A helicopter’s rotor design may allow for vertical takeoffs but that comes at a price — the backwards moving blade counteracts the helicopter’s forward momentum, causing it to stall at high speeds. But one German firm believes that outfitting the blades with bumps inspired by the fins of humpback whales. More »
Before we had ALVIN — or proper submarines for that matter — the best way to get to the seafloor was by using a diving bell. Originally made from recycled church bells, these diving apparatuses protected their passengers from the murky depths in a bubble of air. Our friends at Oobject have assembled nine of the best. More »
Last march when the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant was disastrously damaged by a tsunami, plant technicians used seawater to cool the meltdown situation. At the time, that was probably the best way to avoid an even worse situation. More »
Our power demands are increasing and, with it, a desire to find renewable and long-lasting energy sources, be they solar, wind or nuclear. Among these options also sits wave power — given that Australia’s completely surrounded by, well, loads of waves, it would seem a decent idea to try and harness the energy they create. More »
Turns out that, aside from the drill-arm, Big Daddies aren’t that far off from the real thing. Our friends at Oobject have assembled 12 of the toughest examples of deep-sea diving suits around — from da Vinci’s cloth prototypes to the bell helmets made famous by countless Scooby-Doo villains. More »
This photo was taken from space, but it’s not a galaxy or a nebula. It’s a massive phytoplankton bloom off the coast of South Africa, just when the Atlantic and the Indian oceans meet. More »
This is one of the weirdest animals I’ve ever seen: a furry white crab that only eats the bacteria that grows on its own claws and arms. It looks like a disgusting white christmas ornament that eats its own bristles. More »
After flying his fuel-strapped plane mere inches above the Pacific Ocean for an hour and a half, this pilot finally ditched his plane in the ocean without incident, emerged without injury, and was immediately rescued by the Coast Guard. Easy! More »
