Really Big Bugs
Monday, March 31st, 2008There was a time in Earth’s prehistoric past when insects grew to enormous sizes. Fossil records reveal that there were once dragonflies with the wingspan of a hawk and millipedes that were perhaps 6 feet long.
Scientists have long theorized why modern insects should have elvolved to such dramatically smaller sizes. The answer appears to be linked to the nature […]
Getting “Campy”
Sunday, March 30th, 2008In addition to being a science junkie, my 10 year-old son is also a military junkie. He is a huge fan of the History Channel and especially of the show Mail Call and it’s host, R. Lee Ermey - hardly a warm and fuzzy kind of guy, but I guess that’s not the image the […]
Just Shocking!
Saturday, March 29th, 2008I recently wrote a post called Science and the Urban Legend in which I debunked (among other things) the false belief that eel skin wallets demagnetize credit cards because of the residual electricity left over from the eels they are made from. As with many of the topics I discuss on Science Junkies, answering one question […]
Geeks Love Cake!
Friday, March 28th, 2008While searching the internet for ideas on science-themed cakes, I came across some truly amazing specimens! Here is a slide show we put together featuring some deliciously techy cakes.
Ice Cream of the Future
Friday, March 28th, 2008There’s an ongoing joke at our house and it goes something like this:
Hey! does anyone want ice cream?
Sure! What kind?
Why, the ice cream of the future, of course!
For some reason, it strikes us as perversely funny that the founders of Dippin’ Dots should look into the future and see us all strapping on our jet-packs to go […]
If I were an Evil Overlord…
Thursday, March 27th, 2008I would start by following these five simple rules:
My Legions of Terror would have helmets with clear Plexiglas visors, not face-concealing ones that can hide the enemy.
My ventilation ducts would be too small to crawl through.
My noble half-brother whose throne I usurped would be killed, not kept imprisoned in a forgotten cell of my dungeon.
Shooting is not […]
Meanwhile in Middle Earth…
Wednesday, March 26th, 2008A pair of caves on the South Pacific island of Palau has yielded thousands of bones, including the skull of an extinct three-foot-tall people. Excavated in 2006 and 2007, these remains belonged to a race that lived between 2,900 and 1,400 years ago as evidenced by radiocarbon measurements.
The Palau find has fueled much debate within the archaeological community on the relationship the […]
Science and the Urban Legend - Part II
Tuesday, March 25th, 2008For your entertainment and edification, here are five more persistent yet patently false urban legends…
The Great Wall of China as seen from space by the ESA Proba Satellite
The Legend - The Great Wall of China is the only man-made object visible from the moon.
The Truth - From a low Earth orbit (160 to 350 miles […]
Dolphins and Porpoises
Monday, March 24th, 2008Yesterday’s post about rabbits and hares brought to mind another pair of species that are often confused.
Dolphins and porpoises belong to the same scientific order, Cetacea. This order includes all whales, even the great whales, to which both dolphins and porpoises are related. All cetaceans are completely aquatic mammals, have a streamlined body, a tail fluke, […]
Splitting Hares…and Rabbits
Sunday, March 23rd, 2008This being Easter, I thought it an appropriate time to explain the differences between two commonly confused species that are really very different; Rabbits and Hares.
The differences between the two species become apparent from the time they are born. Firstly, baby rabbits are called kittens, while baby hares are called leverets. Rabbits are born completely helpless, naked and blind. Hares […]
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