[humanoidhistory]

Mercury astronaut John Glenn lifts himself into the Friendship 7 space capsule during a pre-launch exercise at Cape Canaveral, 1962.

[did-you-kno]

These 3,000-year-old Egyptian hieroglyphics may resemble planes, helicopters, and UFOs, but experts agree it’s just an effect caused by erosion. The stone was once filled with plaster and re-carved during the reign of a new pharaoh. Over time, erosion partly revealed both inscriptions, and the overlapping hieroglyphs created new shapes. Source Source 2 Source 3

[dead-men-talking]

@thatlittleegyptologist

[thatlittleegyptologist]

It is in fact, super correct! Ramesses II was a notorious usurper of monuments, so what we see here is his deep re-carving of his father’s own temple. Ramesses II was a massive jerk who stole previous king’s stuff to make himself look like a master builder. What an asshole.

I think it’s better explained by this image:

The glyphs are a result of both erosion of the stone surface (evident elsewhere in the temple, because hey I’ve been and seen this for myself) and the process of filling in and re-carving the stone to replace some of the original hieroglyphics. The technical term for such a surface that has been written on more than once is a palimpsest. The inscription was modified at least once in antiquity, and perhaps twice. Some of the filling has fallen out in places where the older and the newer inscriptions overlap, and the result is unique and odd-looking.

The text is part of the titulary of Ramesses II and can be translated as “The one of the Two Ladies, who suppresses the nine foreign countries.” This replaces the royal titulary of Seti I that was originally carved into the stone. More technically, the actual “helicopter” seems to be a portion of the psDwt sign (pronounced peshdjewt and technically translated as “bows” referring to the weapons of foreigners, but also means ‘foreigners’) and the X3swt sign (pronounced ha-suit and translated as “lands”) on top of each other, with portions missing. An apparent change in scale also mucks things up.

This is my own photo of the glyphs, in situ. You can see the whole area is heavily damaged. This really isn’t unusual when it comes to carved hieroglyphs, as when a temple gets reused by an invading force, they tend to damage previous places of worship.

Here’s some deep recarving from Medinet Habu. How deep you ask?

Pigeons can fucking nest in them. That’s how deep.

[dead-men-talking]

:O You are my HERO

[theindieverse]

Space Quest 1: The Sarien Encounter (PC) October 1986 - By Sierra - Set 2 (Final)

Store Page: https://www.gog.com/game/space_quest_1_2_3?pp=7331dfb7fe13c8c4d5e68c8ee419edf1a1884911

Our Let’s Play Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVbg9NuU2Q4

Well folks, I’ve officially completed Space Quest 1! It didn’t take very long but there were definitely some pretty annoying parts in this game. (I’m looking at you slot machine puzzle, you were lame as hell).

I’m going to write up my review for the game and I have some mixed opinions of the game. I’ll save them for the review though because I don’t want to spoil it haha.

There were also a couple references that I noticed as well, most notably were the Blues Brothers and the Star Wars style ending. (The planet Karena also really reminded me of Tattoine lol).

Now it’s on to Space Quest II: Vohaul’s Revenge!

Happy gaming folks! - Shaun Meyers (Kyo Akiara) out!

[pleimert]

Type in “holy shit” on the slot machine screen. Go on, give it a try. I’m serious.

[vgjunk]

Telengard, Commodore 64.

[obscurevideogames]

(Avalon Hill - 1982)

This was one of my favorites back when it came out, but I can’t remember why.

sciencealert.com

We Finally Have Footage of Tardigrade Mating, and It's Even Weirder Than Expected

Foreplay is involved.

Fiona MacDonald

[mindblowingscience]

Tardigrades don’t need any help in the weird department - the tiny creatures, also known as water bears, are only a few hundred micrometres long, but are almost impossible to kill. They can survive in the vacuum of space, endure total desiccation, and can even bounce back from being frozen for decades at a time.

Now we finally have footage of the strange creatures having sex, and researchers have shown it’s even more complicated than expected (see below).

When it comes to mating, researchers knew that the some water bear species were bisexual (something that’s not that uncommon in the animal world), and it was suspected that fertilisation happened outside the body.

But, on the whole, their sex lives have remained pretty mysterious.

Now a team of researchers from the Senckenberg Museum of Natural History in Görlitz, Germany, have finally filmed the process, which you can see in part below, providing new insight into how the creatures reproduce.

Continue Reading.

[currentsinbiology]

New insights into skin cells could explain why skin doesn’t leak

The discovery of the shape and binding capability of epidermal cells could explain how skin maintains a barrier even when it is shedding.                                

The authors of the study say their new understanding of how epidermal cells form a barrier may explain the paradox of how we can shed them without compromising our skin’s integrity. It could also help us to understand what happens when it forms incorrectly, which could lead to conditions like psoriasis and eczema.

Scientists have previously known the epidermis consists of a thick outer barrier of dead epidermal cells, which are constantly shedding. What they’ve known less about is a secondary barrier deeper below the surface in the epidermis that is made up of only a single layer of cells, which forms a much thinner, though no less important, protective barrier.

Now, a team from Keio University in Japan, working with a researcher at Imperial College London, have discovered that the shape of the epidermal cells combined with their ability to temporarily glue together, may explain how they form this strong barrier.

The researchers suggest that a shape of an epidermal cell is actually a flattened version of a tetrakaidecahedron - a 14-sided 3-D solid made out of six rectangular and eight hexagonal sides. The authors came to their conclusion after studying skin cells in mouse models using a confocal and two-photon microscopes, and developing mathematical models.

[unflatteringcatselfies]

George looks way grumpier here than he actually is (he’s a softy who yells for food constantly and likes having his chin tickled).