The Drift

Welcome to today's issue of Carolina Naturally

'Nuff Said!

Today is June 1, 2023

Today is: National Go Barefoot Day

On This Day In History

In 1215CE:  Peking [Beijing], then a city of over one million, under control of Jurchen ruler Emperor Xuanzong of Jin, is captured and looted for a month by the Mongols under Genghis Khan

Ain't That The Truth

Oh, and while you're at it - check out our sister blog Come What May for off the cuff and off the wall seriousness. Heck, who are we kidding, it's just fun and hilarity.

Editorial Comment

June 1st. 

This year is going by fast that is why we are so gold the weather is warm now so being naked outdoors isn't accompanied by chills.

We do want to give a shout out to our readers in Brazil and India and say thanks for stopping by to read Carolina Naturally.

Remember to have fun and enjoy life.

Editorial Staff

Women show higher levels of intrasexual competition than men

Research published in Scientific Reports challenges the idea that men are more competitive than women. The findings suggest that when it comes to competition for resources, women are often more competitive than men, though they may use more covert methods to compete. Researchers Joyce Benenson and Henry Markovits hypothesize that women may feel more driven to compete for resources so they can provide for their children.

Women show higher levels of intrasexual competition than men

Tennis, anyone ...

Discovery of '2000-year-old computer' leaves scientists baffled

Scientists have been left baffled by the discovery of the wreck of a 2,000-year-old “computer” that is amazingly complex.
The Antikythera mechanism – an astronomical calendar – has been dubbed “‘the first computer” and has baffled scientists for generations after it was first discovered inside a Greek shipwreck in 1901.
The device is a hand-powered time-keeping instrument that used a wing-up system to track the sun, moon and planets’ celestial time. It also worked as a calendar, tracking the phases of the Moon and the timing of eclipses.
Despite sounding relatively simple, the mechanism was actually ahead of its time, being more technically sophisticated than any other tool that was invented over the next 1,000 years.
Discovery of '2000-year-old computer' leaves scientists baffled

If you are offended by a library book...

It really is that simple, folks.

From Take Action for Libraries

Have You Had Any Misles?

A "misle" is an unofficial term for a word that you mispronounce because you've only seen it in text. The term came from the story Eric Wolfe posted in 1991 about the way he used to pronounce the word "misled." Instead of mis-led, he saw it as my-zuld. Wolfe's unconscious assumption was that the word was akin to "titled," which you would never pronounce as tit-led if you know what's good for you. The response from his Usenet group had plenty of other examples, because English is weird. Eventually, this kind of mispronunciation based on logic and other English words led to these words being called "misles."

I mispronounced the word "biopic" in my head for years until I heard someone in a YouTube video say bio-pic. I knew what it meant, but I assumed it was pronounced bi-opic. Some misles are pretty funny, like pronouncing "barfly" as barf-ly, or pronouncing "infrared" as if it rhymes with "scared." Someone even admitted to thinking the word "apply" was said like an adjective for something that's like an apple, you know, apple-y. Read about the linguistic phenomenon of misles and laugh at some common ones at Mental Floss.

The village Elders council ...

Recognizing the Signs of Medical Gaslighting ...

I’d just explained about the nose bleeds, blurred vision, and throbbing pain on one side of my head when my doctor told me, “You’re just studying too hard.” To me, I couldn’t imagine that these symptoms were the result of eye strain and fatigue, especially since they’d persisted for months after taking final exams. But my doctor knew that I’m an anxious high achiever and was quick to dismiss any physical explanations.

Recognizing the Signs of Medical Gaslighting Is the First Step to Reclaiming Your Voice—And Health

Dizzy and Nauseous in the Shower?

