Annual (adj): Yearly, describing an event that is repeated at the same time each year.

[Read more →]

Treasure (n): Something valuable or precious that has been set aside or hoarded, and even hidden or buried.

[Read more →]

Golem (n): A word from Jewish folklore meaning an inanimate figure brought to life by magic.

[Read more →]

Pareidolia (n): A psychological phenomenon that causes us to perceive random elements as resembling human faces.

[Read more →]

Tau (n): The nineteenth letter of the Greek alphabet; a number proposed by some mathematicians as a more logical alternative to Pi when working with circles.

[Read more →]

This is a truly spectacular Northern Lights video, made from thousands of still photographs, by Tromso resident Ole Christian Salomonsen (that’s at a latitude of nearly 70 degrees north). It needs to be watched – full screen, with the speakers on – rather than talked about, so here it is.

[Read more →]

Today’s Wikipedia Article of the Day is a little gem.

[Read more →]

We live in a time when a considerable number of people believe The End of Days to be imminent. But evidently ours not the first era in which this belief was widespread. The Millerites were a sect of 19th-century American baptists convinced that Jesus was set to turn up in 1844. Hindsight, of course, is a great thing.

[Read more →]

John Hodgman on BoingBoingTV: SPAMasterpiece Theatre – the dramatization of “true tale[s] of romance, adventure, infamy, and low-cost prescription drugs, all culled from the reams of actual, unsolicited emails, received here by us and people like you – what we call SPAM.”

[Read more →]

Fancy taking part in an exciting aerobatics competition against real-life pilots – although you have never been behind the controls of a plane in your life? Well, now that’s possible thanks to a new technology that merges real and virtual worlds in a way that allows exactly this to happen.

[Read more →]

The other day, driving about in the neighbourhood of Cardington in Bedfordshire, we came across two huge hangars in a field. My fellow-traveller, knowledgeable in such matters, was aware of its history as an airship base.

[Read more →]

This was never going to end well, was it? Half-expecting something of Alien Autopsy proportions, I was quite disappointed that it fell apart so soon.

[Read more →]

This is one for anyone who has ever felt that a certain film starring Jim Carrey has a particular resonance for them: two Canadian psychiatrists have identified a new syndrome – people who believe their lives are a reality TV show.

[Read more →]

Artists Michael Townsend and Adriana Yoto, and six of their friends, noticed an architectural anomaly in the giant shopping mall being built in their town – Providence, Rhode Island, USA. As the project progressed, it became clear that this added up to “750 square feet of underutilized space inside of the mall.”

[Read more →]

Ever had an urge to visit Svalbard? Perhaps after reading Philip Pullman, or seeing pictures of its beautiful location? Just make sure you’re in good health when you go.

[Read more →]

Whoever wrote this article on the nude climbing craze isn’t taking account of the British climate. Or, as anyone engaged in outdoor activities at this time of year knows but too well, the British stinging nettle. Ouch…

[Read more →]

Here’s a truly bizarre news item. Jane Espenson is a very highly-regarded Hollywood producer and screenwriter who has worked on shows including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly and Battlestar Galactica. She has a blog called Jane in Progress which aims to give writing and career advice to people wanting to follow the same career path.

[Read more →]

Here’s that wonderful thing, an expert with a sense of humour.

[Read more →]

To celebrate today’s news that the UK’s Ministry of Defence is to release its very own X-files, we bring you a sneak preview of some of the more compelling evidence.

[Read more →]

Sloths are decidedly friends of this blog, which is why the management was intrigued to read the following masterpiece of scientific research, as reported by BBC Online.

[Read more →]