1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,400 Speaker 1: I am Scott and I'm Ben and we're from Car Stuff. 2 00:00:02,440 --> 00:00:09,360 Speaker 1: We're the podcast that covers everything that floats, flies, swimsboard, drives, adventures, thrills, chills, literally, planes, 3 00:00:09,440 --> 00:00:12,560 Speaker 1: trains and automobiles. That's right, and you can find all 4 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:16,480 Speaker 1: of our episodes on Google Play, Spotify, iTunes, and really 5 00:00:16,520 --> 00:00:21,200 Speaker 1: anywhere else you get your podcast. Welcome to How Stuff 6 00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:24,040 Speaker 1: Works Now. I'm your host, Lauren voge Obama, a researcher 7 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:30,320 Speaker 1: and writer. Here at How Stuff Works. Every week I'm 8 00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:32,840 Speaker 1: reading you three stories from our team about the weird 9 00:00:32,920 --> 00:00:36,440 Speaker 1: and wondrous advances we've seen in science, technology, and culture. 10 00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:40,400 Speaker 1: This week, thousands of women in Saudi Arabia are petitioning 11 00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:43,920 Speaker 1: their conservative government to end laws that require adult women 12 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:47,560 Speaker 1: to have a male legal guardian. And unrelated due to 13 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:50,720 Speaker 1: global warming, a secret nuclear base that the United States 14 00:00:50,760 --> 00:00:53,440 Speaker 1: built in the nineteen sixties may be brought to light. 15 00:00:53,840 --> 00:00:58,120 Speaker 1: But First Senior Writer Robert Lamb offers a retrospective on Rosetta. 16 00:00:58,360 --> 00:01:03,000 Speaker 1: The European Space Agencies commit tailing spacecraft that was spectacularly 17 00:01:03,080 --> 00:01:09,520 Speaker 1: decommissioned last week. The essays Rosetta mission launched in two 18 00:01:09,520 --> 00:01:11,760 Speaker 1: thousand four and arrived to Commet sixty seven P on 19 00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:15,520 Speaker 1: August nine, fourteen to become the first spacecraft to orbit 20 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:18,319 Speaker 1: a commet. Then, on November of the twelveth it touched 21 00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:20,840 Speaker 1: its lander phil A down on the surface, the first 22 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:25,400 Speaker 1: successful comet landing in space exploration history. Granted, the lander 23 00:01:25,440 --> 00:01:28,479 Speaker 1: wound up in a less than optimal location, lacking sufficient 24 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:32,320 Speaker 1: sunlight or connectivity to Rosetta, but it still provided surface 25 00:01:32,360 --> 00:01:36,720 Speaker 1: readings and photos before going completely dark. Rosetta itself continued 26 00:01:36,760 --> 00:01:39,880 Speaker 1: to provide valuable readings on the comet, however, including the 27 00:01:39,880 --> 00:01:43,080 Speaker 1: revelation that the water in sixty seven p s Ice 28 00:01:43,319 --> 00:01:46,920 Speaker 1: is truly unearthly. Specifically, the difference boils down to the 29 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:50,920 Speaker 1: comet water's high deuterium to hydrogen ratio, meaning that the 30 00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:55,520 Speaker 1: water from Earth's oceans may not stem from primordial comet bombardments, 31 00:01:55,520 --> 00:01:59,080 Speaker 1: which is a long held hypothesis. However, Rosetta's discovery of 32 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:02,240 Speaker 1: organic moloc fuels in sixty seven P bolsters the idea 33 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:04,640 Speaker 1: that some of the rare building blocks of life as 34 00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:08,359 Speaker 1: we know it could have arrived on Earth via comet strike. Now, 35 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:11,200 Speaker 1: these are just two findings from Rosetta's rich spoils of 36 00:02:11,320 --> 00:02:14,160 Speaker 1: data data that scientists will continue to plunder for months 37 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:16,919 Speaker 1: or even years to come. Heck, even the craft's final 38 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:20,440 Speaker 1: moments produced up close and personal readings of Comet sixty 39 00:02:20,480 --> 00:02:23,440 Speaker 1: seven P. See in Hitching a ride with a commet. 