Head some 500 miles (800 km) east of the Philippines or 2,000 miles (3,200 km) south of Tokyo, and you'll find Palau, an island nation in the Pacific Ocean. Amongst the Rock Islands of Palau is a vaguely Y-shaped uninhabited island, called Mecherchar or Eil Malk, which includes a number of marine lakes. One of the more astounding lakes is Ongeim'l Tketau or Jellyfish Lake, home to millions of jellyfish that make daily migrations, tracking the sun. [more inside]
posted by filthy light thief on Apr 4, 2011 - 20 comments

There hasn't been much coverage about this in the major media, so you probably aren't aware that there is a presidential election today. After two terms, the current president cannot seek reelection. The next president could be a military man or an attorney. There could also be changes in the Senate. All of this means a lot for the country's relations with other countries, its independence from foreign energy sources, and for the future, in general, of this great country.
posted by twoleftfeet on Nov 4, 2008 - 41 comments

A South African paleoanthropologist on vacation on the island of Palau in Micronesia has discovered thousands of bone fragments of very small people estimated at between 900 and 2900 years old. He and his colleagues have just published a paper on their findings, which would appear to damage the claim that the bones discovered on Flores Island, Indonesia in 2004 and attributed to homo floresiensis (or "Hobbits") were not a unique and extinct branch of the human family, but rather pygmy-like peoples. However it also knocks a hole in the claim that the Flores bones were merely all unusually small humans suffering from microcephaly due to iodine deficiency. Naturally, the scientists who originally discovered the Hobbits on Flores aren't too thrilled about either of these theories. (Previous discussions here and here)
posted by Asparagirl on Mar 11, 2008 - 30 comments