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Science

Death Valley's Sailing Stones Caught In the Act 48

Capt.Albatross (1301561) writes "The flat surface of the Racetrack Playa in Death Valley is littered with rocks, some weighing hundreds of kilograms, each at the end of a track indicating that it has somehow slid across the surface. The mechanism behind this has been the subject of much speculation but little evidence, until a trio of scientists caught them in action with cameras and GPS."
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Death Valley's Sailing Stones Caught In the Act

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  • The Lonely Assassins (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 28, 2014 @10:40AM (#47773979)

    That's what they used to be called. No one quite knows where they came from, but they're as old as the Universe, or very nearly. And they have survived this long because they have the most perfect defense system ever evolved. They are Quantum Locked. They don't exist when they are being observed. The moment they are seen by any other living creature they freeze into rock. No choice, it's a fact of their biology. In the sight of any living thing, they literally turn into stone. And you can't kill a stone. Of course, a stone can't kill you either, but then you turn your head away. Then you blink. Then, oh yes, it can.

  • by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 28, 2014 @10:55AM (#47774109)

    IMHO the most terrifying Dr Who monster ever.

  • Re:From TFA: (Score:5, Interesting)

    by sumdumass ( 711423 ) on Thursday August 28, 2014 @11:20AM (#47774435) Journal

    I for one am glad that you did. The site the article calls home purley sucks. I'm on my phone and when you make the text large enough to read, a flash menu and a bunch of social networking crap floods the page so you can only see two words in a line.

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