The Basement

10 Interesting Facts About Cats

2011-08-24T15:22:00.001-04:00

1. Every year, nearly four million cats are eaten in Asia.

2. Cats make about 100 different sounds. Dogs make only about 10.

3. Approximately 40,000 people are bitten by cats in the U.S. annually.

4. Approximately 1/3 of cat owners think their pets are able to read their minds.

5. In the 1750s, Europeans introduced cats into the Americas to control pests.

6. The normal body temperature of a cat is between 100.5 ° and 102.5 °F.

7. A cat’s heart beats nearly twice as fast as a human heart.

8. Cats don’t have sweat glands over their bodies like humans do.

9. A cat almost never meows at another cat, mostly just humans.

10. Smuggling a cat out of ancient Egypt was punishable by death.

Salt is Addictive Like Cigarettes

2011-08-18T02:11:00.000-04:00

Salt is addictive in the same way as cigarettes or hard drugs, a study has found. The findings could help explain why many find it so hard to cut back on salt, despite warnings about dangers to blood pressure and heart health.

Experts studied the brains of mice that had been starved of salt for three days and then given salty water to drink freely. When the rodents were in need of salt, brain cells made proteins more usually linked to addiction to substances such as heroin, cocaine and nicotine.

The study revealed that after salt was taken, the brain believes it has received its fix. The researchers said that the importance of salt to overall health means that cravings for it form "an ancient instinct" deeply embedded in the brain.

Star Wars Characters on Currency (Coins)

2011-08-14T22:21:00.002-04:00

Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Yoda and a cast of other heroes and villains from Star Wars, will join the Queen on coins issued by the South Pacific island state of Niue.

A set of 40 coins is being produced by the New Zealand Mint. The coins will have a face value of NZ$2 (New Zealand dollar), but the silver content in each is worth more than that. Sets of four, each containing 1oz of silver, will sell for NZ$469.

The coins are primarily aimed at collectors and investors around the world in a bid to boost Niue's flagging government coffers.

New Photos From Mars

2011-08-10T22:18:00.001-04:00

These photos are completely fascinating.

After a nearly three-year journey, the Mars rover Opportunity on Tuesday reached the rim of the Endeavour crater, according to a statement from NASA. "Opportunity's findings and data from the upcoming Mars Science Laboratory will play a key role in making possible future human missions to Mars and other places where humans have not yet been," Charles Bolden, NASA Administrator, said in the statement.

Inventor Makes Water Out of Thin Air

2011-08-07T14:55:00.000-04:00

Terry LeBleu of Granite Shoals, Texas, creates a machine called the Drought Master, that makes water out of thin air.

The Drought Master’s generator sucks in moisture-laden air, condenses it, then exhausts the purified air and captures the water, which is filtered and ready for drinking. ”These make pure water,” LeBleu says. “The water never touches the ground. It is strictly straight out of the air. We have oceans of water in the air, in the sky. All you have to do is pull it out and condense it down.” The clever invention is now on the market, and locals are already using it to beat the severe drought.

Drought Master comes in 27 different styles and costs between $499 amd $519.

Scientists Create a Glow-in-the-Dark Dog

2011-08-04T00:09:00.001-04:00

Scientists from South Korea have used cloning techniques to create a dog that will let off an impressive green glow when a doxycycline antibiotic is slipped into its food. Without the drug, the dog’s superhero powers will fade. This technique could help find cures for human diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

10 Scary & Interesting Death Facts

2011-07-29T14:26:00.001-04:00

1. On average, right-handed people live 9 years longer than their left-handed counterparts.
2. Only one in two billion people will live to be 116 or older.
3. About 100 people choke to death on ballpoint pens each year.
4. Statistically, you are more likely to be killed by a champagne cork than by the bite of a poisonous spider.
5. In Erwin, Tennessee an elephant was once hanged for murder.
6. More people in America die from suicide than homicide.
7. When a person dies, hearing is generally the last sense to go.
8. The act of burying corpses is thought to have begun around 200,000 years ago.
9. No American has officially died of 'old age' since 1951.
10. In the end, 'lack of oxygen' is always the final cause of death.

The Orion Spacecraft

2011-07-25T02:03:00.001-04:00

Now that the Space Shuttle Program has ended, NASA is working on the Orion Spacecraft.

NASA's Constellation Program was to include a new spacecraft that would return humans to the moon and serve as the building blocks for trips to Mars and other destinations in our solar system.

The Orion spacecraft would be similar in shape to the Apollo spacecraft, but significantly larger. The first manned flight is hoping to be scheduled around 2016.

Is Technology Alive? - Joe Rogan & Duncan Trussell

2011-07-21T01:09:00.001-04:00

An interesting discussion between Joe Rogan & Duncan Trussell, listen to it when you have time.

10 Interesting Facts About Blogging

2011-07-17T02:46:00.004-04:00

1. 77% of Internet users read blogs.
2. There are 156 million blogs (publicly) created.

3. 60% of bloggers are between the ages 18-44.

4. One in five bloggers update their blogs daily.

5. Two thirds of bloggers are male.

6. The United States has the largest share of bloggers.

7. 15% of bloggers spend 10 hours a week blogging.

8. More than half of all bloggers are married and/or parents.

9. More than 50% of bloggers have more than one blog.

10. 38% of bloggers post brand or product reviews.

New Study Finds iPad is Cure for Adultery

2011-07-14T15:26:00.000-04:00

A new scientific study released today says that iPad owners are less likely to commit adultery “because they stop noticing other people altogether.”

