We’re still not over the whole earthquake thing

// Ahh, spring. Get up to 35% off now @ The Home Depot »

Advertise | Talk to Us | Shop | Unsubscribe

The Futurist is your daily tech, cosmic, and science (both weird or otherwise) newsletter with articles and content curated just for you.

The Internet freaked out over the eclipse yesterday. Scroll to the bottom for the best memes.

Love The Futurist?
Forward to a friend and have them sign up here!

Why the east coast earthquake covered so much ground

“For a region not accustomed to earthquakes, [Friday’s incident] was a jolt. Its wide-ranging impact turns out to be not a quirk, but a byproduct of the East Coast’s unique geology of ancient fault lines and rock composition. … Because the western U.S. has so many faults along an active plate, it has a lot of channels to absorb earthquake energy — subterranean shock-absorbers, of sorts. … ‘We don't have that tectonic complexity on the East Coast,’ says Gregory Mountain, a geophysicist at Rutgers University. ‘We had it in the geologic past, hundreds of millions of years ago, but things are pretty well solidified — is one way to call it — and stabilized. For that reason, on the East Coast, seismic energy could actually probably travel quite a bit farther and have less energy loss with distance.’”

// Wired »

You don’t need to be a genius to DIY; you just need the right supplies

Raise your hand if you’ve ever scrolled past a social media post about some cool DIY project and thought, dang, I could probably do that. With the right tools and the right DIY — decorate it yourself — supplies from The Home Depot, you can. (You can put your hand down now, btw). Now through 5/1, during their Spring Black Friday event, you can get up to 35% off select home goods. Shop a wide selection of cozy furniture, trendy kitchen essentials, and décor to match any style, from farmhouse to modern. Feeling inspired? Consider this your cue to hunker down and finally get working on that dream project. [Ad]

// Decorate it yourself »

New U.S. passport app removes friction amid business-leisure travel shifts

“The cost of skipping long airport queues is set to increase due a hike in fees for expedited security programs, according to a recent press release by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), but a passport app may help. … For those who would like to avoid the extra $20 fee [for Global Entry] or deal with the potentially lengthy wait times, CBP suggests an alternative: a passport app called Mobile Passport Control (MPC). The free app allows travelers to submit their photo, customs declaration and passport information to expedite their re-entry into the country at participating airports.”

// PYMNTS »

We were very wrong about birds

“In two studies published April 1 in the journals Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) and Nature, scientists reveal that a genetic event about 65 million years ago has misled them about the true history of avian evolution. A section of one chromosome hasn’t mixed together with nearby DNA as it should have. This section is only a tiny fraction of the bird genome, but was enough to make it difficult for scientists to build a more detailed bird family tree.”

// Popular Science »

AI in hospitality: Just how smart can your hotel stay get?

Ever wonder what it'd be like if your hotel stay was smarter? Not just “Oh cool, free Wi-Fi” smart, but AI-powered smart. That's where Jurny comes in, shaking things up in the $4.1 trillion hospitality scene. With Jurny, dynamic pricing and listing optimization are the norms, allowing a single person to handle what used to take a whole team. And we're not just talking theory here. Over $35 million in bookings last year speaks to real-world impact. Plus, there’s all the recent accolades and recognition they’ve garnered from GetApp, Capterra, Software Advice, and Adobe Worldwide… but we’re not ones to brag. So, ready to invest in the future of effortless hotel ops? [Ad]

// Invest in AI »

Alaska will try to use a robot to scare wildlife from around an airport

“The Alaskan government has a new four-legged friend keeping migratory birds and other animals away from the runways at Fairbanks International Airport: a dog-like Boston Dynamics robot dubbed ‘Aurora.’ The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities posted its ‘new hire’ on Instagram last month, saying that the robot will be trialed to ‘enhance and augment airport safety’ by trying to prevent hazardous encounters between planes and wildlife.”

// The Verge »