VIDEO

Werner Herzog's "Cave of Forgotten Dreams"

Werner Herzog's latest documentary is about the Chauvet Cave, which is remarkable primarily for its cave paintings -- dating from the ice age, the paintings are surprisingly detailed, and some show a sort of "painterly" quality. In some cases, this effec

Desert Bus: This is a Long Driving Game for Someone With Nothing To Think About

Desert Bus is a horrible, horrible driving game -- and it was meant to be. In the game, you're tasked with driving a bus from Tucson to Las Vegas. The trick is, you have to drive the bus in realtime, at a maximum speed of 45mph -- which means that the t

Why Can't (Blindfolded) People Walk Straight?

Today, a short science video from NPR contributor Robert Krulwich (of RadioLab fame), animated by Benjamin Arthur. Krulwich describes a series of experiments in which blindfolded people are asked to walk (or drive) in a straight line -- and then maps are

Portlandia Begins Tonight

Tonight, welcome to my world: Portlandia. I've lived in the real-life analogue of Portlandia for eleven years, and it's a place of dreams -- dreams of sleeping late, of opening a yarn store, of becoming a freegan, of getting rid of your car and becoming

NASA - The Frontier Is Everywhere

In December, I asked whether y'all could handle more Carl Sagan remixes. The overwhelming answer was YES, so today I bring you "NASA - The Frontier is Everywhere," a promotional social media video created for NASA, but not by NASA, featuring Carl Sagan's

Legend of Zelda Song Performed on Wine Glasses

In my own geeky way, I find this festive. Here's a man performing the "Song of Healing" from the video game The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask...on wine glasses. Using tight choreography, he multiplies himself and plays five parts simultaneously. Lovel

Symphony of Science: A Wave of Reason

In the seventh "Symphony of Science" installment by John Boswell, Carl Sagan sings: "Science is more than a body of knowledge: it's a way of thinking; a way of skeptically interrogating the universe. If we are not able to ask skeptical questions, to be

Donald Duck on the Futility of Nuclear War

In 1952, Disney released the 7-minute cartoon "Applecore" featuring Donald Duck and Chip 'n Dale, the mischievous fast-talking chipmunks. In this short, Donald plays an apple farmer whose crops are being eaten by Chip 'n Dale, so Donald retaliates, only

Pomplamoose: Donate Books to Kids, Get a Christmas Album

YouTube phenoms Pomplamoose have released a Christmas album -- but it's not for sale. The only way to get the album is to donate a book to the Richmond Book Drive. The deal is this: you buy a book for kids in Richmond, California public schools, and Po

Amenities Available at the Original "Big Rock Candy Mountain"

The song "Big Rock Candy Mountain" describes a hobo's paradise, featuring all the things a good hobo needs -- from lakes of whiskey to cigarette trees and lax law enforcement. I have compiled a list of the amenities available at the original Big Rock Can

Tommy Wiseau's New Bad Movie

Tommy Wiseau is best known (okay, only known) for his awful movie The Room; if you haven't seen it, check out Ransom Riggs's post The Remarkable Success of the Worst Movie Ever. The Room is generally considered "so bad it's good" because Wiseau is such a

Powers of Ten

I've written about "Power of Ten" before, but the videos have been taken down due to copyright claims by the owners. Finally, the Eames Office has an official YouTube channel (albeit with only one video for now) hosting a version that will not be taken d

"Hallelujah" 10 Ways

"Hallelujah" is a song written by Leonard Cohen in 1984, and never officially released as a single. It has become famous mainly through cover versions, and has been recorded by hundreds of artists. In 2008, American Idol contestent Jason Castro sang a v

Watch a Bee Take Off in Ultra Slow-Motion

This video starts slowly (hah), but in the middle you start seeing the wings move -- it's truly incredible. Watch how the bee's wings pivot and ultimately allow the bee to lift off. Also note pollen sticking to the rear legs as the bee leaves the flower

The Super Bowl of Science

Are you a high school senior with an interest in math or science? Then you owe it to yourself to check out the Intel Science Talent Search, an annual competition for young scientists. Older readers like myself may know the program better by its former n

Temple Grandin: the World Needs All Kinds of Minds

Dr. Temple Grandin is famous for her work in animal behavior, as a consultant to the livestock industry. She has a natural facility to understand different modes of thinking, probably because her own mode of thinking is so different from most people's --