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Today the Department of Awesome Natural Wonders treats us to an amazing look at the exquisitely beautiful structure of a luna moth wing viewed through a vintage microscope. These fascinating images were captured by Redditor Proteon using a 1951 American Optical Spencer microscope.

[via Twisted Sifter]

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Weird peeve time. Calling lab grown gemstones "fake" is stupid because it's the same shit just not formed naturally. An artificially grown diamond is the same shit as a natural diamond it is the exact same material bro it's all fuckign carbon

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Here it is folks:

My definitive ranking of my least favorite bodies of water! These are ranked from least to most scary (1/10 is okay, 10/10 gives me nightmares). I’m sorry this post is long, I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about this.

The Great Blue Hole, Belize

I’ve been here! I have snorkeled over this thing! It is terrifying! The water around the hole is so shallow you can’t even swim over the coral without bumping it, and then there’s a little slope down, and then it just fucking drops off into the abyss! When you’re over the hole the water temperature drops like 10 degrees and it’s midnight blue even when you’re right by the surface. Anyway. The Great Blue Hole is a massive underwater cave, and its roughly 410 feet deep. Overall, it’s a relatively safe area to swim. It’s a popular tourist attraction and recreational divers can even go down and explore some of the caves. People do die at the Blue Hole, but it is generally from a lack of diving experience rather than anything sinister going on down in the depths. My rating for this one is 1/10 because I’ve been here and although it’s kinda freaky it’s really not that bad.

Lake Baikal, Russia

When I want to give myself a scare I look at the depth diagram of this lake. It’s so deep because it’s not a regular lake, it’s a Rift Valley, A massive crack in the earth’s crust where the continental plates are pulling apart. It’s over 5,000 feet deep and contains one-fifth of all freshwater on Earth. Luckily, its not any more deadly than a normal lake. It just happens to be very, very, freakishly deep. My rating for this lake is a 2/10 because I really hate looking at the depth charts but just looking at the lake itself isn’t that scary.

Jacob’s Well, Texas

This “well” is actually the opening to an underwater cave system. It’s roughly 120 feet deep, surrounded by very shallow water. This area is safe to swim in, but diving into the well can be deadly. The cave system below has false exits and narrow passages, resulting in multiple divers getting trapped and dying. My rating is a 3/10, because although I hate seeing that drop into the abyss it’s a pretty safe place to swim as long as you don’t go down into the cave (which I sure as shit won’t).

The Devil’s Kettle, Minnesota

This is an area in the Brule River where half the river just disappears. It literally falls into a hole and is never seen again. Scientists have dropped in dye, ping pong balls, and other things to try and figure out where it goes, and the things they drop in never resurface. Rating is 4/10 because Sometimes I worry I’m going to fall into it.

Flathead Lake, Montana

Everyone has probably seen this picture accompanied by a description about how this lake is actually hundreds of feet deep but just looks shallow because the water is so clear. If that were the case, this would definitely rank higher, but that claim is mostly bull. Look at the shadow of the raft. If it were hundreds of feet deep, the shadow would look like a tiny speck. Flathead lake does get very deep, but the spot the picture was taken in is fairly shallow. You can’t see the bottom in the deep parts. However, having freakishly clear water means you can see exactly where the sandy bottom drops off into blackness, so this still ranks a 5/10.

The Lower Congo River, multiple countries

Most of the Congo is a pretty normal, if large, River. In the lower section of it, however, lurks a disturbing surprise: massive underwater canyons that plunge down to 720 feet. The fish that live down there resemble cave fish, having no color, no eyes, and special sensory organs to find their way in the dark. These canyons are so sheer that they create massive rapids, wild currents and vortexes that can very easily kill you if you fall in. A solid 6/10, would not go there.

Little Crater Lake, Oregon

On first glance this lake doesn’t look too scary. It ranks this high because I really don’t like the sheer drop off and how clear it is (because it shows you exactly how deep it goes). This lake is about 100 feet across and 45 feet deep, and I strongly feel that this is too deep for such a small lake. Also, the water is freezing, and if you fall into the lake your muscles will seize up and you’ll sink and drown. I don’t like that either. 7/10.

Grand Turk 7,000 ft drop off

No. 8/10. I hate it.

Gulf of Corryvreckan, Scotland

Due to a quirk in the sea floor, there is a permanent whirlpool here. This isn’t one of those things that looks scary but actually won’t hurt you, either. It absolutely will suck you down if you get too close. Scientists threw a mannequin with a depth gauge into it and when it was recovered the gauge showed it went down to over 600 feet. If you fall into this whirlpool you will die. 9/10 because this seems like something that should only be in movies.

