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whyrwe.com
why -r- we?
@whyrwe.com
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The coolest news about science, space and history!
🙃 factually fun : whyrwe.com
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whyrwe.com
⌛ #history – factually fun!

Lugubrious find; a pit full of skulls

https://whyrwe.com/@25/1205-2039

In China, a pit filled with human skulls has been found near the ancient city of Shimao. DNA analysis shows that almost all the victims were men. The sacrifices presumably had ritu...
⌛ Lugubrious find; a pit full of skulls
In China, a pit filled with human skulls has been found near the ancient city of Shimao. DNA analysis shows that almost all the victims were men. The sacrifices presumably had ritual significance. They were probably connected to ceremonies performed at the time of the construction of the complex...
whyrwe.com
December 20, 2025 at 12:10 PM
whyrwe.com
🚀 #space – factually fun!

Best image of 3I/ATLAS so far?

https://whyrwe.com/@25/1205-2010

ESA probe Juice took an image of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS late last month, 2025. The image shows a very bright comet with two tails. Due to technical limitations, the full data cannot b...
🚀 Best image of 3I/ATLAS so far?
ESA probe Juice took an image of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS late last month, 2025. The image shows a very bright comet with two tails. Due to technical limitations, the full data cannot be received for several weeks, but the data obtained now already show a very bright image of the space rock...
whyrwe.com
December 20, 2025 at 9:05 AM
whyrwe.com
🧪 #science – factually fun!

The Netherlands has (many) gastropods

https://whyrwe.com/@25/1205-1934

The dry spring in the Netherlands caused striking shifts in the soil animal counts there. Millipedes and centipedes were more common, while snails disappeared. However, earthworms...
🧪 The Netherlands has (many) gastropods
The dry spring in the Netherlands caused striking shifts in the soil animal counts there. Millipedes and centipedes were more common, while snails disappeared. However, earthworms remained in the lead (and that without legs), followed by numerous both woodlice and arachnids...
whyrwe.com
December 20, 2025 at 6:00 AM
whyrwe.com
⌛ #history – factually fun!

An ancient, misty city in Peru

https://whyrwe.com/@25/1205-1536

Archaeologists – after thorough detective work – have discovered more than a hundred structures of the Chachapoya civilization in Peru. Thanks to LiDAR technology, for example, the hi...
⌛ An ancient, misty city in Peru
Archaeologists – after thorough detective work – have discovered more than a hundred structures of the Chachapoya civilization in Peru. Thanks to LiDAR technology, for example, the hidden city of Gran Pajatén was completely mapped. The find thus reveals a very extensive network of well-organized, pr...
whyrwe.com
December 19, 2025 at 7:10 PM
whyrwe.com
🚀 #space – factually fun!

James Web: stellar discs are much older

https://whyrwe.com/@25/1205-1517

In his spare spare hours, our big, faithful friend James Webb has been investigating just a few galaxies and in the process discovered that many of their (thin) star disks existed...
🚀 James Web: stellar discs are much older
In his spare spare hours, our big, faithful friend James Webb has been investigating just a few galaxies and in the process discovered that many of their (thin) star disks existed a lot earlier. Indeed, first galaxies form a thick disk due to the presence of turbulent gas clouds, and then the first...
whyrwe.com
December 19, 2025 at 3:05 PM
whyrwe.com
🧪 #science – factually fun!

Frozen rocks predict tsunami

https://whyrwe.com/@25/1205-1150

Scientists have observed seismic signals near Barry Arm in Alaska. They think it is due to water freezing in rocks and causing cracks there. The slope is huge in that area and could even c...
🧪 Frozen rocks predict tsunami
Scientists have observed seismic signals near Barry Arm in Alaska. They think it is due to water freezing in rocks and causing cracks there. The slope is huge in that area and could even cause a mega-sunami if it collapses. Researchers now hope to issue early warnings...
whyrwe.com
December 19, 2025 at 12:00 PM
whyrwe.com
⌛ #history – factually fun!

