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What do other countries call Santa Claus?

Christmas Man. Daddy Christmas. Grandfather Frost. Yule Man. Yule Elder. Yule Gnome. Yule Goat. Father Christmas. Old Man Christmas. Biblical Magi. Christ Child. Christmas Log. All those names are names for Santa Claus in other countries around the world. Calling him just Santa Claus just seems so boring in comparison, doesn’t it? This map, popularized…

The Extremely Last Minute Gift Guide for Lazy Shoppers

It’ll never happen again, you said; this year will be different, you said. And yet, here we are—mere hours to Christmas day and you have yet to finish your holiday shopping. For shame. Fortunately for you and everyone on your gift list—and just like with everything else in life—the internet has the answer to your…

The Law That Forces Mongooses to Give Birth on the Same Day… Or Else

Plenty of social animals have ways to police each other’s behavior — so that if an animal enters the wrong territory or reproduces when it’s not supposed to, it’s punished. But researchers have found that banded mongooses have a more repressive system, which forces all females to give birth at the same time. Or else.…

Let the 10th Doctor Read You a Vampire Story

Can’t wait until tomorrow for your next dose of Doctor Who? Here’s the next best thing. In the radio series A Night with a Vampire, David Tennant brings his vocal talents to reading vampire short stories, including Drink My Blood by Richard Matheson. Other stories includeBewitched by Edith Wharton, The Girl with the Hungry Eyes…

British doctor branded his initials on patient’s liver

A surgeon at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, England, has been suspended after it was discovered that he signed his initials on a patient’s liver. He used an argon plasma coagulation tool to sear his brand in a patient’s liver. The tool, used to stop bleeding by burning tiny blood vessels shut with a…

Forget Frosty: Here’s How To Make Your Very Own Urban Igloo

Snowmen are great. Everyone loves a good snowman! But if you’re expecting piles and piles of the white stuff this year, have a ton of free time on your hands, and want to make something truly cool, why not go all-out and construct an urban igloo? Modern Farmer got the inside info on how to…

Father Christmas giving out presents at a children’s party given by journalists at the Press Club in 1924. [Getty Images] Happy Christmas!

12 Monty Python Side Projects, Ranked from Worst to Best

We’ve just learned that Simon Pegg will star in Absolutely Anything, a brand new film that reunites the surviving Monty Python castmembers. But how will this movie stack up to the canon of Monty Python spinoffs? Here are 12 Python side projects, ranked in order of greatness. https://gizmodo.com/simon-pegg-will-star-in-the-brand-new-film-from-the-mon-1481429798 Note: For the purposes of this list,…

Iceland Stops Work on a New Highway That Would Destroy Elf Habitats

A lawsuit that halted a new highway in Iceland was filed on behalf of elves. The road construction project is now being delayed until Iceland’s Supreme Court rules on a case from Friends of Lava, a group concerned about destruction to elf and wildlife habitats. Their ideas may not be as bizarre as it first…

Astronauts made a rare six hour spacewalk on Christmas Eve to fix ISS

For only the second time in NASA history, two astronauts made a spacewalk on Christmas Eve. Astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Michael Hopkins installed a new ammonia pump to fix the cooling loop on the ISS. You can’t beat that Christmas Eve, even if you’re Santa Claus. NASA has their livestream going of the spacewalk and…

Build a Perfect Fire on Christmas Eve Without Burning Down the House

There’s nothing quite like a Hallmark-style Christmas eve (or morning), replete with logs roaring in the hearth. And the hearth is where it belongs; nobody wants a house fire for Christmas. Here’s how to properly and responsibly start up a yule log without resorting to Duraflames (because really, that’s just cheating.) Get Ready First, if…

Darren Aronofsky’s graphic novel gives Noah a total Thor makeover

Darren Aronofsky’s Noah is getting a graphic novel tie-in. Because that is what we do with movies now. However, the first ever art from this project appears to have replaced Noah with Thor. The graphic novel will was created by writer Ari Handel and artist Niko Henrichon. And thanks to Yahoo, we have a first…

What was the Star of Bethlehem, really?

Did the Star of Bethlehem really exist? According to the Gospel of Matthew, a bright star appeared in the East, portending the birth of the King of the Jews. Every year around this time, we debate what astronomical phenomenon could have inspired this story. But what’s the strongest candidate? Asking what the Star of Bethlehem…

One of these twins is going to space—will he come back different?

NASA is sending astronaut Scott Kelly to the ISS for a year. Then they will compare him to his twin Mark Kelly, who will remain on Earth for the entire time. It’s a fascinating experiment that may reveal some effects on how space affects the human organism. Former Navy test pilots, the Kelly brothers joined…

I Hope the Ghost of Christmas Paleofuture Finally Brings My Hoverboard

When I was a kid there was nothing I wanted more than a hoverboard for Christmas. Or a personal robot. Or a videophone. You get the idea. Back in the 20th century, we all had different ideas about what futuristic toys should look like. Below we have a small sample of Christmas presents and traditions…

What today needs is some historically accurate Christmas carols

Have you ever thought, “I like Christmas music, but is any of that stuff true?” Well, Horrible Histories has answered that question for you. In song. The best part of these re-written-for-accuracy carols is that Horrible Histories was, at least nominally, a kids’ show. I know that if this had existed when I was younger,…

Pop-up Ports Keep this Backup Battery Slim and Svelte

What’s the point of carrying around a backup battery that’s larger than the smartphone it’s designed to boost? It defeats the purpose of carrying a pocketable device in the first place. When it comes to backup batteries, slim is the only way to go, and with a set of pop-ports that keep its USB ports…

Why does every story have to be an Earth-shattering epic?

Lately, it seems like every story has to be massive, or nobody cares. Every Doctor Who story is about saving the entire universe. The latest Hobbit movie seemed to be trying to be a Lord of the Rings-style saga. Every action movie needs global stakes. Can we talk about our epic epidemic? We couldn’t help…

Turn Any Door into Han Solo Stuck in Carbonite

You know you want this door decal of Han Solo stuck in carbonite. The 32-inch by 80-inch laminated graphic can be attached and reattached to both doors and walls and is specially designed to create that great 3D-like effect. It really does look like Han could climb right out of there, at least in the…

The Best Method of Breaking a Beer Bottle for All Your Holiday Brawls

Let’s say someone has gotten a little sassy at your family’s holiday gathering. Or maybe it’s New Year’s, and not everyone is getting in the spirit. Here’s how to break a beer bottle so it turns into a weapon — using science! Perhaps others are more used to drunken bar fights than I am, but…