Digging through the web this week, I uncovered all this geeky goodness. You can find the thousands of links from previous weeks here.
I have marked my favorite links with a ∞. Enjoy.
Science to Read, Watch
If our brains were attentive enough to catch the stunt doubles in movies, we’d be paralyzed
Partially flighted birds are boons for evolutionary biologists, if they can get close enough without being assaulted
Pygmy falcons are too busy dive-bombing the shit out of their prey to worry about domestic matters
“We may sink into sleep the way our ancestors sank into the depths of the ocean.”
∞ A news study busts more myths about cheetahs. They aren’t nearly as fragile as we thought
These are mermaids’ purses
Daddy longlegs have glue-covered arms
∞ Just how contagious is Ebola?
“In less than two human generations, population sizes of vertebrate species have dropped by half.”
Many quadcopters died to bring us this information
The Dyna-Soar was a weapons system that never got off the ground. It also had a badass name
Yes, a peregrine falcon is faster than tandem skydivers. Finally, we have these answers
The guts of mice feed their microbial residents when the host is too sick to eat
∞ This Isn’t Contagion or Outbreak: What You Need To Know About Ebola In The U.S.
“The number of chemicals contaminating our environment is growing at exponential rate”
Incredible blackwater diving images and an octopus defending itself with Man-O’-War tentacles
I’m a “social introvert,” apparently
“Is that a cold ocean wind a blowin’?” “No captain, that be sea monkeys.”
We’ve lost enough arctic ice for it to be reflected in the local gravity
You can never really see the true beauty of the universe without help. Why? Biology.
∞ We had people test their strength against apes and monkeys to see how our muscles punyfied for our brains
The “pluto is/isn’t a planet” debate rages on
Your DNA is at war with itself. It’s a stalemate.
How a loss of faith can manifest itself in the mind and body
Tree-impersonating wind turbines are killing bats, but knowing that can help us save them
Watch A Hyena Climb Inside a Buffalo Carcass And Play Peek-a-Boo
Make an invisibility cloak with four lenses and some science, no magic required
∞ Bats: Wonders of the Night
Monkeys use inquiring researchers as predator shields, sometimes
“Cyranoids are people who do not speak thoughts originating in their own central nervous system.”
How Sex Is Like Your Thermostat
Extreme Nerdery
∞ The fantastic art of Simon Stålenhag is the perfect expression of retro-futurism
The Supervillain’s Guide To Fashion
How the Klingon and Dothraki Languages Conquered Hollywood
∞ I’ve been pouring juice wrong my whole life and that annoys me
The Oculus Rift will probably change the way we make digital art. And digital spiders.
What sweet science can you glean from the final Interstellar trailer?
If the rest of the universe was antimatter, the result wouldn’t be as explosive as you think
Maps Of Modern Cities Drawn In The Style Of J.R.R. Tolkien
You live in the past. The Flash doesn’t. I explain in my first Because Science video!
Fans a re-creating all of Ocarina of Time…in 2D
∞ Portal 2 bests Lumosity as a brain game. You really have been learning with portals, for science…you monster
A breakdown of Days of Future Past’s VFX, which apparently was all Mystique and football stadiums
Stitch together sci-fi CG and archival war footage and you get War of the Worlds meets Half-Life 2 meets WWII
I am loving the Last of Us art that is infecting the internet
∞ Talaaya’s 3D-printed Samus cosplay is fantastic
I explain a beautifully simple invisibility cloak on Nerdist News!
Movie quotes with the iOS 8 keyboard
If skinny jeans bend your phone, you’re probably ripping your pants with that tightness
Sciencey GIFs and Images
∞ A 3D simulation of the Giant Impact Hypothesis over 59 days
A US Nuclear Regulatory Commission visitor badge as the day goes on
Crazy high density lets you sit atop a pool of mercury, but I don’t recommend it
A man saves a great white (or mako?) with his bare hands
∞ Just look at how much finesse goes into an owl strike — the feathers, those talons
Texas A&M’s car barrier is more of a driver smasher that stops cars
The space shuttle Atlantis, September 8, 2000, creates a cloud and a rainbow
Speaking of contagious falsehoods: Here’s a few dozen
With such a simple camera trick, you can walk on water, and it’s gorgeous
Grinding of Hubble’s primary mirror at Perkin-Elmer, March 1979
Gawking at the anatomical collages of artist Travis Bedel
35,000 walruses have a climate change party
In case you didn’t know, don’t put a scissors in your pocket and walk up to an MRI
With slow, immense pressure, the Japanese turn ice cubes into perfect ice spheres for cocktails
Water is never really destroyed, which makes your water dino pee
∞ Artist Eleanor Lutz is back with another gorgeous animated infographic
They don’t have horse shows like they used to jeez
Artist Judy Schmidt put 100 planetary nebulae in one image and it is gorgeous
Pop Culture Happenings
∞ Anna-Maria Hefele is a polyphonic singer. You’ll be blown away when you find out what that means.
These are Samsung’s bend testing butt robots
How The Dead Space Saga Lost Its Way
Facebook apologizes for manipulating us without consent
Free Birth Control and Sex Education Slash Rates of Teen Pregnancy and Abortion
The disaster-porn of Chernobyl is probably a myth
President Obama has faced three times as many threats on his life as past presidents
∞ The Daily Show absolutely burns Congress on climate change
50 Years Of Climate Change, Habitat Loss Somehow Unable To Take Down Goddamned ParrotfishÂ
∞ 96% of deceased NFL players examined had brain disease
SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY, Fabulous Cat Papers!
I want to see drone technology succeed, but John Oliver nails exactly where we shouldn’t want it to
Our meat industry is incredibly efficient, but you’ll need a strong stomach to see it at work
“Emergent” looks like a fascinating project to track (and get to the bottom of) rumors spreading online
Uri Geller has the dumbest explanation for bending iPhones, if you want to hire him to tell you about it
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Thanks for the list! 😀 This would fill my day with knowledge!