Monthly Archives: December 2011

A Personal Experience with Pareidolia

Posted on December 24, 2011 by Guy McCardle

Back in 2008, while working at Florida Hospital in Orlando, I had a close encounter of the pareidolia kind. If you were not already aware, pareidolia is random images or sounds that are perceived as significant. You can read more … Continue reading →

Posted in Events | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

Mysterious Space Balls from Above

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Brian Dunning

Space.com is reporting that a mysterious metal ball has fallen from the sky and slammed into the ground in a remote area of Namibia. It created a crater 1 foot deep and 12 feet across. Despite this massive impact, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Cool Stuff, Events, Science, Space, Technology | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

The End of the World pt 1

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Cath Murphy

2011 has the distinction of being the year when the world ended, not just once, but twice. Many were convinced that the End of Days, the time when God would conclude his vast experiment in world building, was predicted by … Continue reading →

Posted in Health, Science | 2 Comments

Be Skeptical of These Claims by the Late Kim Jong-il

Posted on December 19, 2011 by Guy McCardle

Kim Jong-il is dead, and I don’t hear any mourning.  What I have heard, however, over the course of many years, are fantastic claims that he had made about himself and his abilities.  Let us take a few minutes and … Continue reading →

Posted in Urban Legends | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

Best Holiday Geek Gifts

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Guy McCardle

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Festivus or Rickmas (Ricky Gervais’s own winter festival) ’tis the season to be jolly.  Chances are, if you are reading this you are some kind of a geek (just like me).  Not the bad kind … Continue reading →

Posted in Cool Stuff, Science | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Five Mysteries of Ancient Aliens

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Guy McCardle

As long as there have been human beings we’ve wondered how we came to be.  Imagination is one of the most powerful tools in the evolutionary toolbox.  As a species filled with boundless curiosity, we inevitably desire to seek our … Continue reading →

Posted in Pseudoscience, Urban Legends | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

The Lamb with a Human Face

Posted on December 11, 2011 by Brian Dunning

That’s right, it is exactly what you think it is. It’s a lamb with a human face… at least, according to the local governor where this unfortunate lamb was stillborn in Turkey. He said: It is really embarrassing. The head … Continue reading →

Posted in Nature, Pseudoscience | Tagged , | 8 Comments

Wacko of the Week is no more

Posted on December 6, 2011 by Brian Dunning

Subscribers to the Skeptoid email newsletter are going to notice something new this week: The much-loved Wacko of the Week section is gone. This segment highlighted a specific nutty person, sometimes living, sometimes dead, who has been a willing part … Continue reading →

Posted in Skeptoid Podcast | Tagged , | 33 Comments

Alien Markings outside Penn Jillette’s House

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Brian Dunning

The UFO and magic communities are both abuzz with the news that huge bizarre markings, directed toward visiting aliens, have been discovered in the desert just outside Penn Jillette’s Las Vegas property, dubbed “The Slammer”. Researchers noticed the markings on … Continue reading →

Posted in Paranormal | Tagged , , , | 35 Comments

DARPA to Research Use of Nanobiotics

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Guy McCardle

It has only been a few decades since medicine ushered in the antibiotic era with the widespread use of penicillin during WWII.  Today, many scientists believe we are beginning what one might call the post-antibiotic era; a time when mutations … Continue reading →

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