News Briefs

Iceberg destroyed by Alaskan storm

Alaska and Antarctica are nearly on the opposite side of the globe from one another, yet last October, a severe storm over the coast of Alaska caused swells which destroyed an iceberg in Antarctica. According to Douglas MacAyeal of the University of Chicago and Emile Okal at Northwestern University, the swell caused by the Alaskan storm traveled more than 8,300 miles before it reached Antarctica.

The scientists watched the iceberg, named B15A, collapse last October via satellite, and using seismometers placed on the iceberg, were able to determine how it was destroyed. By tracing data through other instruments throughout the Pacific Ocean, the scientists found that the cause was the storm that had occurred six days earlier in Alaska. “The iceberg shattered like a gracile wine glass being sung to by a heavy soprano,” said MacAyeal.



Sightseers pack airport

Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok’s newest landmark, was originally built to handle 45 million passengers a year. It’s open, modern architecture was designed to make the airport a pleasant and attractive destination.

Now, the locals, who have no intention of traveling, are flocking to the new structure in droves. More than 90,000 passengers can pass through Suvarnabhumi in one day; now, the airport is also having to handle more than 100,000 Thais who are merely coming to snap pictures.

“So many people are coming for sightseeing, and we’re pleading with them to stop.” said Chotisak Asapaviriya, president of Airports of Thailand. “We invited (visitors) so that they could familiarize themselves with the new airport, but now it’s no longer familiarization - it has become a picnic.”



Sightseers pack airport

Tokyo researchers in 2002 discovered the first 1.24 trillion decimal places in pi, the enigmatic, never ending non-rational number. Wednesday, a Japanese man recited pi to the first 100,000 places by memory.

Akira Haraguchi, a mental health counselor, took more than 16 hours to accomplish the feat, breaking once every one to two hours for a brief five minutes so that he could use the restroom and eat rice balls.

Haraguchi’s attempt was recorded, including the bathroom breaks, as evidence for the Guinness Book of World Records, which requires evidence of the feat as well as witness statements.

“What I am aiming at is not just memorizing figures,” said Haraguchi, “I am thrilled by seeking a story in pi.”