First, cats have supersensitive sense organs. A vestibular apparatus in their inner ear acts as a balance and orientation compass. They always know right side up. Second, cats have a unique skeletal structure – an unusually flexible backbone and the absence of a collarbone. So when a cat falls, its senses respond with lightning speed, and it is able to reorient its body and twist its head around so it can see where it’s going to land.
Beyond their amazing aerial spins, cats also have what could be called a built-in parachute. Like many small animals, they have a low body-volume-to-weight ratio, which when falling, allows them to slow their velocity by spreading out and becoming their own parachute. It’s the same kind of maneuver that flying squirrels do in mid-air.
But as amazing as their gravity-defying abilities are, cats are not invincible.
#1 Miami, Fla.The housing crisis has devastated Miami with 47% of homeowners sitting on underwater mortgages. Foreclosures have been rampant with 364,000 properties in the Miami area entering the foreclosure process since 2008 according to RealtyTrac.
#2 Detroit, Mich.Detroit has closed schools and laid off police in an effort to avoid a bankruptcy filing this year. Home prices are down 54% the past three years, worst in the U.S. The median price was $38,000 last year in the Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn metro division.
#3 Flint, Mich.Flint razed 775 abandoned homes in the year ending October 2011, to try and change the city landscape. The state of Michigan appointed an emergency manager last year to take over Flint’s budget and operations. Crime remains a severe problem with the violent crime rate the third worst in the U.S.
#4 West Palm Beach, Fla.South Florida has long been stained by corruption. One of the latest examples: Jose Rodriguez, the mayor of Boynton Beach (part of the West Palm metropolitan division) was suspended from his office last month by Gov. Rick Scott after he was arrested for allegedly using his position to obstruct a child abuse probe involving his wife’s estranged daughter. Home prices in the West Palm area are off 50% since 2006.
#5 Sacramento, Calif.Sacramento’s lone pro sports team is flirting with a move to Anaheim unless the city delivers financing for a new arena. Sac-Town might not miss them. The team has lost 73% of its games since the start of the 2008-09 season. Foreclosures in California’s capital were among the 10 highest last year.
Not only can the site rule out courtships that might be a bit too close for comfort, but also it helps users determine if they share family ties with any famous Icelanders. One man learned he was related to the singer Björk seven generations back, as well as Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, Global Post reports. He also discovered that his ex-wife was his seventh cousin.
The venture resulted from a collaboration between a genetics research company and a software entrepreneur. If only the site could also rule out close-talkers, all the world’s dating problems would be solved.
Terry Moore found out he’d been tying his shoes the wrong way his whole life. In the spirit of TED, he takes the stage to share a better way. (Historical note: This was the very first 3-minute audience talk given from the TED stage, in 2005.)
A new breakdown of Apple’s blockbuster 2011 notes that the company sold more iPhones, iPads and iPod touches in the 12-month span than it has sold Mac computers in the company’s history.
The revelation was made this week by Horace Dediu at Asymco, who noted that Apple sold a total of 156 million iOS devices in 2011. That was enough to top the total number of Macs ever sold, which sits at 122 million.
As a whole, there have been 316 million cumulative iOS units sold to date. That means 2011 accounted for nearly half of all iOS devices sold by Apple since the platform launched in 2007.
Yeah, I’m pretty much going to have to see this with my own eyes to believe it but, it would be amazing if it really works like this.
When capturing photos in a busy area, like a public square or a concert for example, it is often difficult to get a clean shot without unwanted objects entering the frame. Now you can capture the shot anyway, and simply let the camera remove the people for you!
Point your camera and take a photo. Afterwards you can remove anyone moving around, or select your friends and remove any strangers.
