Cool Weird Awesome

Sure, I’m Petty, Just Not Paypal-Petty

A group of researchers has been looking at the science behind digital pettiness - that’s like if you go out to eat with somebody and then use Paypal or Venmo to send them the exact amount of money to cover your order, down to the penny.

Venus: If You Lived Here, You’d Have Melted By Now

Today's the 50th anniversary of an overlooked but important visit to a fairly nasty place… the planet Venus.

Ooh, That Smell: A Corpse Flower Blooms In Chicago

The Chicago Botanic Garden has issued a bloom watch for one of its corpse flowers - not humans' favorite scent ever, but still a special occasion, because a corpse flower in the wild only blooms every two to five years.

Do Tacos Dream Of Electric Tongues?

For this Taco Tuesday we salute the Washington State University researchers behind the latest in electric tongue technology.

Australia’s Biggest Little Spelling Error

Australians have been laughing, cursing, sighing and facepalming over a misspelled word on the newest printing of the Australian $50 dollar note.

Treat Your Mother Subreddit Right

Let's pay tribute to the Mom For A Minute Subreddit, which provides a virtual Reddit mom for you when your own maternal relationship is unresolved.

Dear Ralph Baer, Thanks, Signed, All The Video Gamers

Ralph Baer invented home video games from his workshop in Manchester, New Hampshire - and now the city is honoring this gaming pioneer with a "Baer Square," complete with a statue, in a city park.

The Spy Whale Who Loved Me

The story of the whale wearing a GoPro that might be some kind of Russian surveillance agent is pretty wild, but it's not even close to the first time governments have turned to animals for surveillance purposes.

The Biggest Binge-Watch Ever

The new film “Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project" tells the story of a Philadelphia librarian and activist who spent decades recording every TV program she possibly could.

Change The (English) Channel

The commemoration ceremony for the Channel Tunnel was a diplomatic coup but an engineer's nightmare: they had to run a train carrying Queen Elizabeth II and a train with French President Francois Mitterand toward each other... on the same track.
spot_img

What people are reading

John Thompson Lost His Arms In A Farm Accident, Got Himself Help And Got The Arms Back

On this day in 1992, John Thompson of North Dakota lost his arms in a farm accident. He then got himself emergency care in time so that he got his arms back.

The Really (Expletive) Complicated History Of Swearing On TV

Today in 1965, a landmark moment in the history of televised profanity: an f-bomb live on the BBC! We'll look back at some choice moments where people used choice words on the air.

Emma Schols Saved Her Six Kids From A Burning House

Today in 2019, a woman in Sweden rose to an unthinkable occasion: she rescued all six of her children, including three under 5 years old, while their house burned down.

The Legend Of James Bartley, Who Was Supposedly Swallowed By A Whale

Supposedly this month in 1891 a sailor named James Bartley was swallowed by a whale and lived! But The Straight Dope took a closer look and found this story was almost certainly too good to be true.

Why Did The Fonz Jump The Shark In The First Place?

The phrase “jump the shark” is now a shorthand we use for the moment a show or a story turns absolutely ridiculous and keeps heading downhill. But why the heck did it happen at all?