A shower should feel relaxing and refreshing. It can be anything but, though, if you get hit with a wave of dizziness and nausea.
Turns out, this phenomenon isn't as weird or worrisome as you might think. Spending a long time standing in warm, humid air can sometimes leave people feeling weak in the knees, notes Dennis Finkielstein, MD, associate chair of cardiology at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York.
Here's a closer look at why you get dizzy and nauseous in the shower and what you can do to manage the sensation the next time it hits.
Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room if dizziness and nausea is accompanied by any of the following symptoms: weakness on one side of the body, trouble with speech, fainting, chest pain, shortness of breath, blurred vision, confusion, disorientation or seizures.
Dizzy and Nauseous in the Shower? Here's What Your Body's Trying to Tell You

Black Death Pathogen Lurked in Britain Millennia Before Plague Struck

The DNA of a strain of bacteria responsible for the infamous Black Death plague has been found in the teeth of three individuals found buried in the UK thousands of years before the deadly pandemics raged across Europe.
Two of those individuals, determined to be young adolescents, were buried in a mass grave in Charterhouse Warren in Somerset; the third was a middle-aged woman aged around 35 to 45 buried in a ring cairn monument in Levens in Cumbria. All three lived at around the same time, although it's unclear whether plague was the cause of their deaths.
Black Death Pathogen Lurked in Britain Millennia Before Plague Struck

Reactivated Genes From Stone Age Dental Plaque Reveal Lost Mouth Microbes

A reconstruction of oral microflora genomes spanning a whopping 100,000-year period of human history may have revealed a surprising shift in the kinds of bacteria that like to call our mouths home.
Researchers from across Germany and the US teamed up to decode DNA extracted from the dental plaque of human and Neanderthal remains, using the sequences to recreate proteins once used by the bacteria.
Reactivated Genes From Stone Age Dental Plaque Reveal Lost Mouth Microbes

Anthropology crosses cultures ...

Plants Possess The “Sense Of Touch” Without Nerves, Study Finds

Plants have shown the ability to sense when they are touched and when the touch is released, even without the presence of nerves, according to a study led by Washington State University. The research demonstrated that individual plant cells responded to touch by sending slow waves of calcium signals to other cells. When the pressure of the touch was released, the cells sent much more rapid waves. While scientists were already aware that plants could respond to touch, this study reveals that plant cells transmit different signals when touch is initiated and when it ends.
The study, published in the journal Nature Plants, involved a series of experiments on 12 plants, including thale cress and specially bred tobacco plants containing calcium sensors. Researchers used a microscopic glass rod, similar in size to a human hair, to apply a gentle touch to individual plant cells. They observed complex responses depending on the force and duration of the touch, but the distinction between the touch and its removal was evident.
Within 30 seconds of the touch, the researchers observed slow waves of calcium ions, known as cytosolic calcium, moving from the touched cell to neighboring plant cells. These waves lasted approximately three to five minutes. Upon the removal of the touch, a rapid set of waves occurred, dissipating within a minute.
The scientists believe that these waves are likely a result of the change in pressure inside the plant cells. Unlike animal cells, plant cells have sturdy cellular walls that are not easily penetrated. Therefore, even a light touch temporarily increases the pressure in a plant cell.
To test this theory, the researchers mechanically manipulated the pressure inside a plant cell using a small glass capillary pressure probe. They observed similar calcium waves triggered by the start and stop of the touch, confirming the role of pressure in generating these responses.
According to Michael Knoblauch, the senior author of the study and a biological sciences professor at WSU, humans and animals sense touch through sensory cells, whereas plants appear to sense touch through the alteration of internal cell pressure. This mechanism is not limited to specific cells, as any cell on the plant’s surface can carry out this function.
Previous studies have demonstrated that when a plant is bitten by a pest like a caterpillar, it initiates defensive responses, such as the release of chemicals that make the leaves less appealing or even toxic to the pest. Another study revealed that brushing a plant triggers calcium waves that activate various genes.
While this study successfully differentiated the calcium waves associated with touch and release, the exact response of the plant’s genes to these signals remains unclear. However, Knoblauch highlighted that with advancements in technologies such as calcium sensors used in this research, scientists can further investigate this mystery and better understand how genes are influenced by these signals.

Think The Sun Is White, Yellow Or Orange?

It turns out that big thing that hangs around in our sky every day is not all that it seems.
The sun (you know, the very object our entire solar system revolves around)  might actually not be the colour that we’ve all been telling ourselves it is.
So stop using those yellow sun emojis – because the giant star literally lighting up our skies is green.
Think The Sun Is White, Yellow Or Orange? Think Again, Say Scientists

Anthropologists really get into their work ....

