Author: David

Deep in the lush rainforests of New Guinea and northeastern Australia, a majestic and mysterious bird roams the underbrush, its vibrant blue and purple neck and head adorned with a helmet-like casque. This is the Cassowary, a flightless marvel of nature that towers over the forest floor, its long, sharp claws glinting in the dappled sunlight. The Cassowary is a true giant among birds, with males reaching up to six feet tall and weighing an impressive 130 pounds. With its black feathers, colorful neck and head, and powerful legs, the Cassowary is a sight to behold. But despite its impressive…

The flying fire-breathing dragons may not exist in our current times, but this bird bearing a resemblance to the mythical creature does seem to come straight out of a fantasy movie! Its dragon-like features, mostly due to the small tufts of fluffy feathers on its head, surely captivates our attention and distinguishes it from other birds in nature. The Great eared nightjar (Lyncornis macrotis) is a species of nightjar in the family Caprimulgidae and the class Aves, and can be found in southwest India and in parts of Southeast Asia. This nocturnal bird is categorized under five subspecies: Lyncornis macrotis…

And we don’t really know why. Image credit: Parque Nacional Ciervo de los Pantanos South America’s second longest river, the Paraná, which has a length of 4,880 kilometers, flows through three countries: Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. 4,880 kilometers is no short distance – it gives plenty of opportunities for discovering amazing things. In the case of the Paraná, one of the most exciting discoveries was made at its delta: an island 120 meters in diameter, almost completely circular in shape, and floating freely on its axis. So-called floating islands are found in many parts of the world, including Finland, Turkey,…

We’ve all eaten honey at some point in our lives, but this thing is something different. The nectar has been swapped for meat. To identify what bacteria lives in the stomachs of vulture bees and how it compares to other bee species, researchers set up 16 bait stations with roughly two ounces of raw chicken hung from branches 4.9 feet off the ground. Quinn McFrederick/University of California-Riverside We all tend to take it for granted that honey is made by bees going from flower to flower collecting nectar, and then transforming it into the golden liquid we love so much. But…

In the abandoned village of Houtouwan, China, visitors get a first-hand experience of how nature is taking back what is hers. This abandoned Chinese village has been abandoned for decades. Image credit: Nuno Luciano Shengsi Island is a tiny island in the Pacific Ocean, east of Shanghai, where you can find one of the most amazing ghost towns in the world, overgrown by blankets of green vegetation. On this island, which belongs to the chain of 400 islands next to the coastal province of Zhejiang, you can find the abandoned Houtouwan village. Even though it has become an eerie ghost town,…

The unusual-looking and extremely elusive ghost shark dwells in the darkness of the deep sea, rarely revealing itself – just like a phantom, or ghost. But now we finally have it on camera. The elusive ghost shark can mostly be found in the darkness of the deep sea. Image credit: NOAA Ocean Exploration The rarely seen Chimaera, more commonly known as ghost shark because of its appearance, is a deep sea fish that can be found in most of the world’s oceans. Scientists have been unable to capture this elusive creature on camera, since they prefer depths up to 8500 feet…

The blue dragon is a unique little sea monster. It might not be able to breathe fire but… Well, read below. The blue sea dragon may not be able to breathe fire, but it packs a nasty sting. Image credit: Sylke Rohrlach Contradictory to its name, the blue sea dragon (Glaucus atlanticus) is quite small in real life and it actually belong to the family of sea slugs. On average, they don’t usually grow longer than 3 centimeters, but don’t let their size fool you. These small sea dragons are masters of camouflage and they are armed with a nasty sting.…

Once every winter, a blazing firefall sweeps across the granite cliffs of Yosemite National Park in California. The rare and extraordinary firefall of Horsetail Fall. Image credit: Wayne Hsieh Yosemite National Park in California is filled with a diverse ecosystem filled with hundreds of species and fascinating natural wonders. It’s best known for its waterfalls, towering granite monoliths, deep valleys and ancient giant sequoias. Among the more than 25 waterfalls that can be found in the park, there is one that stands out: once every year, when conditions are just right, Horsetail Fall turns into a blazing “firefall”. If conditions are…

