When faced with a world map, most Mancunians could confidently point out the location of our city, but what if that map was from millions of years ago?
To say the world looked very different back then is an understatement.
If you think you’re up to the challenge of pinpointing the rainy city on a map from 200 million years ago, then this new interactive map website – Ancient Earth Globe – shows you how different locations have moved alongside the evolution of Earth.
Launched by Californian Palaeontologist Ian Webster a few years ago now, Ancient Earth Globe uses a combination of palaeogeographic maps and data from GPlates – a geoscience data resource – to create 3D maps that let you go back as far as 750 million years in the planet’s history.
The tool allows you to enter any location and then it will plug that location into plate tectonic models.
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The result is that users can see where towns and cities were located hundreds of millions of years ago on the Pangea supercontinent.
Do you recognise Manchester here then?
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Ancient Earth Globe
Speaking to CNN, Webster said: “It shows that our environment is dynamic and can change. The history of Earth is longer than we can conceive, and the current arrangement of plate tectonics and continents is an accident of time.
“It will be very different in the future, and Earth may outlast us all.
“My software geocodes the user’s location and then uses models to run their location backwards in time. I built the interactive globe visualisation and the geocoding and GPlates integration myself so that people could plug in their own locations.”
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If you fancy venturing a little further afield than just Manchester, the website could actually prove to be a great educational tool too.
Webster continues: “It is meant to spark fascination and hopefully respect for the scientists that work every day to better understand our world and its past. It also contains fun surprises, for example how the US used to be split by a shallow sea, the Appalachains used to be very tall mountains comparable to the Himalayas, and that Florida used to be submerged.”
Channel 4 is looking for Mancs who think they can survive the apocalypse for a new TV series
Lydia Mastrolonardo
Have you always wanted to see how long you’d last in an apocalypse?
Well now’s your chance, as Apocalypse is potentially coming back to Channel 4 for a second series, with producers having put out a nationwide casting call for contestants willing to take part.
The casting call simply reads: “Do you think you have what it takes to survive the end of the world?”
Described as a dystopian series designed to test the creativity, resourcefulness, and resilience of our nation, Apocalypse sees players are pushed out of their comfort zones and put to the ultimate test.
In the series, ordinary people are tasked with surviving for 28 days in an abandoned city – used previously only for the military to practice urban warfare – with no food, running water, electricity or heat.
Produced by The Garden – which is part of ITV Studios – for Channel 4, the show’s creators are now calling on Mancs and people up and down the country with the ‘courage and ingenuity’ to compete, to get in touch and apply for the potential second series.
Does your mate always bang on after watching a post-apocalyptic film that they would’ve done things differently? Or is the news at the moment freaking you out and you want to give the end of the world a bit of a practice run? Either way, sign up, test that plan you’ve built in your head, and see if you’ve really got what it takes.
Applications are now open, and all you need to do is fill in a short application form and one of the production team will get back to you if they would like to proceed. Come on, let’s prove what Mancs are made of.
Hundreds of katsu curries are being given out for FREE in Manchester this week
Emily Sergeant
Hundreds of katsu curries are being dished up and given out for free in Manchester this week, but only for certain people.
And those lucky people will be students.
That’s right… a new semester is upon us, and thousands of freshers and returning students are descending on the city and Manchester‘s many universities for another year. But the life of a student isn’t exactly the cheapest sometimes, especially for those who haven’t had to live on a budget before moving out or into halls.
But to make things a little easier, Tampopo has announced it’ll be serving hundreds of one of its most popular dishes for free this week.
Tampopo is celebrating National Katsu Curry Day in the most delicious way possible, by giving away 700 Katsu Curries with rice for free, exclusively to freshers and students this Sunday (27 September).
Whether you’re brand new to the city, settling back into uni life, or you’re simply in need of a katsu fix, students can head to their nearest participating Tampopo and tuck into a hearty meal without needing to spend a penny.
100 katsu curries will be available each from 12-2pm at both Tampopo restaurants in Manchester city centre – which are on Albert Square, and in the Corn Exchange – or if you head over to the Trafford Centre, both the Tampopo there and the East Street sites are taking part.
“[Our] Katsu Curry has long been one of our most-loved dishes, so National Katsu Curry Day felt like the perfect excuse to give students a proper welcome to the new academic year,” Tampopo said in a statement.
So, are you feeling hungry then? The offer is exclusively available for takeaway only to freshers and students with a valid student ID, which they must present on collection.
100 portions are available at each participating location, and just one free katsu curry with rice will be available per person.
Emily Sergeant -
8th September 2020 
