IVE NEVER LAUGHED HARDER IN MY WHOLE LIFE OMG

IVE NEVER LAUGHED HARDER IN MY WHOLE LIFE OMG

Another accidental post - bonus bat for everyone!

Into the Abyss: Incredible Shrinking Cups

Marine biologists and ocean scientists are somewhat of a tribe unto themselves. They spend weeks and months in cramped conditions aboard research vessels, doing science that’s a bit unlike any other science, and drinking enough to make Jack Sparrow proud. So it’s perfectly natural that their tribe would have some unique customs.

I discovered one of those today: Sending styrofoam cups to the bottom of the ocean as souvenirs. 

When exploring deep ocean trenches and thermal vents, it’s usually a robot or a high-tech manned submersible doing the dirty work. The Cayman trough (where the top cup went) is home to some of the world’s deepest hydrothermal vents. At around 5,000 meters deep, the cup experiences nearly 500 times the pressure we experience at sea level. And since styrofoam is a foam made of air pockets inside a hydrocarbon polymer, it compresses under the added weight!

The bottom cup began as a normal-sized drinking utensil. But after it went to the bottom of the Mariana Trench (the world’s deepest point), it returned the size of a ketchup packet. The pressure down there is about a thousand times higher than at the surface!

It reminds me of a song …

(Squashed cups via Southern Fried Science and imgur)

Teen Who Was Expelled From School For Science Explosion Receives Full Scholarship U.S. Space Academy

Kiera Wilmot made an honest mistake, but the police were trying to throw away her life with a felony.  After the community stood up for the girl, the charges were dropped, and she was allowed to move on with her life.   Well, her greatness is really starting to shine, as she was recently granted

WELP. LMFAO