How sloths are outsmarting climate change

Sloths may be more switched on than they're given credit for, according to a new study.
They have developed different ways of adapting to their surroundings - enhancing their chances of survival in the face of climate change, say scientists.
Researchers looked at the behavior of two sloth species, the Bradypus variegatus and Choloepus hoffmanni.
Both sloths come from the lowland rainforests of the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica and offer valuable insights into how they can thrive in diverse environmental conditions.
How sloths are outsmarting climate change

The World's Deadliest Spider Can Tweak Its Venom Depending Its Mood

The potent cocktail of toxins in the venom of one of the world's deadliest spiders seems to vary depending on context.
A new analysis of how funnel-web spiders produce their venom shows that factors such as the spider's heart rate and defensiveness could play a role in the proportions of chemicals delivered on the ends of the fangs of an angry arachnid.
The World's Deadliest Spider Can Tweak Its Venom Depending Its Mood

Family ‘terrified’ after finding ‘ghost snake’ in their backyard

When young Cory told his mom he’d seen a snake, she thought he was simply telling tales. Kelsie Cox had assumed a toy left around had sparked her son’s panic. But the 4ft-long reptile had been sunbathing outside the Cox family home.

Family ‘terrified’ after finding ‘ghost snake’ in their backyard

How Birds Harness The Earth’s Magnetic Field For Nighttime Navigation

The Earth’s magnetic field is not only a barrier against the Sun’s cosmic radiation, it also serves as a navigation system for certain animals, such as salmon, sea turtles, and migratory birds. But the question remains, how do they perceive and use this invisible force?
Researchers at the Advanced Facility for Avian Research (AFAR) at Western University have been probing this intriguing question. AFAR, home to the world’s premier hypobaric climatic wind tunnel for bird flight studies, has been focusing on a region in the avian brain known as “cluster N”. This particular region is what migratory birds use to sense the Earth’s magnetic field.
The interesting part is the selective activation of this region. Birds have the ability to engage or disengage their geomagnetic sense based on their needs, akin to how humans selectively attend to stimuli like music.
Under the leadership of psychology PhD candidate Madeleine Brodbeck and AFAR co-director Scott MacDougall-Shackleton, the team scrutinized the behavior of white-throated sparrows. They discovered that these birds activate the cluster N region during nighttime migration, but it goes dormant during rest periods at stopover sites.
“This is the first demonstration of this brain region functioning in a North American bird species, as all prior research in this area was completed in Europe,” the team reported.
“This brain region is super important for activating the geomagnetic compass, especially for songbirds when they migrate at night,” Brodbeck elaborated. “Almost all previous work on this specific brain function was done at one lab in Europe, so it was great to replicate it in a North American bird like the white-throated sparrow.”
The Earth’s magnetic field, first investigated by the German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss in the 1830s, continues to captivate physicists, aerospace engineers, and even literature figures like Frank Herbert and Stephen King. Brodbeck shares this fascination.
“Magnetic fields are really fun to think about because they’re invisible to humans. We can’t see them or sense them, but most animals perceive them in some way,” Brodbeck said. “For birds, using Earth’s magnetic field to know if they’re going towards a pole or towards the equator is obviously really helpful for orientation and migration. It’s incredible that they can activate their brain in this way, and we can’t.”
Understanding the mechanisms animals use to navigate is a critical area of research, emphasized MacDougall-Shackleton, a psychology professor and cognitive neuroscientist.
“If we want to understand bird migration or how other animals move from one place to another, we need to know how they do it. And more importantly, we need to know what we’re doing, as humans, that might influence them,” MacDougall-Shackleton pointed out.
Their findings were published in the European Journal of Neuroscience.
However, birds’ navigation isn’t solely dependent on the Earth’s magnetic field. MacDougall-Shackleton noted, “Birds don’t just use their magnetic compass. We know they pay attention to the Sun and the stars as cues too. And we also know that things like lights at night, or windows in buildings, and all these things that we put in the world disrupt their migrations. This type of basic research informs us and lets us know the full suite of ways that animals perceive the world when they’re migrating and what we as humans need to do to minimize our impact.”

