Stone Ages

I’ve seen Victoria’s Twelve Apostles a couple of times, as a kid and again 25 years ago; they’re an essential Aussie tourist destination. It’s astounding to learn that they only appeared after the pyramids were built: the rock itself formed 40 million years after the dinosaurs, and the stacks only appeared 55 thousand years after humans first arrived in Australia. (Via Mefi.) Historian Isabelle Roughol on how wrong we’ve been about Stone Age women: “Participation in Stone Age big game hunting was gender-neutral, or near enough. … When you picture Stone Age hunters chasing wooly mammoths or vicuña, do you see 40% of them as women?” The Rapa Nui of Easter Island may have independently invented writing. Blue angels will leave you stunned. The tiny electric motor that cuts 200 kilos from EVs (via Mefi). Why did British roads suddenly become 40% safer between 2006 and 2010? Gas-powered data centres could emit more greenhouse gases than entire nations. A landmark global shipping deal was…