Perhaps there is a god…how else do we explain this lovely miracle? We don't have to stop there, either — there are also these to explain. Of course, the god revealed by these wonders seems to be a bit of a libertine, so he's probably not Abrahamic at all. But definitely a fun guy.
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There are in fact so many strong biblical, doctrinal, and logical arguments against the existence of a literal hell that this question naturally arises: Why do the churches teach it and why do people often believe it? … The churches tend to believe that fear, rather than love conquers all.
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More articles by PZ Myers can be found on Freethoughtblogs at the new Pharyngula!
Signs and wonders!
Category: Weirdness
Posted on: September 15, 2009 8:37 AM, by PZ Myers
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Comments
Posted by: Janet Holmes | September 15, 2009 8:50 AM
Who would have thought fungi could be so much fun, without eating them I mean!
Posted by: cakeforme(mo) | September 15, 2009 8:51 AM
Next issue in discworld: the god of sexual selection & exhibitionism.
Posted by: Rob | September 15, 2009 8:53 AM
Ah yes, the lovely netted stinkhorn mushroom. What a beautiful smell. Attracts flies. It sucks when your dog rolls in one.
Posted by: essex green | September 15, 2009 9:00 AM
First porn and corpses now fungi tits and penises ?
Isn't Atheism fun !!!
Posted by: Stephen Wells | September 15, 2009 9:05 AM
Diana of the Ephesians, presumably; famously well provided with excess mammae.
Posted by: sailor1031 | September 15, 2009 9:06 AM
Thanks PZ, now I feel even more inadequate....i mean couple of those fungi were pretty well hung, you know?
Posted by: dersk | September 15, 2009 9:17 AM
I heard that MSNBC was running a poll to see what people think about adding the phrase "In bad puns we trust" on US coinage...or am I being mycopic and just not seeing the humor?
Posted by: Zeno | September 15, 2009 9:18 AM
Oh, "fun guy"! I get it!
Posted by: Louis | September 15, 2009 9:18 AM
Would a confession that a well proportioned coco de mer fruit makes me horny ruin my credibility*?
Louis
*Credibility may or may not have existed prior to this post.
Posted by: jimvj | September 15, 2009 9:23 AM
My FSM! Those mushroom-dicks are huge.
In bytes, of course.
Posted by: Mike | September 15, 2009 9:26 AM
More evidence that mycology is better than yours!
Posted by: Michelle R
|
September 15, 2009 9:26 AM
Well... That just went around the office!
Posted by: IaMoL | September 15, 2009 9:27 AM
Mamma Maxima Scientiae. Shouldn't these come in pairs.
You're such a fungi.
*badoomp doomp chic*
Posted by: Iain | September 15, 2009 9:27 AM
"Fun guy" *groan*
Oh no you didn't. You went there. That's like... a "Dad joke".
lol and yet I still find it funny.
Posted by: Hank Fox | September 15, 2009 9:28 AM
The boobie mushroom is a true miracle, an actual surprise creation from the Flying Spaghetti Monster, probably so you can make boobie mushroom spaghetti sauce and feel all holy and stuff.
But the penis mushroom, that's convergent evolution, plain and simple.
Posted by: llewelly | September 15, 2009 9:28 AM
This is what happens to you who have rejected the morality of God. You revel in lewd pictures of mushrooms (Satan's plant) shaped like breasts and penises (Satan's toys). Depravity runs rampant in your brains. Doubtless Satan will encourage you to touch your loins at the site of his plants. God will curse you with a ruined keyboard.
Posted by: Gert | September 15, 2009 9:29 AM
The link is dead.Gimme the the new one plz.
Posted by: Gert | September 15, 2009 9:32 AM
Nvm,got it.
Posted by: Sili | September 15, 2009 9:33 AM
That second one is called "præstepik" in Danish: vicar's cock.
Just thought I'd throw that out there.
Posted by: DebinOz | September 15, 2009 9:43 AM
The pun is dead. Long live the pun!
Posted by: Daniel de Rauglaudre
|
September 15, 2009 9:52 AM
Clearly, they are Virgin Mary's tit and Jesus' prick.
Posted by: eddie | September 15, 2009 9:56 AM
W(.)(.)t!
Posted by: Forbidden Snowflake | September 15, 2009 9:57 AM
Ahem... How can anyone talk about the LID (libertine intelligent designer) and not mention Clitoria ternatea ?
Warning! NSFW! I felt like a huge creep searching up this flower pic in my university library right now.
Posted by: Thedepressingstatistician | September 15, 2009 9:57 AM
"Signs are taken for wonders. `We would see a sign!'
The word within a word, unable to speak a word,
Swaddled with darkness. In the juvescence of the year
Came Christ the tiger"
Posted by: Tiranna | September 15, 2009 10:00 AM
You should see how those stink-horns grow!
