One could argue that Neil Armstrong and Yuri Gagarin are elements of the Cold War. NASA in the 60s was as much about political brinksmanship as it was about science. I would argue that the pace of technological advancement is far faster when the military is involved.

In addition, the public usually benefits from investments in NASA.

A few things come to mind:

I love how Sagan immediately points to evil military spending as a source for funding SETI. Radio technology has come a long way because of military applications as have a great many other things not the least of which are computers so one could argue that military spending is a net investment in technology. Why…

Somebody 'splain to me why Quidditch isn't played on bicycles in a bowl-shaped arena.

"Maybe you can get NPR on that thing and we can bore the aliens to death" - Pope.

I bought the stock at $17. Neener neener neener!!!

"You know if you're in a severe lightning storm you want to grab your ankles and stick your butt in the air"

Does this look like a transcript of a conversation with a Nigeria scammer to anyone else?

I'm talking about the ENTIRE country. Work with me here.

#10: the girl in the picture. Jeez, do I have to 'splain everything?

The .338 Lapua Magnum is a great cartridge because it has a much flatter trajectory that the .50 BMG but it's expensive stuff. The newest kid on the block is 6.5 Creedmore. [en.wikipedia.org]

Two words: Carpet Bombing.

Aw dang...that headline had me thinking it was a global warming reality check article.

I used to have one strapped to the lawnmower. We had two acres. Boring.

*ding* *ding* *ding* We have a winner!

Here's the thing: We've been f*cking with Mother Nature a lot an it never works out well. Sugar bad. Okay, HFCS. That's worse. Saturated fat bad. Transfat's worse. What the hell makes people think that anything we come up with isn't going to have serious unintended consequences especially in an area of science…

Somebody 'splain to me how this doesn't violate the Freedom of Information Act in spades.

How this translates to humans is debatable. How many billionaires are good looking? How many pool boys are good looking. Now, how many douchebags are running around with gorgeous women? One can argue that being a douche makes you more attractive to women. How this makes any sense in terms of propagating the…

*in my best Adam Savage voice*