humor
pharyngula | July 22, 2009These will
keep you groaning all day.
A fellow accidentally ingested some alpha-L-glucose and discovered that he had no ill effects. Apparently he was ambidextrose.
A bloke walks into a pub, and asks for a pint of Adenosinetriphosphate. The barman says "That'll be 80p (ATP) please!"
(note 100p = £1, and ATP is short for Adenosinetriphosphate, but you already knew that.)
Some genetic researchers were studying Acinonyx jubatus to find out why he had a high abnormal sperm count. They gave a group of these animals a histocompatibility (tissue-type) test.
"This is singular," observed one…
pharyngula | July 22, 2009
I really want Dara O'Briain's sack.
P.S. I think we're back online now.
P.P.S. Ooops. Comments aren't working. The tech people are trying to turn those back on right now.
grrlscientist | July 22, 2009tags: Onion News Network, ONN, Princess Diana, 120-car Pile-up, humor, funny, satire, fucking hilarious, streaming video
Yesterday's 259 car pile-up on the autobahn in Germany reminded me of this tragic news report that I'd always meant to share with my friends -- especially one of my British friends who is relocating to Germany [1:56]
oracknows | July 21, 2009Ever since Jenny McCarthy hitched her fading star to the anti-vaccine movement and managed to get Oprah Winfrey to go along for the ride, she has become the public face of the anti-vaccine movement. Unfortunately, there hasn't been nearly as much blowback as there should be in the mainstream press, although bloggers have been all over McCarthy's promotion of the worst lies of the anti-vaccine movement and advocacy of autism quackery. Then I came across this the other day:
I'm of two minds on this. While it's a good thing to see cartoonists ridiculing Jenny McCarthy and Oprah for their…
pharyngula | July 20, 2009Mr Deity is wrestling with the various versions of his story. Much is explained by his choice of a script doctor.
By the way, if you've ever wanted to actually meet Mr Deity, you've got a shot: he'll be speaking at the Atheist Alliance International 2009 Convention in LA this October. And it's not just him, look at this phenomenal lineup of speakers.
Bill Maher [2009 Richard Dawkins Award recipient]
www.BillMaher.com
Wikipedia: Bill Maher
Richard Dawkins, DPhil
Richard Dawkins.net
Daniel Dennett, PhD
Tufts University Personal Page
Wikipedia: Daniel Dennett
Brian Dalton
Mr. Deity show…
oracknows | July 20, 2009...as the last Virgin Mary sighting in a bird turd smear on a pickup truck.
At least this time around, we're back to more conventional "Virgin Mary in a tree"-type sightings:
(Click on image for video.)
Of course, this time around, I have to wonder if the guy who cut the tree down is having a little fun with the faithful.
emjohnson | July 19, 2009Jorge Cham has just posted his latest PhD Comic, this one taking on the rivalry between Nature and Science. Look behind the scenes at how the science publishing industry REALLY works. It's enough to make you want to publish only in PLoS ONE!
emjohnson | July 19, 2009Monty Python: The scientists of silliness?
I'm currently working on a book (scheduled for release sometime in the 2010s) that intends to be an extension of my research in evolutionary anthropology and the history/philosophy of science. In the coming months I may be tempted to write more about it -- and could be persuaded to publish short excerpts like Brian at Laelaps has been doing with his current opus -- but I'm not quite ready for a grand unveiling.
However, I'm often amazed at the kinds of science related books that are commonly published ("related" being the word to emphasize). These…
oracknows | July 19, 2009While we're on the subject of pareidolia, it turns out that Mitchell and Webb have taken this topic on as well...
Awesome.
grrlscientist | July 19, 2009tags: religion, afterlife, humor, satire, Edward Current, streaming video
In this video, Edward Current shares his thoughts on god and the afterlife. He writes, "Frankly, one reason I've remained a die-hard Christian is to cover my behind in the afterlife. But I recently realized I need to worship ALL gods that might possibly exist." [3:26]
mikethemadbiologist | July 18, 2009I think this public awareness campaign should have been called, "Dude, it's not that big":
If there were only a campaign for the assholes who hog the entire subway car pole....
oracknows | July 18, 2009Everyone knows that I'm a bit of a connoisseur of pareidolia. Pareidolia, for those not familiar with the term, is a phenomenon where humans see patterns in various things, you know, like seeing Elvis in a flame or the Virgin Mary on a stain under a freeway overpass in Chicago or in a window blotch in Perth Amboy, or seeing Jesus on a shell, on the wall of a shower, on a sand dune, a potato chip, or (my personal favorite) a pierogi. Heck, there have even been Jesus sightings on a cat, a stain on a ceiling tile, and even on a rather odd location on a dog.
However, I really, really have to…
grrlscientist | July 17, 2009tags: ONN, Onion News Network, spelling bee champion, humor, funny, satire, streaming video
This news report focuses on a special boy with a disability that renders him capable of superior spelling abilities. [2:38]
pharyngula | July 16, 2009A certain professor of midwifery thinks labor pain is good for women: it's a "purposeful, useful thing which has a number of benefits, such as preparing a mother for the responsibility of nurturing a newborn baby."
Here's the best reply ever to that.
pharyngula | July 16, 2009One nice thing about being the most evil blogger on the interwebs is that I can occasionally trick my kids into thinking I might be just a little bit cool. My son Connlann introduced me to the black humor of Mr Wiggles (my kids have inherited a weird sense of humor!), and the author, Neil Swaab, offered me a copy of his latest compilation, Rehabilitating Mr Wiggles. I mentioned that it was my boy who led me to Mr Wiggles, and so Neil generously sent me a second copy, autographed for Connlann. See the effect?
If you don't know Mr Wiggles, you're probably going to spend the next few hours…
grrlscientist | July 16, 2009tags: Obama, billion dollar war machine, ONN, Onion News Network, satire, humor, funny, streaming video
This is a streaming video reveals that Obama Axed the Pentagon's Plan To Build Billion Dollar Tank In the Shape Of a Dragon [2:05]