Norwegian reindeer trap wins big prize!

https://whyrwe.com/@25/1205-1135

Archaeologists in Norway earlier this year discovered a reindeer-trapping system (take that, Scrabble!) that is at least 1,500 years old – perfectly preserved in the ice. This...
⌛ Norwegian reindeer trap wins big prize!
Archaeologists in Norway earlier this year discovered a reindeer-trapping system (take that, Scrabble!) that is at least 1,500 years old – perfectly preserved in the ice. This wooden structure, hidden in the Aurland mountains, was recently named "Archaeological Find of the Year." The whole thing off...
whyrwe.com
December 19, 2025 at 9:10 AM
whyrwe.com
🚀 #space – factually fun!

Bizarrely long string full of galaxies

https://whyrwe.com/@25/1205-1111

Astronomers have discovered a nearly 50 million light-year-long string of about 300 galaxies. It rotates at at least 100 km/s, forming the longest rotating structure ever seen. The...
🚀 Bizarrely long string full of galaxies
Astronomers have discovered a nearly 50 million light-year-long string of about 300 galaxies. It rotates at at least 100 km/s, forming the longest rotating structure ever seen. The discovery actually happened by chance in South Africa and shows that galaxies are more connected than thought...
whyrwe.com
December 19, 2025 at 6:05 AM
whyrwe.com
🧪 #science – factually fun!

Crystals show our active age

https://whyrwe.com/@25/1205-1450

German scientists have found out that the Earth was active much earlier than thought. Indeed, ancient crystals show active traces of subduction and crust formation. As a result, continent-...
🧪 Crystals show our active age
German scientists have found out that the Earth was active much earlier than thought. Indeed, ancient crystals show active traces of subduction and crust formation. As a result, continent-like structures formed early on. As it now turns out, the planet was not only active much earlier, but also a lo...
whyrwe.com
December 18, 2025 at 7:00 PM
whyrwe.com
🚀 #space – factually fun!

The Oort Cloud, in our galaxy far away... 📖

https://whyrwe.com/@25/1204-1729

The Oort Cloud is a huge sphere of ice far outside the solar system. It was conceived by Jan Oort in 1950. The cloud contains billions of objects that sometimes fall toward...
🚀 The Oort Cloud, in our galaxy far away... 📖
The Oort Cloud is a huge sphere of ice far outside the solar system. It was conceived by Jan Oort in 1950. The cloud contains billions of objects that sometimes fall toward the sun like comets. Never before has anyone or anything reached the Oort Cloud...
whyrwe.com
December 18, 2025 at 3:05 PM
whyrwe.com
⌛ #history – factually fun!

Göbekli Tepe, world's oldest temple 📖

https://whyrwe.com/@25/1204-1802

Göbekli Tepe in Turkey is the world's oldest known temple complex. The stone circles with T-pillars show symbols of both animals and humans. It was probably once used for ritu...
⌛ Göbekli Tepe, world's oldest temple 📖
Göbekli Tepe in Turkey is the world's oldest known temple complex. The stone circles with T-pillars show symbols of both animals and humans. It was probably once used for rituals by hunter-gatherers. Today it is a protected UNESCO heritage site, but still a great mystery to archaeologists...
whyrwe.com
December 18, 2025 at 12:10 PM
whyrwe.com
🧪 #science – factually fun!

Lexicography, a craft (of its own) 📖

https://whyrwe.com/@25/1204-1634

Lexicography is the art of making dictionaries. The craft began with ancient clay tablets and grew thanks to printing presses and computers. Today, artificial intelligence (no,...
🧪 Lexicography, a craft (of its own) 📖
Lexicography is the art of making dictionaries. The craft began with ancient clay tablets and grew thanks to printing presses and computers. Today, artificial intelligence (no, this is written by a human) provides rapid updates, but threatens the profession at the same time. Still, the human view of...
whyrwe.com
December 18, 2025 at 9:00 AM
whyrwe.com
🚀 space – factually fun!

