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Nerds and Words: Week 24

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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Human psychology is a funny thing: Elevator conformity

The first Star Trek as a 90-sec 8-bit video game

?I have never seen anything like this: What Earth looks like during a solar eclipse

This is Velcro

What if Superman punched you in the face?

These hipster statues knew that marble was cool waaaay before you did so…

 

?Based on this one closed letter to himself on thievery, heckling and rape jokes, Patton Oswalt should be a writer

Cremation is On The Rise, But Where To Put the Ashes? Grand Canyon: Yes, Disneyland: No. (watch the video too)

Perception: Don’t be so certain your senses are telling you the truth

Lovely, a ladybird’s tracks on a foggy window

Having a lot of muscle doesn’t burn nearly as many calories as you think, so don’t repeat the myth!

?WOW. All the rivers in the US on a map. Information is beautiful

The devious poison that is sweet enough to be in your Jell-o

Do brick layers carefully put in those nice sidewalks? Nope, it’s an awesome brick-sorting machine

Cancer is an evolutionary disease, but it will be awhile before we can use Darwin to defeat it

?Why does everyone at the Daily Planet staff fall for Superman’s lousy Clark Kent disguise — every time?

How your nail is like a salamander

Today’s skyscrapers have nothing on ancient ice sheets

?10 Sciencey Stats on the Man of Steel

You may have seen this chemistry demo before, but never like this. Amazing physics hidden in the “barking dog”

Underwater bubble ring Haduoken!

Why Xbox Live Gold is one of the biggest ripoffs in tech

?If ghosts existed, all houses would be haunted, swimming in ectoplasm by default

Yes, the triceratops is awesome, but actually do the research to see how awesome it is

YES. LEGO Normandy from Mass Effect

?Why cicadas are a rainbow of science, and how creationism takes all the beauty out of it

Evolution is a blurry thing. Frogs of color and poison

Congratulations humanity, a machine that can draw a penis at the touch of a button

I volunteer to test that hover-bike. Also, call me McFly

?Don’t text and drive because multi-tasking is a myth

Guess where the newest human body part is

What would happen if all our satellites failed simultaneously?

Xbox One isn’t that expensive in the grand scheme of console prices

Want to see the effect of the Earth’s spin up close? It’s a fun tourist trick in Kenya

?Why do viral videos always freeze at 301 views? The Council of 300

Don’t be surprised if you don’t see any cicadas, there are a few reasons for that

“Put today’s fruits and vegetables in front of a stone-age chef, and he wouldn’t have any idea what the fuck they were

What the hunt for cold-loving life can teach us about aliens

Every coin flip could be a quantum cat. Fascinating physics

?We have a new top speed for the Cheetah. Now it’s even more amazing

Homeopathy is nonsense, and is being used to treat malaria in Africa

Patrick Stewart knew Facebook hashtags were stupid in the 90s

A telephoto lens makes a huge difference

ATTACH CAMERAS TO ALL THE FALCONS

Today’s Tumblr: F**k Yeah, Female Astronauts!

When a race truck became a smoke ring machine

?This is hands-down, my favorite cocoon. It will be your favorite too.

These whale photos are so good they’re blowing my mind

Nothing about beer directs calories to the belly, you’re just getting fat

How do you protect your plane from heat-seeking weapons? FLARES

Extinguishing the Sun would have a lot of benefits aside from the human extinction part

Flood a room to get a hall of mirrors

Amazing video of a supercell storm forming over Texas, and here’s the story behind it

?Vaccine efficacy is beyond scientific debate. RFK Jr. should know that.

It should go without saying but, don’t stare at the Sun

What do we really know about video games and violence?

Using the postal service to answer which came first, the chicken or the egg

“Tornadoes on the Sun” is probably the name of some shitty 90s band, but they’re real phenomena

Before it goes to work in Martian darkness, Curiosity gives us a wink

Ohh, shiny! On the Origin of Really Shiny Species

Make your bike wheels into Nyan Cat projectors. Kickstarter here

How many points could you play with a flaming tennis ball?

?How Death Valley’s “sailing stones” actually move is way more complicated than I knew, yet so simple

How far should we go to “re-wild” nearly extinct species?

Why astronomers are the CSI of the universe

Even a photo of an astronaut taking a photo is pretty

?On how this adorable squid is actually a Twilight vampire

As long as potential fame is more important than journalistic integrity, I won’t forgive Jonah Lehrer

Your body is a [science] wonderland

XKCD on dragging the NSA through gaming tedium

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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