nature

Don't Freak Out About Tonight's Enormous, Blood-Red Moon

Max Read · 12/09/11 11:43AM

So, if you wake up early tomorrow morning and the moon looks, like, enormous? And is blood red? Don't worry! It's not because the elder gods have returned to exact their brutal form of justice upon humankind.

Coca-Cola Basically Owns the Grand Canyon

Adrian Chen · 11/10/11 10:16AM

Some Grand Canyon National Park officials had the great idea to ban bottled water at the park. But, oops, the ban was called off after Park superiors had a friendly chat with major national parks donor Coca-Cola.

Watch a Penguin Turn to a Life of Crime

Matt Cherette · 10/18/11 03:21AM

Next week, the BBC will debut a series about animal life in the Arctic and Antarctic called Frozen Planet. In this preview clip, male members of an Adelie penguin colony in Antarctica gather stones to build nests while competing for lady penguins in the process. But as you'll see, not all of them do it honestly.

Krazy Fish Only Ate Kit Kats!

Hamilton Nolan · 08/02/11 08:07AM

You think the world is a boring and cruel place and then one day you wake up on an absolutely normal morning and you look on the internet and there is a story about a Gourami fish who was living on a diet of nothing but chocolate. A fish named Gary! Why isn't Gary eating his grapes at the aquarium like a normal Gourami?

Stupidest Shark Ever Leaps Onto Boat

Max Read · 07/19/11 11:24PM

Great white sharks are the largest, scariest predators in the sea. But they should stay in the sea. One shark didn't last week, and decided to see what it was like on a research boat.

Father and Son Killed By Lightning, 48 Years Apart

Seth Abramovitch · 07/14/11 01:20AM

A 54-year-old man from New Jersey was electrocuted to death on Sunday after lightning struck the tree next to which he was standing. The last thing Stephen Rooney told his family before he wandered away from a barbecue to smoke a cigar, MSNBC reports, was, "Don't worry guys, lightning never strikes twice." He was referring to an incident from 48 years earlier, when Rooney's father was killed by a bolt of lightning while fishing. So what can we learn from this tragedy? That lightning doesn't care about truisms! It's lightning. It strikes wherever it wants to strike. [MSNBC]

Man Killed By Grizzly Bear at Yellowstone

Seth Abramovitch · 07/06/11 11:56PM

A grizzly protecting her cubs attacked a couple at Yellowstone, killing the husband. It's the first fatal attack there in 25 years, but the third in the region this year. Officials say the bear "behaved normally" and wouldn't be killed.

Mutant Bunny from Fukushima Freaks Everyone Out, Adorably

Maureen O'Connor · 06/09/11 11:56AM

Video of a mutant bunny born near Japan's quake-ravaged Fukushima power plant has gone viral. The bunny, which was born without ears, might be evidence of radioactive contamination, which may someday render the entire population of Japan microtic-anotic! Unless, of course, it's just a random birth defect. Every credible scientist in the world is leaning strongly toward the latter. Crazy people, however, are leaning toward the former, so the mutant bunny will probably be on the evening news tonight.

Come Tour the Newest Section of the High Line

Brian Moylan · 06/07/11 03:40PM

The newest expanse of Manhattan's hippest walkway, the High Line park, will open to the public tomorrow. Everyone is dying to check it out, but it's hot outside and the crowds will be awful. Let's take a virtual tour, shall we?

Science Leaf Is Way Better Than Nature Leaf

Max Read · 03/29/11 02:01AM

An MIT professor says he's created an artificial leaf some 10 times more efficient at carrying out photosynthesis than a leaf made by dumb ol' "nature," proving yet again that nature is incredibly stupid and lame.

Gorgeous Video of the Northern Lights in Russia

Blair Baxter · 03/22/11 05:15PM

This video features some of the biggest displays of aurora borealis "northern lights" in recent years. It was shot by Terje Sorgjerd over the course of a week in a national park in Russia while temperatures hovered around -34 degrees.