Tag: video

• Confessions of a Pro-Social Psychopath

  8 months ago

  Lindsay Beyerstein in Focal Point

  Neuroscientist James Fallon is fascinated by the brains of murderers, especially in light of his own family history. His father's side of the family was full of notorious murderers. So, he compared his family's PET scans to those of known psychopathic killers: "And I took a look at my own PET ... Read More

• Jay Smooth on Rick Perry and Superman, a Great American

  9 months ago

  Lindsay Beyerstein in Focal Point

  Presidential hopeful Rick Perry told a little kid that if he were a superhero, he'd be Superman, a great American. Jay Smooth of Ill Doctrine thinks that's a great idea. Watch. [Photo credit: Dunechaser, Creative Commons.] Read More

• Video: A Mariachi Band Serenades a Beluga Whale

  10 months ago

  Lindsay Beyerstein in Focal Point

  In my Room 101, I am this beluga: Watch. HT: Loren Beyerstein.   Read More

• Did Tina Fey's Natural Childbirth Spoof Go Too Far? (Video)

  about 1 year ago

  Lindsay Beyerstein in Focal Point

  I had high hopes for Tina Fey's Saturday Night Live send up of natural childbirth. Fey is very talented and natural childbirth subculture is ripe for parody, in part because some of its proponents take themselves so very seriously while being so cavalier about the evidence. So, I was ... Read More

• Bloomberg Badmouths Groundhog Who Bit Him 2 Years Ago

  over 1 year ago

  Lindsay Beyerstein in Focal Point

  Mayor Mike Bloomberg isn't the type to forgive and forget. Two years ago, New York's official Groundhog Day groundhog, Staten Island Chuck, bit the mayor during the annual weather forecasting ceremony. This year, the Staten Island zoo equipped the groundhog hutch with a special plunger to ... Read More

• Bullying Gets Better, But Probably Not With a Boob Job

  over 1 year ago

  Lindsay Beyerstein in Focal Point

  Amanda of Pandagon points to a disturbing ABC News story about teens getting plastic surgery in a bid to escape bullying or, and/or to recover from the psychological scars of bullying. We meet Erica, who was mercilessly teased about her nose, became so distraught that she started ... Read More

• The Physics of Wet Dog Shake (Video)

  over 1 year ago

  Lindsay Beyerstein in Focal Point

  The physics of wet mammal shake, explained. Dogs and other furry mammals shake to dry themselves off. Experimenters at the Georgia Institute of Technology calculated how fast an animal has to oscillate to overcome surface tension and throw water off its hairs. It turns out, the smaller ... Read More

• Glenn Beck Denounces "Born In The USA" as Anti-American

  about 2 years ago

  Lindsay Beyerstein in Focal Point

  Twenty-six years after the release of Bruce Springsteen's hit song, "Born in The USA," conservative talk show host/performance artist Glenn Beck finally got around to listening to the lyrics. Beck was shocked, shocked to discover that for all these years he'd been rocking out to a song about a ... Read More