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How might an alien civilization capture the energy of an entire star? Why with a Dyson sphere, of course! When it’s not showing up in an episode of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” or imprisoning Necron Star Gods, Dyson spheres are the brainchild of the brilliant physicist Freeman Dyson.
In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Julie and I discuss just what Dyson spheres are and why they’re much more than mere awesome fictions.
In the Stuff Mom Never Told You episode on douching, Caroline and I discussed the advertising history of feminine hygiene products that revolved around scare tactics. In those early days, Lysol and Zonite pushed their wares as feminine hygiene products by convincing female consumers that if they didn’t douche, their husbands would lose sexual interest.
“Giant Mermaid” Surfaces in German Lake
by Amanda Arnold | August 3, 2011
I spy a giant-lady-sculpture trend.
First “Forever Marilyn”, and now “Giant Mermaid,” who’s sitting in Alster Lake in Hamburg, Germany. Not sure why she’s called a mermaid because she clearly has knees. Also, why isn’t her mascara running? You can’t wear eye makeup under-the-sea.
The idea of Freddy Krueger, the villain who kills you in your dreams, freaked me out when I was younger. Which is to say it also enthralled me.
The adult me, however, finds the science of sleep and paranormal experiences quite fascinating, so I was far more intrigued than terrified when I read that “A Nightmare on Elm Street” creator Wes Craven was inspired by actual news stories about nightmare-related deaths.
Pretty awesome news here for films fans. Researchers have uncovered a missing film from directing legend Alfred Hitchcock — in New Zealand of all places. The name of the movie is “The White Shadow” which should not be confused with the 1970s basketball TV show of the same name. This one is about twin sisters, one angelic and one that “has no soul.”
Does your Web browser say something about your intelligence?
by Jonathan Strickland | August 3, 2011
A couple of days ago, a story made the rounds that a company called AptiQuant had conducted a study that found a correlation between intelligence of Web surfers and their browser of choice. Respectable news sources like The Telegraph reported on the findings. According to the report, people who rely on Internet Explorer possess below-average intelligence. Those who use Chrome and Firefox are slightly more intelligent than average. The real eggheads use Camino, Opera or Internet Explorer with Chrome Frame. Numerous jokes, insults and flame wars soon followed the report. But there’s just one problem — the whole thing might be a sham.
Blow Your Mind: The Cognitive Dissonance of Exorcisms
by Robert Lamb | August 2, 2011
We’re all familiar with exorcism rites from various horror flicks, when serious priests supposedly drive trash-talking demons out of innocent victims. But ignoring the more outrageous and unscientific explanations, what’s really happening in these supernatural showdowns between good and evil? And why are they growing in popularity?
Welcome! Rachel and I will be joining Amanda on the Coolest Stuff on the Planet blog to give you additional information on the places covered in our podcasts. First stop is Prince Edward Island: So we rambled quite a bit about Anne of Green Gables in this podcast, both because we loved the books and [...]
I recently “inherited” a terracotta army, unfortunately not of the ancient warrior persuasion. (How cool would it be to have a few of those as yard ornaments? Really says: “Stay off the lawn!” like you mean it.) But no, this troop of terracotta is of the standard garden pot variety, in a wide range of shapes and sizes. So while I love to garden — and won’t turn down free stuff lightly — this slightly worse-for-the-wear collection was a little drab for my taste and I decided to take some time to pretty them up.
Pass the Infected Caterpillar Himalayan Viagra
by Robert Lamb | August 2, 2011
Researching Tibet is like reading about some fantastic other world, where psychonaut monks chart the realms beyond death and body breakers offer up corpses as alms to the scavengers of the sky. So it should come as no surprise to learn that Tibetans also dig up a strange root that’s allegedly “half vegetable, half caterpillar” and sell it for bank as an energy booster and aphrodisiac.
Recent Postings by Category
BrainStuff
- Thank You and Best Wishes to Marshall Brain
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The Coolest Stuff on the Planet
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Keep Asking
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Stuff Mom Never Told You
- Who invented the Christmas card?
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Stuff to Blow Your Mind
- Space Music: DJ Food and ‘The Search Engine’
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Stuff You Should Know
- The Southern Death Cult, the Maya and Georgia
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The Stuff of Genius
CarStuff
- Why is NASA studying car safety?
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How-to Stuff
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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?
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Stuff You Missed in History Class
- Butch Cassidy: Should we read between the lines?
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- Party Time: A Look at Unconventional Politics