40 00:02:23,639 --> 00:02:26,760 Speaker 1: Rosetta had been moving farther and farther away from the Sun, 41 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:30,200 Speaker 1: recharging its batteries with less and less solar radiation. The 42 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:33,000 Speaker 1: ESA scientists could have put the craft in hibernation mode 43 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:35,000 Speaker 1: and attempt to disturb it back to life when the 44 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:38,000 Speaker 1: commet comes back around sunword in four or five years, 45 00:02:38,120 --> 00:02:40,639 Speaker 1: but they decided to send it on a collision course instead, 46 00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:44,320 Speaker 1: a controlled ascent into one of Comets sixty seven P 47 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:47,920 Speaker 1: s uncharted pits. The resulting data should also provide us 48 00:02:47,919 --> 00:02:51,080 Speaker 1: direct readings on the gases surrounding the comet and a 49 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:54,679 Speaker 1: better read on its ice particle loss. So Rosetta, farewell, 50 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:56,639 Speaker 1: Thanks for all that you've done, and hopefully it'll be 51 00:02:56,680 --> 00:03:00,280 Speaker 1: a long, peaceful ride. Tell your final resting place Live 52 00:03:00,639 --> 00:03:07,680 Speaker 1: with another cosmic pie. Next up, senior writer Jonathan Strickland 53 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:10,760 Speaker 1: brings us a story of melting ice and the Cold War. 54 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:14,560 Speaker 1: Amidst the tensions of the nineteen sixties, the United States 55 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:18,120 Speaker 1: built a secret nuclear base deep under Greenland's ice. It 56 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:21,119 Speaker 1: seems to be a safely buried secret, but now, due 57 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:25,359 Speaker 1: to anthropogenic climate change, Project ice Worm may be revealed 58 00:03:25,400 --> 00:03:31,000 Speaker 1: to the world. Let's backtrack. In the late nineteen fifties, U. 59 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:34,440 Speaker 1: S diplomats worked with Denmark officials to create a scientific 60 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:38,600 Speaker 1: city under Greenland's ice cap. It was called Camp Century. 61 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:42,640 Speaker 1: Scientists there would drill down into the ice, retrieve core samples, 62 00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:47,680 Speaker 1: and learn lots of scientific e things, And that totally 63 00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:52,320 Speaker 1: did happen. The US core of Army engineers began excavating 64 00:03:52,320 --> 00:03:55,520 Speaker 1: the site in nineteen fifty nine. They built the research 65 00:03:55,560 --> 00:03:59,120 Speaker 1: center eight meters beneath the ice. But what Denmark and 66 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:01,720 Speaker 1: the rest of the world role didn't know was that 67 00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:06,240 Speaker 1: Camp Sentry was the tip of the ice uh cap. 68 00:04:06,840 --> 00:04:10,680 Speaker 1: The real experiment was a bit more militaristic. It was 69 00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:15,080 Speaker 1: called Project ice Worm. The engineers created a network of 70 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:20,080 Speaker 1: tunnels beneath the ice that collectively measured about four thousand kilometers. 71 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:23,400 Speaker 1: The goal was to install about six hundred nuclear ballistic 72 00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:27,160 Speaker 1: missiles under the ice, well within striking distance of Moscow. 73 00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:30,240 Speaker 1: They planned to mount missile launch pads on tracks so 74 00:04:30,279 --> 00:04:33,640 Speaker 1: they could move the missiles to different launch locations within 75 00:04:33,680 --> 00:04:38,000 Speaker 1: the base, but the engineers concluded that Greenland's ice shifted 76 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:41,320 Speaker 1: too frequently, which made a nuclear launch facility and practical. 