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GamesArchive for November, 2011
Here’s conclusive proof that Holly and I don’t just podcast about things we like. Here, we take a look at the phenomenon that has grown out of the “Twilight” series, including whether we’d let our hypothetical daughters read it. And it starts with a really embarrassing story about yours truly, followed by a defense of “Twilight” that may surprise you.
Once in a while, I stumble across a story so remarkably absurd that I question whether or not I’m awake. Today, I saw such a story. Forbes blogger David M. Ewalt wrote about how the organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has criticized Nintendo and the Mario series for animal cruelty. It all stems from an item you can find in several Mario games called the Tanooki Suit. This is a costume of a raccoon-like animal that gives Mario limited flying abilities.
A new study from the Maryland Mind Perception and Morality Lab uncovered some surprising similarities in the inferences we make about semi-nude females and males alike.
Cake Walk: The strange origin of an unwittingly prejudiced term
by Josh Clark | November 14, 2011
Surely you’ve heard the term cake walk, used to describe some sort of challenge or task that is reckoned to be pitifully easy. Surely you have, please, please don’t lie. That figurative definition has been around since the early 19th century, as long as the literal one; in fact it appeared in print first. But did you know that the term is actually pretty racist? I’ll bet you didn’t. Nor did I until I looked into the origin of the term and found it has roots in the Antebellum South of the early 19th century.
My friend Vanessa is a proud Montserratian — who is often mistaken for a Jamaican, mainly because not a lot of people in the U.S., where she lives, have heard of Montserrat. Her island home in the Caribbean made for a perfect podcast episode — small enough to be covered in 5 or 6 minutes. [...]
On Clostridium difficile and fecal transplants
by Josh Clark | November 11, 2011
Remember the MRSA scare of a couple years ago? Remember, it was before the swine flu scare but after the SARS and avian flu scares. For those who can’t recollect, MRSA is a potentially fatal, antibiotic-resistant staph infection, essentially a superbacterium that a lot of researchers believe is the result of the overuse of things like antibacterial soap and the misuse of antibiotic medications. One of the things that made it so frightening was that otherwise healthy people were catching it in hospitals.
Holly and I are both gamers, and while I’m kind of an introvert, neither of us minds being around people. Yet, we both play massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) as though they were for single players. Sometimes, it’s like the other people aren’t even there. Why do we do this? Does anyone else?
We’ve all seen images of saints and martyrs who rise above their torments, but is it really possible to find transcendence on the rack? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Julie and I look into the connections between physical pain and religious experience. Are our tales of smiling martyrs merely fictions, or do they reveal inspiring and troubling properties of the human mind?
Before I even left the house this morning, I saw someone I follow on Twitter retweet this sentiment from actress Jenny Wade: “hey attractive girls who say ‘i am such a nerd’ we get it, no amount of male attention is ever enough.” It has, as of 9:30 this morning, more than 100 retweets.
There are some places where finding a body part is, while likely startling for the finder, contextually allowable. Anyone wandering around a morgue, lifting up sheets and opening drawers like some gawking rube should be wholly unsurprised by anything he finds. We have set aside certain places like morgues and medical schools and rhinoplasty schools where dismembered heads and the like are allowed to be.
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