Question Everything

Paleontologists Discover Elephant Graveyard In North Florida

Approximately 5.5 million years ago, several elephant-like animals called gomphotheres died near a river in North Florida. Even though these deaths likely happened at different times, all of their bodies ended up in the same place, along with other animals that had a similar fate.
Today, the river is gone, but the fossils left behind have provided paleontologists with a unique look into prehistoric life in Florida. In early 2022, researchers and volunteers began excavating the gomphotheres at the Montbrook Fossil Dig, which is expected to be a groundbreaking discovery.
Paleontologists Discover Elephant Graveyard In North Florida

Study sheds light on winged reptile that soared skies 100 million years ago

Pterosaurs lived in the Antarctic more than 100 million years ago, according to new research.
They soared above dinosaurs when the great landmass was covered in forests, say scientists.
Evidence comes from 107-million-year-old pterosaur bones discovered in Australia - more than 30 years ago.
At the time the South Polar region was part of the supercontinent Gondwana - which broke up during the Cretaceous.
Study sheds light on winged reptile that soared skies 100 million years ago

New dinosaur discovered had bristles like a toothbrush on its head

A new dinosaur that had rows of tough bristles like a toothbrush on its head has been discovered.
Researchers say the dome-headed dino from 68 million years ago has traces of keratin, what fingernails are made of, sticking up from its skull.
Paleontologists say Platytholus clemensi, a type of pachycephalosaur was a plant-eating dinosaur that grew up to 15 feet long and walked on two legs.
New dinosaur discovered had bristles like a toothbrush on its head

Animal Pictures

The Drift

Welcome to today's issue of Carolina Naturally

'Nuff Said!

Today is May 31, 2023

Today is: National Senior Health and Fitness Day

On This Day In History

In 1279BCE:  Ramesses II, also known as Ramesses the Great becomes Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt (19th Dynasty)

Ain't That The Truth

Oh, and while you're at it - check out our sister blog Come What May for off the cuff and off the wall seriousness. Heck, who are we kidding, it's just fun and hilarity.

Editorial Comment

Just yesterday we were celebrating the "new year" weren't we ... and now it is half gone already - time sure does move faster as you get older.

Today we are still enjoying the outdoors naked with friends and the grill is going to be sloooow cooking all day long.

We do want to give a shout out to our readers in Bulgaria and Peru and say thanks for stopping by to read Carolina Naturally.

Remember to have fun and enjoy life.

Editorial Staff

Teaching Myself to be a Nudist (Part 1)

It's been a bit since we checked in with Rae and her journey into being a Nudist, so we stopped by, and this is her latest story:
Welcome to a random Friday evening post. Initially I was just going to post a really long blog on Monday morning with both parts – but figured I might as well set the stage and hold myself slightly accountable. A perfect storm of scenarios has kept me pretty clothed over the last few months. From buying a new home, crappy weather, constant renovations, and oh-yah, being pregnant – there hasn’t been a lot of time to get naked. I have barely had time to relax, let alone strip down and relax. Sure my days have been a lot easier than Jay who has had all of the reno work thrust upon him as of late (for obvious reasons). And sure, we have had some fun painting naked – drywalling naked – and the occasional random activity here or there. It’s very much been a clothed, go, go, go, lifestyle for us.
I can also tell Jay is stressed with everything above. Except the being a dad part – he seems very calm. Which is a little concerning – but he is also very excited – so I am assuming he just has a lot on the go. Which he does. But he needs one of two things (if not both together) to reset. Nature or nudity. Obviously as you have seen our adventures, usually the two are side and side. But as I mentioned above, we haven’t really had a chance for either as of late. So I have planned a naked day for us tomorrow. The weather, typical Raincouver (play on words from Vancouver for those who don’t know we live in the suburbs of Vancouver and Spring is RAINY season) is supposed to be pouring. Actually, a chance of thunderstorms which would be cool. But not cool if you’re wanting to disconnect into nature. So I am going to plan the next best thing. A naked day.
I’ve discussed before how my nudity around the house was always intentional, bordering on forced, but in a good way. How it never came naturally – or just because. And while this is no different – I posed a challenge to Jay this morning that we stay naked a full 24 hours. On the one hand, this will force Jay to disconnect – it’s not like he can run to Home Depot for supplies naked. Nor can he go outside and pressure wash something. Sadly also we haven’t tackled the patchy grass in our backyard so naked gardening day in a rainstorm would be more like naked mud wrestling – which as fun and interesting as that sounds – not on the agenda. But odd jobs around the house, a little TV, tidying up, dinner, and maybe even some baking are all fair game.
My loyal followers (thank you) know that I used to REALLY struggle with the terms Naturist and Nudist. I have since educated myself further. And while I still take an antiquated understanding of naturism to being naked outside and nudism to those every day indoor activities – I am trying. Jay just identifies with nudity. But either way – our challenge has been set. I have a grocery list of supplies to collect tonight so we can shelter in place tomorrow. I have tasked Jay with programming our heat to be a little warmer than normal given the temperature and lack of clothing. Amazon is set to deliver but they just leave that at the door – and luckily (sadly) we moved a far enough distance away from friends that a random pop-in shouldn’t be a concern. The stage is set, wish us luck, and have a great weekend everyone! Hope you all get a chance to get naked as well!

