Link Tank: Celestial Events in February For Astronomy Enthusiasts

Upcoming celestial events, My Hero Academia, the science behind weighted blankets, and more in today's Link Tank!

There are a number of celestial events happening in February 2020 for nightsky enthusiasts!

“February is an exciting month for those who love to moon over the night sky.  With the first Supermoon of the new year, a Snow Moon, and a game of hide and seek with Mars and the Moon, the night’s sky is full of incredible happenings to mark this leap year. Inverse is your celestial guide for this month, with a breakdown of the five things to look out for up above.”

Read more at Inverse.

The creator of My Hero Academia has apologized for naming a villain character after a Japanese war crime.

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My Hero Academia is one of the more popular manga and anime series right now. It takes place in an alternate universe where the vast majority of humans have manifested superpowers called “quirks,” and our sweet baby-faced protagonist, Izuku “Deku” Midoriya, is the hero we follow on his journey to be a superhero. A lot of the series like to use names based on puns, but unfortunately, one of the most recent names given to a villain had some unfortunate implications.”

Read more at The Mary Sue.

Weighted blankets are seeing a rise in popularity among new parents, but why? And are they safe for kids?

“When Pamela Hunter’s young daughter Ransom was diagnosed with a neurological condition called sensory processing disorder, Hunter noticed that Ransom was often calmed when draped in a homemade woven blanket. “I tested it out on her and immediately we saw her body relax,” Hunter says. In the years since, Hunter launched Sheltered Co., a Los Angeles company that sells hand-woven, large, slightly heavy blankets made from sustainable materials. So-called weighted blankets are having a moment, as doctors and celebrities sing the praises of these hefty textiles. Some claim weighted blankets can help people with autism, sensory difficulties, restless legs, insomnia, anxiety, depression, and other ailments. But what exactly do they do? And are they safe for kids?”

Read more at The Week.

The Iowa Caucus’s new buggy app has been causing massive amount of trouble for the caucus result, and voters are not happy.

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“The phone app at the center of the clown-shoe exercise in democracy known as the Iowa Caucuses was not only riddled with technical issues and potentially susceptible to being hacked, it appears to have been designed by a greenhorn programmer in the process of learning the code. That’s according to the analyses of several security experts who’ve now had time to rip the app apart and examine its guts.”

Read more at Gizmodo.

The newest editions of Wuthering Heights and A Tale of Two Cities are stunning—and they’re selling fast.

“Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights and Charles Dickens’s A Tale of Two Cities have impacted countless readers around the world for more than a century, but publisher Thomas Nelson is still finding new ways to appreciate the classics. These two classic novels recently got a winter-themed makeover for the company’s ‘Seasons Edition’ collection, and both are currently available on Amazon for $19. There’s a catch, though: supplies of both Wuthering Heights and A Tale of Two Cities are limited, and once they’re gone, they’re gone for good.”

Read more at Mental Floss.

Check out the perfect Valentine’s Day gift guide for all the tech lovers out there, courtesy of our friends at PCMag.

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“A high-tech Valentine’s Day gift might seem unromantic to some, but not to you and your significant other.  After all, you use technology to keep in touch all the time, whether you’re FaceTiming from opposite ends of the country or texting from the other room. There are times when it can have a less-than-desired effect on your relationship (put the phone away at that Valentine’s Day dinner, please), but it can also bring you closer. Just look at couples-centric apps (yes, they exist) like Between.”

Read more at PCMag.