§ Science
The International Astronomical Union just hit Pluto with a semantic Death Star ray. Pluto, is no longer officially considered a planet. Burn your old high school textbooks. We have just 8 planets in our solar system now. The only benefit I see from this reclassification is that it is now 11% more likely that any randomly chosen planet in our... more
§ Science
The Hubble Space Telescope has helped astronomers spot two more rings around Uranus and add two more moons to the planet’s total. Scientists now say Uranus, a gas giant and the seventh planet from the sun, has at least 13 dusty rings. — CBC I know it’s a juvenile fascination1, but I will always enjoy any and all news about... more
§ Science
The Ig Nobel Awards are a distinctly English celebration of the year’s most improbable research “that first makes people LAUGH, then makes them THINK.” Just about everything within the Annals of Improbable Research is pure science-geek heaven, but as the Guardian notes, this year’s paper on Duck Necrophilia is particularly stupefying: Ducks behave pretty badly, it seems. It is not... more
§ Humour
The President's Commission for Implementation of U.S. Space Exploration Policy has begun soliciting public input regarding manned space flight to the Moon and Mars. Let me suggest that any plan to land a man on Mars within our lifetime requires only two ingredients: # The trip will be one-way. The engineering innovations required to launch the first mission to mars... more
§ Science
Whether or not you're a card carrying geek like myself, you're likely to agree that this uphill garden waterfall is brilliant. Invented by James Dyson's eponymous engineering and design house, the reverse water fountain is the focal point of the "Wrong Garden" exhibit at the Chelsea Flower Show. On a related note, "Microcosm", the winner of the show's Best Chic... more