#for science (but not)

[53v3nfrn5]

Tree roots following the pattern of concrete footpaths

[ur-daily-inspiration]

[catchymemes]

[myjetpack]

my latest cartoon for New Scientist.

[prokopetz]

I've seen posts going around claiming that petting animals is basically tricking them into thinking they're being groomed, and it's bugging me because, like, there's no trickery afoot. Petting and scritching are grooming activities. They help to dislodge loose fur and foreign objects and more evenly distribute protective oils, among other things. Primates are social groomers, and the human impulse to scritch is the legacy of our primate ancestors. We see an animal we like, even a dangerous one, and the monkey brain says "groom that thing".

[analytically]

Astrology doesn't seem to work.

[nando161mando]

[toadbreath]

forgor his pants. how embarrassing

[mushroom-through-the-stargate]

Mythbusters have 3 categories of myths

the general public doesnt know how physics works

the general public doesnt know how lying works

oh crap this ones real

[deafeningcreationearthquake]

[toddchavezwatchescartoons]

"Pluto isn't a planet" Fine.

"Dinosaurs had feathers" Fine!

"Neptune isn't a beautiful oceanic blue, it's actually the same washed-out disappointing color as Uranus" I will kill you with my bare hands

Look how they massacred my boy

[53v3nfrn5]

Warped medullary rays found on pieces of wood that resemble animals

[mostly-funnytwittertweets]

[catchymemes]

Ohio Total Solar Eclipse

[trickybonmot]

Lichen growing on only the black paint of a speed limit sign.

[prokopetz]

Wrong: Ada Lovelace invented computer science and immediately tried to use it to cheat at gambling because she was Lord Byron's daughter.

Right: Ada Lovelace invented computer science and immediately tried to use it to cheat at gambling because that was the closest you could get in 1850 to being a Super Mario 64 speedrunner.