Weird - Wacky - Funny News

[Rocky Mtn Squid]

Alternative Method

Alternative Method

And of course......there's always the alternative method.... .... with a more personal touch.

[YOUTUBEIF]M1vc3Ut5mvs[/YOUTUBEIF]


Just sayin'..... .... all you need is "weights" and a boat.


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[ozzieAI]

Cannabis traces from 2,500-year-old funeral braziers in China

Cannabis traces from 2,500-year-old funeral braziers in China

Humans smoked cannabis as part of ritualised burial ceremonies 2,500 years ago, according to the latest evidence unearthed at a burial site on the Pamir Plateau in western China.

But before you imagine ancient stoners passing around a primitive bong, the reality was probably quite different, archaeologists report in the journal Science Advances today.

The international team, led by Meng Reng of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, excavated 10 wooden pots, or braziers, containing burnt stones from tombs at the Jirzankal Cemetery.

When the team analysed the pots and burnt stones they found traces of cannabis.

What's more, the cannabis contained higher levels of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC — the main psychoactive compound in cannabis — than generally found in wild cannabis plants.

The fact that the traces of THC was found in the pots and on the stones suggest that cannabis was used for ritual purposes, said Nicole Boivin of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.

Smoking cannabis in ancient times was very different to today.

There's no clear evidence of smoking pipes existing in Central Asia before the modern era, instead people would either eat the plant or inhale the smoke or vapours when it was burnt.

"We clearly see that cannabis is being burned on hot rocks, which must have produced smoke and psychoactive effects on those present in an enclosed space," Professor Boivin said.

The high THC levels and burning of cannabis in a ritual context fit with the description of the use of a drug thought to be Cannabis sativa in a text written by the fifth century BC Greek historian Herodotus, she added.

The discovery paints a vibrant picture of what these past burial rituals might have looked like, said Alison Crowther, an archaeobotanist from the University of Queensland, who was not involved in the study.

"Rites such as these would have had really important social functions for ancient communities just like funerals do today."

Further work at the site has shown that some of the people buried there were not local to the area.

"So we can start to then question or wonder about how these rituals played out in bringing communities together and helping bind people in this very dynamic social and cultural environment," said Dr Crowther.

Preliminary analysis of the human bones found at the cemetery have identified skull perforations and fatal cuts and breaks in several bones, which the researchers interpreted as signs of human sacrifice, although they caution more research is needed to verify this claim.

Cannabis has long been cultivated as a crop, but its early history remains unclear.

Previous discoveries of cannabis have been based on identification of parts of the plant, which doesn't tell us how it has been used, or historical accounts, which can be difficult to interpret, the researchers said.

"The debate over early cannabis use in Central Asia has been lively and filled with speculation," said Robert Spengler, a co-author on the paper who is also at the Max Planck Institute.

"There are a few key archaeological accounts that have been discredited outright, and some speculations about references to plants in historical accounts that are not exactly clear," he said.

Understanding when people started to use cannabis is challenging because the preservation of cannabis in an archaeological site generally requires some special circumstances.

And even when it was preserved it's still difficult to work out what the tiny fragmentary plant remains were used for.

"Cannabis has many uses, it's not just as a recreational drug which is what most people today would associate it with. It has uses as a medicine, as food, as fibre," Dr Crowther said.

"What's exciting about this particular study is that they've got that direct evidence of how the cannabis was used, because they've got the residues on the artefact."

The researchers can't say for certain whether the cannabis being burnt was a cultivated variety, or was being selected from wild populations that had naturally higher levels of THC.

"However, increasingly robust evidence for [cannabis] use in different parts of Central Asia by this time may well suggest the cultivation and spread of higher THC varieties," Professor Boivin said.

