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11 Things We Learned This Week

What did you learn this week? We learned …

… what the best new maps are, according to cartographers.

Zoom in on one of the best maps of the year, from National Geographic magazine’s May issue. Map by Martin Gamache, National Geographic
Zoom in on one of the best maps of the year, from National Geographic magazine’s May issue.
Map by Martin Gamache, National Geographic

 

… Pluto’s heavy heart may have turned the world upside-down.

Pluto was ready for its close-up as New Horizons’ Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) swung by last year. Photograph courtesy NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute
Pluto was ready for its close-up as New Horizons’ Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) swung by last year.
Photograph courtesy NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute

 

… bird poop may keep the Arctic cool, but it’s no solution for climate change.

These gulls perched on an iceberg off Russia’s Franz Josef Land archipelago may help keep the Arctic ocean cool. Photograph by Cory Richards, National Geographic
These gulls perched on an iceberg off Russia’s Franz Josef Land archipelago may help keep the Arctic cool.
Photograph by Cory Richards, National Geographic

 

… Alaska’s Inupiat elders use gaming to keep their culture alive.

 

… there’s a typeface that indicates what it’s like to read with dyslexia.

The dyslexia typeface does not mimic what dyslexic people see when they read. Designer Daniel Britton says “What this typeface does is break down the reading time of a non-dyslexic down to the speed of a dyslexic.” Image by Daniel Britton
The dyslexia typeface does not mimic what dyslexic people see when they read. Designer Daniel Britton says “What this typeface does is break down the reading time of a non-dyslexic down to the speed of a dyslexic.”
Image by Daniel Britton

 

… Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park has erected the world’s longest cat-proof fence.

 

… New Zealand built an underpass for penguins, and China solved the mystery of the cuckoo.

 

… a scientist has embarked on an Antarctic quest for the oldest ice, and a not-a-scientist is going to live on top of a melting iceberg for a year.

Glaciology and paleoclimatology, the study of climate change over thousands of years, are some of the areas of research conducted at the South Pole and throughout Antarctica. The ice sheet maintains a relatively pristine record of climate data, including precipitation and air quality. Photograph by Albert Moldvay
Glaciology and paleoclimatology, the study of climate change over thousands of years, are some of the areas of research conducted at the South Pole and throughout Antarctica. The ice sheet maintains a relatively pristine record of climate data, including precipitation and air quality.
Photograph by Albert Moldvay

 

… islanders in Panama are seeking higher ground.

Sea level rise is threatening low-lying archipelagoes like this one off the coast of Panama. Photograph by Bruce Dale, National Geographic
Sea level rise is threatening low-lying archipelagoes like this one off the coast of Panama.
Photograph by Bruce Dale, National Geographic

 

… there are barrier-busting barnacle queens of the Spanish seaside.

 

… Quicksilver might not have super-speed.

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