Robbie Gonzalez

29 Common Myths About Booze, Debunked

The one and only Hannah Hart (of My Drunk Kitchen) recently stopped in at Mental Floss to guest host an episode devoted to deflating some common misconceptions and rumors about alcohol. There’s some great rapid-fire debunkery to be had here, including a few myths we’ve busted in greater depth in the past, like the misconception…

The separation of Pangea, explained in an animated pop-up book

In this lovely new animation from TED-Ed, educator Michael Molina uses a pop-up book to explore the science of tectonic plates, the manner by which their shifting led to the breakup of the supercontinent of Pangea, and how their movement continues to affect the drift of Earth’s continents. More science papercraft here. [TED-Ed via Explore]

Did you know Lake Superior has ice caves?

For the first time in half a decade, the ice atop Lake Superior has frozen thick enough to provide visitors safe passage to the “Sea Caves” of Wisconsin’s Apostle Islands, where centuries of erosive, wave-on-sandstone action have hewn arches, chambers and passageways into the region’s various cliffsides. Photo Credit: National Park Service, via the U.S.…

Google Maps Now Comes with Climate Data

Well this is convenient. The University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit has made its global temperature data available for Google Maps. Dubbed “CRUTEM4,” the data allows Google Maps users to monitor how surface temperatures have changed over time, both globally and locally. Ars Technica’s John Timmer has more info: CRUTEM4 calculates what’s called a…

A Wonderful Interview with Frank Drake

In June 2012, SETI Institute Board Member Andrew Fraknoi sat down with astrophysicist Frank Drake, father of the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, for a fantastic 45-minute interview about Drake’s current projects at SETI and the history of his research – including the work that led to the famous equation of his namesake. The interview, recently…

A Beautiful Map of Global Ocean Currents

A fitting addition to his interactive global windmap, Cameron Beccario‘s interactive map of Earth’s ocean currents takes near-realtime data-mapping to the seas – and the results are mesmerizing. If the previous incarnation of Beccario’s weather-modeling applet bore a passing similarity to NASA’s spellbinding Perpetual Ocean video, this newest version resembles it even more. As with…

This time-lapse makes me want to move to South Dakota

This is one of the most arresting compilations of landscape and astrovideography we’ve seen in ages. Titled “Huelux,” created by photographer Randy Halverson, the video plays like a greatest-hits reel of natural phenomena in South Dakota, Wyoming and Utah. The whole thing is fantastic, but it was the scenes from the Mount Rushmore State –…

Scientists Feed Peanut Butter to Jellyfish, Make PB and Jellyfish

Researchers at the Children’s Aquarium at Fair Park in Dallas, TX were curious what would happen if they fed their jellyfish a mix of seawater and peanut butter. Why? Well… two reasons, really. Above: A moon jelly on day one of the experiment by Montoya and Christie via NatGeo According to aquarist P. Zelda Montoya…

Check out the first complete globe of the planet Mercury

Attention fellow globe-enthusiasts: The good folks at Sky & Telescope Magazine have collaborated with members with NASA’s Mercury-mapping MESSENGER team to create the first complete globe of our solar system’s innermost planet, and it’s beautiful. Do want! Via Sky & Telescope: For centuries, our solar system’s innermost planet was shrouded in mystery. Now, for the…

The Kentucky Senate has passed a bill that will allow computer programming classes to fulfill students’ foreign-language requirements. According to Senator David Givens, the goal is to equip Kentucky students with the language skills needed to compete for jobs in the tech sector. Comparative literature, indeed.

The Aurorae Blaze Bright Before the Dawn

There are times when, if near this planet’s poles, one scarcely needs her lantern to see. Above: “Southern Lights,” by the inimitable Julie Dillon. See more of her work on her tumblr and DeviantART page.

A Trove of Great Science Fiction and Fantasy – Free for a Limited Time

The 2014 Campbellian Anthology – a DRM-free ebook featuring the work of over 100 authors eligible for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in science fiction and fantasy – is currently available for download. 860,000 words of fiction. For free (for now). Go grab it. Here’s an introduction from anthology curator M.…

Why Dungeons & Dragons Still Matters

Dungeons and Dragons – arguably the single most revolutionary turn to the Action/Fantasy RPG genre – turned 40 last week. Here’s why it’s still relevant today. In a must-read post over at Boing Boing, Ethan Gilsdorf – author of Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks – looks back on the last forty years of pen-and-paper role-playing…

With Regard to the Footballs

One of the top comments on yesterday’s post about a picture of Sirs Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen all geared up for the Super Bowl came from NGEFAN, who wrote: “I’ve never understood the dislike/indifference towards American football and sports in general that people have on here.” On that point, I’d like to clarify something.…

LEGO Gets Told Off by a Seven-Year-Old Girl

A seven-year-old girl named Charlotte has taken LEGO to task for not only making more “boy people” than “lego girls,” but sending the former on adventures while the latter “sit at home.” “All the girls did was sit at home, go to the beach, and shop, and they had no jobs,” writes Charlotte, “but the…

J.K. Rowling says Hermione should have married Harry, not Ron

Are you sitting down? You might want to sit down. In an interview with Emma Watson, J.K. Rowling has admitted that she regrets pairing Hermione with Ron instead of Harry, chalking the Hermione/Ron marriage up to “a form of wish fulfillment.” The interview is slated to appear in a forthcoming issue of Wonderland magazine, for…

In memory of the men and women who lost their lives in the quest for space exploration. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden participates in a wreath laying ceremony as part of NASA’s Day of Remembrance, Friday, Jan. 31, 2014, at Arlington National Cemetery. Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Neil Gaiman reading Green Eggs and Ham is pure wonderfulness

This video of Gaiman reading Dr. Seuss’s iconic children’s book, just posted to his blog, is one of the best things we’ve seen all week. Gaiman read the book in recognition of the Worldbuilders 2014 charity – a philanthropic effort orchestrated by epic fantasy author Patrick Rothfuss and founded on the premise of “geeks doing…

An unbelievably gruesome epidemic is ravaging starfish populations

A mysterious illness has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of starfish on North America’s west coast, and its symptoms are horrifying. Dubbed “sea star wasting syndrome,” the arms of an infected individual will twist into knots, develop lesions, and finally crawl away in opposite directions until they tear away from its body, allowing…

Polar bear cub sees snow for the first time

We’ve seen this little guy take his first steps and have his first bath – now watch as he encounters snow for the very first time. THEY GROW UP SO FAST! http://gawker.com/heres-a-baby-polar-bear-taking-his-first-steps-1498885797 https://gizmodo.com/watch-this-polar-bear-cub-take-his-first-bath-1508886022 [Toronto Zoo]