6 Insane Discoveries That Science Can't Explain

[Draegan]

http://www.cracked.com/article_16871_6-insane-discoveries-that-science-cant-explain.html

Interesting stuff!  Or funny.

[UnSub]

Apparently the Antikythera has been explained. Which doesn't make it less impressive.

[Draegan]

I'm disappointed it wasn't a time machine.

[Oz]

how about a summary for those of us at work that can't access the site due to IT blockage.

[lac]

If you mean a summary of the Antikythera explanation:

A British museum curator has built a working replica of a 2,000-year-old Greek machine that has been called the world's first computer.

A dictionary-size assemblage of 37 interlocking dials crafted with the precision and complexity of a 19th-century Swiss clock, the Antikythera mechanism was used for modeling and predicting the movements of the heavenly bodies as well as the dates and locations of upcoming Olympic games.

The original 81 shards of the Antikythera were recovered from under the sea (near the Greek island of Antikythera) in 1902, rusted and clumped together in a nearly indecipherable mass. Scientists dated it to 150 B.C. Such craftsmanship wouldn't be seen for another 1,000 years — but its purpose was a mystery for decades.

Many scientists have worked since the 1950s to piece together the story, with the help of some very sophisticated imaging technology in recent years, including X-ray and gamma-ray imaging and 3-D computer modeling.

Now, though, it has been rebuilt. As is almost always the way with these things, it was an amateur who cracked it. Michael Wright, a former curator at the Science Museum in London, has built a replica of the Antikythera, which works perfectly.

In the video from New Scientist below, Wright shows how the machine works.

In short, Antikythera's user interface is deceptively simple, operated by a simple knob on the side. This conceals the intricacy within, amounting to a complex mathematical model, tracking the movements of planetary bodies and incorporating a series of submechanisms to account for the eccentricities of their rotation.

A dial on the faceplace featured the Greek zodiac and an Egyptian calendar; pointers showed the location of the moon and the five planets known at the time. On the machine's back, an upper dial shows a 19-year calendar (matching the solunar cycle) and the timing of upcoming Olympic games. A lower dial shows a 76-year cycle (when the Olympic and solunar cycles coincide) and indicates the months in which lunar and solar eclipses can be expected.

According to New Scientist, this is the first working model of the Antikythera computer to include all of the device's known features. And, like the original machine, it has been built of recycled metal plates. That's right: The Antikythera mechanism is not only the world's oldest computer, it's also the world's first green computer.

[Salamok]

I'm disappointed it wasn't a time machine.

don't be disappointed then because it actually is a time machine.

[Broughden]

The pipes have been explained as well. They have also been found here in the US both in Utah/Arizona and Lousiana.

[Ironwood]

Explained as what ?

[schild]

I, too, thought his post was informative.

[Cyrrex]

He can't tell you that, because then he'd have to kill you.

[IainC]

They are the result of naturally accreting hematite along strata lines and natural chimneys in the sandstone.

[Cyrrex]

Dude, nice try, but we'd prefer a scientific explanation. 

[IainC]

Dude, nice try, but we'd prefer a scientific explanation. 

It's a liberal conspiracy to suppress the truth. The pipes are clearly evidence of creationism and were probably part of Noah's dry dock, all that animal dung has to be flushed away somewhere amirite?

[Cyrrex]

That's something I can get onboard with.  Haha, get it?  Onboard?

[lac]

They are the result of naturally accreting hematite along strata lines and natural chimneys in the sandstone.

Hah, since I played Dwarf Fortress I actually know what hematite is. Still waiting for them to put the strata lines in though.

[Broughden]

Explained as what ?

WTF am I? The google fairy? Look it up.




(Sorry I have always wanted to say that. Love yah. Mean it.) 

[Oban]

Something tells me that a Google fairy would not be safe for work.

[Lantyssa]

It's surprisingly benign and boring.  Sorry.

[Venkman]

Funny article. They really got me on Gozer the Gozarian (--geekcred if you had to look it up), followed closely by the Voltron reference.

Is this the same Cracked that was spun off from Mad Magazine?

[FatuousTwat]

It was, then it joined with the Pointless Waste of Time community.

[Venkman]

Ok, guess I needed to be at this site much sooner: "From fur trapper, to wilderness guide, to frontier warrior, Kit Carson was so much man that he actually defecated Chuck Norris. "    Mighta been better if "defecated" was "shit", but still good.

[Draegan]

It's surprisingly benign and boring.  Sorry.

Man, what did I ever do to you?

[Lantyssa]

Searching for "Google fairy", not your article.