their space personnel ended up in the far reaches of the Russian wilderness, cosmonauts are issued survival kits for use when they’re back on the ground. In most cases, they have not been needed—at least not needed for long.
What’s In A Cosmonaut Survival Kit?
For the most part, these kits contain survival staples like a compass, matches, signal mirror, fishing kit, flashlight, wire saw, and medical supplies. Borrowing from the aviation kits issued to fighter pilots, they also contained slim canteens and rehydratable food bars for sustenance.
Some of the contents varied by season or mission. The kit featured here also had a pair of goggles to combat snow blindness and a set of folding aluminum snowshoes. The worst-case scenario was for a space crew to wind up in the Siberian wilderness where they would have to fend off the cold while awaiting rescue. Warm clothing was added as needed, and though its no longer present in our kit, firearms were almost always included to defend against wild animals or hostile nationals should a cosmonaut land in enemy territory.
The firearms became a particular peculiarity after cosmonauts Alexey Leonov and Pavel Belyayev’s landing mishap…
Venturing into space aboard the Voshkod 2 spacecraft—a precursor to the longstanding Soyuz—their mission suffered a few setbacks. For starters, Leonov’s space sit had inflated during his spacewalk, making it impossible to reenter the airlock. The suit became so rigid that he could barely move his joints to release some of the air. When they did manage to return to Earth, a series of malfunctions resulted in them landing 240 miles off course in a desolate region of Siberia. Stranded in the icy forest during bear and wolf mating season, they were keenly aware of the dangers they faced. It was two nights before they were able to ski to a site for helicopter extraction.
The TP-82
Once safe in the halls of the cosmodrome, Leonov had some requests for the survival kits. These suggestions eventually emerged as a weapon built exclusively for cosmonauts: the TP-82 Cosmonaut survival pistol, a three-barreled shotgun-machete hybrid. The firearm was capable of better defending against Siberian wildlife and could be used to hunt or signal for help. The top two of the barrels on the gun fired 28 gauge shotgun ammunition as well as signal flares. The centered barrel on the bottom was sized for 5.45 x 39 mm ammo for long-range firing. If bullet supplies were depleted, the stock of the weapon was attached to a machete.
This unique piece of combination technology was carried by cosmonauts into space and back from 1986 to 2007. Though it was eventually phased out of production—and usually taken as a souvenir by cosmonauts—Russians still carry firearms into space—including aboard the International Space Station.
Though it’s unknown whether a cosmonaut ever had to defend themselves from a bear or hostile, they have insisted on training American astronauts they take into space with the TP-82. Astronaut Jim Voss recalled being aboard a Russian model spacecraft in the Black Sea firing at an “amazing number” of vodka bottles for target practice.
Source: This Space Survival Kit Has Everything A Stranded Cosmonaut Needs
February 11, 2019
The Great Wall Has Stood For Centuries Thanks To Sticky Rice
Featured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Totaling more than 13,000 miles in length, the Great Wall of China continues to astound and awe visitors with its ancient defensive architecture. Boasting a 2,300-year-old history, the wall was built to prevent invasion from the Mongols and protect the Silk Road Trade. Thousands died during its construction; many remain interred within. The best-known and best-preserved portions of the Great Wall date to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). They comprise 5,500 miles of the overall structure.
Despite their age, these centuries-old portions of the wall still tower powerfully above the landscape. In fact, the mortar bound the bricks so tightly that weeds still haven’t sprouted in many locations. So, what was the secret of Ming Dynasty construction?
Sticky rice!
Remarkably Strong Architecture
In one of the greatest technological innovations of the Ming dynasty, workers developed sticky rice mortar. They crafted it from a mixture of slaked lime—a standard ingredient in mortar—and sweet rice flour. The result? According to Chinese researchers, the first composite mortar in history, a potent admixture of inorganic and organic ingredients.
The architects and engineers of China’s Ming Dynasty used their updated mortar recipe in the construction of many important state structures. Besides the Great Wall, these included lesser city walls, pagodas, and tombs.
Many of these structures remain intact. Buildings constructed with sticky rice mortar have withstood natural disasters including earthquakes. Heck, one Ming-era tomb remained stock-still against the advances of a modern-day bulldozer! These structures prove that sticky rice mortar is stronger and lasts longer than pure lime mortar.
Why This Magic Formula?
So, why is sticky rice mortar so darn strong?
Bingjian Zhand, Ph.D., and a team of researchers from Zhejiang University delved into an analysis of the chemical composition of Ming-era mortar to find out. They relied on chemical analysis and scanning electron microscopy to come to a fascinating conclusion. The legendary strength of rice-lime mortar comes from amylopectin.
A type of complex carbohydrate or polysaccharide, amylopectin is found in many starchy foods including rice. This “secret ingredient” endowed many Ming Dynasty-era structures with a kind of immortality. But how exactly does it work?
When amylopectin—the organic portion of the mortar recipe—comes into contact with calcium carbonate, the inorganic part, a complex interaction occurs. Acting as an inhibitor, the amylopectin controls the growth of the calcium carbonate crystal.
The result? A more tightly bonded mixture. There’s a caveat, though. Compared to other mortars around the world, this denser microstructure only rates average in terms of strength. On first glance that is… Deeper inspection reveals three key advantages sticky rice mortar has over other mortar types.
First, it’s highly water resistant. Second, it shrinks less and holds its shape. Third, the key chemical reaction in the mortar continues over time. Put another way, the mortar gets stronger as the years go by!
A Delicious Solution To Future Engineering Challenges?
Zhang and his colleagues believe it’s time to resurrect the recipe for sticky rice mortar, especially to aid in the restoration and preservation of historic buildings. Besides its renowned strength, rice-lime mortar boasts greater overall physical stability and compatibility. These factors make it a viable (and more authentic) alternative for repairing ancient masonry.
The sticky rice mortar recipe has already been successfully used to repair the 800-year-old Shouchang Bridge in eastern China. By using Zhang and his colleague’s analysis techniques moving forward, conservators hope to identify each historic building’s specific mortar “recipe.” Then, they can whip up a fresh batch based on each structure’s unique formulation.
By Engrid Barnett, contributor for Ripleys.com
Source: The Great Wall Has Stood For Centuries Thanks To Sticky Rice
February 10, 2019
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