The study, which was conducted on a sample of one thousand iPad owners, found that “their nonstop talking about the amazing features and apps on their iPads made them completely unattractive to potential sex partners as well.”

The study also indicated that iPad owners are far less likely to have sex with the people they are married to, but that in two-iPad couples “neither partner seems to care.”

3D Printers Exist

2011-07-12T21:51:00.002-04:00

It copies a wrench and "prints" out a perfectly new one.

New Study: Only 7.5 Percent of Fans See Your Facebook Page Posts

2011-07-11T19:17:00.002-04:00

On average, 7.9% of Facebook fans see fan page updates on a daily basis. When you look specifically at Facebook pages with over a million fans, the number drops to 2.79%.

Facebook makes it very easy to “like” a page, but “unliking” is a little tricky. Many people aren’t aware that you can use that X next to an update to hide posts or “unlike” the page. Because of this, they continue to subscribe with no interest in reading or responding to updates.

It seems pretty depressing.

World's Steepest Roller-Coaster Opens in Japan

2011-07-10T15:00:00.000-04:00

The Fuji-Q Highland Amusement Park has unveiled its 14th Guinness world record-breaking ride – the Takabisha roller-coaster.

Nestled at the foot of Mount Fuji, the new track features a 141ft single vertical fall at 121 degrees, making it the steepest roller-coaster drop in the world.

Costing three billion yen (£23 million) to build, the Takabisha steals the title from Mumbo Jumbo in Yorkshire, which features a 98ft drop at 112 degrees.

The Takabisha, which means "highflying car" runs over 0.6 miles of track and offers panoramic views of Mount Fuji for park-goers to appreciate in the 112 second hair-raising ride.

The attraction will fully open to the public on July 16.

Cancer Resembles Life 1 Billion Years Ago

2011-07-09T12:19:00.000-04:00

Scientists say it's like an evolutionary throwback.

“Unlike bacteria and viruses, cancer has not developed the capacity to evolve into new forms. In fact, cancer is better understood as the reversion of cells to the way they behaved a little over one billion years ago, when humans were nothing more than loose-knit colonies of only partially differentiated cells.

“We think that the tumours that develop in cancer patients today take the same form as these simple cellular structures did more than a billion years ago,” he said.

In a way, the genes that controlled this early multi-cellular form of life are like a computer operating system's 'safe mode', and when there are failures or mutations in the more recent genes that manage the way cells specialise and interact to form the complex life of today, then the earlier level of programming takes over.

Kendrick Lamar - "Tammy's Song" Official Music Video

2011-07-08T13:14:00.000-04:00

From the album Section.80 (available on iTunes).

Scientists find Evidence that Shakespeare Smoked Weed & Cocaine

2011-07-07T13:55:00.000-04:00

Recently uncovered evidence suggests that William Shakespeare used marijuana and cocaine.

“There were very low concentrations of cannabis, but the signature was there,” according to Inspector Tommy van der Merwe, who tested the pipes at South Africa’s Forensic Science Laboratory.

The evidence of cocaine was also very strong.

“The pipes we tested still had dirt in them which preserved the residues inside the stem and bowl,” Van der Merwe said. “The readings we got were the same as if it had tested a modern-day crack pipe.”

Sonnet 76 of Shakespeare’s poems contains a reference to the “noted weed.”

Stoned Ape Theory

2011-07-07T01:24:00.000-04:00

Ever wonder how we humans came to be as we are today? This is one theory.

Written by: Duncan Trussell, Will Carsola, and Tom Giannis.

Cory Gunz Releases His New ‘Son Of A Gun’ Mixtape

2011-07-06T21:23:00.000-04:00

Tracklist:

1. One Of A Kind (Mob With My Mob) (Prod by Dot N Pro)
2. Young Mula (Prod by Dot N Pro)
3. Outta My Mind (Prod by Dot N Pro)
4. Speed (Prod by Dot N Pro)
5. Gunz Pop (feat. Pop Dolla$ & Hash) (Prod by Nottz)
6. YMA (feat. Gudda Gudda, Short Dawg Mack Maine) (Prod by Dot N Pro)
7. Sexy (feat. Sequence) (Prod by Sequence)
8. YMCMB MMG (feat. Meek Mill) (Prod by Dot N Pro)
9. Bitch I’m A Rock N Rolla (Prod by 21)
10. House Party (Prod by Dot N Pro)
11. East 2 Da Westside (feat. Schoolboy Q) (Prod by Dot N Pro)
12. Ya’ll Aint Got Nothin On Me (feat. 2 Chainz) (Prod by Dot N Pro)
13. Shit Aint A Game (feat. Pop Dolla$) (Prod by Cardiak Chinky P)
14. We Gon Delete Em (feat. Juicy J) (Prod by UrBoyBlack)
15. Family Like A Business (Prod by Dot N Pro)
16. Hardbody (Prod by Dot N Pro)
17. Bedtime (Prod by Cardiak)
18. Paper Chaser (feat. Uncle Murda) (Prod by Soul Diggaz)
19. Ghost Town (Prod by Dot N Pro)
20. Drink (Prod by Dot N Pro)
21. I’m Fuckin Wit It (feat. Hash) (Prod by Jahlil Beats)
22. Sick Em (feat. Kid Ink, Gudda Gudda) (Prod by Cardiak)
23. Know My Name (Prod by Dot N Pro)
24. Dope Game (Prod by Dot N Pro)
25. R U Listenin (Prod by SoFly)

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Bosko - Workout (Remix)

2011-07-06T21:15:00.000-04:00

Portland producer Bosko remixes J. Cole's latest single "Workout".