The last couple of pages of A Miracle of Science were brought to you by the Drake Equation! (Be sure to read the previous update, too.) permanent link

Want to feel old? Read what current 12-year-olds think of classic video games. Niko: Hey—Pong. My parents played this game. Brian: It takes this whole console just to do Pong? Kirk: What is this? [Picks up and twists the paddle controller] Am I controlling the volume? John: I'm just going to do this [twists the paddle controller as rapidly as possible]. Tim: John, don't do that. You'll die. Andrew: This is a lot like that game. Um, whatchamacallit—air hockey. Sheldon: Except worse. Andrew: Blip. Blip. Blip. Blip. Becky: I don't even see the point of having sound on this. Andrew: Wow. The score is tied. It's so exhilarating. Brian: I saw a documentary on this. The game was so popular in arcades that it got jammed up with quarters. John: In this thing? [Points to the Pong game console] Tim: I would never pay to play something like this. John: I'd sooner jump up and down on one foot. By the way, is this supposed to be tennis or Ping-Pong? Becky: Ping-Pong. Gordon: It doesn't even go over the net. It goes through it. I don't even think that thing in the middle is a net. Tim: My line is so beating the heck out of your stupid line. Fear my pink line. You have no chance. I am the undisputed lord of virtual tennis. [Misses ball] Whoops. permanent link

Joe Foering

9 October 2003 ::

hitler_vs_truman---battlerap.mp3

A Miracle of Science: Nothing Like Jack McDevitt. permanent link

Meet Lambuel the lamb, Habu (who lost count of his gods), Ruby the lioness (who wants to marry Lambuel), and Hopsiah the Kanga-Jew. No, I'm not making any of this up, and I'm pretty sure there's not a trace of intentional irony on the whole site. The same site has a Creation science fair, which is one of the biggest oxymorons I've ever heard. (This is a hoax, and we all got taken by it. The creators of the web site deserve a round of applause!) permanent link

Ben Loukota and Jessica Gothie

8 October 2003 ::

"Weisenheidle." Look for the smiling face of the Archduke Ferdinand on every bottle.

Science in the kitchen: measure the speed of light with just a microwave and some chocolate. The only equipment you need for this experiment is a microwave, a ruler and chocolate, cheese or any other food that melts. Remove the turntable from the microwave and replace with chocolate on a plate (so the plate does not rotate), and heat until it just starts to melt - about 20 seconds, depending on the power of the oven. There will be some melted hot spots and some cold solid spots in the chocolate. The distance between the hot spots is half the wavelength of the microwaves, and the frequency of the microwaves will often be printed on the back of the oven. The speed of light is equal to the wavelength multiplied by the frequency of an electromagnetic wave (microwaves and visible light are both examples of electromagnetic waves). permanent link

7 October 2003 ::

A self-confident subject line from humanity's evil Viagra-spam overlords

Parthia.info has exactly what you'd expect: a bunch of information about ancient Parthia. permanent link

In the same spirit as the "I can eat glass" project and the "There's an axe in my head" translation list, we have Are we not men? We are Devo! in a dozen languages for your use when traveling. These are certain to be of use when you're taken into custody by the DHS and thrown into Guantanamo for anti-Republican activities after Dick Cheney takes his place at the right hand of Satan. permanent link

6 October 2003 ::

Just because I'm on fire doesn't mean I'm losing

A Miracle of Science: pondering the meaning of consciousness. Kind of. permanent link
Watching Fox News fills you with misinformation. So does listening to the Bush Administration, apparently. Both organizations have been lying and obfuscating until their noses are now being used as space elevator anchor towers by NASA. permanent link

3 October 2003 ::

I might have believed it was an accident if you hadn't stopped twice to reload

Philadelphia recently closed down one of its stadiums. The last time this happened, the place was torn apart by fans who actually brought tool belts to the last game to facilitate deconstructing the building. permanent link
Children, it turns out, are about a billion times smarter than those boneheads who want to "clean up" television "for the children." Children can tell the difference between real and fictional violence, and are much more bothered by real violence on the news than by faked violence in shows. permanent link

2 October 2003 ::

You cannot mesmerize me! I'm British!

I discovered this great comic called A Miracle of Science which you may not have heard of. (Boy, am I lying.) permanent link
A music critic played Radiohead for a class of fifth-graders and gave them all drawing materials. The results are unindicative of anything important, but are certainly funny. For the first few songs, the kids hardly move, scarcely even changing facial expressions. One girl plants her head on her desk face-first. The "hold your head in your hands and look completely confused" look is extremely popular. But slowly, they begin drawing. One kid starts scrawling a guitar; the girl next to him immediately begins copying -- an apt metaphor for music criticism. To dispel the room's chilly vibe, we switch to 2001's slightly less clinical Kid A; the warm keyboards of "Everything in Its Right Place" thaw the kids out a bit. The kid who specifically requested Sean Paul begins drawing what looks like a giant stalk of asparagus. permanent link
The Sagittarius Galaxy is being consumed by our own Milky Way in a stunning act of intergalactic imperialism. permanent link	Mike Ryan