[Unmuseum_newsletter] The UnMuseum Newsletter for May 2006

Tue May 9 18:00:57 EDT 2006

The UnMuseum Newsletter for May 2006.

Science Over the Edge
A Roundup of Strange Science for the Month
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the News:

*Cave Art Was Graffiti? - A new theory suggests that the famous pre-historic 
cave art found in locations like Lascaux, France, are actually the 
equivalent of today's graffiti drawn by teenage boys. "Today, boys draw the 
testosterone subjects of a hot automobile, fighter jet, Jedi armor, sports, 
direct missile hit, etc.- all of the things they associate with the 
adrenalin of success," said R. Dale Guthrie, author of The Nature of 
Paleolithic Art. Back in the Stone Age such exciting subjects would have 
included bison and deer hunts. Guthrie notes that much of the material is 
rather graphic showing speared animals with blood coming from their noises 
and mouths. He also notes that male figures shown in the scenes are drawn 
rather rudimentary while female figures are much more detailed and 
full-figured leading him to suppose that artists were younger males. Hand 
prints found on the wall of the caves tend to support this theory too. This 
runs counter to earlier thinking in which most of the drawings were made by 
tribal shaman.

*Bacteria Make the Strongest Glue - Scientists have discovered that harmless 
bacteria found in rivers produces super glue stronger than any other known 
type. According to the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the 
microorganism C. crescentus attaches to surfaces with three to four times 
the strength of commercial superglue. The bacteria uses the biological glue 
to adhere itself to surfaces with a stalk-like appendage. Tests show that 
the amount of bacteria that fits onto a quarter could withstand a pulling 
force of four to five tons, which is about the weight of an adult elephant. 
Scientists hope that this research will lead to new, stronger, synthetic 
adhesives.

*Big Meat Eater Hunted in Packs - Mapusaurus roseae- a gigantic dinosaur 
whose remains have been found in Patagonia, Argentina, now holds the record 
for the longest meat eating dinosaur so far found. Mapusaurus was over 41 
feet in length. A cousin from the same region, Giganotosaurus, however, 
still holds the record for the largest land carnivore because it was wider 
and heavier. According to Don Lessem, one of the paleontologists that 
participated in the dig that found Mapusaurus, this creature was unique 
among large meat-eaters because it apparently hunted in packs. A number of 
the creatures bones were found together apparently having died in some 
ancient catastrophe. These carnivores hunting in packs would have been able 
to even bring down the largest dinosaur ever found, the 125 foot-long, 
plant-eating Argentinosaurus. Argentinosaurus weighed as much as 10 times 
more than Mapusaurus.

*Optical SETI - A team of scientists are now looking for extraterrestrial 
signals using optical telescopes. In the past such searches were conducted 
using radio receivers, but Paul Horowitz, a physics and electrical 
engineering professor from Harvard University, thinks that aliens using 
light waves to communicate may make more sense. "Sending laser signals 
across the cosmos would be a very logical way for ET to reach out, but until 
now, we have been ill-equipped to receive any such signal." The team is 
using a 72-inch telescope to look for flashes in the sky lasting as short as 
one-billionth of a second. Optical light, unlike radio, can form tight, 
powerful, focused beams. A device like a laser can be thousands of times 
brighter than a star for a brief moment, but such a signal would have to be 
directed at a particular location.

*Viruses May Create Super Batteries - Scientists hope to use genetically 
manipulated viruses to create batteries that pack two or three times the 
energy of traditional electrical storage cells. By using viruses to build 
the batteries researchers hope to harness biology's knack for organizing 
microscopic structures. This could lead to batteries which are smaller and 
lighter, or more powerful because less of the weight and volume would be 
dedicated to packaging, and more to the storage of the electrical charge. To 
make the viruses able to conduct electricity, the scientists genetically 
altered the organisms so that proteins on their surfaces would be attracted 
to metal particles, including cobalt and gold, according to a study 
published in a recent issue of the journal Science.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What's New at the Museum:

*Giant Sloth (Updated Page) - An hamster the size of an elephant? During the 
Pleistocene period, ten-thousand years ago, these creatures roamed the 
Earth. Now they're all gone. Or so we 
think...(http://www.unmuseum.org/sloth.htm)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ask the Curator:

