“In a milestone of scientific eccentricity, local astronomers have announced that they want to simulate the behaviour of falling meteorites by dropping bowling balls from aircraft – though the plan has gone down like a lead spaceship with government officials.” —Utah Bowled Over by Meteor Plan Observer) Similar:Visiting the #scienceofpixar exhibit @kaminsciencecenterStudents are trusting software…
“The Geezer loves film noir. These dark, taut, black and white films give the lie to the illusion that the forties and fifties were upbeat, positive decades. I like that.” The Geezer —The Geezer Speaks WeblogGeezerSpeaks.com) An amusing personal website… and by a Geezer, too. Similar:The Ascent #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 9) Odo…
“Clonaid, linked with a group that believes life on Earth was originally cloned by aliens, said two women had given birth to babies it had cloned. It at first said it would present DNA evidence but has delayed doing so.” —A Name for Clone Babies: ‘Hoax’ Wired) More news from the department of “duh”: the…
“In what will surely be regarded as one of the best science-fiction ‘fan film’ projects of all time, a pair of ‘Star Trek’ fanatics have created a new episode in exacting 1960s style using their own actors, sets and props.” Julio Ojeda-Zapata —“Star Trek” Reborn in Online EpisodePioneer Press) Sigh. I am such a Trek…
“For the first hour, all the opening doors on the Enterprise are accompanied by a nice door-opening sound effect stolen from Star Trek. But by this point in the movie, the Turkish audio engineers have lost interest. Now whenever someone walks into a room, somebody off camera makes the sound ‘swwwsh!’ with their mouth two…
“It was in August 1958 in Humboldt County, Calif., that Jerry Crew, a bulldozer operator for Wallace Construction, saw prints of huge naked feet circling and walking away from his rig. The Humboldt Times in Eureka, Calif., ran a front-page story on the prints and coined the term ‘Bigfoot.’ According to family members, Mr. Wallace…
Why would anyone want to consult Allied Computing (“Due to our unique location in Kalispell Montana, Allied Computing is able to offer zero sales tax on all purchases. We also consider trade-ins and trade ups on most new and some used computer systems.”) while researching religious aspects of birth control? And if Allied Computing has…
Most of my students probably know about my odd fascination with the Gund toy “Rainbow Hector.” My sister sent me the above link, which includes a story about a musical group in Trinidad, which includes a member named Gary Hector, who has a 10-year-old daughter named… you guessed it… Rainbow. (See the caption at the…
“Walt Disney first sketched his character in 1928 but an Austrian art historian spotted an uncannily similar drawing. The painting, which has been dated back to the early 14th Century, is in the Community Church in Malta, Carinthia. Next to a large sketch of St. Christopher is a clear drawing of the mouse.” —700-year-old picture…
“But these 60-some full-color plates are, most likely, not the reason you’d want to own Clown Paintings. I mean, if you’re like me, you spend a little too much time every day trying to avoid clowns, so why would you want to bring a bunch of pictures of them into your home? (Except maybe to…
“This program takes lessons learned from the classic I Love Lucy TV show and uses them as a discussion starter for small group study!” —“I Love Lucy” Bible Study” Words fail me. Similar:The Ascent #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 9) Odo and Quark bicker their way up …Visiting the #scienceofpixar exhibit @kaminsciencecenterThings Past #StarTrek…
“When the phone rings at Kennedy Space Center’s public affairs office, the caller might just communicate with aliens. Or have psychic powers. Or see UFOs. Whether they’re hiding in a phone booth from perceived pursuers or trying to sell a space rock, the callers want to talk to NASA, the space agency, the ultimate authority…
“Last year Wooten founded The Disciples of Bob Barker in an effort to spread the joy of the beloved game show ‘The Price is Right.’ Since then, the club has gained official status [at U.Va.]. ‘I can’t believe it either,’ Club President Wooten remarked… ‘and you can quote me on that.’” —All About Bob [Barker]Cavalier…
“Just what do you do with [a] huge mass of reject Flubber??? The obvious answer was to send it to the local dump to be incinerated. This sounded like a good idea until Hasbro President Merrill Hassenfeld received a call the very next day after they hauled it away. The call was from the mayor…
“An Australian study on bellybutton lint, a dog-to-person translation device and an inquiry into what arouses ostriches have been recognised with Ig Nobel prizes for dubious contributions to science. The Ig Nobels, awarded annually at Harvard University as a spoof of the Nobels, recognise achievements that ‘cannot or should not be reproduced’.” Jay Lindsay —Navel…
“British composer Mike Batt found himself the subject of a plagiarism action for including the song, ‘A One Minute Silence,’ on an album for his classical rock band The Planets. He was accused of copying it from a work by the late American composer John Cage, whose 1952 composition ‘4’33″‘ was totally silent.” —Composer Pays…
No charges will be filed against Buzz Aldrin for allegedly punching a man who called him a liar for claiming that he’d been on the moon. —Update: Moon Hoax Conspiracy Theorist Punched by Buzz Aldrin (Space.com) Similar:Visiting the #scienceofpixar exhibit @kaminsciencecenterStudents are trusting software like this to do their work.A former student working in SEO…
My sister sent me links to (what else?) chocolate hexagons.Chocolate is great. So are hexagons. Similar:Couples in successful relationships always use these 6 phrases: ‘You’ll grow stronger both…Students are trusting software like this to do their work.‘People are rooting for the whale’: the strange American tradition of Moby-Dick reading ma…There’s No Longer Any Doubt That…
“Described by those who’ve tried it as ‘souffle-like,’ the deep-fried Twinkie has become so popular that it has been mentioned by Jay Leno and will be featured on the Food Network.” —Deep Fried TwinkieCox) Can you tell that I’m hungry right now? Similar:Couples in successful relationships always use these 6 phrases: ‘You’ll grow stronger both…Students…
“In Heathers, Heather Chandler has the best lines, including a great insult: ‘What, did you have a brain tumor for breakfast?’ She’s killed by Christian Slater in the movie. Kim Walker, the actress who played her, died of a brain tumor in 2001. Creepy.” Lindsey CorcoranHeathers Triviareenhead) Similar:The Ascent #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode…