Daily archives: March 23, 2005


Darwin has a posse

There�s no easy way to admit this. For years, helpful letter writers told us to stick to science. They pointed out that science and politics don�t mix. They said we should be more balanced in our presentation of such issues as creationism, missile defense and global warming. We resisted their advice and pretended not to be stung by the accusations that the magazine should be renamed Unscientific American, or Scientific Unamerican, or even Unscientific Unamerican. But spring is in the air, and all of nature is turning over a new leaf, so there�s no better time to say: you were right, and we were wrong.

From a Scientific American editorial, transcribed by a kind LiveJournal user.

via Worldchanging

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Laminar Flow

A new system that takes advantage of the way chemicals behave in narrow channels could pave the way for more efficient fuel cells. The use of thin channels does away with the membrane that previously separated the chemicals used in the cell. With the membrane goes the restriction to only acidic solutions. Alkaline solutions could make fuel cells up to 40% more efficient.

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God's own country

Yorkshire could be the site of a Christian theme park.

The �144m park “where Disney meets the Bible” will feature a holy roller-coaster based on the story of Jonah and the whale, a Garden of Eden bio-dome (with prelapsarian nudity?) and a recreation of the parting of the Red Sea.

At its heart will be a Noah’s ark, although whether it will be built of gopher wood as specified in Genesis is unclear. But it could well be correct in size, the length of it “300 cubits, the breadth of it 50 cubits, and the height of it 30 cubits”.

Wasn’t this in an episode of The Simpsons, where Ned Flanders had a similar plan and everyone started having visions because of escaping gas?

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