A list of curious facts

One: A rare book written in 1698—which predicts alien life on Jupiter and Saturn—was found at an auction valuation. It has an insanely long title: ‘The Celestial World Discover'd: Or, Conjectures Concerning the Inhabitants, Plants and Productions of the Worlds in the Planets’—and was written by Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens. Among his theories, aliens have hands and feet just like us—and more amusingly this:

“The writer believed aliens enjoyed astronomy and observation, sailed boats and listened to music but also suffered misfortunes, wars, afflictions and poverty ‘because that’s what leads us to invention and progress.’”

That’s positively pleasant compared to the nasty Martian creatures we’ve since dreamed up. BBC News has more details. But more fascinating is this Public Domain Review essay on Huygens—who was known as the Dutch Archimedes—and the other thinkers who influenced him. 

Two: A shelf cloud is a “low-hanging, well-defined, wedge-shaped formation” that occurs along the leading edge of a front of a solid line of storms. 

“These storms, called squall lines or bow echoes, tend to produce damaging winds when they hit. The most well-defined and photogenic shelf clouds occur with the most intense type of severe thunderstorm called a ‘derecho.’”

But they are very pretty. (Gawker)

Three: Sabu Dastagir aka Selar Sabu starred in a number of Hollywood movies. The best known is ‘Elephant Boy’—which earned him his break. But more interesting is his second film ‘The Drum’ in 1938—one of the most successful British films of the technicolour era. But as with all colonial films, he played the hapless brown prince who needed to be rescued by the white saviour—in this case, a dashing colonial officer. In India, however, it sparked huge protests—especially amongst Muslims who were outraged by the portrayal of Pathans as cruel and manipulative. The Paper Clip has the rest of the story, while Scroll has more on Dastagir’s career. 

Four: Scientists have invented an algae-powered computer that may represent a huge breakthrough in sustainable tech. A colony of photosynthetic cyanobacteria have successfully powered a computer microprocessor for more than six months. Why this matters: computers typically need rare earth elements and lithium—which are in short supply. Also: the lack of electricity creates a huge internet divide between the poor and the rich. FYI: The computer processor consumed only 0.3 microwatts—compared to a low-wattage LED light bulb which needs 10 watts. This BBC News report has more on how it works.