National Enquirer is celebrity gossip. Weekly World News would have been a better punch line even if they are out of print.

UberDave: Well, after the explosion they *did* find headcrabs all over the place...

More likely they found post-impact slime. It's pretty common.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21520387


Still, kinda sad to see the Smithsonian going the way of the History Channel.

FTFA:
When did the Smithsonian turn into the National Enquirer?

The thing is, the preview is the most entertaining and intriguing 2 minutes shown on the channel since, well... forever.

The Smithsonian channel turned into the national enquirer because of.... you, Mr. Article Author, and people like you. People that biatch about science programming being boring, and only tune in for this sensationalized crap, yet get all butthurt when another educational channel descends to playing reruns of insipid shows like Ancient Aliens and Honey Boo Boo.

This. Is. All. YOUR. Fault.

/Tesla was responsible for Tunguska

scubamage: UberDave: 

Still, kinda sad to see the Smithsonian going the way of the History Channel.

Yes, but soon, they will find ratings gold with their new reality show, Fat Rednecks with Stupid Kids Dig through the Trash and find Crap to Sell to Restaurant Owners who Aspire to be Models while Prospecting for Gold and Fishing off the Coast of Alaska in a Race to become America's Next Top Pop Star.

Jesus, just because they are exploring alternative theories, it doesn't mean that it's going to be a regular thing. Nobody is yet in agreement on what happened in Tunguska, considering nothing at all has been found. So they open the discussion up? Big farking deal, asking the questions isn't the same as embracing every possible wacky loon conspiracy theory out there. Of course, they have to do it right, they need credible scientists both supporting the theories and taking them apart, otherwise, you DO have History Channel 3.

Science doesn't have to be boring, and bringing up alternative theories for events doesn't have to be on the fringe, you just need to handle those alternative theories correctly, even if that means immediately explaining why they are false.

WhippingBoy: Remember: If you can't explain something immediately, it's because paranormal forces are at work.

God's will.

robohobo: erk...wrong thread. hey mods, delete that if you like.

Don't delete it! Pipe-smoking gnomes are just as valid of an explanation!

next up... Honk Bag!

Dr Ray Stantz: You have been a participant in the biggest interdimensional cross rip since the Tunguska blast of 1909!

and to think he had the nerve to say this line to Peter:

Dr Ray Stantz: You never studied

Mikey1969: Jesus, just because they are exploring alternative theories, it doesn't mean that it's going to be a regular thing. Nobody is yet in agreement on what happened in Tunguska, considering nothing at all has been found. So they open the discussion up? Big farking deal, asking the questions isn't the same as embracing every possible wacky loon conspiracy theory out there. Of course, they have to do it right, they need credible scientists both supporting the theories and taking them apart, otherwise, you DO have History Channel 3.

Science doesn't have to be boring, and bringing up alternative theories for events doesn't have to be on the fringe, you just need to handle those alternative theories correctly, even if that means immediately explaining why they are false.


You're hilarious.  Also, this is an amusing show to air so soon after an event essentially identical to the one with so much "mystery."

I'd rather watch dash cams than Z-Grade CGI.

scubamage: UberDave: Well, after the explosion they *did* find headcrabs all over the place...

More likely they found post-impact slime. It's pretty common.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21520387


Still, kinda sad to see the Smithsonian going the way of the History Channel.

The channel's programming is produced by Showtime.

robohobo: erk...wrong thread. hey mods, delete that if you like.

You didn't have to say anything. Let everybody think it's an obscure reference.

sidcart42: You're hilarious.  Also, this is an amusing show to air so soon after an event essentially identical to the one with so much "mystery."

I'd rather watch dash cams than Z-Grade CGI.

Not a lot of mystery, since we all know it was Obama. But other than that, I do prefer to the dash cams.

I once watched an hour long program on a Japanese bow. It was awesome.

I'm glad to see the channel still maintains such high historical rigor.

On a related note - anyone catch the "A Murder of Crows" epsiode on PBS last night? Pretty freaking fascinating...
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/a-murder-of-crows/full-episo de /5977/

robohobo: erk...wrong thread. hey mods, delete that if you like.

Keep it! I love the alternative "garden gnomes reached a critical mass in Siberia" theory!  Plus with the pipe it's got a "Bob" kinda vibe going on which fits too.

/I'm not saying it's Slack
//But it's slack.

sidcart42: Also, this is an amusing show to air so soon after an event essentially identical to the one with so much "mystery."