"By this time period, trade routes across Eurasia were extensive and wide-ranging, and many species of plants and animals were being moved around to create more diverse repertoires of crops, herd animals, foods, delicacies, spices and medicines throughout the Old World from Europe to China."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/science...e-of-cannabis-smoking-found-in-china/11200414

 

[Jellyfish]

For just under $40US

ThinkGeek Star Wars BB-8 USB Car Charger
About this product
​

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3. Head rotates and makes sound! Optical sensor lights up when plugged in to indicate power status.
4. Comes with 2 2.1A USB charging ports, each port providing 2.1 Amps (enough to charge 2 tablets simultaneously). Compatible with anything that charges via USB (iPhones, smartphones, iPads, tablets, GPSes, etc.) as long as you have the cable.
5. Entire unit: 6" tall (inc. antenna), 4" wide, 4" deep. Cupholder section: 2 1/2" base diameter x 3" tall. Cable: 36" long.

 

[Rocky Mtn Squid]

The Booty Slapping Championships - Introducing Russia's brand spanking new sport

The Booty Slapping Championships - Introducing Russia's brand spanking new sport

Thought you'd seen the weirdest, most wonderful new sport in Russia with the Male Slapping Championships? Meet the 'Booty Slapping Championships' - a competition where women strike each other on the backside until one falls over.
Back in March, a big, bearded, pot-bellied farmer from Siberia named Vasily ‘Dumpling’ became an internet hit when a clip of his brutal knockout to win the inaugural 'Male Slapping championships' at the 'Siberian Power Show' went viral, being shared by figures from the MMA world such as Joe Rogan.


[YOUTUBEIF]T4K71lKpDuQ[/YOUTUBEIF]

Now there's a female version slapping sport that brings a whole new meaning to the phrase 'bum fights' - and it's literally called 'The Booty Slapping Championships'. The tournament sees fitness freaks from the fairer sex face off against each other to put their flesh to the test and spank each other into submission.

In gym vernacular, the old adage goes: 'no pain, no gain'. And these guys really put those words into action with their brutal booty battles.

The rules are unsurprisingly simple: the competitors, who all share a keen interest in working out, take it in turns to slap the other on the booty, putting to the test the results of their squat regimes.

The winner is the first to administer a slap hard enough to the other's behind to knock them off balance, causing them to fall over or step forward, avoiding any serious harm, which is in stark contrast to the men's version.

The tournament was staged at the annual Yashankin Cup, which also saw another unusual variation of the extremely popular male slapping tournament, which strangely sees rivals slap each other red raw on the shoulder until one gives up.

Not unsurprisingly, the Booty Slapping Championships has already gained some recognition online, and with the diversity of Olympic disciplines forever growing, would it be outlandish to wonder if we could see this new 'sport' on the world stage soon...?

Source: https://www.rt.com/sport/461538-booty-slapping-championships-russia/


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[Rocky Mtn Squid]

Concerns Mount as Cocaine Traces Found in Half of UK Lawmakers' Bathrooms

Concerns Mount as Cocaine Traces Found in Half of UK Lawmakers' Bathrooms

Reports of alleged cocaine use by UK lawmakers go back to at least 2013, with traces of the illegal class-A drug similarly found in bathrooms on the grounds of the parliamentary estate.
A VICE News investigation has found that nearly half of the secure bathrooms in the Houses of Parliament building accessible only to lawmakers and other high ranking officials appear to test positive for trace amounts of cocaine.

Taking colour-changing drug swabs to nine areas, VICE found traces of the illegal drug in four locations, including the toilets outside two private bars reserved for lawmakers and their guests and two bathrooms near lawmakers' offices. A particularly large amount of cocaine residue was found while swabbing a bathroom opposite Strangers' Bar.

Parliamentary passes are given out to members of the House of Commons and Lords, but also other high ranking officials, accredited parliamentary journalists and invited guests. According to Yahoo News, as many as 13,000 passes have been given out in total, making it difficult to determine who uses the drugs.

However, an unnamed staffer told VICE that it's "a known thing" that drug use "happens in the offices," with another saying that "it's a relatively common occurrence to see people – particularly MPs' staff, particularly Tories – who are clearly gakked up."

