I have dug through the Internet this week and uncovered all this geeky goodness. You can find the thousands of links from previous weeks here.
I have marked my favorite links with a ∞. Enjoy.
Science to Read, Write, and Watch∞ "Investigating this story, the assumption was that airbags exploded, spraying passengers with spiders
." It's not just the NFL--Data now coming in about brain trauma in soccer players
∞ Let’s get real. It doesn’t matter if you think Monsanto is evil
. Genetically modified food is safe Just how much do perceived intentions determine how we think of others? Quite a bit
"It's more like the gush of a broken sewer pipe
: almost 1.5 gallons launching from the urethra every second" The best image of Saturn
? (Yes, you need to download the 4000x3200 version) ∞ Take the first official The Walking Dead physics quiz
! It involves crossbows and zombie brains In time for Halloween: 13 Horrifying Ways To Die
(Arthropod Edition) The shark with a jaw that looks like it’s trying to escape its face
"If you’re going to have an encounter with the Kingslayer
, make sure it’s a baby one." ∞ Analyzing the greatest chart of sci-fi ships ever
to see what it can tell us about our dreams of space How can a magnet levitate a frog, exactly
? ∞ What if crystals actually had the power to heal? Diamonds: A Doctor’s Best Friend
"Everything burns...except aerogel
, for the most part" The devious bird that has a two-pronged approach to parasitism
Ed Yong can make something amazingly complicated sensible and funny: “Find and Replace” Across An Entire Genome
In learning about the continued hunt for why we yawn, this post
will inevitably make you yawn ∞ "Schizophrenics used to see demons. Now they talk about hidden cameras
–and make a lot of sense." "Toning" is a myth, gluten-free food is rarely healthier, high-fructose corn syrup is not poison, etc., etc., etc...
"We Fact-Checked Snapple's 'Real Facts'" (And a ton of them are bogus
) The White House has been standing longer than the Aztecs ruled Tenochtitlán
. ∞ "ADHD might be a convenient catchall
for what happens when kids are expected to be miniature adults" So What Happens If The Movement To Label GMOs Succeeds
? A well-measured piece 500,000,000 years ago something died. 500,000,000 years later, someone dug it up and figured out its nervous system
Are Marmoset Monkeys Taking Turns To Talk
? The answer shows us how complicated our speech really is. Doing the due diligence to link the trillions of ants that scurry beneath us to their waspy ancestors
∞ On the best way to blow on a bullfrog's butt
to make it jump at its physical limit I understand the equation, but this is still amazing: Fluids can juggle
. And now that I know the physics behind it, I simply enjoy it
. Benthic ctenophores colonize sea stars and use them as fishing piers
Fact-checking the crowd-sourced ways to deflect an asteroid impact
Fish Evolve Stabbier Genitals When Predators Are Near
Robot Roaches...for Science
? ∞ Fascinating longread: The debate over who controls who for the parasites that "control" mice brains
"If the jellies say growing up in space isn’t so great
, we better be listening." The microscopic engineering that makes a fish impervious to piranha
∞ We don't even know what scrotality is for! The Scrotum Is Nuts
How to Read a Scientific Paper (About That Researcher With a Nematode in His Mouth
) Why does music help exercise? Maybe techno-playing lifting equipment
can help answer that ∞ When the expansion of Earth gives us rings like Saturn
How maps of the sea went from monsters to men
as we learned more about the dark depths Herbal supplements generally don't work, and almost half of them are incorrectly labeled
--so what's in them? Whales don't spray water from their blowholes
∞ "Remember this: if there was ever a zombie uprising, wildlife would kick its ass
." The new SpaceX Grasshopper video
is still awe-inspiring Jurassic Park's fossil of a blood-filled mosquito was fiction...until now
(still no DNA) "Qi doesn't seem to do any work, and that doesn’t seem to bother supporters and practitioners. But it ought to
." Do microwave ovens kill nutrients in food? No, hippies
Tree-Killing Worm, Please Make Your Way To The Boarding Gate
∞ No, A Spider Did Not Bite You
Elephants might just know what you mean when you point to something
, which is amazing See how bacteria replicate in nano-prisons
"Don’t underestimate the Mola. Under that derpy face lies a mass of seething angst
." Wow. What a seizure sounds like
is straight out of any 1950s scifi film How boiling the toxic slime of a snail
colored the robes of royalty How walking stick and moth camouflage let us see the secrets of natural selection
∞ Bill Nye is back and explaining our newest mission to The Great Red Spot
in wonderfully nostalgic fashion That thing where an octopus umbrellas over a coconut and then runs with it
"Within 35 years, this will be the first place in recent history to adopt an entirely new climate
." Now the brown recluse is famous for something other than necrotizing venom: Really weird silk
How do you destroy a magnet? Wiggle its atoms around
! Will gravity help us stay alive
after the Sun tries to eat us? Jellyfish invade us because their movements take advantage of vortices
. Story here.