The phenomenon is also called ‘mountain spectre’, since it most often occurs when the observer stands at a higher altitude on a mountain and sees their shadow cast on a cloud at a lower altitude. A Brocken spectre within glory rings. Image credit: Brocken Inaglory But a Brocken spectre can occur in any setting when the magnified (and apparently enormous) shadow of an observer is cast in mid air against any type of cloud opposite a strong light source. Additionally, if the cloud consists of water droplets backscattered, a glory resembling a saint’s halo can be seen around the shadow of…

Stretching from Arctic to the southeast coast of the island of Newfoundland, Iceberg Alley is the perfect spot for iceberg viewing – even from your kitchen window, while cooking the local staple ‘Jiggs dinner’. A 150 ft. Iceberg passing through Iceberg Alley near Twillingate, Newfoundland, Canada. Photo: Doreen Dalley If you live in Canada’s Iceberg Alley, you will never be short of icebergs to view. And in the spring, when the sea ice around them melts, they’ll look even more spectacular. The icebergs come from even further up north, mostly from Greenland, where chunks of glaciers tend to break off…

The Antakya Museum Hotel in Turkey is today of great archaeological importance. During its construction, workers discovered a 2,000-year-old mosaic that extends over 9,000-square-foot (about 850 square meters)! It’s the world’s largest mosaic piece and truly an astonishing sight. Image credit: The Museum Hotel Antakya The enormous mosaic, which was recently opened to the public as part of the newly built Antakya Museum Hotel, was unearthed back in 2010 by a construction crew digging the foundations of the new hotel. The discovery was beyond anything anyone could have expected. Hiding beneath the foundation of the future hotel lay the world’s largest…

Due to their spectacular coat and slender morphology, the Akhal-Teke are considered the most beautiful horse breed in existence. The majestic Akhal-Teke, the golden horse of Turkmenistan. Image source: Imgur “There is no other horse that leaves such an unforgettable impression as the noble Akhal-Teke – lithe, light and springy, glistening with gold in the rays of the sun, with its smooth gliding trot and a ground-lining gallop.” These words, written by breeder Alexander Klimuk, indeed say it all. The Akhal-Teke is a Turkmen horse breed that has a reputation for speed, endurance, intelligence, and a very distinctive metallic sheen –…

Finally, 37 years after its initial flight, NASA has confirmed that we will be able to retrieve Voyager 1. This discovery comes as a complete surprise to us all, and we are overjoyed that one of humanity’s finest inventions has returned. In case you didn’t remember, Voyager 1 was NASA and JPL’s first spacecraft, and its mission was both basic and complex. The issue it faced was either caused by unexpected events or a result of poor preparation, but NASA claims that their spacecraft remained trapped in space after its main thrusters failed. Despite its ability to travel at speeds…

We’ve always wondered if there are any life forms out there like ourselves. The discovery of intelligent life forms could reveal a great deal about the cosmos, including how insignificant we are on its scale. But, after finding such creatures, scientists will be able to put to rest a long-standing myth that has perplexed scientists since our first journey to the Moon in 1969. If no other living species exist, so any culture that has ever existed and will ever exist has an expiration date. According to Christopher Conselice’s latest report, there should be at least 30 intelligent societies on…

And if you are not a devout believer in the ghost stories told of ancient tombs and cursed artifacts, you must recognize how dangerous archeology is in the long run. For starters, you must recognize that these individuals actually risk their life on a daily basis. People believe that archeology is all about searching and discovering ancient objects, but there is so much more to it. Thousands of archeologists have lost their lives or careers as a result of accidents caused by traps found deep within each of these mausoleums and tombs. We might all imagine these archeologists as Lara…

A record-breaking goldfish has been caught in Champagne, France, where an angler dragged a 30-kilogram (67-pound) specimen on shore. This puny specimen was half the weight of record-breaker just caught in France. Image credit: KoiQuestion, via Flickr CC BY-SA 2.0 Carp fishery BlueWater Lakes released the behemoth, known as The Carrot, 20 years ago and it has since grown to be one of the largest in the world. It is double the size of the fish you see above. Look at this. The many different breeds of goldfish are all hardy, golden types of domesticated carp, coming in all kinds of curious…