A parliamentary spokesman said "appropriate action would be taken" if drug use were to be identified on the estate, but also emphasised that the Houses of Parliament were a "public place" which welcomes "over a million visitors a year who have access to the facilities."

The drug use evidence comes amid recent admissions by multiple high profile Conservative politicians that they had used drugs in the past. Michael Gove, former Conservative leadership candidate, admitted that he had used cocaine on "several occasions" during his time as a journalist. Other senior Tories including Boris Johnson, Jeremy Hunt, Dominic Raab, Andrea Leadsom and Rory Stewart also admitted to consuming cocaine, cannabis, or opium.

British authorities take a tough line against Class A drugs such as cocaine, heroin, ecstasy and LSD, with repeat offenders facing a maximum sentence of up to seven years in prison, an unlimited fine, or both, if caught. Those caught and convicted of intent to supply the drug face life in jail.

Not surprisingly, many ordinary Brits are up in arms over the revelations of drug use in parliament, tweeting about the hypocrisy of the legal system, and quipping that the investigation serves to "finally explain" British politics. Many users said it would only be fair for MPs and Lords to be tested, just as ordinary government employees are.

Source: https://sputniknews.com/europe/201906271076070739-concerns-mount-as-traces-of-cocaine-found-in-half-of-loos-reserved-for-uk-lawmakers/


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[Rocky Mtn Squid]

Federal Court Rules Citizens Within the Law to Tell a Cop “F**k You”

Federal Court Rules Citizens Within the Law to Tell a Cop “F**k You”

A federal court ruled this month that citizens cannot be arrested for swearing at police officers.

On June 2nd, the 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a US District Court decision that refused to throw out a civil lawsuit against an Arkansas police officer who arrested a man who yelled a curse word at the officer as he conducted a traffic stop on another citizen.

What Happened

According to court documents, in 2015 Arkansas State Trooper Lagarian Cross was performing a traffic stop on a Fort Smith highway when he heard a passerby yell “f*ck you” out of the window of a moving car. The remark prompted Cross to end his traffic stop and pursue the car. After making the stop, Cross arrested Eric Roshaun Thurairajah on a charge of disorderly conduct, stating the profanity constituted “unreasonable or excessive noise.”

Thurairajah spent hours in jail for the utterance, court records say, before the charge was dropped and he was released under his own recognizance.

Thurairajah, however, was not done.

After spending eight hours barefoot in a jail cell with a toilet that had overflowed, he filed suit against Cross, alleging that the trooper violated his First and Fourth Amendment rights by arresting him unjustly.

Cross attempted to have the case thrown out, citing qualified immunity—a legal doctrine that shields government officials from lawsuits—but was denied by the US District Court for the Western District of Arkansas. In that 2017 ruling, the court ruled Cross’s arrest violated Thurairajah’s clearly established rights under the Constitution, voiding his qualified immunity protection.

The Court’s Ruling

On Monday, the 8th Circuit upheld the District Court’s ruling, allowing Thurairajah to proceed in his lawsuit against Cross. W. Whitfield Hyman, Thurairajah’s attorney, called the court’s decision a win for free speech.

“This was a simple case about freedom of expression that is a small step forwaThe ruling is also important because it weakens qualified immunity, which often shields government officials from consequences for bad behavior. (Read, for example, this Cato Institute article describing a state caseworker who strip-searched a four-year-old girl.)

Swearing might be rude, but it’s not criminal. Hyman said police officers need to understand the difference.

“Trooper Cross’s response is not something you would expect from the police in a free country,” Hyman told me.

Criticism of the government as a whole or of an individual government agent should be the safest activity, even if that criticism is vulgar or unwarranted. Hopefully the next time a police officer that wants to throw someone in jail because they hurt the officer’s feelings will remember this case and refrain from violating a person’s natural rights.

There is no more basic constitutional right than free speech. Courts have placed some limits on free speech, of course, but placing a citizen in jail over profanity is an excessive and unjust use of state power.

