Cheryl Eddy

There’s haunting, abandoned-building fascination galore, plus some intense graffiti, in this photo-heavy look at Long Island’s shuttered Kings Park Psychiatric Center. Unsurprisingly, multiple horror movies have been filmed there; it’s also the subject of a documentary made by a former patient.

A Color-Saturated Look At Mercury’s Massive, Ancient Caloris Basin

Mercury’s Caloris Basin is seen in an enhanced color mosaic. The massive crater, formed some 4 billion years ago, is orange. Smaller craters made subsequently are rendered in blue, while orange splotches around the perimeter may be volcanic vents. (Side note: Props to the punster who titled the photo “All About that Basin” on the…

This Vintage Medical Advertisement Is Ever So Slightly Problematic

Where to even begin, really? How fast do you think those kids built that log cabin after popping a few of these? Courtesy of the National Library of Medicine‘s archive of amusing and/or disturbing Patent Medicine Trade Cards.

Dreamy Video Captures Murmuration Of Starlings Undulating In The Sky

Starling flocks are called “murmurations.” The birds fly in massive, tightly-packed groups to fend off predators, find food together, and seek mates. There are several theories as to how they coordinate their flight patterns so smoothly; what’s certain is how hypnotic it looks from the ground. [Via The Guardian]

Watch This Heroic Bald Eagle Keep Her Eggs Warm In A Snow-Covered Nest

Though the live camera feed of her nest in Pennsylvania’s Codurus State Park reveals that she’s gotten some relief from the snow, this image (captured March 5) shows a bald eagle mother keeping her eggs warm … despite what was clearly some deeply inconsiderate weather. Screengrab via ABC 27. Via the Audobon Society.

The man who dreamed up the Keurig K-Cup has some regrets, not just about selling his stake in the popular company for a song, but for the amount of waste the non-recyclable single-serving coffee brewing pods have generated: nine billion pods were sold last year, most of which now languish in landfills.

In 1923, Daylight Saving Time Was Actually Illegal In Some States

Americans in most states (but not all) will “spring forward” their clocks tonight. Most people know that Daylight Saving Time caught on as part of energy-saving efforts during World War I. But did you know clock-changing actually became illegal in some places once the war concluded? In a fascinating look back into its archives, Time…

Jeremy Renner And Amy Adams Will Greet Aliens In Ted Chiang Adaptation

HOLD UP. Is Hollywood actually planning a genre movie that’s not a sequel or reboot? Signs point to yes, since Jeremy Renner and Amy Adams are set to star in scifi drama Story of Your Life, an adaptation of a Nebula Award-winning Ted Chiang short story. Denis Villeneuve will direct. The Hollywood Reporter has the…

Iditarod Dog Race Moves 225 Miles North In Search Of Snow

After the rocky, injury-plagued, snow-light conditions of last year’s Iditarod Trail Sled DogRace, this year’s even warmer season means the starting line of the race will move 225 miles north. It will still end in Nome, Alaska, but it’ll begin in Fairbanks rather than Anchorage. The Seattle Times reports: A weather pattern that buried the…

If Comic Heroes and Villains Had Business Cards, They’d Look Like This

Some of these make more sense (“Peter Parker, Photographer, The Daily Bugle”) than others (would Natasha Romanoff really have the need for business cards?), but The Vocations of Heroes & Villains is nonetheless an art print that’s quite fun to look at. Created by (and for sale at, in signed/numbered form) Pop Chart Lab, the…

Old Flames Alight On Archer… Oh, And There’s A Mission, Too

This week’s Archer is all about lust… with a bit of secret agent-y stuff thrown in, as well as a zillion tranquilizer darts, some unseemly Tunt family history, a very hungry plant, and some of this seasons’ best rapid-fire one-liners. Spoilers follow! “Pocket Listing” begins by tossing a bone to all us Malory fans, whose…

Your Dog Isn’t Dumb, It Just Has A Very Selective Short-Term Memory

Dogs may be capable of human-like emotions and consciousness, but their short-term memories are pretty terrible, particularly when the event in question is something relatively trivial and not survival-oriented. A new study out of the Centre for the Study of Cultural Evolution in Stockholm, Sweden, found that in a survey of 25 types of animals,…

Toxic Explosive Waste Threatens Town Where True Blood Was Filmed

The town of Doyline, in northwestern Louisiana, stood in for fictional Bon Temps during True Blood’s HBO run. Vampires and other supernatural beasties menaced onscreen, but the real-life town is facing a far greater concern: the to-be-decided fate of 15 million pounds of toxic explosives. Mother Jones takes an in-depth look at this environmental disaster…

Aquarium Insists This Wily Octopus Wasn’t Trying To Escape Its Tank

It sure looks like this octopus at the Seattle Aquarium is attempting to flee to freedom before being caught in the act. Or, in the observant words of the person behind the camera, “He’s like … aww man, they got me!” Alas, that may not be what was really happening. Seattle Aquarium staff have another…

‘Dog Kennel Of The Future’ Is Even More Insane Than That Title Implies

Things the Samsung Dream Doghouse (a one-off, created for a contest giveaway in conjunction with England’s Crufts dog show) contains: A treadmill covered in AstroTurf “so it reminds them of the outdoors” A hydrotherapy pool “for rejuvenation” An automated feeder so Mr. Fluffystuff can feed himself Luxury decor custom-crafted for doggie comfort, including designer vinyl…

Not Taking A Lunch Break Is Psychologically Bad For You. Here’s Why.

If you’re not taking a lunch break, your creativity is probably suffering. This might seem obvious, but now there’s research to back it up. And it doesn’t even matter what you eat, or if you eat at all; what’s important is that you physically step away from your workspace to recharge. A recent episode of…

Fascinating Theory Says 2001: A Space Odyssey Is Really All About Food

2001: A Space Odyssey can be interpreted about a million different ways. That’s a big part of its appeal. But have you ever felt… hungry while watching it? That’s because the movie is actually about food. Look closely, and you’ll see it too! Audiences have always paid close attention to Stanley Kubrick’s carefully crafted films,…

Meet A Couple Who’re Living The Most Explosive Life Ever

Fans of oversized explosions, please enjoy Kaboom!, a documentary about Rich and Dee Gibson, who’ve spent the past 30 years creating intricate pyrotechnic displays for air shows. (They met skydiving.) It’s short, surprisingly sweet, and full of loaded observations like “Fire has real life of its own.”

Jackie Chan Invented The Chinese Character That’s Now A Viral Smash

A new Chinese character, “duang,” has gone viral. Nobody’s sure what it actually means, but Jackie Chan has everything to do with it. According to a BBC report, duang has appeared over eight million times and claimed the most-popular hashtag title on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter. But where did it come from, and what…

Read A Brand-New Short Story By Stephen King

As the big-screen adaptation ofIt rumbles into existence with Cary Fukunaga at the helm, Stephen King’s been keeping busy. A new story by the author appears in the March 9th issue of The New Yorker. It’s a Western, and it’s all about justice (or injustice?), and you can read it here. Photo by Flickr user…