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...
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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...
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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...
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There is a concrete lesson we can learn from dinosaurs, SUVs and the 30,000 calorie sandwich. The lesson is this: Bigger may not necessarily be better in the long run, but it can still kick some serious ass. When applied to recent concerns about the advent of swarm robots, this brings up a burning...
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The 2008 NFL season is underway, and with it comes a nation’s worth of Super Bowl hopes, body paint and beer. A lot of stock will be placed in how the teams fare in their first game, probably more than is fair. Fans should rest easy in the knowledge that however bad their teams...
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