Not the First Time

Unfortunately, it happens with some frequency. Earlier this month, for example, police in Helen, Georgia, detained a man for 18 hours over a profanity he uttered in public.

“I think it was a complete abuse of authority,” Morgan Wilson, who was visiting from North Carolina, told a local news station. “Even if they wanted to cite me for cursing in public … that would have been a better option than obviously the method that they used.”

Hyman said his client’s victory in court is a step in the right direction.

“With every case like this it becomes harder for a police officer to arrest someone illegally and still be shielded by qualified immunity,” he told me. “The next step will be asking for attorney’s fees and for Eric to be paid damages, such as attorney’s fees associated with his criminal case.”

Source: https://themindunleashed.com/2019/06/federal-court-rules-citizens-can-swear-at-cops.html


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[Stoner4Life]

 

[Rocky Mtn Squid]

I'm Certain The Guilty Party Got A Promotion

I'm Certain The Guilty Party Got A Promotion

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[Rocky Mtn Squid]

Scientists left ‘speechless’ by young Arctic fox’s amazing journey - Norway to Canada

Scientists left ‘speechless’ by young Arctic fox’s amazing journey - Norway to Canada

Despite its tender age, an Arctic fox has made headlines, broken records and baffled scientists who tracked its blistering 2,176-mile trek from Norway’s Svalbard islands to Canada in a mere 76 days.
While 15-year-old Cori ‘Coco’ Gauff’s Wimbledon win over Venus Williams was undoubtedly impressive, this one-year-old Arctic fox may have made the most impressive athletic debut of the year, occasionally clocking nearly 100 miles a day during its epic intercontinental journey.

Equipped with a GPS tracking band by the Norwegian Polar Institute, researchers were already impressed when the fox reached Greenland 21 days after its release on March 26, 2018. But the little critter was only getting started, eventually crossing into Canada’s Ellesmere less than two months later. With an astounding average pace of 28.5 miles per day, no fox has ever been recorded traveling that far, that fast before.

“The fox’s journey has left scientists speechless,” reported Greenland’s Sermitsiaq newspaper.

“We couldn’t believe our eyes at first. We thought perhaps it was dead, or had been carried there on a boat, but there were no boats in the area. We were quite thunderstruck,” Eva Fuglei of the Polar Institute told local media in Norway.

Fuglei was working with Arnaud Tarroux from the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) to learn more about how the species survives throughout different seasons, particularly during winter when food is scarce. Upon arrival in Canada, the fox will likely skip Tim Hortons and stick to a diet consisting mostly of the plentiful local lemmings.

Unfortunately, the polar institute’s transmitter proved less rugged than the exceptional creature and broke in February… meaning we may never know for sure what it gets up to in Canada.

While the fox proved to be quite the intrepid traveler, global climate change has reportedly closed off some routes formerly frequented by the species, including the path to Iceland. Scientists are worried that even the trip to Canada might soon no longer be a possibility, as shrinking polar ice caps threaten to isolate Svalbard altogether.

Source: https://www.rt.com/news/463211-arctic-fox-intercontinental-journey/

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[Stoner4Life]

I can appreciate the mental n' physical warmup a pro might utilize.......

 

[Stoner4Life]

 

[Rocky Mtn Squid]

NORWAY’S EXPLOSIVE CONTRIBUTION TO THE BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC

NORWAY’S EXPLOSIVE CONTRIBUTION TO THE BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC

Recently I was reading stories about the Norwegian resistance during the Nazi occupation of Norway in the Second World War. Many of the activities of the resistance were quite funny, borderline childish. For example there was one operation that involved coating condoms in itching powder before distributing them to German soldiers. The result of this particular operation was an inundation of soldiers (and presumably women as well) at Trondheim hospital who thought that they had contracted an STI. However, the story that most caught my attention was a plot to induce mass diarrhea among the u-boat crews when the Battle of the Atlantic was at its height.

