@Srynerson: Agreed, I am appalled that I had to scroll so far down the list for such an obvious joke. For shame, io9'ers.

@Cherie M. Priest: Let me be the first to thank you, Ms. Priest, for taking the time to answer each query about your books on this thread. I haven't had the pleasure of your work yet, but it is somewhere (a bit higher now, I must confess) on my "to read" list.

@Mary Ratliff: The Moon's gravity tempers Earth's wobble, keeping us tilted towards the Sun at our current reasonable degree. Without it, Earth could alternate pointing the poles themselves directly at the Sun, which would mess with our climate a bit.

@talkingstove: But Skype is closed source, while Facetime—for all of Apple's control over it—is based on open standards.