Fridaygram: Web Lab, holey Mars, Earth opposite

July 20, 2012


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By Scott Knaster, Google Developers Blog Editor

Since the 1970s, people have been hooking up various wacky things to the Internet. The newest and possibly coolest instance of this wonderful tradition launched this week. The Web Lab is physically located in the Science Museum in London, but thanks to the web, it’s virtually everywhere. Web Lab includes 5 experiments that can be controlled from your browser, including Universal Orchestra, which lets you play music with people around the world on instruments in the museum or online.



When you’re done remotely controlling the experiments in London, you can ponder the awesome mystery of the hole in Mars. This remarkable image was taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and shows an opening to a cavern. This discovery raises many fascinating questions. How long has it been there? Why is there a round crater around the hole? Where is the giant pencil that fits inside?

For those of us back here on Earth, take a moment this weekend to locate your opposite point on the globe, using the Earth sandwich find the opposite tool. And if you try to dig directly there, that would make a crazy cavern.


Each week we publish Fridaygram, featuring cool things from Google and elsewhere that you might have missed during the week. Fridaygram items aren't necessarily related to developer topics; they're just interesting to us nerds. This week we offer a Fridaygram tip of the cap to Mike Pegg for pointing out the Earth Opposite tool.