On April 9th, 1940 Adolf Hitler sent the Wehrmacht into Norway in what amounted to a (relatively) bloodless regime change. A puppet government was set up under Vidkun Quisling and his Nasjonal Samling (the Norwegian Nazi party). By the winter of 1940 the Norwegian resistance had begun organizing an intelligence network across the whole country. This network was so successful that the Norwegian resistance soon gained a reputation for being the most efficient and ruthless of all the resistance movements of occupied Europe. However, being in the resistance was not a full-time occupation. The vast majority of Norway’s coastal community were largely subsistence fishermen and of course had to continue supplying their families with food, the most common of which were sardines, as it had been for centuries. Consequently the Norwegian government’s decision, at the behest of the Nazis, to requisition the entire sardine catch came as a huge blow to the Norwegian resistance. However, thanks to their extensive intelligence networks, the Norwegian resistance soon learned the reason behind the mass acquisition of their precious sardines. The sardines were to be sent to the port Saint-Nazaire in Western France, the home of the U-boat wolfpacks that were raiding the shipping lanes to intercept supplies coming from the US and Canada to Britain in an attempt to starve the latter into surrender. The sardines were to be used to supply the U-boats with easily stored food for their long voyages at sea.

Seeking revenge for the theft of their main staple food, the Norwegian resistance contacted the intelligence services in London and requested a shipment of the largest amount of croton oil possible. Croton oil is an extremely powerful laxative from a plant called the Hogwart (yes, like Harry Potter’s school). London complied and the oil was smuggled into every canning factory in Norway where the oil was used to replace the vegetable oil that is usually used to can sardines (the tangy flavour of sardines was also a convenient disguise for the strange flavour of the croton oil). These spiked sardines were then dutifully handed over to the Germans and sent to the U-boat crews. Now diarrhea is bad at the best of times but suffering it in a confined space with a bunch of guys, all of whom are suffering the same thing, must have been a truly hellish experience.

British intelligence were so impressed by the success of the mission that they started to put together their own diarrhea based campaign. In a document titled “Evacuation against evacuation” the British sought to use a substance called carbachol to spike German supplies. Bottles of carbachol were also to be dropped over German defensive positions with labels attached explaining that the German soldiers should drink it to induce illness and so get out of fighting (a less painful, albeit messier, variation of the famous “shooting yourself in the foot” that was used in WWI). However, this plan was never adopted by British command.

Croton oil would also have a rather strange earlier usage in the US navy. Alcohol was banned from US warships in 1914, however, early torpedoes were fueled by ethyl alcohol which was 80% proof. The sailors would therefore use the torpedo fuel, flavoured in various different ways, to get pissed. Naturally this began to worry the US navy. Their first preventative measure was to mix the ethyl alcohol with methanol. Despite telling their crewmen of the danger that methanol can make you blind this did not prevent the torpedoes being frequently tapped for their fuel. Croton oil was seen as the solution to this problem; The crew might not mind going blind but they wouldn’t dare go near anything that would give them diarrhea. Unfortunately they were wrong and the sailors learnt that they could remove the oil by boiling the fuel.


Source: https://thedailybeagle.net/2013/11/09/norways-explosive-contribution-to-the-battle-of-the-atlantic/


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[Stoner4Life]

 

[Rocky Mtn Squid]

Florida cop BUSTED for planting drugs on dozens of unsuspecting motorists

Florida cop BUSTED for planting drugs on dozens of unsuspecting motorists

A Florida police officer has been arrested on suspicion of 52 counts of planting meth and other street drugs on motorists, and is facing a huge raft of both felony and misdemeanour charges.
The Internal Affairs division of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement had been investigating Deputy Zach Wester for over nine months before his arrest. He’s being held without bail at the Wakulla County Jail and is expected to appear in court on Thursday on suspicion of numerous felonies including false imprisonment, fabricating evidence, and possession of a controlled substance.

Investigators believe Wester pulled citizens over for alleged minor traffic infractions before planting drugs in their vehicles and arresting them. He was also found to deliberately switch off his body camera so as not to incriminate himself.

