Will Our Clocks Fall Back On November 1?

The countdown to the next clock change is on, but the Trump administration wants it to be the last. Americans are still expected to turn their clocks back on November 1, as daylight saving time comes to an end, even after the House passed legislation that would keep clocks forward year-round. The catch? The Senate is in recess until September 14, and key lawmakers have questioned whether there are enough votes to pass the measure before the fall time change arrives. That means millions of Americans are once again asking a familiar question: Will this finally be the year the country stops changing its clocks? For now, the answer appears to be no. If the Senate approves the measure, it would head to the president's desk for his signature. Until that happens, Americans should still plan on changing their clocks November 1.

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Can You Survive On Just Potatoes…….Like in the Movie “The Martian”?

The Martian, starring Matt Damon, was released in 2015 to a strong response, receiving some special commendations from scientists working in space agencies. In the movie, botanist Mark Watney, played by Matt Damon, travels to Mars with a crew of five members. Complications arise early on and Watney ends up being stranded on the planet. He has to survive until the crew of the next mission arrives to rescue him in 18 months. To survive, he grows potatoes on the parched planet under controlled conditions, and actually manages to survive for a long time. So, could you actually survive on a potatoes-only diet? Potatoes make a very good choice for a person who has no hope for a more nutritious diet over a long period of time, but the risks of not having any other nutritional supplements will take their toll eventually. So how did the Irish keep going for generations on a single crop? Most washed their potatoes down with buttermilk, and that one habit supplied the vitamin B12, calcium, and vitamin A the potato lacks. In other words, it's never the potato that would do you in — it's everything the potato lacks.

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Giant Pop-Up Book

The Los Angeles Central Library houses more than 10 million items, making it the third largest library in the country. The institution also celebrates its centennial this year. So, what better way to ring in a new century of reading and learning than with the largest pop-up book ever created? Commissioned by the Library Foundation of Los Angeles, it’s a monumental ode to knowledge, discovery, and imagination. With an assist from paper engineer Matthew Reinhart, the project even surpassed the previous Guinness World Record for largest pop-up book by spanning approximately 31X20 feet when open (the previous record-holder’s dimensions were about 29X18 feet). The design rises to more than 11 feet tall, and overall, it weighs nearly a ton. It’s also made from materials customarily used to produce standard books, like fabric, paper, and adhesive.

 

 

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The Million Dollar Doorstop

An elderly woman in Romania was using a 7-pound rock as a doorstep for decades, but now it turns out that it's one of the largest amber nuggets in the world, valued at around $1.1 million. Ironically, the extremely rare find was also ignored by thieves who broke into her home to steal her jewelry. The unidentified woman found the rock in a nearby river near the southeastern town of Colti. Despite its association with the color "amber," the gem can take on different colors, depending on the substances trapped within it. The stones are also known to have trapped insects or other smaller animals within them millions of years ago, making them of paleontological value. When the woman died, a relative inherited the rock and suspected it may be worth something. He sold the unique find to the Romanian state, which promptly classified the piece as a national treasure. The Romanian authorities handed the nugget over to specialists from the Museum of History in Krakow, Poland, who quickly confirmed it as being an extremely rare amber stone, estimated to be anywhere between 38.5 and 70 million years old. The nugget is now in the possession of the Provincial Museum of Buzau – the county in which the relic was found.

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