The Universe Is Apparently A Big Metal Donut

And all along I thought was a little plastic danish. Shows you how much I know (read: everything). So yeah, ghost of Karl Sagan: I know you're reading this, feel free to chime in and back me up whenever you want.

At first, this polished object looks like an ordinary ring. But it's much more than that. This is a model of the universe, which, according to one increasingly popular theory, is not flat, circular, spherical or saddle-shaped, but more like a "3-torus," or doughnut shape. It's also a whole lot bigger then you may have imagined.

Look closer, and you'll notice a minuscule speck on this model. It looks like a tiny flaw at first, but upon closer inspection, you'll see it's a precise wine glass shape. That's us. The tiny area depicts the known universe, showing a timeline of its entire life, from the Big Bang starting at the glass's stem, expanding to where we live today.

I get it -- so what they're saying is that the known universe is a wine lover. So do you think it's a Merlot fan or more of a Chardonnay kind of universe? Mad Dog 20/20, huh? Awh yeah, I knew I was living here for good reason! Now stop hogging the bottle, Universe, Jesus you're a boozehound.

Mind-boggling model of the doughnut-shaped universe makes you feel really small [dvice]

• WE'RE NOT ALONE: All The Alien Planets Found By NASA's Kepler Space Probe

  April 5, 2011

  Note: Larger version HERE in case you're convinced if you just zoom in you might spot an alien. This is a shot depicting all 1,235 potential alien planets located by the Kepler space probe to date. The planets are actually just the tiny black dots though, the big balls are th... / Continue →
• Eye Poison: Viruses As Glass Sculptures

  December 15, 2009

  Luke Jerram is an artist who makes glass sculptures of diseases (that's HIV there) to shed some light on the fact that most diseases, despite what you may have seen in textbooks, are actually clear and not the psychedelic tendrilled blobs of death you previously thought. Yeah?... / Continue →
• New Giant Ring Discovered Around Saturn

  October 7, 2009

  Because space is awesome and full of mysteries (and butt-naked aliens), scientists just recently discovered a freaking huge new ice-and-dust ring around Saturn. I want it for engagement! Although the ring dust is very cold -- minus 316 degrees Fahrenheit -- it shines with the... / Continue →