Celebration, SOHO is thirty years old! 🥳 🎈

https://whyrwe.com/@25/1204-1037

Satellite SOHO has been faithfully turning its (its?) orbits around the Sun for thirty years and discovered thousands of comets during that time. The mission even survived...
🚀 Celebration, SOHO is thirty years old! 🥳 🎈
Satellite SOHO has been faithfully turning its (its?) orbits around the Sun for thirty years and discovered thousands of comets during that time. The mission even survived several technical disasters and brought us new insights about solar activity. It now also helps predict solar storms. All that k...
whyrwe.com
December 18, 2025 at 6:05 AM
whyrwe.com
🧪 science – factually fun!

Tiny worm reveals big eye growth

https://whyrwe.com/@25/1204-1024

Researchers have discovered that the eyes of a very small marine worm continue to grow thanks to light-sensitive stem cells. Those cells closely resemble those of vertebrates, indicatin...
🧪 Tiny worm reveals big eye growth
Researchers have discovered that the eyes of a very small marine worm continue to grow thanks to light-sensitive stem cells. Those cells closely resemble those of vertebrates, indicating a shared evolutionary basis. Light appears to be important not only for seeing, but thus also for directing both...
whyrwe.com
December 17, 2025 at 7:00 PM
whyrwe.com
⌛ history – factually fun!

Large pits discovered near Stonehenge

https://whyrwe.com/@25/1204-1051

Archaeologists have discovered as many as sixteen Neolithic pits around the famous Durrington Walls, near Stonehenge. Research shows they were deliberately and quickly dug around 25...
⌛ Large pits discovered near Stonehenge
Archaeologists have discovered as many as sixteen Neolithic pits around the famous Durrington Walls, near Stonehenge. Research shows they were deliberately and quickly dug around 2500 B.C. Indeed, the sediment and additional evidence reveal a carefully planned project that may have had ritual signif...
whyrwe.com
December 17, 2025 at 3:10 PM
whyrwe.com
🚀 space – factually fun!

BepiColombo goes to Mercury 📖

https://whyrwe.com/@25/1203-2153

BepiColombo is a joint ESA-JAXA mission to planet Mercury. The two probes reached the planet in 2025, but were years along the way. They are examining the magnetic field, surface and poss...
🚀 BepiColombo goes to Mercury 📖
BepiColombo is a joint ESA-JAXA mission to planet Mercury. The two probes reached the planet in 2025, but were years along the way. They are examining the magnetic field, surface and possible water ice there. The mission is also testing technology and physical theories under extreme conditions...
whyrwe.com
December 17, 2025 at 12:05 PM
whyrwe.com
🧪 science – factually fun!

DNA cutting with CRISPR-Cas9 📖

https://whyrwe.com/@25/1203-2127

CRISPR-Cas9 is a technique that allows DNA to be modified very precisely. The method originated in bacteria and is now a powerful tool in medicine. Scientists see huge opportunities in...
🧪 DNA cutting with CRISPR-Cas9 📖
CRISPR-Cas9 is a technique that allows DNA to be modified very precisely. The method originated in bacteria and is now a powerful tool in medicine. Scientists see huge opportunities in it, but also ethical risks. The future of gene editing depends on how we strike that balance...
whyrwe.com
December 17, 2025 at 9:00 AM
whyrwe.com
⌛ history – factually fun!

The shipwreck of Uluburun 📖

https://whyrwe.com/@25/1203-2108

A diver found an ancient shipwreck near the Turkish town of Kaş in 1982. The ship, full of copper, tin and luxury goods, was found to date from 1320 B.C. Archaeologists discovered that th...
⌛The shipwreck of Uluburun 📖
A diver found an ancient shipwreck near the Turkish town of Kaş in 1982. The ship, full of copper, tin and luxury goods, was found to date from 1320 B.C. Archaeologists discovered that the Uluburun ship was built of Lebanese cedar wood and manned by Syro Canaanites. The find shows what trade was lik...
whyrwe.com
December 17, 2025 at 6:10 AM
whyrwe.com
🧪 science – factually fun!

Ireland once had its own wild cat 🐈

https://whyrwe.com/@25/1202-1836

It's raining cats lately, as after an earlier discovery about the "Roman cat," more than 5,000-year-old bones of a wild cat have now been found in an Irish cave. The remains prove...
🧪 Ireland once had its own wild cat 🐈
It's raining cats lately, as after an earlier discovery about the "Roman cat," more than 5,000-year-old bones of a wild cat have now been found in an Irish cave. The remains prove that European wild cats once lived on the island thus. DNA even showed that the species was not at all related to regula...
whyrwe.com
December 16, 2025 at 11:32 PM
whyrwe.com
🧪 science – factually fun!