Teaching myself to be a Nudist (Part 2)

Rae continues with her story:
First thing worth noting – we didn’t get that thunderstorm, but it did rain heavily for most of the day. Second thing, I am still naked as I write this update on Sunday morning. Sitting with my fuzzy blanket over my lap, legs up on the coffee table, sipping my one small coffee a day. Thanks pregnancy… In terms of staying naked the entire day – we failed. We ended up getting bored being shuttered in the house that we went for a drive to explore our new city. But in regards of teaching myself to be nudist – spending a lot of time and activities throughout the day naked – it was a success.
Jay is a morning person. He is always up around five in the morning for work, and unfortunately, he doesn’t know how to sleep in on weekends. So he was up first – despite being proud to have slept in till almost seven. I woke up to him sitting on the couch drinking coffee, watching the news. We wont discuss what time I rolled out of bed. I’m pregnant – leave me be. And besides – it’s a Saturday. This part of my day is usually no different – I usually sleep naked (even more so since I’ve been pregnant) and I usually don’t put clothes on right away. Sometimes a robe, sometimes a shirt, usually nothing. I came out – joined Jay on the couch – and got updated on the royal coronation. Yay… Sorry to all my British fans – but as an American, the fascination of the British Monarchy never really resonated.
What does resonate is coffee – and I poured my single cup of the day – and rightfully so picked my Nudist Mug. Remember the shopping list I made so we could shelter in place today? I forgot milk. But that has NOTHING to do with the blog, or our day, just that I don’t really like black coffee. But I digress. My one black coffee – which in a normal day would have skipped given the lack of milk and waited until I went out – but since that wasn’t going to happen – caffeine is caffeine. And while the baby limits my coffee consumption, I feel it has doubled my waffle consumption. Waffles for breakfast – and while we have yet to acquire a waffle iron – the extra thick toaster ones get a passing grade.
It almost felt like I had to be doing something to be successfully spending my time naked. Lounging on the couch wasn’t enough, so I went to tidy up from breakfast and a little laundry – and Jay (on his day of rest) went to finish trimming and installing baseboards around the dining room. The man can’t sit still, I swear. I made him wear the tool-belt he bought me for all of our naked reno activities when he was operating the power tools – just because even though I’ve already got a baby in me – need to keep him fully intact. The day seemed to be progressing slowly being completely naked. I almost felt restricted. Like there was less I could do being naked, than if I were fully clothed. We still had most of our blinds open – except for the one in the kitchen that would give the entire neighborhood a full view – so it wasn’t like I was feeling closed in. Definitely wasn’t clothed in. But I guess this is just me teaching me how to be naked.
Jay, still busy nailing base boards into walls – I decided to bake some cookies. Nothing fancy or extravagant – just something sweet. Haven’t busted out the new mixer we got as a housewarming gift yet. Also, baby has given me a sweet tooth. I was always savory, and Jay was always the sweet tooth. So luckily I know where he “hides” his goodies. Baking is unique naked. If you haven’t tried it before – you should. On the one hand – you can’t really hurt yourself, you don’t usually have a sharp knife. The only really hot dangerous thing you would touch is the oven and the cookie sheet – and to be honest – if you’re going to hurt yourself it would happen clothed or not. It also keeps your clothes clean. Flour gets everywhere – and while it gets on your skin – it wipes off very easily.
We got restless. We didn’t get bored. We were naked and having a great time – just ran out of things to do – and also realized we still haven’t really explored our new city – and while Jay joked we should just drive around naked – I wasn’t going to do it in a city where the bulk of the streets are 30km/h and surrounded by busy stores. Our drive has nothing to do with our challenge and was awesome for us, would be boring for all of you – but I will let you know we found like three or four great spots to adventure in warmer weather that have great skinny dipping potential – so stay tuned.
As soon as we got home – we stripped back down on our commitment into nakedness (despite having already failed our challenge) and Jay needed to shower off because he got a little muddy exploring a little too much on one of those aforementioned potential skinny dipping spots. Amazon delivered while he was in the shower – and just left it on the front porch until Jay got out of the shower. Our neighbors must have seen me naked already – but I wasn’t going to go out of my way to let them see me naked. Although the vacant house that overlooks the side of our backyard with our lawn chairs just rented out on the first of the month – they haven’t moved in yet – but they are in for a surprise – or a treat..
Naked dinner is nothing new – everyone knows about our Taco Tuesdays. The only difference is this was our first Taco Tuesday (which is usually our commitment to cook dinner naked every Tuesday which during kitchen renos stopped) with our new kitchen! Just a couple cabinets left to install and it will be done! So nice having a dishwasher before. Not sure if anyone noticed – but this house never had a dishwasher until last month…… Naked cooking advice to any first timers – reduce splatter. Use the far burner – don’t start off your nude cooking endeavors with bacon. That kind of thing. The evening was pretty relaxed and pretty naked.
Thoughts popping in my head on my reflection of teaching myself to be a nudist. First, my day didn’t look too different than how it would if I were clothed. Yes there were some things I couldn’t do. But I also think the most hard core “nudist” around wouldn’t walk to their car in the middle of the day on their busy (well not busy but not empty) street and go for a drive through the city naked. After the experiment this weekend – the only thing I noticed is a nudist life is no different from my life – just sometimes with more clothes, sometimes with less bacon.

