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
Technically, the inland taipan is the most toxic—but other snakes are more dangerous
Body “detox” is not a thing. So what actually works?
The most detailed tweet map ever
A collection of perceptual illusions to break your brain
∞ Lobotomized fish let us learn the *fascinating* hunting techniques of the electric eel
Amazing videos from the electric eel study which show the animals are highly sophisticated tasers
Have a problem with leaves on your train tracks? Vaporize them duh
Does the psychology of being watched mean that police body cameras will work? Well, it’s complicated
This Is an Actual Insect. This Is Not a Joke
No, that owl wasn’t swimming for fun, it was running for its life. It’s ok now though
Why does super hot stuff sometimes feel cold? It might be confused nerves
Graphene can withstand bullets better than steel
2014 To Be Hottest Year Ever Measured
Crows can be right or left-beaked, but that has more to do with their eyesight
∞ Wonderful Things: The Giant Transparent Ribbons of Eel Larvae
Squirrels gain muscle *during* hibernation
Fruit Bats Have Sonar Too (But It’s Not Very Good)
An infographic of the vehicles that have tried to slap gravity in the face, side by side
Why hasn’t technology revolutionized education?
Most sharks are like adorable Pokemon, not man-eaters
Atomic tests on houses show so much raw power
Watching a bug get zapped in slo-mo is as gruesome as you think
Sharks eat snotworms which eat whales
∞ Introduce a tradition into a population of birds and it spreads, lives on in offspring
Huh. Pufferfish don’t hold their breath to get puffed up
Geckos have an incredibly strong grip even after death
“The scientific literature does not support claims of software-based ‘brain games’”
The CDC supports male circumcision
We Lose A Chunk Of Antarctic Ice The Size Of Mt. Everest Every 2 Years
Liquids are weird. This WIRED gallery proves it
Scientist behind Jurassic World trailer confirms dino-Shamu is in fact a non-dino mosasaur
The second biggest living insect is a stick
∞ Spiders and insects may be eating 2,100 pounds (950 kilograms) of food waste each year in NYC
Intel upgrades Stephen Hawking’s communication systems
Scientists talk of curiosity as Joe Hanson builds Curiosity
This is what our galaxy’s magnetic field looks like
The microbe that causes plague choked fleas to spread better
Seals are taking bites out of dolphins
Poaching A Venus Flytrap In North Carolina Could Now Get You Two Years In Prison
∞ What do you do when your brain is out to sea?
We’ve found a carnivorous plant trapped in amber. You know what that means: JURASSIC PLANT
∞ “Wanderers“: A beautiful, inspiring short film narrated by Carl Sagan, influenced by real places in our solar system
This is the color of Comet 67P
You can make your own Orgone Accumulator, but it won’t work. The story is interesting though
Gull populations are exploding and eating the backs of whales. The whales are responding
Where do all the mosquitoes go when the dry season comes, and can that knowledge help us fight malaria?
Very cool interactive showing the relative abundances of the elements in our bodies, in the Earth, and more
Among 8 new spider species found in a tiger reserve, “The most aggressive piece of poop on the planet.”
∞ Acid doesn’t really melt stuff like in the movies…unless it’s sulfuric acid and a sponge
A cast of the inside of your ear makes surprisingly decent jewelry
Extreme Nerdery
Traffic Light That Lets You Play Pong with Person on the Other Side Officially Installed in Germany
∞ Why can’t anyone pick up Thor’s hammer?
Star Wars: The Force Awakens Trailer Shot for Shot Remake with Original Trilogy Footage
When Gangnam Style necessitated a YouTube code change, it said more about modern life than “breaking” anything
“Red Dead Redemption feels like a Western because it sounds like a Western.” The importance of sound in video games
∞ Does Sean Bean really die more than other actors? I checked!
If this LEGO particle accelerator gets enough support we can all find a minifigs boson!
Street Fighter motion sculptures
∞ Colbert legitimately impressed me with his deceptively simple defense of the trisaber
Want a Planet Earth-style documentary made entirely in GTA V? Sure
The longest, nerdiest discussion of font you’ll read today (or ever)
Grab a Because Science t-shirt!
Let’s talk about the pros and cons of a trisaber, because we should make a great disturbance in the comments section
The trisaber gets *much* cooler when you go full-on anime
I’m not sure there is a guitar big enough to accompany the person who rides this motorcycle
Sciencey GIFs and Images
Center of (ship) gravity
My old statics class would have been a lot more fun analyzing situations like this
∞ Redditor ITwitchToo animates Eirik Solheim’s 3,888 images of his yard over a whole year
Dude wakes up to optics — a pinhole projection of the pool under his apartment
∞ A bullet isn’t as quick as det cord, in case you were wondering
A half-time show with a bit of mathematical flair
Getting up close and personal with the successful Orion launch
Terrible Idea #10928290: Poking an anaconda’s face
Igniting an oil rig’s exhaust pipe with a flare gun
∞ I don’t audibly “wow” often, but the sonic control of Styrofoam is incredible
Which came first, the chicken or the crazy growth enhancements? (The chicken)
∞ I love seeing NBA shots spliced together. Here’s LeBron
The Cubli, a gyroscopically stabilized awesomecube
So many different speeds in the same GIF
A simulation of the rivers and streams of New Zealand
When you turn a snowblower into a vehicle
The next generation of bathroom technology
Blowing on a cluster of baby spiders
∞ Measuring your heartbeat during a marriage proposal
It’s a 1Hz time-dependent electric field, yeah, but you can just stare at it too
The Moon rises above the atmosphere
∞ Induction is awesome
On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me: Seven baby bat burritos
Pop Culture Happenings
“Chlorine gas attack at Chicago area furry convention hospitalizes 19, hotel evacuated”
Bouncy balls on an escalator is some kind of perpetual bounce device
PUT 50 PARTY HORNS IN YOUR CAR AND LAUGH ALL DAY
∞ The game I’m most excited about — No Man’s Sky — gets another trailer, makes my hair stand on end
Do you like domino effects but wish that shit was getting blowed up?
20 Facts That Will Make You Rethink Everything You Know About Science
Ebola fears bring female genital mutilation to near halt in Sierra Leone
Your email is a monster
∞ Huh. Hans Gruber had that priceless fall-face because the director dropped him on “1” instead of “3”
The infinitely detailed pen and ink drawings of Ben Sack
Don’t worry. We found those brains
The secrets to Jackie Chan’s action-comedy
The steampunk dove of sculptor Igor Verniy
Dan Osman was one hell of a rock climber
Stephen Hawking wants to be a BOND villain. Just imagine Daniel Craig falling into a black hole…
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