Posted by: pwuk | September 15, 2009 10:06 AM
Walking through a meadow, I stooped to pick a buttock up.
Posted by: RamblinDude
|
September 15, 2009 10:11 AM
"Fun guy" heh (Thanks, Zeno -- whoosh)
Posted by: rrt | September 15, 2009 10:13 AM
Oh, so it's one of THOSE monings, is it? Okay then:
How do you catch a unique rabbit?
Posted by: AJS | September 15, 2009 10:21 AM
This is just awesome!
According to a quick whois check, porno-pareidolia.org is still available.
It's 15:20 as I post this. I'm not laying money on it still being available by tonight.
Posted by: KemaTheAtheist | September 15, 2009 10:22 AM
"Dad jokes" are the best ones...
1.) What do you get when you cross an elephant with a rhinoceros? Elifino
2.) I studied abroad before... and then I married her!
3.) What's green and red and goes 100mph? A frog in a blender.
4.) What's black and white and red all over? A nun falling down the stairs. What's black and white and rolling with laugher? The preist that pushed her!
Posted by: Barry | September 15, 2009 10:29 AM
They forgot to include a photo of a vulva tree. Which is commonly formed when a branch breaks off and is healed by new growth. They come complete with labia major and labia minor.
Posted by: kris | September 15, 2009 10:39 AM
Sometimes those first mushrooms even grow in pairs. I've seen them.
Posted by: WayBeyondSoccerMom | September 15, 2009 10:45 AM
Check out these stone structures in China, in the Guangdong province. They are known as the “Yanyuan stone” and the “Yingyuan stone”.
http://awkwardfamilyphotos.com/2009/08/18/nature-lovers/
You can go a google image search to verify. Guess the Chinese really do appreciate nature!
BTW, the comments on these photos have some wonderful puns.
Posted by: debaser | September 15, 2009 10:51 AM
#28
unique up on it!
and I ask you, how do you catch a tame rabbit?
Posted by: octopod | September 15, 2009 11:03 AM
Entertaining Russian atheist propaganda here, courtesy of live_from_LJ via Coilhouse: http://community.livejournal.com/buchmalerei/30540.html
Posted by: chuckgoecke | September 15, 2009 11:09 AM
Kind of reminds me of a flowstone formation, maybe big wide stalagmite would be a better word, in Carlsbad Caverns. All the other major formations had names that related to what the formation looked like, but this one, was like a big 10-12 foot wide, 3 foot high boob, complete with nipple and even areola, if the light was right. But no name. Hummm? If the Nat'l Park Service was so worried about offending the fundy families, why didn't they just jackhammer it out of there. You'd think that by now, someone could have thought of the breast possible name for it.(sorry) Anyone who's been through the caverns couldn't miss it.
Posted by: Glen Davidson
|
September 15, 2009 11:22 AM
Now if we could just figure out what these signs are telling us to do...
I'm sure the boobie mushroom isn't there just to titillate...
It's said that Darwin's daughter would go out in the mornings to destroy the phallic-shaped mushrooms so that the maids wouldn't become too worked up by them.
See what godless Darwinism does to the messages from god?
Glen D
http://tinyurl.com/mxaa3p
Posted by: Jenny, Bloggess | September 15, 2009 11:24 AM
Finally, my contributions to society have been recognized.
Posted by: John Stockwell | September 15, 2009 11:32 AM
Putting the FUN in FUNgus....
Posted by: Patricia, OM | September 15, 2009 11:43 AM
The golden Chantrelles are out now here in Oregon. They may not be as cute as the booby mushroom (Parasol) but they taste even better!
Posted by: JiminKy | September 15, 2009 11:47 AM
Sounds very much like the OT god to me. Yahweh did moon Moses, after all, when Moses asked to see "his glory":
"And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen." – Exodus 32:20-23.
Posted by: SC, OM | September 15, 2009 11:48 AM
Yay! Just remember: There are old mushroom-hunters and there are bold mushroom-hunters, but there are no old, bold mushroom-hunters.
:)
Posted by: Carlie | September 15, 2009 11:51 AM
debaser - the tame way.
Posted by: rrt | September 15, 2009 11:57 AM
#34:
Tame way! :)
Posted by: MikeM | September 15, 2009 12:16 PM
Were there any dried apricots nearby?
(Sorry)
Posted by: jwc | September 15, 2009 12:52 PM
I clicked on those links briefly until I saw the titles. Really NSFW if you work in a large corporate environment.
Please mark stuff that's NSFW as such!
Posted by: truthspeaker | September 15, 2009 12:59 PM
I can't decide if this post is misogynist or mismyconist.
Posted by: Acronym Jim | September 15, 2009 1:02 PM
Now you may need to rename the blog Pharfungila.
