There's something so amazing and hilarious about a good anti-joke. Anti-jokes, I guess, were created as a response to the mainstream military-industrial joke-complex. They start off [...]
The Art of the Anti-Joke
Neanderthals: Awesome Extinct Animals, Pt 3
What was 5'5", buried its dead, and went extinct 30 000 years ago? I'll give you a hint: they belong to the same genus as you and me. Haven't got it yet? Â Here is another hint: Â their name almost rhymes with "Damn, you're tall!". That's right, today's awesome extinct animal is our (very) distant cousin: …
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Irish Elk: Awesome Extinct Animals, Pt 2
What kind of bed do you sleep in? Personally, my bed is a double. Â It is about 1.4m (4.5ft) wide and 1.90m (6.25ft) long . Â Two people can sleep comfortably on it, hence the name "double". Â With the matress, boxspring and frame, it probably weighs about 20 kg (~40lbs). Now, imagine fastening two of these …
Giant American Ground Sloth: Awesome Extinct Animals, Pt 1
The word "Pleistocene" always reminds me of that malleable sculpture substance that is really good at getting stuck under fingernails. Â That stuff, however, is plasticine and is not the topic of the 5-part series of posts that is coming your way. Pleistocene refers to the geological epoch from about 2.5 million years ago (mya) to …
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Happiness and the Brain
This week's topic had me wondering: what's going on in our brains when we're happy? A little bit of quick research revealed what I believe to be some interesting findings that I will share with you [...]
A Warm Little Pond
When we last spoke, I promised a short history of Life, the Universe, and Everything. It seems I have only delivered an introduction to the latter two, without really talking about how Life itself came about on this majestic blue marble. The origin of life [...]
A Short History of (The Universe)
Life on Earth wouldn't be possible without Earth and the Sun. The Sun only exists as a product of galaxy formation. You probably guessed what's next: the galaxy [...]
We’re Back!
After a semester-long absence, the Thoughtful Pharaoh returns. Â I will be participating in the Essay-A-Week Challenge, issued long ago by the great Alec Thomson, renewed last year by the renowned Kacper Niburski, and put forward this year by the talented and gracious David Laing. Â There are 16 topics and I will try to get to …
About As Likely As A Lunar Footprint Getting Hit By Space Debris
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s footprints on the moon will never fade. Until they get struck by a meteor or the sun expands.  Well, we know the sun will expand to engulf the Earth’s current orbit in approximately 5 billion years, but how likely is it that a meteor will wipe one of these footprints …
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Star Colours
Human eyes can see wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation between 390 and 750nm. Light at the long end of this range (~750nm) appears red while light at the short end (~390nm) appears blue or violet. We call this range the visible spectrum for pretty obvious reasons; it’s the wavelengths of light that are visible to our …
