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Nerds and Words: Week 34

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.

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American


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.


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Science to Read, Write, and Watch

Labels for GMO Foods Are a Bad Idea

? Mermaids!? Really!? 16 Things BuzzFeed Doesn’t Know About The Ocean

Is It Time For Scientist Activism Against GMO Fear-Mongering? I'll go ahead and say yes.

Water, ink, and capillary action makes for phenomenal art

Can't unsee: Giant Anteater’s Legs Look Like Pandas

Blackfish showed us that orcas are exploited animals, but we have to respect them like apex predators too

Perspective in the universe makes us feel special, but we're not

A lovely animation of our solar system. I even learned something!

? How the world's roundest object was made to redefine the kilogram

PhD Comics has PhD videos too. This one helped me understand quantum computers

Usually I jump right past these articles, but these are six health myths you should ignore

The reasons why mosquitoes can't transmit HIV are shockingly simple: Its gut and its mouth

A chemistry experiment to make mercury beat like a heart

You owe it to yourself to see this true color picture of Saturn: Mimas Blues

? Boredom is an emotion, a driver of curiosity, and a sign of a healthy mind

Obituary: Kepler Spacecraft “Planet Hunter” 2009-2013

Malcolm Gladwell responds to critics about his popularization of the "10,000 hour" mastery rule

Does my BMI make me look fat? Sort of. Can it tell if I am healthy? Maybe not.

The Straight Dope: A Q&A with the Prof behind the Good Science in Breaking Bad

"If killing snakes is the best way to protect Florida’s native species...let’s not turn a slaughter into a carnival."

"If every day you draw a card out of a deck, you can be sure to see the ace of spades sometimes."

Like death, consciousness is a process. Now we are learning how to measure it

? A strand of hair 3-inches wide could restrain a 747

What's the chance I randomly call someone who has just sneezed? Pretty good actually

Try to print Wikipedia and it's not the paper, but the ink, that will cost you

Science on the Vine: When airplane air has a big temperature difference, it's rather menacing.

What if we put all of Earth's oceans on Mars...right on top of Curiosity?

If you are obsessed with counting calories, at least know that the numbers are probably wrong

Scientifically accurate Finding Nemo is less Disney, more hermaphrodite Oedipus

? A guide to the ravenous hellbeast that is the carnivorous caterpillar. This has to be one of my favorite uses of the GIF

An island doesn't just impede water, it makes the whole atmosphere above it swirl

E-cigarettes: The growing popularity of an unregulated drug delivery device

? The International Astronomical Union greatly regrets letting the public vote on exoplanet names

 

Nerdery at its Finest

That didn't take long: Great Pacific Rim fan art

? The best Fallout cosplay

C'mon. We all know who the next Batman should be

I can't stop watching Bryan Cranston stare down Walter White

"If we came from Mankeys..."--Pokemon creationist

Actually interesting video on how Elysium's FX looked so real (A lot of it was!)

Yes, this is definitely how Pacific Rim should have ended

Spock is related to Sherlock Homles, and both Cumberbatch and Quinto know it

What if the Emperor in Return of the Jedi was also voiced by Mark Hamill...as The Joker?

This is a real Tetris game, in real time. It is masterful

 

GIFs and Images for 2-Seconds of Wow

? Collect steam in a bottle, watch the atmosphere destroy the resulting vacuum

1,400 Earthlings waving at any potential Saturnians

Can I get this frog's metallic paint job for my car?

Just a suggestion: Don't try to take this owl's food

Prosthetic arms have come a long way

If creationism was like this it would be harder to resist

Nerd vandalism

NASA should make GIFs of everything, especially aurorae

Why haven't I seen this little red panda trying to open a door?

That's how you lay a cable in the ocean

I decree that from now on, all dominoes must be done this way

NASA knows that even an erupting volcano can look serene from the right angle

? Do you need a favorite fungi? Here, let me help

You have probably seen slo-mo face slaps, but nothing like what this poor boxer took. Bad for him, glorious for us

Don't stand under a Saturn V rocket during takeoff because, well...hellfire

Let this awesome USGS GIF show you how earthquake waves move through the Earth and how we measure them

A hyper-velocity impact of a clear sphere to model meteorite impacts to planets!

The universe through a leaf

Do shrews always travel Human Centipede-style?

I'm going to start putting cornstarch and water in all my friend's car speakers

? Ever wonder what one of those electronic billboards looks like up close? It's kinda amazing

My favorite vegetable MRI is of an artichoke

 

Pop Culture Happenings

? Mugshots from the 1920s are probably cooler than any portrait you've seen

So, the 1940s won Halloween

? A visualization of all the contradictions, homophobia, misogyny, and scientific absurdities in the Bible

This massive sinkhole is that kinda environmental phenomenon that boggles the mind

Drones: Actually the Most Humane Form of Warfare Ever. Secrecy aside, the long recon flights enable distinction between civilians and combatants

The USA and the NSA in a Pixar logo

Kyle Hill is a science communicator who specializes in finding the secret science in your favorite fandom. He has a bachelor's degree in environmental engineering and a master's degree in communication research (with a focus on science, health, and the environment) from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Aside from co-hosting Al Jazeera America's science show, TechKnow, Hill is also a freelancer who has contributed to Wired, Nature Education, Popular Science, Slate, io9, Nautilus, and is a columnist for Skeptical Inquirer. He manages Nature Education's Student Voices blog, is a research fellow with the James Randi Educational foundation. Email: sciencebasedlife@gmail.com

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