Researchers at UC Irvine have determined that golfers who can’t keep their shots out of the rough might actually be responsible for wildfires in California in recent years. Specifically, certain clubs made from a titanium alloy have been found to produce sparks up to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit—more than hot enough to ignite dry foliage—when they make contact with rocks and stones in the rough.
     |
Just two weeks after state officials declared 2013 the driest year in California history, a fast-moving wildfire has burned 1,700 acres northeast of Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles Times. In winter. When it’s usually raining.
| |
Chemical fires are usually bad, but when they’re intentional, controlled and consuming weird Christmas/santa ring pops (is that what that is?) they’re easily endorsable. mist8k apparently agrees, because you know what molten potassium chloride does really well? Chemical fires!
| |
Those few precious days off you have during the holidays are best spent taxing your brain as little as possible. But who says you can’t learn something even when away from work or school? If you’re lacking a fireplace to curl up next to, this wonderful video from AsapSCIENCE will keep you cozy while educating you on the science of how a cracking fire actually works.
| |
Almost 400 firefighters battled a blaze in an unfinished building in Guangzhou, China, until the wee hours of the morning earlier today. The tower has been incomplete since 1998—since then, it’s been used as a warehouse rather than as a luxury residence. [Photo: ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images]
| |
You’ve probably wondered what it’d be like to stay in Sweden’s Icehotel
| |
A Boeing 777 is on fire at San Francisco International Airport. The emergency slides have deployed, though it is not immediately clear what caused the crash and conflagration, nor if there are any injuries.
| |
They say the pen is mightier than the sword, but neither of those implements are really that effective when it comes to starting a campfire. So if survival and copious note-taking are high on your list when it comes to choosing office supplies, consider this tactical pen that hides a fire striker inside. More »
Firefighters run into flaming buildings for a living, It’s not exactly what you might call a safe job. And while they can tell generally how they’re doing by noting whether or not they are on fire at any given time, there’s a lot more nuance to keeping track of other aspects of their health. That’s where data delivery pills come in. More »
A timelapse of a city skyline can be stunning in its own right, but every now and then, something crazy will happen out of the blue. It’s just that kind of event that photographer Evan Kitaljevich was able to capture while filming his first ever timelapse of Montreal. Ktaljevich just happened to have his camera pointed in the right direction when a three-alarm fire broke out on Thursday. The result is fantastic, if a bit unfortunate to watch. [Reddit via PetaPixel] More »
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
