Real-Life Weirdness

[tshiggins]

Originally Posted by Anders

9-foot alligator found tied to tree.

Is this some weird Floridian variant of cow-tipping?

Well, that's one way to keep it off the golf course.

[ak_aramis]

heard on NPR, then tracked down the story's web page, that badgers hunt cattle... and bury the bodies.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-w...ses-scientists

They cache it, then access the remainder via tunnel...

Also mentioned on the radio, but not the webpage, is that the badgers are also suspected of hunting smaller cattle, too...

[Johnny1A.2]

Originally Posted by ak_aramis

heard on NPR, then tracked down the story's web page, that badgers hunt cattle... and bury the bodies.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-w...ses-scientists

They cache it, then access the remainder via tunnel...

Also mentioned on the radio, but not the webpage, is that the badgers are also suspected of hunting smaller cattle, too...

From the badger's POV, 50 pounds of free meat is something beyond 'good luck'. It's more like winning the powerball. I'm not entirely surprised it would be willing to go to that kind of trouble to protect a windfall like that.

Still, it's a good reminder that mother nature always has more surprises to throw at you.

[Anders]

Canadians lead the way in cattle management.

They now have specially trained herding beavers.

[Flyndaran]

Thanks. I'd seen a gif of that video but never knew its source. New mother cows curious at a wandering beaver. Poor beaver wasn't scared but probably really confused at being the leader in a messy conga line.

[(E)]

Not quite sure if it fits here or not.
Negative Mass

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-39642992

[Anders]

Negative Mass would be a great band name.

[Flyndaran]

Or just the quickest way to say that church services are cancelled.

[Anders]

Originally Posted by (E)

Not quite sure if it fits here or not.
Negative Mass

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-39642992

Apparently that's not entirely true.

TL;DR - what the physicists have created is a superfluid that behaves as if it had effective negative mass. However, the word "effective" tells us that this mass is not fundamental, it is an emergent property. I think.

[Irish Wolf]

Originally Posted by Anders

Apparently that's not entirely true.

TL;DR - what the physicists have created is a superfluid that behaves as if it had effective negative mass. However, the word "effective" tells us that this mass is not fundamental, it is an emergent property. I think.

Yeah, when I saw the headline I got really excited too. If Alcubierre-White warp theory works out, they'll need a way to generate negative mass. Unfortunately, this superfluid merely gives them practice in how to handle such negative mass, should it ever actually be made (or found).