From Wired:

So, there has been some buzz about a video of a fellow “running up a lava flow.” Now, normally I try to ignore videos of people doing things that are generally perceived as idiotic — and running up a lava flow fits nicely into that category. However, upon watching the video, I realized that although he sure did run up the lava flow, it actually wasn’t as crazy as it seems. DISCLAIMER: This isn’t to say you should ever do what this guy did. Don’t. There are many things you could do and survive but shouldn’t because there are very high probabilities that you’ll get hurt. This guy beat the odds.

I’ve tackled the issue of someone falling into a lava lake before — you wouldn’t sink like Gollum in Return of the King, but you probably wouldn’t like the experience much either as you explode from within when the water in your body turns to steam. I have even tackled how you might walk on lava (check it out — I have changed my tune somewhat). The biggest thing most people don’t realize is just how viscous lava is. It isn’t like water, where if you step into a pool, you sink to the bottom because the water lacks any strength to hold you up. Lava does have strength and speaking from experience, lava, even when red hot, does offer a lot of resistance when you try to pull some out as a sample. The cooler lava gets, the more strength it gets as the silica tetrahedra that make up much of the lava bond into polymers or form minerals like olivine, pyroxene or plagioclase feldspar (amongst others). All of this increases the viscosity of the magma and gives it the ability to not yield when a force is applied.

(via Kottke)

Kinda…

From messynessychic:

A Parisian apartment left untouched for over 70 years was discovered in the quartier of Pigalle a few summers ago and I’ve been meaning to share the pictures with you. Time to unlock the vault …

The owner of this apartment, Mrs. De Florian left Paris just before the rumblings of World War II broke out in Europe. She closed up her shutters and left for the South of France, never to return to the city again. Seven decades later she passed away at the age of 91. It was only when her heirs enlisted professionals to make an inventory of the Parisian apartment she left behind, that this time capsule was finally unlocked.

Anti-choicers love to wax poetic about how beautiful it is for teenage girls to “choose life,” even when raped. Unfortunately, as a recent story out of Indiana shows, the reality is anything but beautiful. In the small town of Elwood, Ind., a 13-year-old girl was raped by a 17-year-old and impregnated. The victim opposes abortion, and while she briefly considered making an exception for herself in this case, she ultimately went ahead with the pregnancy. The result? She’s become a target for abuse and harassment in Elwood, and the formerly outgoing young woman is now a recluse. The Indianapolis Star reports on some of the abuse she and her mother, Kristy Green, have endured:

“I can’t walk out the door without someone calling me a whore or slut,” the girl said. “I used to have a lot of friends, or people I thought were my friends, but as soon as this happened I just isolated myself.”

The repeated vandalism incidents at the family’s home—including the words “whore” and “slut” scrawled on the garage doors—were reported to police. But Green said no charges were filed because there were no witnesses to the acts.

Her daughter also has been the target of mean-spirited rumors and speculation that her pregnancy is the result of promiscuous behavior.

This sort of thing reveals the inescapable contradiction at the heart of the anti-abortion movement: The very same sexual conservatism that gives rise to anti-abortion sentiment also produces slut-shaming and social ostracism of pregnant young and single women (not to mention rape victims). Avoiding the shame may actually drive a woman to get an abortion—not exactly the end result the anti-choicers want. For single pregnant women who are grown adults, this contradiction is finally collapsing under its own weight, contributing to the rise in single motherhood in red states. But for teenagers, the loving support for “choosing life” promised by the anti-abortion movement remains elusive.