Humor

Celebrating Independence Day 4th Of July With Astronomy

Astronomers tend to suffer from gigantomania; we relate to and prefer astronomical dimensions. Always. I, being not only an astronomer but also a sucker for celebrations, will not miss this opportunity to congratulate the American nation with its Independe ...

Article - Bente Lilja Bye - Jul 4 2011 - 12:44pm

The Science Of Lady Gaga (and 10 Other Rejected Headlines)

Life is hard when you're cutting edge.  Coming up with a good topic and title for a Science 2.0 article is not easy.  Today I tried to conceive of a unique and insightful piece about a little-talked about topic.  Specifically, the topic of the last sp ...

Article - Alex "Sandy" Antunes - Jul 8 2011 - 7:39pm

The Barking Cat Gets Caught...

This video has become quite popular in the past month. Chances are you've already seen it. If so, my apologies, but it's just too funny. Here's a quick summary for you: cat barks, cat sees owner, cat meows. Why does the cat bark, I wonder? D ...

Blog Post - Gunnar De Winter - Jul 11 2011 - 6:51am

Pasta Sieve Religious Head Cover In Driver License

Niko Alm has after a three year wait finally gotten permission to wear his religious head covering in his driver license photo- progress for religious freedom everywhere. In Austria, a license or ID photo cannot show the person with her head covered, exce ...

Article - Sascha Vongehr - Jul 12 2011 - 11:51pm

The Man From Planet Squid

Oh man oh man this is really cute: It's the brand-new storefront of a shop that sells only merchandise related to this creature. His name is Ikaaru Seijin, which the Japan Times claims means Man from Planet Ikaaru. My Japanese vocabulary is extremely ...

Blog Post - Danna Staaf - Jul 20 2011 - 12:00pm

The Shuttle in Culture

My immediate feeling as Shuttle Atlantis touched down safely was one of relief.   But now that all the post-facto analysis have started, with maybe some recrimination, let me entertain you all with one way in which the Shuttle has entered British Culture. ...

Blog Post - Robert H Olley - Jul 25 2011 - 4:25am

My Car Runs On Snake Oil

My car Runs On Snake Oil There are far too many people trying to con money out of ordinary people with offers of gadgets that will supply you forever with free energy.... we're a wee bit skeptical of anyone who claims to have made a miraculous scient ...

Blog Post - Patrick Lockerby - Jul 31 2011 - 9:50am

Natural Selection on Humans, With the Help of Lions

Came across this video of comedian Louis CK on Letterman, where he argues that we should add lions as selection pressure on human beings. In his words:    “I think human beings are still evolving and we’re all responsible for that. There’s nothing less tha ...

Blog Post - Gunnar De Winter - Aug 1 2011 - 6:02am

How People View Each Other in Academia

I am not a big fan of re-posting others' stuff, but this gem seems to be hard to get and it is not just funny, but actually true, meaning that if you are for example an undergrad and you want to know how the postdoc feels about you, here is your answe ...

Blog Post - Sascha Vongehr - Jan 28 2012 - 11:21am

Curious Squid Crime

Police blotters can make fun reading, especially when they show up in your news alert for "squid," and especially when they use the word "caper": The caper began when someone used blue spray paint to draw a large squid or octopus on the ...

Article - Danna Staaf - Aug 17 2011 - 12:49pm