The Origin of the Ridiculous Whales are ridiculous thanks to their history.They evolved from mammals on land. Their swimming, reproduction, breathing, and other adaptations to life in water are all the result of tinkering with a terrestrial animal's body. Fossil discoveries have documented how coyote-like mammals moved into the water about 45 million years ago and became more and more adapted to the marine life. Coyote howl = Whale song, anyone? more inside

Corn, Jim, but not as we know it. A corn maze near York, England pays tribute to Star Trek's 40th anniversary. If you've ever wanted to get lost inside Spock's head and go "Jim!! His brain's gone" you can now. Some other striking corn mazes. If you want to grow a maze of your own, contact these folks. more inside

Mercury Venus Earth Mars Ceres Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto Charon 2003UB313 (or perhaps Xena). We're going to have to find some bigger mnemonics

Hutong photography Scenes from Beijing's fast disappearing traditional lanes and alleys.

What If 9/11 Never Happened? (via) An indepth review of what life might have been like had the attacks not occured. It's a long read but well worth the effort IMO.

Captain Copyright. The defining Super Hero of our age

"In Defense of Big Pharma"