World’s Strangest

Some residents in the Upper Midwest were surprised to be shaken by an earthquake last night. The United States Geological Survey reported that the earthquake, which had an estimated magnitude of 4.3, was centered near Virgil, about 50 miles northwest of Chicago, at a depth of about three miles. There were no immediate reports of aftershocks… [...]

Actually, this isn’t just one photograph — it’s a composite of 31 different images, taken in the shadow of the solar eclipse that passed over Asia and parts of the Pacific back in July for 6 minutes and 39 seconds. That’s the longest solar eclipse anyone on Earth will witness this century; a longer one [...]

This January brought the 35th annual Winter Fancy Food Show to San Francisco. Held each year at the Moscone Center in SF, the enormous event highlights just about anything you could put in your mouth. It’s like Comic-Con for foodies, the kind of place where the makers of the “world’s best salt water taffy” rub [...]

Synanceia Stonefish most venomous fish in the world Synanceia is a genus of fish of the family Synanceiidae, the Stonefishes, whose members are venomous and dangerous and/or fatal to humans. It is the most venomous fish in the world. They are found in the coastal regions of Indo-Pacific oceans. They are primarily marine, though some species [...]

Ever got into trouble for forgetting your absence note? I betcha it’s not as big as this: Edward Natapei, the Prime Minister of the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu lost his job because he didn’t have an absence note for missing Parliament sessions three times in a row: Natapei was fired for attending the Commonwealth Heads [...]

Turkey Tracker is a bold experiment in social networking and turkey-smoking technology. Turkey Tracker combines a live video stream of a turkey smoking (at an undisclosed location, but I might as well tell you it’s in Portland, Oregon), a live Q&A session and other events throughout the day (see the Broadcast Schedule at the bottom [...]

“V-J Day, Times Square, 1945,” a.k.a. “The Kiss” Alfred Eisenstaedt, 1945 On August 14, 1945, the news of Japan’s surrender was announced in the United States, signaling the end of World War II. Riotous celebrations erupted in the streets, but perhaps none were more relieved than those in uniform. Although many of them had recently returned from [...]

Here’s a TV-Holic tribute to some familiar faces who served their country. Happy Veterans Day to all our men and women in uniform, then and now! 1. Bill Cosby Cosby Show fans will see a lot of Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable in Bill Cosby’s biography. In 1956, Cosby dropped out of high school and joined the Navy. While [...]

Efforts are underway to revive damaged Pacific coral reefs by actively gardening them (propagating and transplanting the coral). This video was directed and produced by Jonathan Clay for the BBC’s Natural History Unit as part of their “South Pacific” documentary. The resolution is high enough to make the video enjoyable at full-screen magnification. Vimeo link.

You are about to enter a dimension of sight and sound…of a column requested by a reader. That’s a signpost up ahead – next stop, TV-Holic’s look at The Twilight Zone. 1. The Truth about the Theme Song Much like the “dum-de-DUM-dum” Dragnet theme, the opening notes of The Twilight Zone theme song have become a pop [...]