Ecology

Because clickbait titles are "magnetic": they capture attention by leveraging emotion and curiosity

Because clickbait titles are “magnetic”: they capture attention by leveraging emotion and curiosity

Image created with AI. If you clicked on this article driven byirresistible curiosity of discovering a surprising hidden truth, you’ve probably fallen into the same trap they leverage clickbait content: those articles, posts or videos that try to capture our attention through headlines with exaggerated, sensationalist or deliberately misleading tones. Exploiting cognitive and emotional mechanisms Widely studied, clickbait headlines seek ...

The white spheres that fly are the dandelion's dandelions: like the dandelion it disperses the seeds

The white spheres that fly are the dandelion’s dandelions: like the dandelion it disperses the seeds

Each “down” (diaspora) of the dandelion is made up of the seed and its pappus made of bristles arranged like an umbrella to facilitate dispersion with the wind. As children, and sometimes even as adults, we collected the soft white “balloons” of the plant Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) and, blowing decisively, we released dozens of small feathery umbrellas into the air. ...

Le Corbusier's never-realized plan to demolish an entire 240-hectare neighborhood of Paris

Le Corbusier’s never-realized plan to demolish an entire 240-hectare neighborhood of Paris

Image generated with AI. When it comes to absurd architectural and engineering projects, definitely the Plan Voisin wins a place of honor. Presented for the first time in 1925 on the occasion ofInternational Exhibition of Decorative Arts in Paristhis project, which bears the architect’s signature Le Corbusier, it essentially involved gutting (demolishing!) a large area of ​​Paris 240 hectares near ...

Is Venetian a language or a dialect? It can be considered both

Is Venetian a language or a dialect? It can be considered both

An ancient map of the city of Venice, where Venetian, a variant of the Venetian language, spread. “Do you speak Venexian?” is the question you may hear while walking through the calluses of Venice, perhaps while trying to defend a dish of cicchetti from the assault of cocài. Talking about the Venetian also implies talking about Venice and its political ...

What is the Safety Car in F1, how does it work and what is the safety car that can change a race

What is the Safety Car in F1, how does it work and what is the safety car that can change a race

The Safety Car at the 2009 Japanese GP, a Mercedes–Benz SL 63 AMG in action. Credit: via Wikimedia Commons There Safety Car (or peace car) is a high-performance Formula 1 safety car that enters the track whenever dangerous situations occur such as serious accidents, extreme weather conditions or when the Marshalls (track stewards) have to rearrange the barriers perhaps due ...

Meta's data centers are not drying up the Rio Grande, but they consume 284 million liters of water per year

Meta’s data centers are not drying up the Rio Grande, but they consume 284 million liters of water per year

A Meta data center. Credit: Meta Data Center Recently an alarming piece of news began circulating on Facebook, Instagram, Reddit and various Substack authors: i Meta data centerMark Zuckerberg’s technology giant, would have completely dried up the Rio Grande in New Mexico. The accusations pointed the finger at the complex Los Lunasaccused of consuming so much water that it emptied ...

How the LGBTQIA+ rainbow flag has changed from its origins to today: the stages of evolution

How the LGBTQIA+ rainbow flag has changed from its origins to today: the stages of evolution

From the rainbow flag first flown in 1978 in San Francisco, designed by Gilbert Baker commissioned by the politician and activist Harvey Milk, until its most recent evolution, the inclusive intersex pride flagcreated by Valentino Vecchietti in 2021, the LGBTQAI+ flags they have evolved over time to embrace, include and respect all different identities, declinations and preferences in the sexual ...

The fontanel on the head of newborns is a soft part of the skull: when it closes and what it is used for

The fontanel on the head of newborns is a soft part of the skull: when it closes and what it is used for

While stroking newborns’ heads, you may have noticed some soft areaswhich sometimes seem to pulsate. They are the fountainsone of the most elegant solutions that evolution has ever devised for dealing with childbirth and allowing the brain to continue to grow once outside the womb. In fact, newborns are born with their skull bones still not completely mergedbut held together ...