Page 61 - Best of the Month

Blanket octopuses rip Portuguese man o’ war poisonous tentacles to use as defensive weapons!

The Tremoctopus, also known as the blanket octopus, is a species of cephalopods that inhabits the surface and mid-water of subtropical and tropical oceans. They are best known for the long transparent webs that connect the dorsal and dorsolateral arms of adult females.

They exhibit an extreme degree of sexual dimorphism. Females can reach 2m in length, while males are at most a few centimeters long. Because of this smaller size, males (and also young females) have to resort to interesting defensive techniques.

Particularly, they are immune to the poison of the Portuguese man o’ war. They rip off it's tentacles and use it as a deadly defensive weapon. By contrast, the females are able to spread out their membranes and appear much larger than it actually is.

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Scientists invented a particle that might help you live without breathing!

It's being hailed as one of the greatest medical breakthroughs in recent years. It's a microparticle that can be injected into a bloodstream and can quickly oxygenate a patient's blood.

This will work even if the ability to breathe has been restricted or even cut off entirely. The microparticles so far can keep an object alive for up to 30 minutes after respiratory failure. This is enough time to avoid risking a heart attack or permanent brain injury when oxygen is restricted.

The microparticles have a ton of potential uses in the future. Obviously the medical use is great. Ambulances and emergency care people can have it ready for when they're needed. The military will be able to use it for missions when they needed to be underwater for a while.

Imagine you're trapped in a sinking ship and you are drowning. You can inject yourself to give you time to get out. Divers can inject themselves to protect against suit failure.

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The first digital wristwatch was made specifically for a movie!

Digital clocks have been saving people the excruciating task of having to read a standard clock since the Plato Clock was created in 1903. Unfortunately for people who didn't have the ability to read a clock, it wasn't until the 1970's that digital wristwatches were sold on the market.

The digital wristwatch seems to be a relatively simple concept to us now, in 2013, but when the digital watch was first designed, and then invented, was to help make a science fiction movie seem more futuristic. The film in question, was none other than 2001: A Space Odyssey, perhaps one of the most iconic sci-fi films of all time.

The digital watch was first designed as a prop for 2001: A Space Odyssey, but two years after the movie came out, the company behind the design, The Hamilton Watch Company, released the watch to be sold on the market. Initially, the price for the watch was high, but popularity of these watches rose and they became easier to make as time went on.

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It's illegal to dance in Japanese nightclubs!

After World War II ended, the Japanese government enacted a law known as Fueiho, or the Entertainment Business Control Law. The law regulated different entertainment activities, including dancing.

Specifically, the law states that clubs under 66 square meters cannot apply for a license to legally allow dancing. In places like Tokyo, where land is scarce and expensive, the law apparently applies to most clubs in town.

Although it was forbidden, most clubs did allow dancing. That was until 2012, when the police started cracking down on clubs who were breaking the law. As a result clubs like the Happy Cock (pictured on the right) have specifically banned dancing and will bounce anyone who attempts to.

If you want to read more on the background of this law and the development on it, check out the source.

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Russia gave the United States a teardrop memorial for the victims of 9/11!

While the attacks of September 11, 2001 devastated the United States and much of the world, it also served to bring our country together. Other countries also reached out the US in our time of need, proving the resilience of the human race and the extent of human sympathy.

Russia actually gave the United States a gift to memorialize the victims of the 9/11 attacks and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. The gift was a sculpture called “To the Struggle Against World Terrorism” and is also known as “The Tear of Grief.” It was made by Zurab Tsereteli.

The Tear of Grief is a 100-foot tower of steel coated in bronze. A jagged hole runs through the center of it, and a 40-foot metal teardrop hangs from the top of this hole. The tower’s granite base is etched with the names of those who lost their lives in the September 11th attacks and in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. The sculpture stands at the end of the former Military Ocean Terminal in Bayonne, New Jersey. In September 2011, a four-foot section of steel from the World Trade Center was placed adjacent to the monument.

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