*Tesla Power - I would like to know what the word Tesla means. I think it 
has something to do with electricity. - Anonymous

I have a very weird game known as Red Alert. It mentions something called 
Tesla technology. I only know it has something to do with electricity. I've 
asked several people and they don't seem to know. - Frank

Nikola Tesla was an inventor who lived about a hundred years ago. He was 
perhaps the foremost electrical genius of his time. Everybody remembers 
Edison better, but the truth is that Tesla was probably the smarter man. 
While he has been forgotten, his inventions are all around us. The AM radio 
you listen to when driving to work? Tesla. The alternating current (AC) 
electrical system that you plug things into at your house? Not possible 
without a host of inventions from Tesla. The fluorescent lighting in your 
office? Tesla helped develop them. The toy radio controlled boat you play 
with on Saturdays? Tesla built the first one. He even laid out a design for 
radar decades before the first one was built.

One his best remembered inventions was the "Tesla Coil." He actually 
designed a number of different versions of these devices which are used take 
electricity and increase the frequency and voltage. Tesla had several ideas 
about how the coil could be used that included radio signals and wireless 
power transmission. When a Tesla coil is running it can produce impressive 
electrical show with sparks, and corona discharges. A giant coil built at 
Tesla's Colorado laboratory was capable of creating sparks 135 feet in 
length.

As Tesla aged his inventions seem to become less and less practical. One of 
Tesla's last ideas was a charged particle beam. Such as "death ray," if 
built, would have been capable of downing airplanes or destroying objects at 
a distance. Though no death ray was ever built during Tesla's lifetime, both 
the U.S. and the USSR spent quit a bit of money trying to get it to work 
during the cold war. For more information check our biography of Nikola 
Tesla (http://www.unmuseum.org/tesla.htm)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In History:

*China's Wildman - North America has its Bigfoot. The Himalayas have the 
Yeti. Australia has its Yowie. How about China? There you will find legends 
of the "Wildman:" a hairy ape-like creature inhabiting the remote mountains. 
Does the creature really exist? In May of 1957 a small version of one of 
these animals was killed and a local biology teacher preserved the hands and 
feet. Later on a scientist examined the remains. Was it an unknown animal? 
Not in this particular case. The creature turned out to be a stump-tailed 
macaque. Proof of the existence of the Chinese "Wildman" still is yet to be 
found.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the Sky:

*Sirius Mystery - May is a good time to see if you can find the night's 
brightest star: Sirius. Look low in the WSW during evening twilight. Sirius 
is the center of a mystery involving the Dogon people of Southern Africa. 
Their legends that extend back hundreds of years claim that the Earth was 
visited by aleins from Sirius a millenium ago. What makes the story so odd 
is that their legends tell much about the star that wasn't known until 
recent times. For more details check out "The Dogon, the Nommos and Sirius 
B" (http://www.unmuseum.org/siriusb.htm)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Observed:

*What's Your Sign? Maybe it Doesn't Matter - A scientific study has failed 
to find any validity to astrological star signs, such as Aries, Taurus, 
Libra, etc. These signs supposedly predict the characteristics of people 
born at a certain time of the year. "When considering the current scientific 
standing with respect to sun signs, it becomes clear that there is little or 
no truth in sun signs," said Peter Hartmann, leader of the study, which was 
published in the Personality and Individual Differences journal. The 
scientists used computer analysis to try to examine the astrological signs 
and compare them to the character of some 15,000 individuals.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On the Tube:

Currently we are only able to give accurate times and dates for these 
programs in the United States. Check local listings in other locations.

