What do Game of Thrones’ Dothraki, Avatar’s Na’vi, Star Trek’s Klingon and LOTR’s Elvish have in common? They are all fantasy constructed languages, or conlangs. Conlangs have all the delicious complexities of real languages: a high volume of words, grammar rules, and room for messiness and evolution. John McWhorter explains why these invented languages captivate […]
http://youtu.be/H5yrwuDDgYE With plans to have man set foot on the Moon again in 2019 we thought you’d enjoy 10 incredible facts about the moon. [AllTime10s]
http://youtu.be/Bbgz4yY-xX0 Sure, there’s plenty of available land outside of Earth’s boundaries, but can you actually own a piece of it? Watch this video to find out! [VSauce]
This fun little infographic lists every t-shirt Sheldon Cooper has ever worn on The Big Bang Theory. Since the graphic is so massive, I’ll add a more link below (front page only) so that the rest of the content doesn’t get pushed too much down the page.
This is Mental Floss, a weekly show where knowledge junkies get their fix of trivia-tastic information. This week, John looks at the origins of 42 idioms such as, “once in a blue moon,” “peeping Tom,” and “silver lining.” [Mental Floss]
A computer simulation of the real world that works in a similar way to the game Civilisation has helped give added weight to a historical theory: that war has been a major driver of societies developing. It’s the work of a team lead by Professor Peter Turchin of the University of Connecticut, who specializes in […]
For those of you who don’t get the reference, this man is the most interesting man in the world. Be sure to check the reference on Know your Meme if you’ve never heard of him! [Via Blastr | Facebook]
http://youtu.be/IqArHwtvE9Y Some taste good, others save lives but all 10 of these inventions came about by accident. [All Time 10s]
The man who turned Nintendo into a video games giant has died aged 85. Hiroshi Yamauchi was president of the company for more than 50 years. Many people don’t realize the company best known for Mario actually began in 1889 and spent its first seventy years or so concentrating solely on producing playing cards. Hiroshi […]
People who are lying take longer to write a message according to a newly-published study. But the difference may not be enough to be a useful guide in text ‘conversations.’ Researchers at Brigham Young University in Utah asked more than 100 students from two unnamed universities to take part in a test where a computer […]