Saturday, January 12, 2019 A United-States-based team of scientists released findings on Thursday about the large statues that dot the island of Rapa Nui, also called Easter Island. The study, published on Thursday in PLOS One, employed quantitative spatial analysis to establish that the platforms, or ahu, built to support the Easter Island statues, or moai, are usually located near sources of drinkable water. This feeds into the scholarly discussion of whether the purpose of the statues was exclusively ritualistic, practical or some combination of these. The study examined 93 statues on the western side of the island, all of which were built before contact with Europeans. They compared the…

Friday, April 3, 2009 April Fools’ Day pranks harmlessly pervaded worldwide again this year. Media outlets and internet sites have joined family, office workers, and friends to provide a wide variety of practical jokes. Ireland, France, and the United States celebrate April Fools all day, whereas a few countries celebrate jokes only until noon such as the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and South Africa. Car and Driver claimed that GM and Chrysler were ordered out of NASCAR by the White House by the end of 2009 in order to receive any more government loans. There are press releases about this short-lived prank which received controversial feedback. The Swiss…

Sunday, February 15, 2009 The American cartoon series “The Simpsons” will today be broadcast for the first time in high definition (HD). Today’s show will also introduce a new title sequence. Today’s episode, named “Take My Life, Please” (20×10), also makes references to HDTV in the Chalkboard gag when Bart Simpson writes “HDTV is worth every cent” on the chalkboard. This will be the first major permanent change to the show’s introduction since its launch in 1989; previous changes have included variations in the duration of the intro, and special one-shot introductions for the Treehouse of Horror Halloween episodes. This new intro also includes some 3D animation when the camera…

Thursday, March 31, 2005 Terri Schiavo died this morning in St. Petersburg, Florida, moments after 9 a.m. EST. Thirteen days ago, her feeding tube was removed after courts repeatedly ruled Schiavo would not want to be kept alive in her current state. Schiavo suffered severe brain damage in 1990 after a mysterious cardiac arrest. Many news sources allege the cardiac arrest was caused by an eating disorder, while her family maintains she had no eating disorder at all. During the attack, her brain was starved of oxygen for 14 minutes, leading to the death of many of the neurons in her brain and possibly leaving her in a persistent vegetative…

Wednesday, April 25, 2007 The Iranian police forces have faced criticism from Ayatollah Hashemi Shahrudi, the head of the judiciary who was appointed by Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, for their re-invigorated campaign to do away with un-Islamic dress. Ayatollah Shahroudi proclaimed, “Tough measures on social problems will backfire and have counter-productive effects.” Others have, of course, made it clear that un-Islamic dress can lead to moral corruption, engender innumerable vices, and hurt the Islamic character of the nation. Some believe that no one had any issue with the creation of an Islamic atmosphere. The core of the matter revolves around the implementation of the Islamic dress code; additionally, heavy-handed measures…