There are a few possibilities for what could have caused the gunk to fall from the sky. Bad weather like tornados or storms have been known to carry everything from golf balls to mud long distances only to deposit them on unsuspecting and unfortunate heads. In this case though, the weather in Harrison on Sunday, when residents first noticed the splatters, was clear, with a wind gust of up to 18 mph....

As these extreme events grow increasingly common, our infrastructure—which, climate change notwithstanding, suffers from a serious maintenance backlog—is going to need a reboot. Meanwhile, the American Jobs Plan, a major infrastructure package proposed by President Biden with numerous climate provisions, is becoming fragmented in Congress. But without climate-focused investments in infrastructure, we risk locking in more carbon emissions while simultaneously reducing our ability to endure climate impacts. The initial proposal for the American Jobs Plan included around $2 trillion in investments in job creation and infrastructure....

This test lasted two and a half hours, and involved a large drone called the MQ-20 Avenger, which is made by General Atomics and boasts a sprawling, 76-foot wingspan. It was just the second time that the Air Force has flown a drone using the Skyborg software; the first occasion was in late April, in Florida, using a smaller craft made by a company called Kratos. The Air Force’s goal, as described in a recent press release, is for the artificial intelligence software to be able to modularly pop into different types of uncrewed aircraft and “autonomously aviate, navigate, and communicate, and eventually integrate other advanced capabilities....

General Motors’ entry has already been confirmed with the rebirth of its Hummer nameplate under the GMC brand as an all-electric vehicle. However, with 1,000 horsepower, a high price, and a focus on luxury off-roading, the Hummer SUT won’t meet every truck lover’s needs—and that’s where more modest full-size pickup options like the newly-teased Chevrolet Silverado come into play. On Wednesday, Oct. 6, Chevrolet confirmed that it will debut the battery-powered version of its Silverado pickup truck at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2022....

Most apps have a voice message feature and allow users to listen back on the snippets before hitting send. This prevents them from sending recordings that are hardly audible or worse—messages that are just minutes of silence. Up until recently, WhatsApp didn’t have a playback option. But this week Meta updated its messaging app for iOS, Android, and the web to allow you to check your recordings before hitting send....

A week before Belmont it was revealed that Big Brown had what’s referred to as a ‘quarter crack’ on the inside part of his left front foot. The crack was 5/8 inch and runs vertically down from the hairline between the toe and the heel where the hoof wall is thinner. The injury is apparently quite common in racehorses but can range in severity and require recovery time. After missing three days of practice, hoof specialist (they exist?...

Ever woken up the day after a workout and wondered what you did to deserve such pain? I’m talking about muscle soreness. That pain can stem from several sources, and understanding what’s behind yours will help you best remedy it—and find ways to potentially prevent it in the future. Why is my body in so much pain after a day at the gym? “There’s muscle soreness that could be due to, say weight training, which can cause what we call delayed onset muscle soreness, which is kind of a diffuse soreness in the muscle,” says Thomas Brickner, head team physician for a number of sports at the University of North Carolina....

This isn’t the first disease we’ve faced that has come from the little flying mammals. Other coronaviruses that researchers are aware of that also cause severe illnesses in people—the original SARS and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)—have been linked to bats. A recent study found that bats and the coronavirus family have in fact been evolving together for millions of years, although it’s rare for different bat species to pass coronaviruses to each other....

It’s not the first time. If you google “European vs American weather model” you’ll see what I mean. Back in 2013, a lack of snow when there was supposed to be a big storm led National Geographic to ask “Why Are Europeans Better at Predicting Weather?“ And a 2015 non-blizzard had The New York Times explaining “Blizzard Questions, Including Why a European Weather Model (Usually) Excels at U.S. Forecasts..” And of course, there was Hurricane Sandy, in which the European model correctly predicted a turn toward the East Coast, as Scientific American notes in their post asking “Are Europeans Better than Americans at Forecasting Storms?...

