Our Cosmos is a Spacecraft Graveyard

While it’s common to think of the universe as dark, mysterious and infinite, it’s less often that we consider all the human-made space junk floating around nearby. The cosmos is a graveyard of spacecraft—each with its own story. These defunct vessels “glide silently in Earth’s vicinity” with “their mission to chronicle the wonders of the universe long ended.” The Kepler, for instance, trails our planet since running …

29 Nigerian English Phrases Added to the Oxford English Dictionary

The latest update to the Oxford English Dictionary includes 29 words, phrases and colloquialisms from Nigerian English—most of which have been used for decades, and have been adopted by English-speakers elsewhere. Some words already exist in English, but have a different meaning; such as “gist,” which in Nigerian English “is a noun which means ‘rumor’ but also a verb, which means ‘to gossip.’” Other words …

Lexus’ Vehicular Visions for the Moon

For Document Journal’s Fall/Winter 2019 print issue, editors asked Lexus designers a question: “How will we navigate the moon’s low-gravity, rocky terrain?” Using their current models as starting points, the designers drafted seven concepts up for the task and Ian Cartabiano, Lexus’ Design President, explained each one to Document Journal’s Maraya Fisher. “We were trying to create a very futuristic and avant-garde statement that still …