Earth's core isn't a hard, solid sphere

https://whyrwe.com/@25/1203-1548

Scientists have figured out that Earth's core is not a hard sphere but a superionic mix. Carbon atoms there move fluidly across a kind of iron lattice and then soften the core. T...
🧪 Earth's core isn't a hard, solid sphere
Scientists have figured out that Earth's core is not a hard sphere but a superionic mix. Carbon atoms there move fluidly across a kind of iron lattice and then soften the core. This discovery also explains the strange seismic waves and may in turn influence the magnetic field...
whyrwe.com
December 16, 2025 at 11:32 PM
whyrwe.com
🧪 science – factually fun!

Earth's core isn't a hard, solid sphere

https://whyrwe.com/@25/1203-1548

Scientists have figured out that Earth's core is not a hard sphere but a superionic mix. Carbon atoms there move fluidly across a kind of iron lattice and then soften the core. T...
🧪 Earth's core isn't a hard, solid sphere
Scientists have figured out that Earth's core is not a hard sphere but a superionic mix. Carbon atoms there move fluidly across a kind of iron lattice and then soften the core. This discovery also explains the strange seismic waves and may in turn influence the magnetic field...
whyrwe.com
December 16, 2025 at 11:31 PM
whyrwe.com
🧪 science – factually fun!

Earth's core isn't a hard, solid sphere

https://whyrwe.com/@25/1203-1548

Scientists have figured out that Earth's core is not a hard sphere but a superionic mix. Carbon atoms there move fluidly across a kind of iron lattice and then soften the core. T...
🧪 Earth's core isn't a hard, solid sphere
Scientists have figured out that Earth's core is not a hard sphere but a superionic mix. Carbon atoms there move fluidly across a kind of iron lattice and then soften the core. This discovery also explains the strange seismic waves and may in turn influence the magnetic field...
whyrwe.com
December 16, 2025 at 11:29 PM
whyrwe.com
🧪 science – factually fun!

Earth's core isn't a hard, solid sphere

https://whyrwe.com/@25/1203-1548

Scientists have figured out that Earth's core is not a hard sphere but a superionic mix. Carbon atoms there move fluidly across a kind of iron lattice and then soften the core. T...
🧪 Earth's core isn't a hard, solid sphere
Scientists have figured out that Earth's core is not a hard sphere but a superionic mix. Carbon atoms there move fluidly across a kind of iron lattice and then soften the core. This discovery also explains the strange seismic waves and may in turn influence the magnetic field...
whyrwe.com
December 16, 2025 at 11:29 PM
whyrwe.com
🧪 science – factually fun!

Ireland once had its own wild cat 🐈

https://whyrwe.com/@25/1202-1836

It's raining cats lately, as after an earlier discovery about the "Roman cat," more than 5,000-year-old bones of a wild cat have now been found in an Irish cave. The remains prove...
🧪 Ireland once had its own wild cat 🐈
It's raining cats lately, as after an earlier discovery about the "Roman cat," more than 5,000-year-old bones of a wild cat have now been found in an Irish cave. The remains prove that European wild cats once lived on the island thus. DNA even showed that the species was not at all related to regula...
whyrwe.com
December 16, 2025 at 11:25 PM
whyrwe.com
🧪 science – factually fun!

Earth's core isn't a hard, solid sphere

https://whyrwe.com/@25/1203-1548

Scientists have figured out that Earth's core is not a hard sphere but a superionic mix. Carbon atoms there move fluidly across a kind of iron lattice and then soften the core. T...
🧪 Earth's core isn't a hard, solid sphere
Scientists have figured out that Earth's core is not a hard sphere but a superionic mix. Carbon atoms there move fluidly across a kind of iron lattice and then soften the core. This discovery also explains the strange seismic waves and may in turn influence the magnetic field...
whyrwe.com
December 16, 2025 at 11:25 PM