Comments on: I've got your missing links right here (11th December 2010)

By: Daniel J. Andrews

Daniel J. Andrews — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 18:51:21 +0000

I remember reading about the Antikythera Mechanism when I was quite young, and they mystery gripped me. I had heard they solved the mystery a short while ago, but seeing it represented on the video (with Lego at that!) is brilliant.

By: zackoz

zackoz — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 23:08:35 +0000

About Simply Red (whoever that is): haven’t there been surveys with results something like the following?:

- average number of women men claim to have slept with: 40

- average number of men women claim to have slept with: 5.

Slight logical problem there.

I was going to comment on the writer’s block item too, but

By: Curious Wavefunction

Curious Wavefunction — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 18:13:39 +0000

About Simply Red: Why does this story remind me of that line from some movie about taking the number of women a man says he has slept with and dividing it by three…(of course that number would still be disgustingly ridiculous in this case)

By: DavidB

DavidB — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 14:10:45 +0000

I think the alligator (or caiman) is not dead, just stunned. Right at the end of the clip it starts moving its hind legs. Alligators are very tough.

By: Robert

Robert — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 21:07:10 +0000

Ah. There it is. Yes. Wow. : /

By: Ed Yong

Ed Yong — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 20:35:14 +0000

I mentioned the caiman point on Twitter, but Kevin Zelnio noted that caimans are part of the family Alligatoridae and the word is Spanish for alligator, so it doesn’t really matter that much.

By: Walter S. Andriuzzi

Walter S. Andriuzzi — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 20:29:31 +0000

“Latest research deflates the idea that the Universe cycles for eternity”
Nietzsche will be pleased to know
***
“Remember that hilarious paper on writer’s block? It has been replicated”
I could become an authority on that subject
***
“Kirghiz tribesmen of central Asia use golden eagles to hunt and kill wolves”
Good article and AMAZING video! (Despite the fact that I do like wolves)
***
“Mountain gorilla numbers “soar” by 26%
Percentages alone mean nothing, my old Ecology professor used to say. (His actual word were rather different, and not only because he spoke in Italian…)
“For perspective, there are now 480 rather than 380. My office floor has more people than that”
Good point
***
“What happens when an alligator bites an electric eel? The same thing that happens to everything else (nods at X-Men film)”
Is the ell dead as well? It seems trapped in the alligator’s (but I bet it’s actually a caiman?) jaws, outside of the water…
***
“Ageing Kazakhstan President asks scientists to find fountain of youth”
I’m surprised it was not Berlusconi who said that. Probably the Kazakh stole his idea
***
“Two penguins re-enact Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers”.
If Martin Freeman gets injured one of them would be a nice Bilbo. Oh wait…

By: Ed Yong

Ed Yong — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 19:12:47 +0000

Fixed now.

By: Robert

Robert — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 17:57:16 +0000

Hmm, I’m just not seeing it on that linked page. I’ll stop nit-picking what might be the most trivial link this week, though, and continue to enjoy the others. A great collection, as usual.

By: Ed Yong

Ed Yong — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 17:45:55 +0000

The concept of Simply Red having sex, let alone more sex than previously suggested