Some interesting facts about 2018




	11 November 1918

Interesting things happening in 2018...

Landing of the Spacex Falcon Heavy outboard boosters: 02/06/2018

Falcon Heavy is a partially-reusable heavy-lift launch vehicle designed and manufactured by SpaceX. Falcon Heavy was designed to carry humans into space, including to the Moon and Mars, although as of February 2018, it is not certified and there are no plans to use it for crewed missions; it will instead be devoted to launching large satellites or space.

Watch the first 10 seconds of the first video and then the whole of the second video.

Scalp cooling for chemo patients

You may have heard of this new medical breakthrough before -- basically, it's a cooling cap that's worn before, during and after chemotherapy treatments, and it may reduce the likelihood of hair loss. The FDA approved the system in May 2017, and it's one of the coolest and most highly-anticipated medical breakthroughs of 2018.

Regular people going to the moon

In 2018, Silicon Valley startup Moon Express (slogan: "The Moon is Me") says it'll "definitely" land a craft on the moon, paving the way for a generation of rich space casuals to populate it. If Moon Mission is successful, it would be the first private company to land a craft on the moon. The company's final goal? To get folks on the moon and mine it for natural resources.

Flights to Antarctica

Prior to 2018, in order to fly to Antarctica you either had to be a paying customer on a chartered flight or an extremely misdirected bird. Starting next year, the first EVER commercial flights will head out from the southernmost part of Argentina, and drop you at an Argentinian base on Seymour Island near the Antarctic peninsula. It's good news for penguins -- with the expected tourist boom, their property values are gonna go way up.

A time capsule opening

The Helium Time Columns Monument in Amarillo, Texas, is a neat structure that not only commemorates the discovery of helium, it also serves as an extremely fancy version of a time-honored middle school tradition: The time capsule. When the monument was erected in 1968, a few time capsules were placed inside to be opened at 25, 50, 100 and 1,000 years. So, obviously, in 2018, the 50-year capsule will be opened, and we can all ponder the last half-century of progress with an equal mix of awe and regret.

A Titanic diving trip

Most people find the Titanic disaster at least marginally interesting, but if you're one of the special few who're really, REALLY into its history and lore (and you're super rich), this news is for you. Starting in May 2018, super fans will get an opportunity to take diving trips to the wreck site. Sure, the underwater postmortem will set you back more than $100,000, but travel company Blue Marble Private says the price tag is actually equivalent, after inflation, to what first class Titanic passengers paid for their tickets way back in 1912. Cool! A little morbid, but cool!

ESports take a world stage

For the uninitiated, "ESports" is the sexy term for what is essentially competitive video gaming and yes, it's an increasingly popular and well-respected thing. In fact, ESports will debut at the 18th Asian Games in Jakarta. The Asian Games are touted as the "biggest multi-sport games after the Olympic Games,"so safe to say, the inclusion of button-mashing and screen-staring is a huge step for this burgeoning movement.