Cool stuff that’s too small for a big article
Just like it says, Popcorn Shorts is about the kind of things we think are really interesting, but don’t really need a large article to explain them. From the sublime to the ridiculous, check in here for crunchy bits of info you’ll love to munch. By the way, much (but not necessarily all) of our delicious Popcorn comes from articles we’ve posted on our Facebook page. If you’re on Facebook, please stop by and “Like” us and we’ll keep a fairly-constant-but-not-frequent-enough-to-be-annoying stream of these coming to your virtual door!
Dragonfly army invades Rhode Island
from the Washington Post– “In numerous video clips shared on social media, hordes of dragonflies briefly invaded beaches across the state. At Misquamicut State Beach, video shows people screaming and panicking as they were surrounded by the insects. But Abbe Ciulla, who visits South Shore Beach two to three times a week during the summer months, said people around her were “awestruck” when the dragonflies arrived. “I’ve never seen anything else like it before. It was really special — like a beautiful shared experience with nature,” Ciulla, 40, told The Washington Post. She recorded and posted a video of the dragonflies, which has received 185,000 views, on her TikTok account…”
Join the Pepsi Navy!
(from Lethbridge News NOW)– “It all started at the American National Exhibit in Moscow in 1959 when then-president Richard Nixon and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev became locked in the infamous Kitchen Debate, an argument about the perks of capitalism versus communism. To cool down the heated discussion, Donald Kendall, the head of Pepsi’s international division, told Nixon to offer Khrushchev a taste of the fruits of capitalism’s labor: Pepsi. It was love at first sip for Khrushchev, who urged his comrades to join him in trying the tasty beverage… In a bizarre agreement, Russia sold Pepsi 17 submarines, a frigate, a cruiser, and a destroyer in 1989 to keep soda flowing into its citizens’ mouths. With all this firepower, Pepsi indirectly became the sixth largest naval fleet in the world.…”
Crabs to the rescue!
(from Vox.com)- “With giant pincers and rough, spider-like legs, Caribbean king crabs don’t look like your typical heroes. Yet these crustaceans may be key to solving one of the world’s most pressing environmental problems: the decline of coral reefs. In recent decades, warming seas, diseases, and other threats have [pushed] the reef in the Florida Keys — the largest in the continental US — closer to the brink of collapse… Lucky for them, help is on the way. Scientists are in the process of building a crab army — hundreds of thousands of crustaceans strong — that they’ll unleash on Florida’s reefs, giving this ailing ecosystem a tool to fight back.”
AI is saving the Parthenon
This story comes from our Service Advisor, Dean, under the heading “What I did on my summer vacation”. Dean’s family went to Greece and he came back very excited about the restoration underway on many buildings, particularly the way AI was being used to piece together shattered artifacts like 2000-year-old jigsaw puzzle. There’s not one story to direct you to on this, but several small ones we think you’ll find as fascinating as Dean did… “Parthenon” from Archaeology Magazine, “The Acropolis Restoration” from Drew.edu, “Sapirstein uses 3-D tech to further study of Greek architecture” on UNL.edu, “Restoration and Conservation of the Acropolis Monuments” from the Acropolis Restoration Service, “Secrets of the Parthenon” from NOVA (excellent!), “Parthenon Restoration Project” from ISPRS.org, or “Aigai: Impressive photos of the restored palace where Alexander the Great was crowned king” by the Greek City Times. Opa!