77 00:04:41,600 --> 00:04:44,920 Speaker 1: By nineteen sixty seven, they canceled the project. The departing 78 00:04:44,960 --> 00:04:48,960 Speaker 1: soldiers took the base's nuclear generator, but left behind pretty 79 00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:55,440 Speaker 1: much everything else. Unfortunately, that included hazardous material like chemical, biological, 80 00:04:55,480 --> 00:04:59,440 Speaker 1: and nuclear waste. Since its construction, more than twenty five 81 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:03,600 Speaker 1: of new ice has formed on top of Project ice Worm. 82 00:05:03,640 --> 00:05:07,000 Speaker 1: But global warming is poised to reverse this trend. If 83 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:09,359 Speaker 1: the Earth continues to warm at its current rate, it 84 00:05:09,400 --> 00:05:12,520 Speaker 1: won't be long before the ice melts in Greenland are 85 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:16,400 Speaker 1: greater than the annual snow it receives. By twenty ninety, 86 00:05:16,560 --> 00:05:19,560 Speaker 1: the exposure of the facility would be irreversible, according to 87 00:05:19,640 --> 00:05:24,040 Speaker 1: research published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. Now, if 88 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:27,080 Speaker 1: this were just a story about a secret military base, 89 00:05:27,200 --> 00:05:30,160 Speaker 1: the US might walk away a bit embarrassed, but the 90 00:05:30,200 --> 00:05:34,560 Speaker 1: presence of that hazardous waste complicates matters considerably. There's a 91 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:38,480 Speaker 1: real danger that it could cause massive environmental damage. Right now, 92 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:41,159 Speaker 1: no one has stepped up to handle the issue. On 93 00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:44,919 Speaker 1: a related note, it was at Camp Century that paleoclimatologist 94 00:05:44,960 --> 00:05:48,160 Speaker 1: Willie Dan's guard proved that ice cores contain a record 95 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:51,560 Speaker 1: of Earth's past in them. By examining ice cores, you 96 00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:55,200 Speaker 1: can track major trends and changes on Earth, including shifts 97 00:05:55,200 --> 00:05:59,680 Speaker 1: and climate or massive volcanic activity. Climatologists rely on ice 98 00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:07,160 Speaker 1: cores together data for their climate computer simulations. Seems fitting. Finally, 99 00:06:07,200 --> 00:06:10,400 Speaker 1: this week, I'm exploring a human rights story from Saudi Arabia. 100 00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:13,919 Speaker 1: Over fourteen thousand Saudi women have signed a petition to 101 00:06:13,960 --> 00:06:17,640 Speaker 1: abolish the male guardianship system, which has long been criticized 102 00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:21,560 Speaker 1: by activists as essentially making women's second class citizens. Let's 103 00:06:21,560 --> 00:06:25,760 Speaker 1: take a look at what's going on here. In Saudi Arabia, 104 00:06:25,839 --> 00:06:29,880 Speaker 1: women of all ages have a male legal guardian of father, brother, husband, 105 00:06:29,960 --> 00:06:33,240 Speaker 1: or son. A Saudi woman needs permission from this guardian 106 00:06:33,320 --> 00:06:36,320 Speaker 1: to marry and must be accompanied by him or another 107 00:06:36,360 --> 00:06:39,560 Speaker 1: male relative when traveling abroad. She can be asked by 108 00:06:39,560 --> 00:06:43,719 Speaker 1: institutions like schools, potential employers, and hospitals for proof that 109 00:06:43,760 --> 00:06:47,320 Speaker 1: she has his approval before she'll be allowed to study, work, 110 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:50,560 Speaker 1: or receive a medical procedure. The petition calls for the 111 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:53,840 Speaker 1: abolishment of male guardianship. It was delivered in person to 112 00:06:53,880 --> 00:06:57,520 Speaker 1: the Royal Court by two female activists on September bearing 113 00:06:57,560 --> 00:07:01,200 Speaker 1: fourteen thousand, six hundred and eighty two signatures, and its 114 00:07:01,200 --> 00:07:05,360 Speaker 1: delivery was bolstered by about telegrams used because they can 115 00:07:05,400 --> 00:07:07,680 Speaker 1: be confirmed to have come from within the Kingdom, that 116 00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:10,000 Speaker 1: were sent directly to the King's Office in the days 117 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:13,000 Speaker 1: leading up to the submission. This campaign is rooted in 118 00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:16,040 Speaker 1: two decades of protests for women's rights in Saudi Arabia. 