A new study from astrophysicist Ranga-Ram Chary has found mysterious “bright spots” in cosmic background radiation that could be caused by alternate universes. So far, so good. Only the clowns in “journalism” could screw this one up.

It's fascinating to think of what might have been if fate had taken a different course — if the RMS Titanic had embarked with sufficient lifeboats, if Captain E.J. Smith had heeded the warnings of icebergs, if Jeremy Sisto had been cast in the movie instead of Leonardo DiCaprio.

While the Tina Fey-as-Sarah Palin cold opening attracted some of Saturday Night Live's best notices in years (and best ratings, too — it was the highest-rated season premiere since the 2001 opener following the 9/11 attacks), nothing else that followed had quite the same water cooler buzz. However, if the show had been able to stick to its original plan, there would have been at least one other moment that would have had people talking: a Barack Obama cameo. Though the presidential candidate was forced to cancel due to Hurricane Ike, Michaels reveals to the Washington Post exactly how he would have been used (and what other surprise celebrities got involved as a result):

When we pointed out last week that potential veep candidate Sarah Palin bore a strong resemblance to Tina Fey as Liz Lemon (except for their stances on important social issues), never did we imagine the proof would come in the form of this Life cover from September 2004. Striking a remarkably similar pose to her current Rolling Stone spread (what is it with her and men with ties?), Fey needs little else besides an exotically named brood and a hilarious accent to complete her remarkably accurate Palin impression. In fact, according to Poynter Online, the cover shoot may have given John McCain some ideas: