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A shimmering monolith seemed to appear in the Nevada desert this week, captivating the imaginations of hundreds of thousands and spurring news reports in the U.S. and abroad.
But the object may have been there for years.
According to Monolith Tracker, an online community that maintains a map of monolith appearances across the globe, the monolith spotted by the Metropolitan Police Department over the weekend was first identified in December 2020.
— Las Vegas Review-Journal
Whoever did place the eerily Kubrick-esque mirrored 77-inch-tall object did so deliberately at Gass Peak, one of the highest points in the massive Desert National Wildlife Refuge north of Las Vegas. The police removed it on Thursday without naming a culprit. (I think it resembles the original... View full entry
Snohetta and Mr. Melgaard aim to use burned wood for the house’s exterior, and tentative plans for its interior include movable walls and a room that combines an eating area and a swimming pool. Martin Brunner, one of the Snohetta architects who worked on the project, also explained that the firm had tested a prototype for an item of inflatable furniture to be included in the house, which he described as a “sex pillow.” — New York Times
In 2011, the Norwegian artist, Bjarne Melgaard, reached out to property developers Olav and Frederik Selvaag with the idea of making a sculpture that would double as a house and atelier. The three got the international architecture studio Snøhetta involved, resulting in the design of a black... View full entry
The comet landed on by the spacecraft Philae could well be home to an abundance of alien microbial life, according to leading astronomers.
Features of the comet, named 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, such as its organic-rich black crust, are most likely explained by the presence of living organisms beneath an icy surface, the scientists have said.
— The Guardian
On the other hand, Stuart Clark refutes the claims made in the linked article. In a response also published to the Guardian, "The vast majority of comet scientists would agree that comet 67P’s surface features are much more easily explained by non-biological mechanisms."Philae, the spacecraft... View full entry