Mermaid ....

The Obsession with Mermaids in the Early 20th Century

The live-action version of The Little Mermaid has made $118 Million so far in its opening weekend. It may herald another bump in the popularity of mermaids, joining other periods of mermaid-mania from history, going back thousands of years. In ancient times, it was the allure of the mythological tales of beautiful and magical half-human-half-fish creatures among many terrifying sea monsters. In the more modern era, it is entertainment, feeding a fantasy of sexy women and the allure of the sea. In 1906, the show Neptune's Daughter debuted at New York's Hippodrome, featuring an 8,000-gallon tank full of underwater dancers, which proved both fascinating and charming to audiences. Mermaid mania got another kick when Champion swimmer Annette Kellerman starred in silent films about mermaids and brought women's participation in swimming into the modern era. Read about the early entertainment media representations of mermaids at Smithsonian.

Can the World's Oldest Joke Make You Laugh?

The oldest recorded joke we've found so far was common enough that it was recorded twice on ancient Sumerian tablets, going back 4,000 years. It's a real knee-slapper.

a dog walks into a bar, but he doesn’t see anything. And so he asks: shall I open one?

Yeah, I don't get it, either. I guess you had to be there. Or maybe jokes were invented before humor was. Some of the world's greatest minds have been working on this one. Has it been correctly translated? What was the context in the Sumerian culture? Can the "walks into a bar" structure really be that old? The joke has been interpreted several different ways, because language and cultural context was way different 4,000 years ago, but it's not something experts agree on. The joke possibly depends on assumptions that ancient Sumerians would have lived with, but we don't. Then again, maybe it really wasn't that funny back then, either. It was recorded in collections of proverbs and advice, although it really doesn't work in that context, either. Read the various explanations for the dog joke at Historic Mysteries. 

Cereal and Physics

What Breakfast Cereals Have Contributed to Physics

The development of processed cold cereal made breakfast a lot easier for Americans on the go, and gave us plenty of late-night snacks, too. Grain extrusion can put your morning corn and oats into pretty much any shape you can imagine. But while most of us just read the box while eating, some physicists pondered the properties of those shapes and came up with ways to explain physics to us by using breakfast cereal as an example we can understand. Or if we don't, at least other physicists can.