*NOVA: Hitler's Sunken Secret - An expedition to the bottom of Norway's Lake 
Tinn illuminates Nazi Germany's nuclear ambitions. On the PBS: May 9 at 8 pm 
ET/PT

Da Vinci's Lost Code - Was a painting bought some 25 years ago for a 
relatively small sum really painted by Leonardo da Vinci? Find out what 
secrets this painting holds. Go inside a world where science and art collide 
to break the code and reveal the secrets of the genius. On The Discovery 
Channel: MAY 14 @ 10:00 PM, MAY 15 @ 02:00 AM, MAY 18 @ 10:00 PM, MAY 19 @ 
02:00 AM, MAY 21 @ 07:00 PM, MAY 21 @ 11:00 PM, MAY 22 @ 11:00 AM; ET/PT

*Noah's Ark: The True Story - Search for the truth behind the story of Noah 
and his ark. Find out how Noah could have built such a structure and whether 
or not a great flood took place on the earth. The search for remains of the 
ark continues today. On The Discovery Channel: MAY 18 @ 08:00 PM, MAY 19 @ 
12:00 AM, MAY 21 @ 09:00 PM, MAY 22 @ 01:00 AM; ET/PT

*Secret Towers of the Himalayas - A French explorer travels to the remote 
valleys of Tibet to study and film the mysterious Towers of Tibet. An 
estimated 600 stone towers, some as high as 150 feet, date from the time of 
the Mongol invasion of China. On The Science Channel: MAY 22 @ 10:00 PM, MAY 
23 @ 01:00 AM, MAY 23 @ 05:00 AM, MAY 23 @ 11:00 AM, MAY 23 @ 03:00 PM, MAY 
27 @ 06:00 PM;; ET/PT.

*Black Sky: Winning the X Prize - After a successful flight into space on 
September 29, 2004, Burt Rutan and his team prepare to make history by 
winning the X Prize competition. Follow the final preparations for the X2 
flight by SpaceShipOne and ultimate victory in the competition. On The 
Science Channel: MAY 16 @ 10:00 PM, MAY 17 @ 01:00 AM, MAY 17 @ 05:00 AM, 
MAY 17 @ 11:00 AM, MAY 17 @ 03:00 PM, MAY 21 @ 06:00 PM; ET/PT.

*What The Ancients Knew: India - Long before the Western world was known, 
India provided the world with its riches. However, India’s invaluable 
contributions to science and technology have all too often been overlooked. 
Few know how profoundly India has shaped the modern world. On The Science 
Channel:MAY 08 @ 09:00 PM, MAY 09 @ 12:00 AM, MAY 09 @ 04:00 AM, MAY 09 @ 
10:00 AM, MAY 09 @ 02:00 PM, MAY 13 @ 05:00 PM, MAY 22 @ 06:00 PM; ET/PT.

*What Really Killed the Dinosaurs - Until recently, most scientists thought 
they knew what killed off the dinosaurs - a giant meteorite crashing into 
Earth. But a small and vociferous group of scientists believes there is 
increasing evidence that the 'impact' theory could be wrong. On The Science 
Channel: MAY 01 @ 08:00 PM, MAY 01 @ 11:00 PM, MAY 02 @ 03:00 AM, MAY 02 @ 
09:00 AM,MAY 02 @ 01:00 PM,MAY 06 @ 04:00 PM; ET/PT.

*Ancient Marvels: Cities of the Underworld. - Istanbul is undoubtedly one of 
the most dynamic and exotic cities in the world. Once the capital city of 
three of the world's most powerful empires--The Roman, Byzantine, and 
Ottoman--its strategic location made it the perfect spot for empires to 
rise, fall...and rise again. Today Istanbul's residents are walking on top 
of remnants of these fallen civilizations...literally. Taxis drive over 
parts of Constantine's Lost Great Palace; children play on cobblestone 
streets concealing a massive Byzantine dungeon; a high school sits on a 3rd 
century wall leading to the bowels of a 100,000 seat ancient Roman 
Hippodrome; and basement's of old Ottoman homes lead to subterranean tunnels 
and secret cisterns. Join host Eric Geller as he leaves the buzz of the city 
streets behind and follows the pull of the past. Teamed with leading 
archeologists and experts, Eric peels back the layers of the past--to reveal 
a hidden history that hasn't seen the light of day for ages. On The History 
Channel: May 5 @ 6pm, ET/PT.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
*LGM: Check out the antics of Meep and Zeep as they try to find their flying 
saucer! (http://www.unmuseum.org/soearch/over.htm#lgm)