Analog Nation

Apatosaurus pusillus, shown here at 125% magnification The smallest dinosaur fossils ever found belong to Apatosaurus pusillus, known to archaeologists as the “pygmy bronto.” Native to the western regions of what would later become the North American continent, pygmy brontos lived during the Lower and Middle Jurassic periods. Adult males stood around three quarters of [...]

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Earth’s salvation rests in a display case on the Upper West Side. It is a cloth, somewhere between a rug and a shawl, with long, wispy tassels. A dizzying pattern weaves up and down its length, the work of many hands. It is a nearly perfect shade of gold. Dozens of pins hold the cloth [...]

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Having grown up in the 80s, I know a thing or two about witnessing an arms race. After blowing things up for a thousand years or so, we as a species had finally gotten truly excellent at it, to the point where there was an actual chance that we might blow up every single thing, [...]

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One of the basic tenets of popular culture is that the villain is always one piece away from completing his master plan. Sauron needed the One Ring. Belloq needed the Staff of Ra. Megatron needed the Allspice, or something — honestly, that movie made so little sense, my back started to hurt (I’m not kidding). [...]

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The most human fatalities associated with a single species of waterfowl are the 11,346 attributed to the crested smew. Smews are diminutive cousins of the common duck, usually found in parts of Europe and Asia. Their distinct black and white plumage is easy to spot, making them popular among bird watchers. The crested smew — [...]

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A mental exercise, if you will. Remove any hats or other headgear you may be wearing. Close your eyes, massage your temples, and think small. Toasters? Smaller. Shoes? Smaller. Pomegranates? Smaller. Cesium atoms? Okay, bigger. Hamsters? Whoops, overshot it a bit. … Mice? There we go. Mice. More specifically, little teeny mouse brains. A simple [...]

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