Easily digestible tech news... http://www.techdirt.com/ en-us http://www.techdirt.com/images/td-88x31.gifhttp://www.techdirt.com/ Wed, 30 Jan 2013 17:00:00 PST Michael Ho http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101102/10425811685/dailydirt-amusing-hypothetical-battles.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101102/10425811685/dailydirt-amusing-hypothetical-battles.shtml

President Obama was asked a question on Reddit: "Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized horses or one horse-sized duck?" Read up on the probable abilities of an enormous duck... because this question is bound to come up again (and again and again on Reddit). [url]

"How many 5 year-olds could you take on at once?" was a question brought up a few years ago that got a bunch of people (mostly guys) thinking about how tough kindergarteners are. Generally, the answer should be approximately one or two times your weight's worth of 5yo's, depending on how athletic you are. [url]

In a fight between a polar bear and a shark -- which animal would win? So far, there's evidence that a shark has actually eaten a polar bear, but that's not proof because the shark could have eaten a dead polar bear. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post.

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]]> urls-we-dig-up http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20101102/10425811685 Wed, 27 Apr 2011 17:00:00 PDT Michael Ho http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110204/14590312968/dailydirt-biological-taxonomy-20.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110204/14590312968/dailydirt-biological-taxonomy-20.shtml

The International Barcode of Life (iBOL) project aims to create a DNA-based reference library for all multi-cellular life on Earth. It's a fairly ambitious project, but at least they're not trying to look for extra-terrestrial life, too... [url]

The Encyclopedia of Life project is like a Wikipedia just for biological organisms. A web page for every species, and a car in every garage? [url]

A barcode-like system called Stripespotter is cataloging zebra stripes so that field researchers can track the zebras they've already photographed. The system could also potentially be used for other animals with unique fur patterns -- like tigers, giraffes or your pets. [url]

Endangered sharks are being tracked by their DNA -- which can be used to tell where these sharks grew up geographically due to their mating behavior. Sharks don't need iPhones in order for people to track them, but they do need freakin' lasers on their heads already. [url]

To discover more interesting biology-related stuff, check out what's currently running around on StumbleUpon. [url]  

By the way, StumbleUpon can recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

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]]> urls-we-dig-up http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20110204/14590312968 Fri, 4 Feb 2011 17:00:00 PST Michael Ho http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110120/11050812744/dailydirt-wind-water-power.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110120/11050812744/dailydirt-wind-water-power.shtml

A Michigan artist is testing out a hydro-powered generator that's modeled after a basking shark's mouth. This generator mimics the shark's mouth to help extract energy more efficiently... technically "infringing" on nature for this patent-pending design. [url]

Arrays of piezoelectric cells could harness wind/water energy without using a turbine. Capturing vibrational energy, it's silent and doesn't kill birds/bats. And maybe analogous technology could be put on fault lines to get some electricity out of earthquakes.... [url]

Deepwater Wind has a $4-5 Billion plan to put a wind farm about 20 miles off the coast of Massachusetts. Its electricity would cost about twice that from a fossil-fuel power plant, but about half that of photovoltaic solar. Maybe someday, electricity branded "CO2-free" will be worth the premium? [url]

Underwater turbines could generate power without building a dam along the Mississippi River. As with all hydro-electric projects, though, there are still concerns about how turbines might affect wildlife and shipping regulations. [url]

To discover more stuff on alternative energy, check out what's currently floating around the StumbleUpon universe. [url]  

As always, StumbleUpon can also recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

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