The Private Space Race, Ridiculous History and Traveling the World on Foot - Today on HowStuffWorks NOW

Jan 04, 2016 02:31 pm   Today on HowStuffWorks NOW   10 Fascinating Facts about the New 'Tree of Life' Evolution Chart The newly developed family tree of Earth's 2.3 million species is a first draft of the 3.5-billion-year history of evolution.       Why the Next Few Years Will Be a Boom Time for the Private Space Race The commercial space industry is entering a growth spurt, with companies cutting costs with reusable launch vehicles, and governments joining forces with entrepreneurs.       One Crazy Odyssey: Traveling Around the World … on Foot Sometimes you need to take a walk to clear your head. For one man who circumnavigated the globe, that walk lasted more than a decade and stretched nearly 50,000 miles.       Distance Runners Are More Desirable Aside from being fit, male endurance athletes may have an evolutionary advantage by simply being more attractive to the opposite sex. Let's look at the science behind it.       Ridiculous History: H-Bombs in Space Caused Light Shows, and People Partied Rainbow parties in the 1960s may sound like good fun, but the frivolity actually centered around an H-bomb radiating the Earth's atmosphere.       We're Creating More Reusable Rockets. Here's Why That Matters SpaceX. Blue Origins. Private companies are creating rockets like the Falcon-9 and New Shepard to revolutionize our relationship with space.       How Drones Can Protect Us From Sharks — and Sharks From Us People are going to go into the ocean. Sharks are already in the ocean. What can we do to help minimize problematic encounters? Maybe it's time to send in the drones.       So Now Bling Means Blink, Drake? How Hip-Hop Pushes Linguistic Evolution From fleek to bling to hood, hip-hop and teen culture influence the evolution of American and global English.       Swiss Startup Wants to Tattoo You With Ink Made from a Loved One's Hair Biogenetic ink could be a way to honor living family or remember the deceased without using ashes and remains. Switzerland's Skin46 looks to launch in 2016.       The 15 Most Astounding Images from the 2015 World Beard & Moustache Competition Waxed up and ready to go? Austria hosted this year's global beard competition, and beardsmen showed up in droves with follicle feats of architecture and style.       This Ship Hopes to Be the First to Drill Beneath the Earth's Crust The JOIDES Resolution expedition launched in early December to drill into the Earth's mantle under the Indian Ocean and gain new geological and biological knowledge.       Certain Adolescent Brains Can't Stop Gaming. That's Good and Bad — Here's Why The brains of diagnosed compulsive gamers operate differently from the rest of us, mostly in beneficial ways, but sometimes in negative ways.       10 Times 'The Force Awakens' Nods to the 'Star Wars' Prequels Think "The Force Awakens" only references the original "Star Wars" trilogy? Think again. If you pay attention, you'll see that it's also full of prequel nods.     Copyright © 2016 InfoSpace LLC, All rights reserved. HowStuffWorks, 675 Ponce de Leon Ave, Atlanta, GA 30308 Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list