Have you ever heard of the Cheerios Effect? The derivatives of position named snap, crackle, and pop? That time physicists compared the compression properties of Cocoa Puffs vs. Rice Krispies? Cereal has been a toy for physics experiments for some time. You can read about four ways cereal has advanced the science and the teaching of physics at Cracked.

Recent scientific breakthroughs

From photos of the infant universe to an energy advancement that could save the planet 

Scientists in many fields have been getting little attention over the last two years or so as the world focused on the emergency push to develop vaccines and treatments for COVID-19. But labs and researchers have remained busy, recently reporting a dizzying series of major discoveries and achievements:
15 recent scientific breakthroughs

Lighting the way home ...

The US Government Is Selling Four Lighthouses

Perhaps you're looking for the perfect Fathers' Day Gift. Perhaps you want to reenact the Willem Dafoe film The Lighthouse with a friend. Either way, you have a great opportunity coming up. The Associated Press reports that the US government is selling four historic lighthouses.
The US Coast Guard (which asborbed the US Lighthouse Service in 1939) maintains aids to navigation that use technologies more modern than lighthouses and no longer has a use for these historic structures. But the General Services Administration wants to make sure that they are preserved. So the GSA is selling these buildings to local governments and non-profit organizations that will maintain them.
These lighthouses include the Cleveland Harbor West Pierhead Light, which offers a scenic view of the Cleveland skyline, which I assume is lovely, especially when the river is on fire. It's also accessible only by boat, offering a secure shelter in uncertain times.
The auction begins at the end of June, so start pulling up couch cushions for the money that you'll need.

One Of The Oldest Buildings In The World

Çatalhöyük is known as one of the oldest buildings in the world. Located in modern-day Turkey, it is dated to be around 9,400 years old, the location suggests that human activity started around 7,400 BCE. The edifice was maintained for over 2,000 years. Experts believe that the society of humans that built this building has mastered agriculture. This is because the materials needed to create the Çatalhöyük could only be achieved by a group of people who had organization and can easily have access to natural resources. 
The Çatalhöyük is believed to be a vast settlement, expanding for about 34 acres. Archaeologists believe that it could be home to around 3,000 to 8,000 people.
“Today we know that Çatalhöyük was not the earliest or the largest farming community in Anatolia and the Levant; however, it was a major participant in the cultural and economic changes that swept across the Near East in the Neolithic Period,” UNESCO explained. “Its strategic location in Anatolia made it a bridgehead for the spread of the Neolithic way of life to Europe and beyond.” 

Future Residential Tower Will Allow Penthouse Residents To Drive Up Their Homes

Now they don’t need to worry about reaching the top of buildings to go home. A new venture of luxury residences by automotive brand Bugatti and developer Binghatti. The high-rise building will not just include beautiful and well-designed residential areas, but will also include car elevators. 
This will allow car owners to bring their vehicles right up to their penthouse suites. So far, that is the most interesting aspect of the building. Not much is also known about the edifice, actually. Aside from the car elevators, the developers have revealed that it will contain 171 Riviera Mansions residences and 11 Sky Mansion penthouses. Additionally, amenities such as a beach area, a private pool,  a jacuzzi spa, and a fitness club will be built for future residents. 
"Unmatched craftsmanship and exquisite finishes that set a new standard for opulence will be at the heart of the living spaces curated for Bugatti Residences, ensuring that the 'Art of Living' is reimagined for a contemporary defining era," the company explained in a press release. "Both penthouses and mansions offer spacious living areas adorned with the finest material selection the world has to offer. The Bugatti Residences carry a seamless blend of comfort, functionality, and elegance that reflect Bugatti and Binghatti’s pre-eminence in design."

Hunters

'Man, the hunter'?

One of the most common stereotypes about the human past is that men did the hunting while women did the gathering. That gendered division of labor, the story goes, would have provided the meat and plant foods people needed to survive.
That characterization of our time as a species exclusively reliant on wild foods – before people started domesticating plants and animals more than 10,000 years ago – matches the pattern anthropologists observed among hunter-gatherers during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Virtually all of the large-game hunting they documented was performed by men.
'Man, the hunter'? Archaeologists' assumptions about gender roles in past humans ignore an icky but potentially crucial part of original 'paleo diet'

Well ...