It’s that time of year. Between finals, the cold weather and seasonal sickness, it’s a stressful time for college students. Before finals week begins, take a break from studying and read these fun news stories:
Message in a...film canister?
A man’s childhood wish for a pen pal came true years later when his letter in a film canister was discovered in November.
When Rob Stober was 11 years old, he wrote a letter for a hopeful pen pal and threw it off of a pier in Grove City, New Jersey.
Stober wrote that letter in the summer of 1983. Stober thought sending a letter out to sea would be a great way to get his own pen pal, he told OBX Today.
On Nov. 23, April Lovin of Pea Island found his canister.
When Lovin opened the canister, she found a wrinkled piece of lined notebook paper, she told OBX Today. Lovin immediately knew the letter was old since Stober’s hobbies included nothing electronic and he signed the letter in cursive.
Lovin reached out to Stober online and sent him a photo of the recovered letter. Stober told OBX Today Lovin was just in the right place at the right time, but was glad it ended up with her.
Through new eyes
Humans may soon have the ability to experience life through the eyes of animals through a new software program.
The Quantitative Colour Pattern Analysis framework is made up of digital image rendering techniques. Those techniques allow for researchers to see images through the eyes of a variety of species.
Researchers made the software with an emphasis on combining colors and patterns. Color is the most important element in understanding how animals see, Jolyon Troscianko, the study's coleader from the University of Exeter in England, said to ScienceDaily. Previously, the color techniques used in the program were near-impossible, but advances in the study have helped researchers make the program.
The development of the program took about four years. Once the program’s development is over, it will be utilized in a variety of fields and visual systems.
The Christmas Spirit
This holiday season you can ditch your traditional Christmas scents in favor of some fried chicken.
KFC will reintroduce its 11 Herbs & Spices Firelog exclusively to Walmart.com this year. The log is selling for $18.99, which includes free two-day shipping.
The firelog was introduced to the market last year, but the partnership with Walmart is new this year.
“Order one today, and you’ll be wondering how you were ever able to enjoy a fire that didn’t smell like fried chicken,” according to KFC’s website.