Prosecutors reviewed some 300 cases involving Wester, dropping charges in 120 of them. The current raft of charges against the cop are based on his arrests of just 11 people. Under Florida law, Wester could face up to 13-and-a-half years in prison, though it is at the judge’s discretion should they opt to give him more time.

Jackson County Sheriff Lou Roberts reportedly described the allegations as “disheartening” and “a very serious matter.”

Investigators have assigned a team of 10 special agents and two crime analysts who have logged over 1,400 hours on the case so far. “There is no question that Wester’s crimes were deliberate and that his actions put innocent people in jail,” State Attorney William Eddins said.

Christina Pumphrey, a former assistant state attorney in Marianna who helped bring Wester’s misconduct to light, said she’s “glad he’s obviously facing charges,” but noted that it doesn’t give the people he arrested their time or money back – and it doesn’t expunge their records.


Source: https://www.rt.com/usa/463909-florida-cop-arrested-planting-drugs/


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[Rocky Mtn Squid]

Ship Seized In Record $1.3 Billion Cocaine Bust Belongs To JPMorgan

Ship Seized In Record $1.3 Billion Cocaine Bust Belongs To JPMorgan

A few weeks ago we reported that around $1 billion worth of cocaine (15,500 kilos) was seized from a container ship at a Philadelphia port after having stopped in Colombia, Chile, Peru, Panama and the Bahamas (subsequently it turned out that it was a record $1.3 billion, or 18,000 kilos worth).

Today we learn that the vessel, the MSC Gayane, is owned by JP Morgan, and has been seized by US authorities according to the Wall Street Journal. The Gayane is the world's second-largest container ship - operated by Switzerland-based Mediterranean Shipping Co, MSC.

"A seizure of a vessel this massive is complicated and unprecedented—but it is appropriate because the circumstances here are also unprecedented," said US Attorney William McSwain in a statement. "When a vessel brings such an outrageous amount of deadly drugs into Philadelphia waters, my office will pursue the most severe consequences possible against all involved parties in order to protect our district—and our country."

The Gayane was raided on June 17 by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents who found about 20 tons of cocaine with a street value of $1.3 billion stashed in several containers. The ship had sailed from Freeport in the Bahamas and before that it called in Panama and Peru after starting its voyage in Chile. It was due to sail on to Europe after the U.S. stop.

“MSC remains grateful to the government officials in the U.S. for their proactive work and has offered its continued support, building on a longstanding track record of good cooperation with the authorities,” an MSC spokesman said in a statement. “MSC is assisting and cooperating with the authorities as required and the company is not the target of any investigation.” -Wall Street Journal

The $90 million ship that can carry around 10,000 containers remains anchored at the Delaware River near the Philadelphia port, and will stay there for quite some time according to the Journal.

Eight crew members from Samoa and Serbia were arrested, while many others have been charged in the scheme according to those interviewed. The ship's second officer and another crew member were also charged, and have been accused of helping to bring the contraband aboard.

In February, Customs agents also seized 1.6 tons of cocaine on another MSC vessel, the Carlotta, upon entry into the Port of Newark, NJ.

As a result of the two busts, MSC's Customs-Trade Partnership certification has been temporarily suspended, meaning that the company's cargo will be subject to enhanced scrutiny and can no longer be classified as "low risk." MSC says it expects minimal disruption from the suspension.

"Historically, ships involved in criminal activity are older and beaten up," said Basil Karatzas, CEO of New-York-based Karatzas Marine Advisors & Co. "It is strange that such a modern and expensive vessel is involved in such a blatantly criminal case, like moving 20 tons of cocaine."


Source: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-07-09/us-authorities-seize-jp-morgan-owned-container-ship-used-13-billion-cocaine-bust

https://www.boston25news.com/news/trending-now/cargo-ship-seized-with-1-billion-of-cocaine-aboard-owned-by-jp-morgan/966048841


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[Bud Green]

Yeah, we know it must have been JPMorgan's coke, considering it was valued at $32,800 per pound!

I musta been some pretty good shit, considering that price... LMAO...

