COOL THINGS! (VOL 2.5)

Above: Mr. Bear goes for a stroll near the Kamchatka volcano. Credit: Richard Li
Hello, everyone!
Welcome to the June 2021 issue of Cool Things! Each month, we want to bring you news on scientific discoveries, historical information, and other interesting finds from across the internet. We have a lot to share today, so let's dive in!
No Place Like Home: A Self Portrait of Earth






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Boeing 747 - EI-BED Horizontal Stabilizer
Cool Things!

Organic Glass Found Among Remains of Roman Guard
One of the most dramatic events in the history of the Roman Empire was the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE. It is unknown how many perished during the eruption and its fallout, however, haunting images of contorted Pompeiians frozen in time by searing gas and ash paints an image of hellish, alien conditions. In a bizarre twist of the otherworldly occurrence, scientists have found the only documented instance of a victim whose brain was turned to glass by flows from the eruption.

The Mysterious Origin of the St. Mark's Square Lion!
Keeping a watchful eye over what Napoleon knew as “the drawing room of Europe,” the winged lion of St. Mark’s Square in Venice, Italy, is a majestic sight. The origin of this iconic statue has been cloaked in mystery, but in September of 2024, a group of chemists, archaeologists, geologists, and art historians shed more light on this sculpture’s story.

The Hun Family Tree
Specimen Deep Dives

Returning to the Moon: The Apollo 14 Mission

The Secrets of the Space Shuttle: Learn about Mini Museum's Shuttle Tile Material!

Gondwana: When the Earth Was One
Long Form Articles

The Top 5 Most Expensive Star Wars Collectibles Ever Sold
When Star Wars debuted in theaters on May 25th, 1977, it launched an international phenomenon spanning decades of film history. Today, the series has had countless spinoffs, tv shows, books, and merchandising emblazoned with its characters and symbols, for which fans are ready to part with a pretty penny. Here are the top 5 most expensive Star Wars memorabilia items ever sold.

The Biggest Dinosaurs to Walk The Earth
For 165 million years across the Mesozoic Era, dinosaurs reached incredible, towering sizes, but curiously the evidence suggests the largest came at the end of the Age of Dinosaurs. This may seem ironic. After all, larger animals have smaller populations and require more food, thus making them susceptible to environmental stresses. On the flip side, if a large animal is able to survive a mass die-off, their genetic predisposition to a large size will quickly spread in a reduced population. This is what we see in the Late Cretaceous: dinosaurs of many different clades reaching their apex.

The Largest Meteorites Ever Discovered on Earth
Meteorites have fascinated humans since we first started looking up into the night sky. Since then, our ability to track and study them has greatly improved, but the fascination remains. Here is a countdown of the 5 largest meteorites ever found!