Gawker
publicity stunts
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Nate Silver In Georgia Stats Shame
FiveThirtyEight.com: "'We think when it's all said and done Martin will lose by around 10 points." Kaus: "The actual margin is looking more like 14 points."
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what we need more of are products
The Tiniest Obama Keepsakes Almost Make Us Care about Science
As Lewis Black harangued about last night on The Daily Show, there is some seriously silly newly-minted Barack Obama merchandise. Like those horribly cheesy collectible plates, and all the newspapers in the land that have become "November 5th Edition" souvenir stores. And now, from beautifully blue Michigan, come the tiniest and perhaps most "really reaching here, guys" of Obama-associated products. They're called Nanobamas and they're each smaller than a grain of sand. More » -
advertising
Could Fewer McDonald's Ads Make Kids Eat Less McDonald's?
This past summer, the Evil Food Conglomerates of America agreed to "limit" advertising that "targeted children," though their definition of that is loose enough to keep selling a lot of Pop-Tarts to 13-year-olds. They did this to try to preclude some kind of rule that would outlaw their advertising to children altogether. Unfortunately for the Hamburglar, a new study is out that has people actually talking about banning youth-targeted fast food ads, which would really be an incredible thing. "No fatties," the study proclaims: More » -
what we need more of is science
Monkey-Neanderthal Mutants to Destroy Us All
Scientists are talking about how a "living mammoth could perhaps be regenerated for as little as $10 million," reports the NYT. Regenerated? One scientist says it "could work," although it would probs be "tedious and expensive," as regenerating long-extinct animals tends to be. But that is far from the most disturbing piece of reanimation news: there's an ominous "workaround" technique to turn chimps into Neanderthals. Don't say we didn't warn you. More » -
What we need more of is science
Stat Geek Called Election, Mulls Stats Empire
In case you didn't obsessively compare election results to his site in real time, it's worth noting that baseball stat whiz Nate Silver wholly justified his gushing press and nailed the popular vote. His prediction: 52.3 percent Obama, 46.3 percent McCain. Actuals: 52.4 percent Obama, 46.3 percent McCain. Within a tenth of a percent, bitches! Granted, there are a couple of million votes yet uncounted, but Silver has already extrapolated how those will play out, and he's still super-close. Unless you want to step to his stats?? Thought so. Silver may grow fabulously wealthy applying his battle-tested techniques to other realms, according to the Wall Street Journal: More » -
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what we need more of is science
Scientists Discover Tranny Gene
Ever looked at that tranny teetering down the center median of the boulevard and asked yourself "why'd he choose to be like that for?" Well, it turns out that it may not be a choice at all, according to science, which released a statement today, by way of Australian researchers who believe they have found a possible genetic cause for male-to-female transexualism. Suck it, Nurture! More » -
advertising
Mmmm, Cancer
Deep down, the smokers among us knew that this day was coming: a new study says that warning labels on cigarette packs subconsciously make people want to smoke more. Does this mean the City of New York will stop running all those anti-smoking ads with the tracheotomy dude who can't swim any more and the amputee lady who lost her fingers? No, those are just good old-fashioned punishment. [Ad Age] -
what we need more of is science
Why We Are All Such Gossipy Bitches, Explained
Some people see gossip as a nasty vice that should be curbed. Not us! Not Scientific American, either—they've explained why we're "hardwired to be fascinated by gossip." After the jump: science explains why we're all snark, all the time, and hate on everything. More » -
what we need more of is science
James Franco Is Perfect, Gushes Robot
Or computer program or whatever. Not like we need anyone to tell us, really, but actor James Franco has the most perfect face in the world. So says science, at least. A new computer program uses mathematical formulas to take one photo (left) and turn it into a more traditionally aesthetically pleasing face (right). And, um, Franco's face pretty much stayed exactly the same when the New York Times conducted the experiment. So good for him. Getting his MFA, has movie star riches, and is, as proven by science, perfect looking. Now if he could just get rid of those pesky rumors... (Oh, and if you put this dude's picture in the machine, it explodes). [via Cityfile, image via NYT]