“Tape has been known to live in the middle of the desert for 40 years and still be recoverable,” says Shawn Brume, IBM’s storage strategist. “In 2010, the health of tape was really understood when all of the data used for [the Nimbus satellite project] were recovered from tapes that were at that time, 46-years-old.” IBM argues that this feature makes tape the ideal medium to store archival data that doesn’t need to be frequently accessed....

Across the world, many of us are imagining a possible rendezvous with Death. Some are turning to common addictions, such as alcohol and drugs. A recent study found that nearly 40 percent of remote-working New Yorkers are drinking while working, and one in five are stockpiling booze. Others are coming together, figuratively speaking, to help those in great need. Still others are circling their wagons and loading up on more guns and ammo....

Those changes have lead, the study finds, to a steady decrease in the number of contributors over the past seven years. The organization is also having trouble attracting and keeping new editors, volunteers responsible for maintaining and composing articles. Says Aaron Halfaker, the study’s lead: Wikipedia has changed from the encyclopedia that anyone can edit to the encyclopedia that anyone who understands the norms, socializes himself or herself, dodges the impersonal wall of semi-automated rejection, and still wants to voluntarily contribute his or her time and energy can edit....

But providing tasty morsels to our neighborhood tweeters may come with some downsides. Research has found intentionally feeding our feathery friends facilitates disease transmission, enhances competition, and even hinders breeding. However, a study published last month in the Journal of Avian Biology found no evidence of birds becoming reliant on our tasty tokens. “If birds become dependent on humans for food, and we stop feeding them, they may not be able to sustain themselves without our help,” Jim Rivers, lead author of the study and an associate professor of wildlife ecology at Oregon State University, says....

Phenolic compounds are substances produced by plants, and as such are present in many of the foods we eat. In plants, they can serve as a sort of protection against insects or other pests, and they also add color or flavor to the plants. And when we humans eat plants, we reap the benefits of the phenos’ antioxidant properties, which have been associated with reducing the risks of certain diseases....

These features give you a grace period during which you can get your files back. If you somehow erased that vital company report that’s due Wednesday or you inadvertently wiped every single image of grandma you’ve ever taken, don’t panic. Undelete options can get you out of a real hole, so it’s well worth taking the time to make sure they’re configured just right. This includes how long a platform keeps files before permanently erasing them, and how much space they’re allowed to take up....

Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom has reportedly said the photo-sharing app’s motto is “do one thing and do it well.” For a time, that ethos was clear, and a generation of users came to rely on Instagram as one of the most serene places on your home screen—a self-curated chronological scrapbook with vacation pics, fashion shots, and unlimited foodie content. Where other apps were pushy, busy, and bright, Instagram’s focus didn’t seem to be on engagement; it seemed to be on the edit....

That’s because the population of the United States is simultaneously aging and urbanizing. By 2035, census data indicates, people over 65 will outnumber children 18 or younger, in a demographic shift experts call “graying.” At the same time, Americans are packing in tight. Between 1970 and 2010, the number of people living in a city, big or small, increased by 7 percent. Given older people are less likely to relocate, this suggests the number of elderly urban dwellers will continue to rise....

And we are thrilled that Popular Science has three infographics included in the collection: The Life Cycle Of Ideas: Shows patterns in how scientific papers become popular over time and across disciplines. Where Will The World’s Water Conflicts Erupt?: Illustrates conflict in river basins since 1990. The New Spring, Brought To You By Climate Change: Lays out how climate change has changed the way spring arrives in five beautiful graphs....

Rumors that Netflix would option a third season were confirmed almost a year ago, with no official release date until today. But now we know for sure: Black Mirror will return for a third season of 12 new episodes available in all countries where Netflix is available, on October 21, at 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time (3:01 a.m. Eastern). With the release date poised ten days before Halloween, maybe we’ll get another holiday-special Jon Hamm cameo....