Tag Archives: Attraction

Discover the World’s Most Unique Scientific Tourist Attraction: A Hidden Gem!

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Feedback from New Scientist

Welcome to Feedback, your go-to source for the latest in science and technology news. If you have suggestions or feedback on topics we should explore, email us at feedback@newscientist.com.

Unique Tourist Attractions: Exploring the Niche

The Earth is vast, populated with a diverse range of interests. Here at Feedback, we have a penchant for unique tourist attractions along America’s scenic highways — such as the world’s largest collection of miniature representations of the world’s biggest objects.

Recently, science historian Richard Fallon drew our attention to what is likely the world’s only sculpture park dedicated to foraminifera. For those unfamiliar, foraminifera are single-celled organisms, primarily ocean dwellers with hard outer shells. Their fossil record is abundant and detailed, as they are preserved in vast quantities.

Located in Zhongshan, China, this Foraminifera Sculpture Park opened in 2009, and we acknowledge our delayed recognition of it. Nestled in a hillside park, visitors can stroll through 114 large sculptures. Describing these works is challenging without diving into terminology for irregular three-dimensional forms, but fans of Barbara Hepworth’s curvilinear sculptures might find some familiarity here.

On TripAdvisor, the Foraminifera Sculpture Park boasts a 5-star rating, albeit from a single review by a user named Eudyptes—who seems to have a specific fondness for foraminifera sculptures. Eudyptes is the scientific classification for the crested penguin.

We’d love more testimony about this attraction. Unfortunately, our editorial team turned down our request to visit China solely for this purpose, as well as a proposed visit to the Slavic International Toilet Museum in New Delhi.

On that note, we invite our readers to share any scientifically inclined sites that might be even more niche. Just to clarify, we are not seeking suggestions for popular attractions like the Icelandic Penis Museum or the British Vagina Museum. Maybe a unique museum focused solely on moss or Western blot images exists?

Humor in Scientific Research

It’s not uncommon for academics to incorporate humor in their paper titles, but referring to them in abstracts is rare. Typically, abstracts summarize key study points in about 200 words, varying from concise brilliance to confusing jargon.

However, physicist Leonard Susskind submitted a paper to arXiv titled “Is time reversal in de Sitter space a spontaneously broken gauge symmetry?” His summary includes an intriguing answer: “Yes, but with a twist: Time reversal is indeed a gauge symmetry, albeit hidden by spontaneous symmetry breaking.”

While the last part might puzzle many, we were particularly drawn to Susskind’s acknowledgment of his colleagues for their ongoing discussions. He humorously noted, “I’m almost 86 years old and I can’t wait for my readers to catch up.” His insightful summaries have landed on our list of favorite academic summaries, proving that humor can make complex subjects more relatable.

A Missed Opportunity

We owe our readers a heartfelt apology for an oversight. A few weeks back, we critiqued accounting firm PwC’s venture into estimating the moon’s future economy. We expressed skepticism about monetizing lunar assets, but reader Alex Collier raised an intriguing question: Could this entrepreneurial spirit imply the moon is actually made of cheddar?

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Massive Iceberg Transformed into a Giant Pool: The Ultimate City Attraction

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Satellite image of Antarctic iceberg A23a on January 7

Satellite image of Antarctic iceberg A23a displaying meltwater on its surface

NASA

The Antarctic iceberg A23a, comparable in size to a city, is experiencing an alarming build-up of meltwater on its surface, signaling potential fragmentation.

Researchers are captivated by the massive A23a iceberg due to its unique ability to collect and retain meltwater.

Satellite visuals reveal a distinctive raised ice rim encircling the entire cliff-edge of this slab-like iceberg, giving it an intriguing resemblance to an oversized playground. This pooling region spans approximately 800 square kilometers, larger than the city of Chicago.

In several areas, the meltwater appears deep and brilliantly blue, indicating depths of several meters. The total volume of water on A23a is estimated to be in the billions of liters, enough to fill thousands of Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Douglas MacAyeal from the University of Chicago explains that this rim effect is a typical phenomenon observed in the world’s largest icebergs.


“My hypothesis is that the edges curve downward from the nose, forming an arched dam that retains snowmelt,” he states. “This curvature likely results from a combination of wave undercutting and melting ice, as well as the inherent flexibility of vertical ice cliffs.”

The streaks of water visible in the satellite images indicate remnants of past ice flow when these icebergs were still attached to the Antarctic coast, he noted.

Image of iceberg A23-A captured from the ISS on December 27, 2025

NASA

A23a dates back to 1986 and originated from the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf, initially being over five times its current size. It once held the distinction of being the largest iceberg on Earth.

In recent years, A23a has drifted north into increasingly warmer waters, leading to its gradual fragmentation. The substantial volume of surface meltwater can ultimately contribute to its collapse. “Should that water seep into its fractures and subsequently refreeze, it will effectively split the iceberg,” remarks Mike Meredith from the British Antarctic Survey.

He contends that the iceberg can deteriorate unexpectedly within a matter of days.

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