Scientists Discover ‘Dark Lightning,’ House Goes Up for Sale in Bitcoins and other Mind Memes

1. Dark lightning

Thunderstorms need to vent electrical energy, and they can do so in two ways. There is the Ben Franklin way and there is the extreme way: dark lightning. This term was coined by Joseph Dwyer, a lightning researcher at the Florida Institute of Technology. So what is it? As Ivan Amato explains in The Washington Post:

Thunderstorms unleash sprays of X-rays and even intense bursts of gamma rays, a form of radiation normally associated with such cosmic spectacles as collapsing stars. The radiation in these invisible blasts can carry a million times as much energy as the radiation in visible lightning, but that energy dissipates quickly in all directions rather than remaining in a stiletto-like lightning bolt.

So should airplane passengers be afraid of getting zapped with radiation?

Read more here. 

2. Don’t Stop Make-Beliebing

Are you a Belieber, that is, a fan of Justin Bieber? If so, you may be fake. The social media analysts Socialbakers say more than half of the Canadian pop star’s Twitter followers are fake. Bieber is not alone in this regard. All of the top Twitter accounts — from @ladygaga to @barackobama — have fake followers. 

So what consistutes a fake? Those who “follow less than 50 and have less than one follower, have never tweeted or use Twitter to promote spam and use words including ‘diet’, ‘make money’ and ‘work from home’.”

Read more here. 

3. For Sale, in Bitcoins

Would you bet the farm on virtual currency? This guy has. 

4. Is Sex With a Robot Cheating? 

A Huffington Post/YouGov Poll of 1,000 adults found that Americans tend to be quite “squeamish about bots,” especially if they are performing a variety of personal roles.

Read more here. 

5. Which College Majors Have the Highest and Lowest Employment Rates?

First take a guess, then click here.