The Bolton Strid, England

This looks like an adorable little creek in the English countryside but it’s not. Its really not. Statistically speaking, this is the most deadly body of water in the world. It has a 100% mortality rate. There is no recorded case of anyone falling into this river and coming out alive. This is because, a little ways upstream, this isn’t a cute little creek. It’s the River Wharfe, a river approximately 30 feet wide. This river is forced through a tiny crack in the earth, essentially turning it on its side. Now, instead of being 30 feet wide and 6 feet deep, it’s 6 feet wide and 30 feet deep (estimated, because no one actually knows how deep the Strid is). The currents are deadly fast. The banks are extremely undercut and the river has created caves, tunnels and holes for things (like bodies) to get trapped in. The innocent appearance of the Strid makes this place a death trap, because people assume it’s only knee-deep and step in to never be seen again. I hate this river. I have nightmares about it. I will never go to England just because I don’t want to be in the same country as this people-swallowing stream. 10/10, I live in constant fear of this place.

Honorable mention: The Quarry, Pennsylvania

I don’t know if that’s it’s actual name. This lake gets an honorable mention not because it’s particularly deep or dangerous, but it’s where I almost drowned during a scuba diving accident.

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Recycled Polyester Clothing Is Problematic

It is said that 9% of plastic ever produced is recycled. I am going to make a deep dive of this statistic soon, but this seems to be the base number. In fact, very little of the plastic produced can even be recycled. Type 1 plastics are able to be recycled, but even then only 25% actually make it to be downcycled into other products, like clothing, or pillow stuffing, or clothing tags.

This seems like it is at least a good use of old plastic bottles though, right? If clothing is being made from plastic that would otherwise be dumped, than what is the issue?

It makes people complacent

People think that by purchasing a shirt made from recycled plastic that they are doing a good thing. As a result, they do not think too much about the impact of consumerism and buying too much stuff.

“Ethical“ and “environmentally friendly“ clothing does not matter when you are still buying far too much of it, and not wearing it that many times before tossing it out, or worse, “donating“ it.

So buying a recycled plastic shirt/etc can actually make you less likely to reduce your impact in other, more vital areas. This includes drastically reducing how much stuff you buy overall, using renewable energy sources, and eating more plant-based.

Recycled plastic is still plastic

Even though it is recycled, a shirt made out of recycled plastic is still a shirt made out of plastic. It is likely to wear far quicker than a natural fiber shirt, more likely to be trashed after a few wears, and it will release microplastics when washed.

This plastic is still problematic, and it really a band-aid solution for what is actually a gash of an issue. What we need to focus on is eliminating the production of new plastic in areas where they are not needed, such as in food and beverage industries, plastic bags, etc. This will be far better overall than trying to recycle the plastic and causing just as much harm, or even more harm, than what would exist if you tossed it in the garbage.

In fact, it is probably more eco-friendly to throw your plastic bottles in the trash than to have it remade into a T-shirt, as if it is in a landfill, it will not cause any microplastics, harm wildlife, or cause any pollution issues at all.

It is unnecessary

With all the natural fibers and seminatural fibers that we have, from cotton, hemp, and wool all the way to viscose and leather, there is no reason to use plastic of any kind in clothing. Especially for something like T-shirts.

I might understand its use in athleticwear or swimwear, as it is used to wick away moisture and sweat, making it good for these kinds of garments and can therefore be used for awhile without literally falling apart as you use them. But for things like pants, jeans, shoes, jackets, and shirts? It is far more harmful than useful.

Buying secondhand clothing made from natural and semi-natural materials are far better overall than buying a shirt or pair of leggings made from old plastic bottles. They also spread far fewer microplastics into the ocean.

***

If you like what I have written and want to help me out:

I run a small business as a solo craftsperson who focuses on eco-friendly and sustainable creations of goods. I use natural fabrics fished from the trash and other secondhand locations like thrift shops.

You can find my Etsy store HERE.

I also have a Mercari shop for cheaper clothes

And a Poshmark for the more expensive stuff.

[understandingnature]

every so often I remember that whales molt

I’m not sure why I feel this way, but imo this is the most cursed marine mammal fact I have ever heard

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I was graduating college with a degree in Environmental Studies the year Al Gore published An Inconvenient Truth. I was pumped because I thought that if the science was presented simply people would make changes for the betterment and longevity of the future. 🤦🏻‍♀️ It’s frankly been devistating to watch while everything climate scientists predicted has been quickly coming to fruition. So I pulled down the book today to lay out some “then vs now” side by sides. Two things to keep in mind: 1) this book was published in 2006- only 15 years ago and 2) this is the man we decided NOT to elect as president. (Bush Jr. won with Nader running as spoiler)

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Texas relies 88% on coal and natural gas, yet they are trying to blame their current problems on renewables/Green New Deal.

Deregulation and greed are the problem.

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Child labor and slavery used to produce chocolate and other products.