21 Items Tagged

Data

Scientists estimate there are some 4,000 bees native to the United States alone—but many of them are struggling to survive in our warming, pesticide-ridden world.

To Save America's Native Bees, the Oregon Bee Project Is Mapping Every Single One

The project aims to make a complete 'bee atlas,' detailing every single local pollinator.

Kate Raphael September 22, 2023

Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel, Netherlands

Laagste Punt van Nederland (Lowest Point in the Netherlands)

A large measuring stick marks the lowest point of a country that is partially under sea level.

<em>The Art of Cookery Made Plain And Easy</em>, a 1777 cookbook included in the database, "which far exceeds any Thing of the Kind yet published," was popular in Britain and the American colonies. Its author, Hannah Glasse, was one of the first famous female cookbook authors.

A Database of 5,000 Historical Cookbooks Is Now Online, and You Can Help Improve It

It took Barbara Ketcham Wheaton more than 50 years to compile The Sifter.

Reina Gattuso August 13, 2020

A drawing depicting a Jupiter-Saturn conjunction, by Johannes Kepler, December 1603.

Astrologers Were the Quants of the Ancient World

Coincidence and correlation in the stars, from the founding of Baghdad to the New York Yankees to COVID-19.

Alexander Boxer August 7, 2020

The dendrometer tracks the way the trunk and branches swell or contract.

The Tree That Is Live-Tweeting Climate Change

With a little help from scientists, an oak in the Harvard Forest is sharing updates about its life.

Jessica Leigh Hester July 25, 2019

Silver Spring, Maryland

'Coastline' Wave Pool

Live data is transmitted from the Atlantic coast to instantly recreate the ocean waves in this fountain at the NOAA headquarters.

The Amsterdam Ordnance Datum marker in the Town Hall.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Amsterdam Ordnance Datum

This large copper bolt represents the benchmark for measuring sea levels in most of Europe.

Staffers sift through the California Academy of Science's fossil collection.

We're Hardly Using Any of Our Fossils

The vast majority are languishing in museum storage. Is it time to dig them up all over again?

Cara Giaimo September 26, 2018

Allen Ginsberg chants in London. Although his reading displays many of the technical attributes of "Poet Voice," it generally doesn't come across that way to listeners.

An Algorithmic Investigation of the Highfalutin 'Poet Voice'

New research suggests that the affected reading style consists of a particular set of attributes.

Cara Giaimo May 1, 2018

Tracing the Frenetic Movements of a London Symphony Conductor

Using 12 cameras and data visualization, this project animated Sir Simon Rattle's baton flicks at 120 frames per second.

Ashawnta Jackson January 2, 2018

A whale shark shows off its distinct spot pattern as a scuba diver swims nearby.

To Identify Whale Sharks, Scientists Looked to the Stars

A groundbreaking marine database was only made possible by a telescope algorithm.

Cara Giaimo December 1, 2017

A heaping plate of guacamole, which may or may not be an aphrodisiac.

Guacamole Gets You More Messages on Dating Apps

And other gastronomic revelations from a singles survey.

Paula Mejia December 1, 2017

"Energy Flux," data source: National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, September 2000.

For as Much as We Know About the World, There Are Still Dark Spots on the Map

A new atlas aims to surprise.

Sarah Laskow October 16, 2017

The entrance to the seed vault illuminated at night.

The Svalbard Seed Vault Just Got a New Vault Neighbor

This time, it's for data.

Erik Shilling April 3, 2017

In Indiana in August 2016, a truck crashed and spilled 23,000 lbs of paint.

Mapping the Year in Truck Spills

From pennies to Port-o-Potties, an exhaustive tally of 2016's most extraordinary highway truck spills.

Atlas Obscura December 6, 2016

How a Kitten Video Can Transmit Secret Instructions to Criminals

An ancient form of information-hiding known as steganography has infiltrated the viral internet.

Lauren Young June 22, 2016

The Best Visualization of Climate Change isn't a Graph—It's a Death Spiral

If you think you're hot right now, just wait.

Jessie Guy-Ryan May 29, 2016

Permanently Closed

Agbogbloshie

The world’s largest digital waste dump has become a site where organized criminals hack into confidential government data.