Posted by: OolonColluphid | September 15, 2009 1:15 PM
On the subject of signs, I found an artist who made a toaster that produces miracles on every piece of bread. He also makes some truly lovely glass viruses.
Posted by: BobbyEarle | September 15, 2009 1:18 PM
KemaTheAtheist @30...
What's black and white and can't get through the door?
A nun with a spear through her head.
These pretty much all go downhill from here!
Posted by: JThompson | September 15, 2009 1:24 PM
We know it isn't the Abrahamic god because none of those mushrooms are circumcised. So can we start using that as proof Christianity/Judaism are wrong?
Stupid as that argument would be, it's vastly superior to the stuff the ID people trot out on a regular basis.
Posted by: BeccaTheCyborg | September 15, 2009 1:33 PM
Mushrooms are just awesome. Especially when they look like boobs.
Posted by: Patricia, OM | September 15, 2009 1:45 PM
SC,OM - Ah yes, how true a saying that one is. Which is why I only eat mushrooms I know are safe.
The amusing thing about the edibility of booby mushrooms is that the Audubon field guide lists them as: Choice, with caution.
Posted by: Mike Wagner | September 15, 2009 1:49 PM
Sigh. I love the "Not Safe For Work" whiners that pop up on every forum, comment section, etc.
If your workplace has an issue with you visiting "questionable" websites while you are there, maybe you shouldn't be surfing the net at work. Maybe you should be looking at work related stuff and doing your surfing at home.
Or maybe get a different job where they don't care as much.
Posted by: spondee | September 15, 2009 1:49 PM
Punch lines from dad jokes?
How about "Get away from him Rufus before he shits on you!" and "Hair restore-er and permanent wave." or "Focus. Booff us?" and finally "Aw, kid not again with the chicken!"
I got a finger around here somewhere. (I know the purists will claim this as a granddad joke, but I am of the opinion that granddad is a dad in as much as he's the father of the dad in question thus making granddad jokes and dad jokes one and the same.)
Posted by: AZ Writer (Kim Hosey) | September 15, 2009 1:49 PM
Choice, with caution. I love it.
The Phallus impudicus reminds me of conversation my husband and I had recently. He's still snickering about the entire Phallaceae family. Hey, whatever gets him interested in biology!
Posted by: Nerd of Redhead, OM
|
September 15, 2009 1:50 PM
Until you provide hard physical evidence for one, your deity is imaginary, existing only in your deluded mind.Posted by: Gyeong Hwa Pak | September 15, 2009 1:51 PM
PZ, what's with all the sex related topics as of late? Isn't you suppose to be working on book? :)
Posted by: spondee | September 15, 2009 1:56 PM
Trolls! Everyone run! Oh no, ignorance and hot carls! Run!
Posted by: AJ Milne | September 15, 2009 1:58 PM
I just browsed that guy's entire gallery o' installations and gifts. Do like...
Now, this may either mean he's very good, or just that I'm incredibly distractible toda... Oh, look, a quarter...
(/Wanders off...)
Posted by: Gyeong Hwa Pak | September 15, 2009 1:58 PM
Zealous trolls threating to defecate on PZ. How very Christian. . .
Posted by: Mike Wagner | September 15, 2009 1:58 PM
It's not even a good troll. It's like a little retarded troll that occasionally likes to take a crap in your shoes.
Small gods, small minds.
Posted by: scott | September 15, 2009 2:03 PM
without GOD there is no Human race.
Posted by: Nerd of Redhead, OM
|
September 15, 2009 2:05 PM
Mabus the psycho is loose again. Take your meds man.
Posted by: spondee | September 15, 2009 2:07 PM
We don't come around and offer to shit on priests. At least I don't.
Posted by: Patricia, OM | September 15, 2009 2:08 PM
That's the type of good christian that throws out a soiled diaper while passing you on the freeway.
Posted by: Mike Wagner | September 15, 2009 2:09 PM
@scott #71
I think you mean without the human race there is no "GOD".
The only thing that gives these ridiculous creations and their henchmen on Earth power, is the suggestibility of the sheep that worship them.
Take away the sheep, and suddenly you have broke televangelists, a sharp decrease in child abuse, and one less reason to justify harming other people.
Posted by: Walton | September 15, 2009 2:14 PM
Sigh. Another thread timecubed.
(See http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2009/08/i_get_email_39.php#comment-1812967 for a definition of this new term.)
Posted by: Patricia, OM | September 15, 2009 2:16 PM
Nerd - Better wipe off your shoe, I think you stepped in something. :D
Posted by: CJO | September 15, 2009 2:21 PM
Now, now. Timecube is harmless, unless you actually read it. This is dangerous psychotic threats, however idle.
There's crazy (eg Libertarianism), there's batshit crazy (eg Timecube), and there are the criminally insane.
