We hurt the earth, so the proper response from the earth would be to get rid of us. Maybe we should stop hurting the earth. This comic is from Zach Weinersmith at Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal.
Friday, August 28, 2026
Thursday, August 27, 2026
The Weird, Scary Airspace Over Washington DC
Twenty-five years ago next month, a hijacked airliner crashed into the Pentagon in Washington, DC. Since then, restrictions for airplanes flying over our nation's capital have been seriously beefed up. Unauthorized flights are liable to lead to arrest, fines, and even the danger of being shot down. But right in the middle of that restricted zone, we have Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) with tons of flights arriving and departing every day. On a side note, who designs an airport with three runways in which only one can be used at a time?
Pilots who fly into Washington have a list of rules to follow, from registering identification to obtaining a password to staying in contact with control towers at all times. Older rules for DCA mandate that they follow DC's rivers to approach the airport. If you don't know all the rules, you have no business being there. Air traffic controllers have procedures that are just as strict and Byzantine. These rules are all in service of safety and for keeping the military from having to shoot down your plane. Half as Interesting gives us an overview of how complicated it all is. The video is only seven minutes long; the rest is promotional.
Dramatic Iceberg Physics
What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? In this case, the unstoppable force is an enormous iceberg, and the immovable object is the west coast of Greenland, near the town of Ilulissat on July 26th. This time lapse video condenses an hour of activity into ten minutes, with the film speed changing during the sequence.
The iceberg does stop when it hits the land, but the force of its forward motion creates incredible stress inside the ice. The 'berg shudders, cracks, and bobs. Great chunks of ice fall off, roiling the water. As the size and shape of the iceberg changes, it rolls to the side, exposing some of its larger underwater mass. It eventually splits. At last sight, what's left of the iceberg, smaller but still enormous, was pushed away from the violent split. (via Laughing Squid)
How Norman Conquerors Changed the History of Europe
You might think of the Normans (if you ever think of them at all) as French, but they were actually Vikings who converted to Christianity when they settled in the northern part of France (which became known as Normandy). They conquered England in the Battle of Hastings in 1066, but that was only the first leg of the path of conquests. This TED-Ed video gives us the short version of the long story of the vast influence of Norman conquerors in Europe, including our language. (via Digg)
Hard to Get Out of Bed
There are bad reasons to be stuck in bed, and then there are good reasons. This comic is from Lunarbaboon.
Wednesday, August 26, 2026
The Alligator People
The Alligator People is a 1959 horror film in which a woman looks for her missing husband. She finds him slowly turning into an alligator after an experimental medical treatment went wrong. An intriguing concept with laughably bad special effects. (Thanks, WTM!)
RIP Tim Curry
British actor Tim Curry, who played many of the stranger roles in movies you've seen, died Tuesday at his home in Los Angeles. It was only a couple of weeks after CBS Sunday Morning aired this interview and retrospective of his life. Variety has a more in-depth look at his career. Curry was very good at what he did, bringing extra flavor and fun to every role.
If We Lost All Earth's Bodies of Water
The question for the What If? series was "What would happen is all the bodies of water on Earth magically disappeared?" Yeah, you had the same thought I did, of course we'd all die. You can't survive without water, and neither can any other living thing on earth. But that's too easy of an answer. Randall Munroe and Henry Reich instead take this scenario one step at a time. First, people swimming would fall to the ground. Then boats would crash, with a possible survivor. yeah, a lot of other stuff happens, and the extinction of all human life is treated like just one more event in a series that stretches way beyond that, with lots of details. It's a good thing the word "magically" appears in the question, so we don't have to worry about this theoretical disaster. We only need to worry about the slow loss of water.
Miss Cellania's Links
What kind of jobs the people of Pompeii had, and what kind of food they ate in Herculaneum.
Traumatic memories are often fragmented – a psychologist explains how and why that happens.
The Giants of Patagonia. Spanish explorers only reached to their waists, according to one source.
Homer Simpson disappearing into a hedge in Lego. (via Everlasting Blort)
Mamie Toogood and the Burning Boarder. (via Strange Company)
Don't prank your cats. It can be funny, but they'll remember it.
Man arrested after dressing up in 'Grim Reaper' costume on hospital roof and staring at patients. (via Undine)
These Babies Grew Up With Strict Sugar Limits. Decades Later, The Results Are Dramatic. (via Damn Interesting)
Tuesday, August 25, 2026
Dolly Parton Sings for Johnny Carson
Beloved performer Dolly Parton passed away this morning at the age of 80. I wrote a short obituary for Neatorama.
This clip is from 1979, in which Dolly sings a song she wrote for Johnny Carson. She was plenty famous before ever appearing on The Tonight Show, but she's always been gracious enough to spread the credit around. The entire clip is delightful, but the song starts after eleven minutes in.
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