BIG DREAM Hobby and Craft: Why We Strive to Live Forever

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Happy Sunday, readers!

One of the most popular topics for members since we launched Pop Mech Pro a few years ago is perhaps one of the most morbid on the surface: death. We have explored whether death is reversible, controversial cryonics techniques, and what you see when you pass.

But when you think deeper on the topic, it's clear why death—or more importantly the search for immortality through technology—resonates. That's why tomorrow, June 10, we are releasing a project we think you will love. It's called How to Live Forever, or Die Trying.

In this deep-dive video, we ask questions like what would life look like if you could live forever? Would you be able to eat and drink whatever you'd like, take pleasure in risky activities like smoking without consequence for hundreds of years, your body staving off disease at every corner? Or maybe you'd have to commit to a lifetime of supplements, a "perfect" diet, and a workout regime fit for an Olympian. Weirder still, there's a chance you could live life with your own mind intact, but have to accept a new kind of body.

Humankind has been searching for an elixir of life for thousands of years, with tales of the hunt for immortality stretching back farther in time than even the first books of the Bible. And it seems like we'll accept the secret to living forever in whatever flavor we can get it in.

With How to Live Forever, or Die Trying, we reached out to scientists and anti-aging gurus worldwide to give you an insight into the continuous pursuit of a future without death. From gene therapies that could tune our cells to resist—and even reverse—aging to sci-fi-like efforts to freeze our bodies and upload our minds to computers, the biological and technological race to live forever is very much underway.

We hope you check it out on Monday (and send us your feedback via the form at the bottom of this email).

For the First Time Ever, the Colossal Squid Might Have Shown Its Secret Face

Humans spend nearly their entire lives on land, but the Earth we call home is really a water world. With 71 percent of the Earth's surface covered by water, this expansive ecosystem has been difficult to study, and many animals of the deep ocean remain a complete mystery. One of the most spellbinding of these animals is the colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni). When full-grown, this creature is about as long as a bus and weighs nearly 1,100 pounds.

Believed to live in the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica, this immense cephalopod—the largest invertebrate species on the planet—has never been observed in its natural habitat. Scientists only get a good look at these animals when trawlers accidentally catch them in their nets. But a new kind of oceanographic study seems to have struck gold last year when international research team and non-profit called Kolossal appeared to have stumbled across a juvenile colossal squid during one of its four trips to Antarctica from December of 2022 to March of 2023.

The team used a novel approach for imaging the ocean—outfitting a polar tourism vessel called the Ocean Endeavor with a deep-sea camera. Thankfully, the research team released the footage, which the website IFLScience promptly posted to YouTube.

THE TAIWAN STRAIT, SEPTEMBER 24, 1958. Nine years after the end of the Chinese Civil War, when the island of Taiwan officially became the sovereign Republic of China, its air force squared off in a dogfight against the People's Republic of China—the government of mainland China, which intended to bring Taiwan and its people under communist control.

Twelve U.S. F-86F Sabre fighters serving the Republic of China quickly mobilized to defend Taiwan from 12 Chinese MiG-17 fighters departing from the mainland. The MiGs, which Chinese President Mao Zedong sent to test Taiwanese defenses, could fly faster and higher than the aging Sabres, making them difficult to intercept. Nothing, not even the superior training of the Taiwanese pilots, could make up for that. And both sides knew it.

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force MiGs darted above the Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF) Sabres, safely out of range of their M3 .50-caliber machine guns. The MiG pilots observed puffs of smoke as rockets flew off the wings of the Sabres, and wondered why the Sabre pilots were bothering to fire notoriously inaccurate aerial rockets. That is, until the rockets began corkscrewing inexorably toward their own planes, as if guided by some unseen hand.

In a matter of moments, six of the 12 MiGs were sent crashing into the waters of the Taiwan Strait. The remaining jets hightailed it back to the mainland, one unknowingly carrying a secret passenger: an unexploded Sidewinder missile, one of the world's first infrared guided air-to-air missiles.

When It Comes to Summer Cleaning, Pressure Washers Are a Blast

When it comes to heavy-duty cleaning projects, nothing beats the efficiency and productivity of a pressure washer. These powerful machines transform the water from your garden hose into a high-pressure stream, capable of blasting away dirt, grime, and mold from practically any surface. On-board soap dispensers and a variety of nozzle tips add even more cleaning functionality, so you can tackle a wide variety of light- and heavy-duty tasks.

We tested more than a dozen models—gas-powered and electric—with a goal of finding the best pressure washer for the average homeowner. So whether you're washing your car or blasting decades-old grime off the driveway, our recommendations have you covered. If you're new to pressure washing, though, check out some guidelines below.

💦 Pressure Washer Safety Tips

All the machines we tested were safe to use, and we encountered nothing in them that caused us any concern. However, pressure washers by their nature demand careful and deliberate handling, both for your sake and that of whatever you're cleaning.

Both electric and gas pressure washers can damage surfaces. Of the two, the risk is higher with gas-engine machines owing to the fact that they're generally more powerful. In order to clean safely and effectively, keep these key tips in mind.

Use a green or a white nozzle for most jobs: the broad spray angle is less likely to damage surfaces. Reserve red and yellow nozzles only for the toughest cleaning. Their narrow spray angle provides more cutting action but is more likely to damage a surface.
Avoid spraying electrical components: Don't wash outdoor light fixtures, outlet receptacles covers, transformer boxes, doorbells, security cameras, or backup generator cabinets. These objects are easily damaged by high pressure water. Also, pressure washing them can, in the worst case, send water inside their electrical box, leading to corrosion-induced electrical failure.
Watch your distance, and keep moving: The longer you keep the pressure washer's stream focused in one place, and the closer it is to the surface, the more likely you are to cause damage.
Avoid or proceed with caution around delicate surfaces such as shade sails, insulated-glass windows, and outdoor furnishings built from soft materials like cedar or redwood.
To protect yourself from flying debris and the stream itself, always wear eye protection and closed-toe shoes. Even at relatively low pressure, debris can easily dislodge and fly towards your face, especially when working on vertical surfaces. You also don't want to be wearing sandals or flip flops if you inadvertently pass the nozzle stream across your toes.

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More Fascinating Stories 💡

🍔 Okay, but do I really want AI shaming me for that soft pretzel I had at the ballgame? Researchers in Canada are developing new artificial intelligence that can determine your calorie and nutritional intake by watching what you eat. (Sky News)

🚀 Thanks for the tweet (or is it X-tweet??), Elon. On Thursday SpaceX's Starship—the spacecraft designed to ferry astronauts to the Moon and Mars—successfully survived a fiery reentry into Earth's atmosphere as part of its fourth flight test.

🏔 What's the excuse for my Amazon order not being on time, then? Mount Everest received a drone delivery in April this year. This test was to show that drones CAN be used for good, delivering supplies to remote locations. (IFL Science)

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