Posted by: Gyeong Hwa Pak | September 15, 2009 2:24 PM
I don't understand it. How do these troll find the site?
Posted by: Nerd of Redhead, OM
|
September 15, 2009 2:24 PM
Patricia, we chemists have solutions. No problem cleaning up a Psycho mess, unless I want to be able to wear the shoes afterwards. ;)
Posted by: Walton | September 15, 2009 2:32 PM
I'm not certain of the history, but I believe this particular lunatic has a longstanding vendetta against Professor Myers. He's appeared many times before, posting the same rant over and over again on every thread until his IP address gets blocked. (For some reason, he also has a weird obsession with the James Randi Paranormal Challenge.)To be honest, I suspect he would benefit from psychiatric assistance of some type.
Posted by: grenangle | September 15, 2009 2:42 PM
AAHHH the "Devils' Horn" I like to tell newbies they smell like chocolate. Actually they do, go find one now and sniff you will thank me I'm sure.
Posted by: God | September 15, 2009 2:57 PM
This is absolutely not true.
I do indeed exist, but one of My favorite human beings is in fact PZ Myers. But, then, I like Voltaire, too. And Richard Dawkins. And Denis Diderot. And de Montaigne. And Carl Sagan.
If I had wanted a bunch of mindless yes-men, I would never have created humans in the first place.
Nostradamus, I'm kind of iffy on.
And I have enough frothing psychotics in Hell to last an eternity.
Posted by: MrFire | September 15, 2009 2:59 PM
Sn*icker
Posted by: Chris Caprette | September 15, 2009 3:04 PM
Great shrooms! I always though shiitake had a funny name, but booby shrooms? Wow. Oh, and I think you need to update your kill file, some shithead is spreading feces in the comments.
Posted by: Anonym | September 15, 2009 3:21 PM
@#41 -
Jehovah's bare ass (to the left), courtesy: Michelangelo.
Posted by: Jere Yost | September 15, 2009 3:43 PM
I'd like to see Ray Comfort try to explain what these say about God.
Posted by: Ged | September 15, 2009 4:33 PM
Ok, so just what were you looking for when you stumbled across that on Google?
Posted by: RobertDW | September 15, 2009 5:15 PM
*sigh* PZ, it may be time to enable registration again...
Posted by: Korbl | September 15, 2009 5:28 PM
"you and your family will BURN IN HELL -"
Actually just my family will, I'll be taking in the nightly burlesque show.
I'm reminded of the bumper sticker:
"It's your hell, YOU burn in it"
Posted by: Smoggy Batzrubble OM4Jesus | September 15, 2009 5:46 PM
Dear Brother PZ,
Is there any chance you could post any identifying information on the Christian paragon Dave Mabusa, or whatever else he calls himself?
I want to send Floyd Rubber around to chat to him about the witness he is providing for Jesus. Floyd, who is no stranger to perverse behavior, thinks that a gag in the form of an extremely large penis rammed down dmab's throat for half-an-hour might enable him to consider with a little more clarity exactly what he means when he drivels on so happily about suffering in hell for eternity.
It appears dave madabuser is also a coprophiliac, and Floyd has a particularly large turd he'd like to send his way.
Yours in Christian disgust
Smoggy
Missionary to the Atheists
Posted by: Ray C. | September 15, 2009 6:03 PM
@davmaba under s/h/its various names: Begone, foul troll.
Posted by: Peter Morris
|
September 15, 2009 6:16 PM
What filth! This is one natural act that needs to be cleaned up. http://petros-speaks.blogspot.com/2009/09/shameless-hussy-mushroom-cleans-up-her.html
Posted by: Cath the Canberra Cook | September 15, 2009 6:56 PM
Mabus is the one that finally drove me to install greasemonkey/killfile. It works nicely.
Posted by: 'Tis Himself, Quel Dommage
|
September 15, 2009 7:16 PM
Between the troll and the spammers, this thread is lost.
Posted by: Gregory Greenwood | September 15, 2009 9:03 PM
So by the inimitable use of the fundies' own religi-logic(tm), we can prove that god is a bit of a pervert.
1) The fungus, like the Universe, is irreducibly complex. Therefore it must have been designed and created.
2) This creator was god. god created all things, including species of fungus.
3) There are a suspicious number of fungi who look like boobs or, um . . . what the hell is the plural of 'phallus' anyway? Phalluses? Or Phallusci?
4) God does nothing by accident, and nothing exists or occurs except by god's will.
5) Therefore, god is a pervert.
The case is watertight.
The irrefutable fungoid evidence is all around us . . .
Posted by: Psi Wavefunction | September 16, 2009 4:54 AM
And this is why I'm involved with the blogging community - everything from analyses of the latest in research publications to academic gossip to tits on a lawn. All in one day. What more can one ask for?