Skip to main content

Nerds and Words: Week 33

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.


On supporting science journalism

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.



Science to Read, Write, and Watch

Someone did a study on what was in hot dogs. You want to know, don’t you? It is as you feared

? I had a discussion on Huffington Post Live about Elysium and space station science. Catch it here!

Is fibromyalgia real? As always, it’s complicated

“Impossible triangles” aren’t neurological traps, on the contrary, they free our brains

What does our garbage say about us? What will it say to the future?

? Wow! Footage of a Perseid meteor exploding

A Perseid from space is incredible

A decapitated copperhead bites itself

XKCD understands absolute and relative risk…and swimming dogs with guns

How to Love a Whale Shark–the giant polka-dotted roombas of the ocean

? A scientific thrill in itself: the chance to see evolution in action — over and over again.

The dark side to viral videos of the most adorable creatures

A fun, if a bit simplified, animation: A Brief History of Physics

? How Elysium is a Carnival Ride, and Why its Atmosphere is a Bucket of Water

The new robot that uses a steerable needle to remove deadly blood clots in the brain

? Psychology is a science. Now shut up about it.

The psychologist who refuted an entire culture of over-valuing eyewitness testimony

? A Million Poisoning Planes – What the world would be like if the chemtrail conspiracy were true?

Someone get on Drunk Skepticism: Houdini Drunk History

The firestorms resulting from dropping a mountain from space would only cover some of North America. So that’s a relief.

? The ISS could cross the length of a football field before a bullet traveled 10 yards

“Science accuses them of dumbing down the discourse of America…but wadded-up $100 bills make pretty good earplugs.” On the death of educational TV

People Worship Weeping Tree In California, “Tears” Are Actually Aphid Poop

? “She could have carefully portrayed the measured views of physicians and scientists. But that’s not what happened.” An analysis of a terrible anti-GMO article

It’s dubbed the “Tiger Spider” because, well…

How to become a fossil: Die near a volcano or a bog

Religious people are less intelligent than atheists, an analysis of over 63 scientific studies concludes

Death is not a switch; it might even be like going out with a cognitive “bang”

? The worst way to die might be being fed on by 150,000 ticks. These moose know real terror

Don’t equate autism and cancer; that’s hack reporting

Try sharing this on Facebook instead: Court Rulings Don’t Confirm Autism-Vaccine Link

 

Nerdery at its Finest

Pacific Rim didn’t have much animatronics, but the little it did was done right

What phenomenon is causing this black hole whirlpool?

So, how much would it cost to be Batman?

When Spider-man’s original girlfriend died, it was from the whiplash of a web-save #sadscience

Adventure Time + Zelda + Star Wars + Deadpool

? We know what would really happen in a fight between Batman and Superman

If Dr. Seuss wrote for Star Trek: TNG

Diagnosing Anakin Skywalker: Borderline Personality Disorder

? CSI: Asgard

My heart is splintered. Is this the most gut-wrenching Ninja Turtles fan art ever made?

How to make a real Sharknado, because science!

 

GIFs and Images for 2-Seconds of Wow

The prettiest shot of Mars I have ever seen. Like ice cap ice cream

? Wonderful comparisons to make it science-fun: This measuring cup is awesome

The Namib desert is a sheet of rolling red silk

? Panthers are crazy-agile (even though the trick seems kinda mean)

This is the first photo of Earth from space

The bullets of space: What a micro-meteorite hole looks like; found in Endeavour’s radiator

Here is the difference between space rocks, GIFified

This is what a seagull buffet looks like

Planes can’t fly too close to each other because of fluid dynamics. See?

? An amazing mammatus cloud thunderstorm in Texas

The Lotus Effect makes water act like mercury

You’ve seen a gun fire underwater, but this one is super slo-mo

An eruption of Reventador–an active stratovolcano in the eastern Andes of Ecuador

NASA’s graphic of all 1,400 known PHAs (potentially hazardous asteroids), one is a Earth-killer

Global Warming art?

Sahara desert clouds from space. Like a wedding veil

When a poisonous frog looks like a dollop of sherbert

Adorableness in the desert

Somehow the dunes on Mars can look like a beautifully dancing woman

? A cannonball dropped in mercury

When lightning strike a golf course. (But don’t be fooled by what happens when it hits sand.)

This gas crater has been burning for decades, preparing world for Lucifer’s return, probably

The peril of being a baseball camera

I will say it forever: Fireworks in reverse are better than regular fireworks

? The same forest photographed 365 times. Each shot a slice

 

Pop Culture Happenings

Incredibly sensitive theremins (like individual finger movements) playing Beethoven? Sign me up

“My blog is my principal source of income. AMA.”

? Frank Herbert called him the only artist to have visited DUNE. Here are his fantastic illustrations

What if you composed a song based on how birds were sitting on power lines?

I hate Strong Female Characters

? Wired’s list of 22 writers, thinkers, tweeters who know what’s up in science (feat. yours truly!)

Tell Google to define “literally.” Language is crumbling

Here’s what Elysium did wrong — and what it did right

? Portraits of Albanian Women Who Have Lived Their Lives As Men. A fascinating cultural quirk

Yes, the HISTOMAP of the last 4,000 years is epic. And only 2,000 years before that the whole world was created!

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

More by Kyle Hill