 

[Bud Green]

Mom's quick thinking saves family's life from armed burglar....

..

 

[armedoldhippy]

Yeah, we know it must have been JPMorgan's coke, considering it was valued at $32,800 per pound!

I musta been some pretty good shit, considering that price... LMAO...

well, you know they worked up a value by stepping on it x 8 at least, and got a by-the-gram price then...

 

[armedoldhippy]

Mom's quick thinking saves family's life from armed burglar....

..

" stick 'em up..."

 

[Rocky Mtn Squid]

We Now Have The First-Ever Permanently Magnetic Liquid, And It's Absolutely Trippy

We Now Have The First-Ever Permanently Magnetic Liquid, And It's Absolutely Trippy

What has the magnetic properties of a solid magnet, but the mechanical properties of a liquid? If you answered 'nothing,' you're wrong - because engineers have just created just such a substance, by using a modified 3D printer.

Yes, ferrofluid is already a thing, but this is different. Unlike the ferrofluid you may know and love (because come on, it is awesome), the new magnetic liquid retains its magnetism even in the absence of an external magnetic field.

"We wondered, 'If a ferrofluid can become temporarily magnetic, what could we do to make it permanently magnetic, and behave like a solid magnet but still look and feel like a liquid?'" said materials scientist and engineer Tom Russell of the University of Massachusetts.

"We've made a new material that is both liquid and magnetic. No one has ever observed this before."

It's pretty similar to ferrofluid, actually. Both consist of ferromagnetic nanoparticles suspended in a fluid. The new magnetic liquid uses iron oxide nanoparticles, which is also a popular choice for ferrofluid, so there are no surprises there.

But last year, the team developed a technique for 3D-printing structures out of liquid. It used two liquids: water injected into a tube of silicone oil mixed with a nanoparticle surfactant that forms an elastic film, essentially holding the water in place.

This is what the team decided to use for their nanoparticle suspension, printing droplets just one millimetre in diameter. The iron oxide nanoparticles crowded towards the surface of the droplet, forming a shell at the interface between the water droplets and the oil suspension. This is called interfacial jamming, and it's a well-known nanoparticle behaviour.

Then they placed the droplets near a magnetic coil to magnetise them. Just like ferrofluid, the iron oxide particles were attracted to the magnet. So far, so normal.

But when the researchers moved the magnetic coil away, it got less normal. When ferrofluid is removed from the presence of a magnetic field, the nanoparticles fall into disarray, and the fluid just becomes sort of blobby.


[YOUTUBEIF]EAMhNA_k7UM[/YOUTUBEIF]

But with this new liquid, the nanoparticles started spinning towards each other in unison, like synchronised swimmers, or "little dancing droplets," according to engineer Xubo Liu of the Beijing University of Chemical Technology. They had retained their magnetism.

"We almost couldn't believe it," Russell said. "Before our study, people always assumed that permanent magnets could only be made from solids."

Upon further investigation, the team found that exposing the liquid to a magnetic field causes the magnetic poles of the nanoparticles to align in the same direction. But when the magnetic field is taken away, there's no room for the surface particles to drift because they're jammed so closely together, and thus stay that way.

The mysterious part is that they somehow transfer their magnetism to the nanoparticles free-floating inside the droplet. The team doesn't yet know how that happens. But it does, and the entire droplet just stays magnetised.

"What began as a curious observation ended up opening a new area of science," Liu said.

And, even more curiously, the liquid can change shape - standing tall as a cylinder, flattening out like a pancake, round like a sphere, thinning out like a wire, or even more complex shapes, like… octopuses.

The invention can be controlled by an external magnetic field, which opens up possibilities in soft robotics, artificial cells, and perhaps even targeted drug delivery. Not to mention the things to be learnt from trying to figure out how the floating droplets magnetise.

"This opens the door," Russell said, "to a new area of science in magnetic soft matter."

Source: https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-have-printed-droplets-of-permanently-magnetic-liquid-and-boy-is-it-trippy


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