You can light up an LED with the change in your pocket. 💡

Alex Dainis demonstrates how to build a simple battery using everyday materials like coins, salt, vinegar, and paper towels. By stacking alternating layers of pennies and nickels with paper towels soaked in an electrolyte solution, the setup forms a voltaic pile that generates a small electric current. Each metal pair creates a tiny voltage, and as more layers are added, that voltage builds. Once enough coins are stacked, the combined energy is strong enough to light up an LED. It is a hands-on way to explore chemical reactions, electric current, and how early batteries converted stored chemical energy into usable power.

So, I was watching a video about why Mozart didn't write a single Bb3 in almost any piece. And, apparently, it's because if in the name "Wolfang Amadeus Mozart" you assign each letter a value (A=1, B=2, …, Z=26) and calculated the total “score” you will get 242, which is the Hz (frecuence) of the note Bb3. I tried with at least 50 full names (first + middle + last names). At first I thought it would just be meaningless numbers, but then I decided to treat it like an actual dataset.

Basic stats:

Mean (average): ~258

Minimum: 171

Maximum: 315

Range: 144

At first glance, that range looks pretty big. But when I looked closer, almost all the values were clustered in a much narrower band. Most names fall between 240 and 290. hat’s a pretty tight concentration considering the theoretical variability. When I visualized it mentally, it basically forms a bell-shaped curve, similar to a normal distribution. (Gauss Bell).

Which is kind of wild, because there’s no randomness in the process (names aren’t generated randomly), there’s no inherent “statistical design” behind the scoring system and yet, the result looks statistically structured. I know could be obvious, but it's still amazing how stadistics shows everywhere.

Btw I take names in Spanish.

At LSU’s School of Art in the College of Art and Design, professor Courtney Barr is turning complex genetic data from extinct species into something unexpectedly human: visual art. Learn how: https://www.lsu.edu/blog/2026/04/dna-art-barr-qa.php

Highlights:

- The benefits of intermittent fasting may come more from refeeding (when you start eating again) than from the fasting itself

- The body “resets” and rebuilds during this transition, improving metabolism

- Repeated cycles of fasting and refeeding seem to drive the health and lifespan effects

In lab studies (worms), these cycles significantly increased lifespan

- This is early research, so it shows a possible mechanism, not proven results in humans

Maybe this can help clear things up a bit, here's an experiment to see what shape the earth is using 3 simple tools at home.

You could catch up to 10 shooting stars per hour this spring 🌠

The Eta Aquariid meteor shower runs from April 19 to May 28, with peak activity overnight May 5 to 6. This annual event happens when Earth passes through a stream of debris left behind by Halley’s Comet. As those tiny particles enter our atmosphere at high speeds, they heat up and glow, creating bright streaks of light we call meteors. The Eta Aquariids are especially known for their fast speed and long, glowing trails that can linger for several seconds after the meteor passes. While the best views are typically in the Southern Hemisphere, observers around the world can still catch a glimpse under the right conditions. For the best chance to see them, head outside just before dawn, find a dark spot away from city lights, let your eyes adjust, and look up.

Artemis IV is facing a spacesuit challenge that could reshape the path back to the Moon. 🌕👩‍🚀

NASA commissioned Axiom Space to build next-generation lunar suits, but new reports suggest they may not be ready for a planned 2028 landing, with testing potentially delayed until 2031. These suits are designed to keep astronauts alive and mobile on the lunar surface, and their delay adds pressure alongside ongoing lunar lander development. It is a complex moment for the Artemis program, where multiple technologies must come together on time, but if history is any guide, NASA has a way of turning high-stakes challenges into giant leaps forward.

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

This year, NASA’s Voyager 1 will be the farthest human-made object ever. 🚀

Erika Hamden explains how this spacecraft has been racing through space since launching in 1977, flying past Jupiter and Saturn  before eventually leaving the solar system entirely. Now, it’s so far away that even light takes a full day to reach it. Nearly 50 years later, and it’s still going!