Tag: Nature
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Radiant Sodalite mineral rock
How neat is this sodalite mineral rock? A rare discovery, sodalite rocks form from crystallized from sodium-rich magmas and are typically blue or violet in nature. Think of the sodalite as a normal stone with special effects — a la tenebrescence — that make the minerals glow when exposed to light. Check out its cousin, […]
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Float Like a Dragontail Butterfly…
The green dragontail butterfly (Lamproptera meges) of South and Southeast Asia is a mesmerizing insect. Small and delicate, it is one of the few species of swallowtail butterfly with transparent wings. With a life span of 7 to 12 days, Earth’s real-life fairies are truly nature’s flying jewel. Credit to wildlife photographer Kazuo Unno for […]
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Dragon Storm: A thunderstorm over the Great Pyramids of Giza
A storm nicknamed the “Dragon Storm” made its way through Egypt on Thursday. The storm produced a mixture of high winds, heavy rain, and hail that caused sand storms and flooding, respectively. With all that’s going with the Coronavirus today and the bushfires raging over Australia at the end of 2019, it feels like a […]
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These owls in a Tokyo cafe are named after musicians and bands
James Mollison of TOPIC ventured into one of Tokyo’s animal cafes where you can sip your coffee with your animal of choice (cats, dogs, and rabbits). But this coffee shop was a little different. Tokyo’s Pakuchi Bar is apparently one of eight owl cafes in the big city. The owner, Tomo Nanaka, owns 30 of them […]
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The race to save coffee
“Coffee is the common man’s gold…” Sheik Abd-al-Kabir ‘In praise of coffee’ (1587) We take coffee for granted. Judging by the ubiquity of Starbucks stores, you’d think that coffee was abundant. But the coffee we like to drink, the fruity-tasting coffee arabica, is projected to decline given the dual pressures of climate change which reduces suitable […]
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Subway mice wins People’s Choice Wildlife Photographer of the Year award
Photographer Sam Rowley’s image of two mice fighting over leftover food in the London Underground won People’s Choice Wildlife Photographer of the Year. The snap was selected by the public from more than 48,000 submissions to London’s Natural History Museum. Entitled “Station Squabble,” the photo depicts how some wildlife have adapted to survive in urban […]
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Watch a dancing dragonfly up close
Take a look at this fascinating video of a dragonfly up close, seemingly smiling, dabbing, and posing with human-like expressions in front of the camera. Is it doing the Macarena, doing the YMCA, or dancing to Madonna’s song ‘Vogue?’ They dance while they’re young Dragonflies have been around nearly 300 million years and can reach […]
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Watch stunning ground-to-cloud lightning in Australia
While we perceive lightning from cloud to ground or cloud to cloud, the majority of lightning one sees occurs from ground to cloud. In this video captured by Hayden Milne in Burleigh Heads, Australia, we see ground-to-cloud lightning in its most epic display. Doesn’t lightning always work upside down? Mother Nature can be scary at […]
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How the Netherlands use agricultural density through “architecture“ to feed the world
The Netherlands is the world’s second-largest exporter of agricultural products despite being 237 times smaller in land area than the world’s export leader, the United States. That’s according to a fascinating article on Netherlands agriculture density through “architecture“ (ie., extensive use of greenhouses) as examined by Arch Daily: “Dutch agriculture is defined by vast landscapes […]
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It’s ‘Raining’ Iguanas in South Florida
Iguanas in South Florida are falling out of trees due to freezing temperatures. Weather in South Florida dropped into the 30s on Tuesday night, which immobilized the iguanas and turned their bodies dormant. “Don’t be surprised if you see iguanas falling from the trees tonight,” the Miami National Weather Service office tweeted. The good news […]
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Everything you need to know about Yosemite’s stunning ‘firefall’ phenomenon
In what looks like a scene from a fantasy movie, the ‘firefall’ phenomenon in Yosemite is spewing lava-like water again. Called Horsetail Fall, the fiery waterfall makes an annual appearance for two weeks around February. The fiery orange glow of the waterfall emerges from the illumination of the setting sun over the 1500 foot flowing […]
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Watch two Kangaroos fight it all out in the Australia Outback
What looks like it was taken out of a country western film, here are two Kangaroos fighting each other from the outback in Australia. Kangaroos usually loaf around most of the time — if they’re not eating or jumping around — so to see them duking it out like humans in a good old boxing […]