Silfra Fissure in Iceland is the only place on this planet where you can dive between two continents. Touching North America and Europe at the same time. Source Located in Iceland’s Thingvellir (Þingvellir) National Park, Silfra fissure is a gap formed between the North American and Eurasian plates on the divergent tectonic boundary. Simply saying, it is the only location in the world where you can swim directly between the North American and European continents. Silfra fissure opened in 1789, due to the movements of the North American and Eurasian plates, which run all the way through Iceland. The two plates…

This unusual, 8-inch long marine worm looks like something out of a nightmare — a luxury nightmare, for that matter. Matthew Brown/NIWA In the vast Southern Ocean near Antarctica, there lives a giant polynoid worm that has some really peculiar looks. The two most stand-out characteristics of Eulagisca gigantea are its golden-bristled abdomen and a disturbing toothy grin on what appears to be its head, making it look like the creepiest luxury item ever. As weird as it may look, research suggests it could be crucial to the health of our ecosystems. Image credit: Matthew Brown/NIWA The latin name of bristle worms…

Caught on Camera: Rare ‘wave clouds’ appear over WyomingPhoto by: Courtesy Toni Bolin”Wave Clouds” appear over the Bighorn MountainsBy: Q2 NewsPosted at 12:36 PM, Dec 07, 2022 and last updated 3:05 AM, Dec 08, 2022 Several Q2 viewers have sent us some amazing photos of rare “wave clouds” that appeared over the Bighorn Mountains on Tuesday. The National Weather Service in Billings has explained the cloud formations are called “Kelvin-Helmholtz waves.” A BBC article once described them as “One of the rarest and most fleeting formations, this cartoon-like breaking wave is the Holy Grail for many cloud-spotters.” Q2’s Ed McIntosh explains the cloud formation…

There’s a Facebook group called Mushroomcore, and it has nearly 30,000 members who share all kinds of cool photos and stories of fungi. However, some species continue to surprise even the biggest nature lovers. Like the Dead Man’s Fingers (Xylaria polymorpha). In June, Regan Daniels from North Carolina uploaded a few pictures to the group of what looked to be a body part of a corpse saying, “Saw this Dead Man’s Fingers (or toes in this case) fungus that I literally thought was a Halloween decoration!” Her snaps instantly went viral, and a few people even said they were fake. But Daniels reassured…

The saying “lightning never strikes the same place twice” obviously does not cover Venezuela’s Lake Maracaibo and the so-called Catatumbo strikes, which occur only in this part of the world. Image credit: Image Credit: Happy Traveler via Book All Safaris At 13,210 square kilometers (5,100 square miles) Lake Maracaibo was once South America’s largest lake and is also thought to be one of the oldest lakes on Earth. However, it was featured in the Guinness Book of World Records for a different reason: During the region’s rainy season (starting at around October), this otherwise sleepy lake lights up with an impressive…

American and Canadian chefs are just learning what Mexicans have long known: a bluish fungus that infects corn and has been considered a scourge by most U.S. farmers is actually delicious. So much so that scientists are now trying to figure out how to purposefully grow it. Image credit: David Cohen One evening last July, Sean Brock, an executive chef and restaurant owner based in Charleston, learned from a local farmer that the special Mexican variety of White Bolita corn he had commissioned him to grow had been infested with corn smut, a plant disease caused by the pathogenic fungus Ustilago maydis.…

The NASA lead scientific officer Jim Green recently released a new release, stating that the European Space Agency would soon find alien activity on Mars in a few months. According to him, the finding will occur before 2021, as the planet is fully able to recognize the presence of alien life. The Daily Telegraph was the publication that questioned Mr. Green and claimed in that interview that when the announcement is made, the future will shift eternally. He also voiced his reservations on the route, mentioning that considering the reality that he personally does not see the universe like anyone…

Thousands of people in the US, Canada, and Europe received an odd post card in the mail today, according to my research. With a plethora of odd symbols and numbers, it says “They’re coming.” One of the numbers appears to be a phone number with a Roswell, New Mexico area code. We were disconnected after 30 seconds of odd static, clicking, and wind-whooshing noises. Every time we call, we hear the same sound. After doing some investigation, I discovered that people on Reddit are debating this matter quite seriously, with everyone offering their viewpoint. According to a Reddit member, “When…