ITotD on Summer Break
My attempts at building a time machine having failed thus far, I find myself with too few hours in the day. So ITotD will be on a (hopefully brief) hiatus while I take care of business.
Killer Snails
And you thought they were just garden pests or a French delicacy
When you think of deadly animals, you may picture lions, hippos, or even mosquitos. But watch out for the real killer: snails.
Cruise Ship Condos
Making your home on the high seas
If you love to travel and have a few million spare dollars, you can buy a condo on any of several luxury cruise ships and live there year-round, taking your home with you as you sail around the world.
The Sinking City of Venice
Atlantis redux
The water level is rising in Venice, while the buildings are sinking. An ambitious plan is underway to save the ancient city from an untimely demise.
Winds with Names
More than just a bunch of hot air
It's one thing to give a storm like a hurricane or typhoon a name, but it's another to assign a proper name to wind of a certain type in a certain season and location.
Solar Sails
The next big thing in space travel
Outfit a spacecraft with a huge but incredibly lightweight mirror, and it can travel indefinitely, without fuel, at speeds that eventually exceed those of conventional rocket-powered craft.
___-of-the-Month Clubs
Old marketing gimmicks never die
The Book-of-the-Month Club is still going strong after more than 90 years, despite the rise and fall of mega-bookstores (and the advent of Amazon.com). But that's not all: you can get a monthly subscription to just about anything.
Oil from Garbage
Modern-day alchemy
As long as we have garbage, we'll never run out of oil, thanks to a technology called thermal depolymerization process (TDP).
Ischigualasto
Triassic Park in Argentina
A park in northwestern Argentina earned the nickname Valley of the Moon for its stark landscape and weird rock formations, but its real claim to fame is an extensive cache of rare fossils that help to show the origins of both dinosaurs and mammals.
Pontcysyllte Aqueduct
Engineering marvel of the Canal Age
A Welsh aqueduct completed in the early 19th century was constructed right over a river; instead of being used to transport water, it used water to transport cargo.
The Fata Morgana Effect
Fairy castles in the air
A mirage in which a building, ship, or other structure appears to hover above the ground was named after the legendary half-sister of King Arthur.
Hubbert’s Peak
The controversial theory of Peak Oil
A theory proposed in the 1950s says that the world's production of oil has already peaked and is heading toward a rapid decline. Is it truth, fiction, or merely optimism?
Carbon Sequestration
Greenhouse gas disposal techniques
The world is having trouble reducing its production of carbon dioxide, which increases global warming. But there's a way to make the problem less bad, at least temporarily: storing excess greenhouse gases in a safe place.
The Crypt of Civilization
Museum in a time capsule
There are time capsules, and then there are time capsules. A vault sealed in 1940 in Atlanta contains a huge stash of artifacts that should be unearthed in 8113.
Book of the Week
Take Control of Your Digital Photos
Digital cameras make it easy to take way too many pictures. Need help sorting, organizing, storing, and managing them? We've got a great book for you—and Interesting Thing of the Day readers can save 30% on it.