119 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:18,720 Speaker 1: Current support has been growing since July, which is when 120 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:21,720 Speaker 1: a Human Rights Watch report on the guardianship system spurred 121 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:24,920 Speaker 1: a movement that organized on Twitter with hashtags that translate 122 00:07:24,960 --> 00:07:27,400 Speaker 1: from the Arabic as Saudi women want to abolish the 123 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:31,360 Speaker 1: guardianship system and I am my own guardian. This movement 124 00:07:31,400 --> 00:07:33,480 Speaker 1: is part of a wave of change in the kingdom. 125 00:07:33,520 --> 00:07:36,000 Speaker 1: The government has twice told the United Nations that they 126 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:38,920 Speaker 1: would end the guardianship system due to human rights concerns, 127 00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:42,760 Speaker 1: once in two thousand nine and once though only smaller 128 00:07:42,840 --> 00:07:46,239 Speaker 1: changes have been enacted so far. For example, Saudi women 129 00:07:46,240 --> 00:07:48,760 Speaker 1: participated in official sporting events for the first time at 130 00:07:48,760 --> 00:07:52,920 Speaker 1: the Summer Olympics in London. Women were first appointed to 131 00:07:52,960 --> 00:07:55,920 Speaker 1: the King's highest advisory Council, and the government passed a 132 00:07:56,000 --> 00:08:00,360 Speaker 1: law criminalizing domestic abuse, and in their municipal elections of December, 133 00:08:01,280 --> 00:08:03,960 Speaker 1: women voted and registered as candidates for the first time 134 00:08:04,040 --> 00:08:07,440 Speaker 1: the country's history. Not everyone agrees with the current petition. 135 00:08:07,800 --> 00:08:11,040 Speaker 1: Other Saudi women have launched counter protests with an alternate 136 00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:14,360 Speaker 1: hashtag that translates as the guardianship is for her, not 137 00:08:14,480 --> 00:08:18,440 Speaker 1: against her. These protests focus on maintaining the conservative values 138 00:08:18,480 --> 00:08:22,440 Speaker 1: and family customs outlined in religious law. In a campaign 139 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:25,080 Speaker 1: called My Guardian Knows What's best for Me, gathered more 140 00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:28,400 Speaker 1: than hundred signatures on a petition of their own calling 141 00:08:28,440 --> 00:08:31,840 Speaker 1: for the rejection of women's rights activism. It's a complicated 142 00:08:31,840 --> 00:08:34,599 Speaker 1: issue that's difficult to understand from the outside. As of 143 00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:37,360 Speaker 1: this recording, there's been no official response to the petition, 144 00:08:37,440 --> 00:08:42,920 Speaker 1: but we'll be on the lookout. That's our show for 145 00:08:42,960 --> 00:08:46,119 Speaker 1: this week. Thank you so much for tuning in. Subscribe 146 00:08:46,120 --> 00:08:48,480 Speaker 1: now for more of the latest science news and send 147 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:50,160 Speaker 1: us links to anything you'd like to hear is cover 148 00:08:50,600 --> 00:08:53,880 Speaker 1: plus your favorite weird word this week. I know I've 149 00:08:53,880 --> 00:08:55,920 Speaker 1: asked for that before, but one can never really have 150 00:08:56,120 --> 00:08:58,400 Speaker 1: too many words. You can send us an email at 151 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:02,120 Speaker 1: now podcast at how stuff works dot com. Also, Hey, 152 00:09:02,240 --> 00:09:04,120 Speaker 1: shout out to the excellent human who said hi to 153 00:09:04,120 --> 00:09:06,760 Speaker 1: me in meat space last week. I was totally too 154 00:09:06,800 --> 00:09:09,040 Speaker 1: socially tapped to respond like a human person, and I 155 00:09:09,120 --> 00:09:12,480 Speaker 1: promptly forgot your name, but it meant a lot. Seriously, 156 00:09:12,520 --> 00:09:15,800 Speaker 1: thank you for listening. Of course, for lots more stories 157 00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:17,560 Speaker 1: like the ones that you heard today, you can head 158 00:09:17,559 --> 00:09:20,240 Speaker 1: on over to our home planet now that house stuff 159 00:09:20,280 --> 00:09:27,520 Speaker 1: works dot com.