Videos
Podcasts
Blogs
Quizzes
GamesArchive for August, 2011
It will soon become apparent that I have been reading the Economist. I was reading the Economist today when I was granted a flash, a fleeting glimpse, at insight into the tenuousness hold on reality that we give money. There was a passage in an article on the Anthropocene, the geological period in which a [...]
Rewriting history is no easy feat, but this week, two guys sought to do just that. They came out with a theory based on the supposition that the infamous outlaw Butch Cassidy didn’t die in a 1908 shootout in Bolivia, as most scholars think, but instead lived quietly to old age. It’s an idea based off of a newly discovered 200-page manuscript from 1934 entitled “Bandit Invincible: The Story of Butch Cassidy,” but their hypothesis goes beyond what’s printed on the page.
Cute Animal Friday: Yellow-bellied Marmot
by Amanda Arnold | August 19, 2011
So, global warming has actually been good for the yellow-bellied marmot, and here’s why:
The marmot eats and eats before settling in for hibernation, only to be awakened early by warm weather, long before it’s burned off all those Clif bars.
Care for some fruit bat soup?
by Kathryn Whitbourne | August 19, 2011
So, as we mentioned in this week’s podcast, Palau is famous for its diving and its jellyfish lake. It’s also famous for something else we didn’t mention: fruit bat soup. Fruit bat soup is pretty much what you’d imagine: a whole bat simmering in a broth with soy sauce and ginger. It was a traditional [...]
World Trade Center Memorials, Permanent and Otherwise
by Josh Clark | August 19, 2011
I have been wading in the depressing world of Sept. 11 doing research in preparation for a podcast on the September 11 Memorial at the World Trade Center that we’re recording soon. I found rather quickly that to figure out the meaning behind the memorial, there’s really no getting around having to immerse oneself into the tragedy in order to understand the full scope of the memorial. So I spent a lot of time this week watching news coverage of the attacks as they took place and listened to newscasters like Peter Jennings and Charles Gibson try to wrap their heads around what was unfolding in Manhattan before the second plane hit.
One of the nonwork things I’ve been up to lately is doing some serious work on my health and fitness. It’s been about nine weeks of slow, steady progress, and now I’m looking at my first big obstacle … for the first time, PAX and Dragon*Con aren’t on the same weekend, so I’m going to both of them. All in, that’s basically a week and a half away from my normal nutrition and fitness routine, and I want to make sure I don’t get home to find that I’ve taken some giant steps backward.
First invented in 1914 by a Mereck pharmaceutical researcher, MDMA or Ecstasy started out as a mere chemical catalyst. It sat on the shelf for decades till, in the 1970s, Dow Chemical employee rediscovered the drug and its powerful euphoric effects on the human mind. The early 1980s saw its therapeutic use by psychiatrists. But by 1985, the drug was outlawed in the United States.
Last weekend, I strapped 30 to 40 pounds of camping gear to my back and hiked through Colorado’s wild-flowered Rocky Mountain National Park. I figured the pack would feel heavy, but I didn’t read How Altitude Sickness Works. So I was surprised at 11,000 feet when this happened: rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, malaise, the chills, headache, loss of appetite, slight nausea, not being able to add and subtract quickly in my head, mean thoughts …
When Caroline and I discussed women in freak shows recently on Stuff Mom Never Told You, we left out one of the most notable personalities: Lavinia Warren. We mentioned her husband, Tom Thumb, the little person made famous by PT Barnum, but we failed to discuss Lavinia and their marriage, which captivated the American public.
I was surprised to hear the news today: HP is discontinuing the development of webOS devices. Back at CES 2009, I thought webOS had a real chance at making a big splash in the smartphone market. I wasn’t alone. The new operating system from Palm looked flashy and responsive. Granted, most of us couldn’t get our hands on the Palm Pre at the show — Palm was very protective of its new smartphone. But the buzz was strong and it looked like Palm had a shot of competing against the iPhone and Android platforms.
Recent Postings by Category
BrainStuff
- Thank You and Best Wishes to Marshall Brain
- Contest – Design a $300 house and win $25,000
- How the Philtrum works – the place under your nose where your face comes together
The Coolest Stuff on the Planet
- Have a Coke and a Smile
- The Latest in Frugal Lodging: Camping in Somebody Else’s Backyard
- The Painted Beauties of Bucovina
Keep Asking
- Why can a 5 foot 8 inch man dunk a basketball on a 10 foot rim while some people of taller stature can’t?
- What happens to our sun once it runs out of fuel?
- How do we know the age of the universe?
Stuff Mom Never Told You
- Who invented the Christmas card?
- How the Kinsey Report Fueled Whiskey Sales
- How to Get Your Wedding Announcement into The New York Times
Stuff to Blow Your Mind
- Space Music: DJ Food and ‘The Search Engine’
- Stuff to Blow Your Mind: Hug it Out
- Space Music: Jay-Z and Beyoncé to Film Music Video in Orbit
Stuff You Should Know
- The Southern Death Cult, the Maya and Georgia
- Deformed Baby Spider Brains
- Amazing Medical Conditions: Maple Syrup Urine Disorder
The Stuff of Genius
CarStuff
- Why is NASA studying car safety?
- Tips for in-car Navigation Systems
- Tips for Using Bluetooth in the Car
How-to Stuff
- How to Swim with Dolphins (When Deep Water Terrifies You)
- How to Cure a Homemade Cookie Craving Without Turning on the Oven
- How to Know When It’s Time for a New Pet
PopStuff
- PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 36: Now Available in 3-D
- PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 35: Let’s do brunch!
- PopStuff Show Notes: Episode 34: Play it again, Sam
Stuff They Don't Want You To Know
Stuff to Change the World
- Who will own the Arctic?
- Obesity: The New Global Crisis
- Bill Gates Makes For A Pretty Decent Cartoon
Stuff You Missed in History Class
- Butch Cassidy: Should we read between the lines?
- Are we rooting for D.B. Cooper?
- Party Time: A Look at Unconventional Politics
