Five things worth sharing from the last week or so, brought to you by a different member of the Browser Media team every Friday.
This week’s My Five is by Ashleigh.
1. The ‘Digital Museum’
The idea of a ‘digital museum’ has been accepted by scientists who say it would allow them to study millions of fossils and valuable specimens that are currently hidden away in drawers.
London’s Natural History Museum and the Smithsonian in Washington DC have announced ambitious plans to digitise 40 million fossils that could take 50 years to undertake. Five years into the project, the team says it is “bringing dark data into the light”.
They say that digitised versions of these specimens are actually more useful than the fossils themselves – they can capture the key information about the specimen and make it all available online. The process has already taught them a lot about marine life, the changing sea levels and ocean temperatures and will help change the way we study life on Earth.
2. Bye Bye Google+
Due to privacy errors that affect over 50 million Google+ users, the social network will be shut down 4 months earlier than planned after the flaw carelessly exposed names, ages, email addresses and other personal data of 52.5 million users last month.
This isn’t the only flaw they’ve discovered this year so the platform will be shut down faster than first planned. I doubt there will be many users that are devastated about the news!?
3. What’s going on with Apple’s squid emoji?
A squid expert, Sarah McAnulty, has finally revealed that Apple’s squid emoji is technically all wrong. In reference to the siphon on the emoji’s head, McAnulty described it as being “like having a butt on your forehead”.
It is not clear why Apple has designed the squid in this way, as the siphon should should be under the squid, not on the top of its head as depicted above. Was it an accident or were they trying to be funny? Who knows…
4. Twitter is up in arms after someone grabs Parliament’s special mace
Members of Parliament were in uproar this week after Labour representative Lloyd Russell-Moyle, marched in the centre of the Houses of Commons, picked up the mace, a “symbol of royal authority”, and tried to walk out with it.
He was met by angry MPs who shouted “put it back!” before someone took it off him and returned it to its rightful place.
Obviously Twitter went crazy after this, with some great jokes…
Lloyd Russell-Moyle after grabbing the mace pic.twitter.com/e6rQX3WHWO
— Elsie Greenwood (@elsieortong) December 10, 2018
Trump is going to throw a temper tantrum over not having a mace
— Roland Scahill (@rolandscahill) December 10, 2018
5. Sitting on Santa’s knee isn’t only for kids
As you’ve probably realised, we love dogs here at Browser Media, and as it’s nearly Christmas here are some delightful Twitter pics of pets meeting Santa Claus:
Stop what you’re doing, and look at how excited my dog was to get her photo with Santa. pic.twitter.com/qyvY2PPrOv
— saracha (@saracha420) December 10, 2018
My dog met Santa today and she was so excited pic.twitter.com/2YQqEtr7Rq
— sydney dominguez (@syydneyclairee) December 8, 2018
So my dog had a great time meeting Santa today pic.twitter.com/xDYrTgvy3I
— Owen Bohman (@OwenBohman) December 9, 2018
My mom took the dog to meet Santa ?? pic.twitter.com/mKAMpVKK45
— Mama ?? (@IowanMama) December 8, 2018
