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6 Real Planets That Put Science Fiction to Shame

6 Real Planets That Put Science Fiction to Shame
George Lucas dreamed up planets with two suns and cloud cities, and Gene Roddenberry invented dozens of worlds that were all suspiciously similar to the Southern California desert. But as actual space exploration advances and we start to learn what's really on the surface of those distant worlds, it becomes increasingly clear that our imagination has no chance of competing with the jaw-dropping, pants-peeing craziness outer space is capable of cooking up. For instance ... #6. This may seem completely foreign to you, but just for a moment try to pretend you are Han Solo (ladies, you can pretend you're Princess Leia). Via WikipediaIn other words, T-shirt weather. "So where the hell did all this damn ice come from?" But Gliese 436 b has the remarkable ability to defy everything you know about the predictability of matter. Via WikipediaIt's like Satan's Aspen. #5. WASP-12b is the planet equivalent of a fly caught in a web. But it's this devouring that makes the planet interesting. #4.

6 Creepy Urban Legends That Happen to be True (Part 3!) It's that time again. It's becoming a reader favorite and Halloween tradition for us to count down those ridiculously over-the-top gruesome urban myths that, oh by the way, happen to be true. This is our third year (HERE is the first one, and HERE is the second) and once again these stories prove that truth is far more horrifying than fiction. Man Killed by Saw-style Explosive Neck Device The Legend: So all those convoluted puzzles and traps the Jigsaw killer uses, they're all just so ridiculous, right? Danny Glover knows. So then you run into somebody on the Internet who heard about how a real guy showed up at a bank and said he had an explosive collar around his neck that would deposit his brains all over the walls unless he robbed the bank on behalf of a criminal mastermind. Oh, please. The Truth: On a day like any other in late August 2003, pizza deliveryman Brian Wells was about to end his shift when a fateful order came in. Flava Flav is indirectly responsible for this.

The 5 Creepiest Unexplained Broadcasts As we speak, broadcast signals are moving invisibly through the air all around you, from millions of sources. And some of them are really, really freaking weird. We know this because occasionally somebody with a shortwave radio, or a special antenna or even a common household television, will capture one of these mystery signals and suddenly start broadcasting utter insanity. Where do these signals come from? What is it? It is an irritating, electronic noise, not unlike the sound of a truck horn played through a cheese grater. Hammertime? In its 20-something year run, the sound has been interrupted only three times, the earliest known time being Christmas Eve in 1997. The case gets curiouser when you realize that the noise is apparently something held up to a live microphone rather than a recording or just some random feedback (distant conversations can be sometimes heard behind the sound, though they're difficult to decipher). It sounds like "robble-robble." So What's the Deal? Our theory?

5 Terrifyingly Advanced Ways Animals Know How to Kill Whether you know it or not, humanity is fighting a war right now, and we are losing. Badly. That's because this fight is with Mother Nature herself, and while you're over there on the other side of this screen, microwaving tea and knitting tiny sweaters, that bitch is out there building biological superweapons 24/7. If all the world is a stage and we are but its players, then this show is called You Did What to My Wife? these things are Liam Neeson and you're the Eastern European terrorist who dies from getting repeatedly stabbed with his own frozen fear-urine. #5. Robert Whyte Right off the bat, it's clear we're in trouble. The gladiator spider (also called the ogre-faced spider, because scientists want to make very, very sure you don't ever fuck with it) first constructs a frame using the bare branches of nearby shrubbery. DMANLT.com"Screw you guys, I'm taking my net and I'm going home." #4. Peter Halasz Egon Heiss, Caudata #3. National Geographic They're called tentacled snakes (oh, yay!

5 Terrifyingly Advanced Ways Animals Know How to Kill #2. Tarantula Hawk Paul Nylander, via Tucson Citizen Allow me to set your mind at ease for once: A tarantula hawk is not a flying tarantula. But let's go back to that stinger: It's roughly a third of an inch long, which is a bigger blade than you're allowed to bring on an airplane these days. San Dieguito River ParkWhen the guy whose job it is to take the worst pain ever starts describing his feelings like the tagline to a horror movie, that shit has as astronomically high likelihood of being real. And while it is noted that the tarantula hawk is "relatively docile" and "rarely stings without provocation," don't you dare take any of that premature comfort. The tarantula hawk is one of the few insects that get drunk recreationally. So even if they're not actively out to kill you, just remember: Somewhere out there in nature, somebody's drunk driving a tiny helicopter with a 1/3-inch blade instead of a bumper, coated in the most painful thing on the planet. #1. Tree of Life Web Project

5 Lovable Animals You Didnt Know Are Secretly Terrifying | Cracked.com - StumbleUpon If there’s two things Cracked is all about, it’s fucked up animals and dongs. And since they won’t let me write “The 7 Most Fucked Up Animal Dongs,” (Editor's Note: Only because it's been written already) I had to settle for focusing on just the animal stuff. So hey, here you go: Here’s a bunch of adorable animals that will probably nonetheless scar you for life. Let's skip the pleasantries and get right down to hyperventilating and swearing at nature, shall we? Bears are pretty intrinsically scary, but come on – look at that guy! Holy shit! If there was a color-coded scale for cuteness like there is for Terror Alert Levels, the red fox would be at Level Orange: way above Adorable Bomb Threat and just half a notch below Snuggle Jihad. I would name him Mr. Now, here’s the sound he makes: If you came of age in a small town, you’re probably already familiar with the sound red foxes make. You: Jesus, this weed is amazing. Your Dickhead Friend Barry: Ha! Red Fox:AWWAAUUUUGHHGGGHHHH!!!! “What?

The 6 Most Badass Skills You Can Learn in Under a Week Become a Human Lie Detector Any secret agent worth his hidden cyanide pills is going to have to be prepared for intense negotiations. Whether you've captured a deadly SPECTRE double-agent working as an MI6 janitor, or are just buying a used car, you've got to be able to tell when the enemy is lying through his teeth to you, and how to best disguise the fact that you're lying through your teeth at the same time. Also you can be like that guy in Lie to Me, for the few of you who watch that show. The Coursework: This particular double-oh technique has been cleverly disguised as a business management lecture lasting only a few hours, steeped in the psychology of human information processing and body language. Liar!! Then you can watch as paranoia creeps in from the corners of your mind, slowly replacing lesser human emotions like "trust" and "compassion." In fact, there is a class just for you... We assume this is what Florida's combat training is like. Coins are stupid. Urban Escape and Evasion

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