Why hasn’t the Sun devoured us yet?
Plus: Better chocolate through chemistry.
It’s good to question your own existence often. Your temporary life, a speck on the timeline. Not of human history but this week. You weren’t meant to live long. Your body, soft; your organs, vulnerable. (Imagine if we could live for hundreds of years, the damage each of us, individually, might do.)
Despite the longevity hacks we love to report on here at Inverse, the fact of the matter is those hacks are mostly meant for living better, which in turn means you might live a little longer. But our existence is finite.
This brings us to our Sun.
The fact our Sun still shines brightly, giving energy to an otherwise discarded leftover from the formation of our solar system, is a stunner when compared to other stars like it, new research suggests. Others have expanded and swallowed planets by this point.
The existence of our Sun — the fact it hasn’t gone supernovae, ending us all — may improve our odds of discovering life away from this planet. Keep scrolling to read more about that wild story, plus more, on this Wednesday.
I’m Nick Lucchesi, and this is Inverse Daily. Tell a friend to subscribe using this link. Be honest with each other because we’re not here long. Even if the Sun isn’t expected to burn out for another 5.5 billion years, you will draw your last breath much sooner.
Scroll to the bottom for Tech Song of the Day. As with everything we do, interpretations on the theme “Tech Song of the Day” are not as straightforward as they might seem.
This is an adapted version of the Inverse Daily newsletter for Wednesday, September 1, 2021. Subscribe for free and earn rewards for reading every day in your inbox. ✉️
I can see my apartment from here.
The reason our Sun hasn't ended us yet could improve the search for life — Passant Rabie reports on new research suggests that one-third of Sun-like stars devoured the planets that orbited them. Scientists explain why this hasn't happened in our Solar System — yet:
Relationships can be complicated. The relationships between stars and their orbiting planets are especially so.
Planets are essentially leftovers. They form the material that’s left after the creation of their host star. Their entire existence is, in turn, molded by that star.
And sometimes, planets end up in burning, stellar bellies. New research suggests that as many as one-third of stars similar to our Sun swallow up their planets.
The more you know:
- Solar eruptions: Why unexpected observations left a scientist “dumbstruck”
- What will happen after Earth is destroyed by the Sun? A possibility for new life
- Could there be life on the saddest planet in the universe?
Oh yeah, this will make the pain go away for a while.
Better chocolate through chemistry — Sarah Wells writes that the delicious chemistry of chocolate is often exact and tedious. Still, scientists have just created a shortcut to achieve beautiful chocolate in record time:
It’s a velvety richness that melts in your mouth the moment you take a bite. Sweet and creamy, chocolate is a treat loved the world over, whether you’re enjoying squares of a chocolate bar, a fudgy chocolate cake, or sipping on a thick hot chocolate.
But while this childhood staple may seem like a simple pleasure, the science behind it is actually incredibly complex. Especially when it comes to a culinary and chemical process called “tempering.”
Go deeper:
- Scientists debunk a long-held theory about oysters, chocolate, honey, and Spanish fly
- Chemistry explains why the most underrated part of coffee is so important
- Is soft-serve healthier than ice cream? Chemistry debunks a common myth
Should we put Bigfoot in a zoo? Or allow it to roam the forests for eternity?
The most enchanting sci-fi movie of 2021 — Andy Crump wonders: If actual “cryptozoo” existed, what would it look like? He reports out this question just in time for the weirdest, maybe most wonderful, adult animated movie of the year is finally out:
Visit almost any big zoo and you will see witness the standard menagerie: lions, tigers, and bears, bugs, monkeys — maybe a seal or two.
Visit the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine, and you’ll find such museum exhibits as hair samples of abominable snowmen and Bigfoot, fecal matter from a small yeti, and a letter written by the actor Jimmy Stewart.
But what if an actual “cryptozoo” existed? The answer might look a lot like animator Dash Shaw’s bizarre new movie Cryptozoo, in which a conservation-minded group of humans opens a zoo filled with mythological creatures like gorgons, griffins, dryads, tengus, luz mala, manticores, and a tarasque.
Go deeper:
- Cryptozoo (IMDb)
- Cryptozoo Review: Wild Things (New York Times)
- Visit the beautifully bizarre Cryptozoo, a sanctuary for mythological creatures (Hyperallergic)
An ice-cold predator.
Is it OK to let your cat sleep in your bed? — Tara Yarlagadda asks, should you let your cat sleep in the bed to you? She talks to feline experts, reviews studies, and asks pet owners:
Many pet owners are willing to put up with mild annoyances that come from sleeping alongside their cat — so long as they can wake up with their furry feline by their side. Katherine Pankratz, a board-certified veterinary behaviorist, is one of them.
“Personally, I would bear any physical discomfort — whiskers up the nose and all — for my cat to choose to snuggle with me each night,” she tells Inverse. “It is definitely an important bonding experience for me and, I hope, also for my cat, Kaeto.”
Other pet owners hate the experience.
Go deeper:
- Why does my cat knead with its paws? A vet explains
- How listening to your cat's heartbeat can reveal their inner emotions
- Are you supposed to brush your cat’s teeth? Pet experts explain
Zendaya as Chani in Dune: Part 1. The actress marks a birthday today.
- About the newsletter: Do you think it can be improved? Have a story idea? Want to share a story about the time you met an astronaut? Send those thoughts and more to newsletter@inverse.com.
- Birthdays today: Zendaya (25; pictured above in promo shot for the upcoming Dune movie), Dr. Phil (71), Barry Gibb (75), Gloria Estefan (64), Padma Lakshmi (51). (Source: AP.)
- Tech Song of the Day: “Colour Television” by Eddy Current Suppression Ring.
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