Why A Little Mammal Has So Much Sex That It Disintegrates
Tracking down the origin of the term "Supervolcano"
from fraud into the literature Why maggot migrations are so important to forensic science
is as dangerous as a coat made entirely from live, angry cobras" ∞ Deciphering the chemical codes of plants as they talk to each other
as we sit on the shore of the multiverse Fantastic giant squid specimen
washes up on Spanish beach. Story here
. Watch (a simulation of) a black hole destroying a star
Nerdery At Its Finest Yes, I just Rick Rolled you in Klingon
∞ Internet Hall of Fame inductee #347
, math nerds Funny, vulgar, and biting critique of the Batman/Superman movie
Pikachu's real-life "thunderbolt"
could probably kill you ∞ How many times did you wish you had a "Spock" button
this week? What can make a video game feel real is actually giving weight to human movement
, without exaggeration Giraffes would look better with sauropod tails
∞ How Twilight should have ended
I would love to watch this "Men in Suits" doc about the actors who make our monsters move
when it comes out This is a complete list of the scientific evidence of evolution being a hoax
My favorite LOTR infographic cleverly follows the Fellowship through all three films/books
How did LOTR get those impressive forced perspective shots? With some clever engineering
The LOTR Project is getting really nerdy: Frequency of character mentions by book
The LEGO recreation of The Battle of Helm's Deep
is suitably epic I was waiting the entire movie to see this
in Captain Phillips ∞ I wasn't alive in the 70s, but did all movie trailers suck? The original Star Wars trailer did
As usual, xkcd has a fascinating way of visualizing things: Angular Size
It’s Time to Retire “Boob Plate” Armor. Because It Would Kill You
. Stan Lee explains his approach to science in comics
, and I think it reveals something really interesting ∞ "Acne doesn't seem that bad when you consider what butterflies go through." Moths vs Butterflies
"You can call it the zero-point energy field manipulator
if you really want to..." How much are videogame characters actually carrying? Literally, tons
How much wind would it take to pick up and throw a human
? A dinosaur coffee mug that pleases the paleontologist
GIFs and Images for 2-Seconds of WowPhysics of the "Barking Dog"
that you can only see in slow-mo Reverse Lion King
? Incredible Google Earth GIF set of how we've molded cities over the last 30 years
∞ The most popular girl names in the US over the last 50 years
. Fascinating, but why so many "Jennifers"
? It lines the insides of your cell walls (kinda) This has to be one of the coolest ways I've seen a portrait drawn
Japan has the best water fountains
∞ You needed this
. You're welcome How do you suppress a fire in an aircraft hanger? Fill the entire space with six feet of foam
Slow: Crab migration crossing
Ohhhhhhh, that's where pi (radians) comes from
is the prettiest stick that isn't NOTHING IS REAL
∞ The Wikipedia source video for the Chelyabinsk meteor
is one of the best Incredibly cool photo set of old NASA equipment tests
, and another awesome photo set of NASA wind tunnel testing
This is a straight line on a globe
Slowed down, you can seem the immense forces a dragster must deal with
"Thank you for the meal, now get that hand out of my face
," says frog When a truck releases 2,000 racing pigeons
∞ DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE A TINY TORNADO
It is so satisfying watching a machine chomp down on this vending machine
Electricity follows the path of least resistance, meaning that as it heats this air, the lightning follows
∞ Your boat may have been followed by dolphins, but what about killer whales
? So soothing: Watching paint dance on speakers
playing dub step in slo-mo A beautiful piece of art is a wave made of maps
Watch how the unemployment rate of the US crashes during the great recession
Amazing images and GIFs of black and golden cicada molting
! Quasicrystals: When metals look like diamonds
∞ "Stingless honey bees", or meliponines, create beautiful little structures
A reminder that lotus flower leaves were the first hydrophobic surfaces
that people gawked at Baby octopuses are kinda like that sticky toy you used to throw at the wall
You might get hypnotized by the surface of the Sun
. Each cell could be the size of a continent There is one craft large enough to pick up sunken oil tankers, and we call it "The Claw"
Proof that visual perception is a game of estimations
(and that optical illusions are crazy cool) Always bet on fluid mechanics
! ∞ This study of chimp memory has been challenged, but nevertheless, this chimp would kick your ass at this memory game
Testing to see if electric motor trains really produce a magnetic field
is something I would always do When you have to pull a problem tooth out of a Tiger
, at least it seems to appreciate it ∞ The movement of air out in front of an F-1 car is so intense, it shreds butterflies
Pop Culture Happenings ∞ I have 50 different sci-fi shorts for you
, each that can be read in less than two minutes. Now I need artists "I love Buzzfeed's writing, but couldn't stand those pesky GIFs getting in the way
." ∞ Best thing I've read on drones is an epic longread from 'Black Hawk Down''s author: The Killing Machines
Americans underestimate how much oil we get from Canada, and grossly overestimate how much we get from Saudi Arabia
By the math, the CDC has around 17 million emails to get through
since the shutdown Anti-vaccination activists should not be given a say in the media
, says scientist Much more clustered than I expected: How big and tall are NFL players
? Stephen Fry lets gay-"curing" doctor explain therapy that doesn't work and harms people
What’s The Creepiest Thing Someone’s Said To You While Cosplaying
? "I swear, this fish was *this big*
" ∞ I'm six years late to this, but it's kinda of amazing in an irreverent sort of way: The Ten Minute Suicide Guide
Re-watch Felix Baumgartner's space jump
for its anniversary. Still pretty nail-biting 100,000 toothpicks and 35 years equals "Rolling Through the Bay"
Fantastic time-lapse (and story) of Endeavor's last ride
E. B. White explains why he wrote “Charlotte’s Web”
with some lovely science writing How can how people died "well" in the 1400s inform our decisions today? Dying The Good Death
Mental Floss tries out 30 "life hacks" to see if they are legit
PSA: Putting a firecracker in your mouth to replicate a kaiju's atomic breath
is not advised. ∞ Agbogbloshie--an illegal settlement where workers burn the world's discarded electronics
Not to be outdone by Sharknado, this trailer for "Avalanche Sharks"
is the worst thing By playing with hard lines, this artist makes the landscape look like someone drew a cartoon on it
. Amazing