Yeah, because timing like this makes NO sense in the world of television, does it?

Rev. Skarekroe: And if, at the end of the show, they make sure and spotlight the most scientific and likely explanation, then they've done some good.  That's the approach Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World/World of Strange Powers took in the '80s.

Yeah, but then he had to live in Sri Lanka the rest of his life.  Apparently he was feeling a little Sikh.

wraithmare: robohobo: erk...wrong thread. hey mods, delete that if you like.

Keep it! I love the alternative "garden gnomes reached a critical mass in Siberia" theory!  Plus with the pipe it's got a "Bob" kinda vibe going on which fits too.

/I'm not saying it's Slack
//But it's slack.

All's he needs is a tankard of 'frop

BEER_ME_in_CT: Tunguska= Comet or asteroid. A TESLA EXPERIMENT??? come on now. What is this the H2 channel?

Nothing has been found, because NOONE goes there. There are 100,000 little lakes around there for something to crash into not unlike what happened last friday.

Not saying you're wrong (in fact I agree with you) but of all the competing "fringe" theories, the Tesla one is the only one that hangs together on its own internal logic.

You have Tesla's claims that he had invented a super weapon for the US to use in the persuit of workd piece. His long standing interest in Terrestial Stationary Waves and using the earth itself to transmit power, and the demonstrable ability to do so. The fact that many of his papers are (supposedly) still classified by the US government and have never been released. And of course the location of Tunguska event relative to the Perry expedition and Tesla's own fondness for publicity stunts.

Mikey1969: Jesus, just because they are exploring alternative theories, it doesn't mean that it's going to be a regular thing. Nobody is yet in agreement on what happened in Tunguska, considering nothing at all has been found. So they open the discussion up? Big farking deal, asking the questions isn't the same as embracing every possible wacky loon conspiracy theory out there. Of course, they have to do it right, they need credible scientists both supporting the theories and taking them apart, otherwise, you DO have History Channel 3.

Science doesn't have to be boring, and bringing up alternative theories for events doesn't have to be on the fringe, you just need to handle those alternative theories correctly, even if that means immediately explaining why they are false.

Well, I wouldn't say that *nothing* was found.  A forest of flattened trees in a butterfly-like arrangement isn't what I'd call nothing.  And it's also why the leading theory is an air burst from a meteor.  While not everyone agrees on the precise specifics, most are in agreement on that being the scenario.

Rev. Skarekroe: These channels have to make money.
Having a TV station dedicated to pure science with testable hypotheses and control groups and peer reviewed studies would be very noble, but nobody would watch it and it would never get a sponsor.

They broadcast this "In Search Of..." type stuff everywhere because it's exciting to the average viewer, whose ratings they need to actually function.

I'd have to disagree - but then again I basically keep Discovery, and PBS on my TV at all times. Not that there's anything wrong with infotainment, it's just not my bag, baby.

A Tesla experiment gone RIGHT!

Call me when they get around to mass sea sponge migrations.

I could have sworn that this program already aired...

Come to think of it, Pipe smoking gnomes do explain away most of the universe's mysteries. Loch Ness Monster? Nope, it's really pipe smoking gnomes. Second shooter? Yes, and he was a pipe smoking gnome. What secret died with  Christopher Dorner? Pipe smoking gnomes have infiltrated the top levels of the LAPD. The list goes on.

Thank you accidental gnome poster. Or was it an accident? Holy fark, the pipe smoking gnomes are on FARK!

I've always honestly wondered if it was a small chunk of antimatter.

Tesla experiment gone wrong? Tesla experiments never go wrong. That spacecraft totally had enough energy to get to Alpha Centauri, and anyone who says different will get a lawsuit from Elon Musk.

I thought it was pretty well settled that it was a very small comet, or comet-like body.

Elegy: You have Tesla's claims that he had invented a super weapon for

[[Citation Needed]]

jvl: Elegy: You have Tesla's claims that he had invented a super weapon for

[[Citation Needed]]

Really? Ok

[The nozzle would] send concentrated beams of particles through the free air, of such tremendous energy that they will bring down a fleet of 10,000 enemy airplanes at a distance of 200 miles from a defending nation's border and will cause armies to drop dead in their tracks.[152][153]

It's right there in his Wikipedia entry.

And, for the google deficient:

In the article "Nikola Tesla, Dreamer" (Allan L. Benson, World Today, Feb. 1912), an artist's illustration appears showing the entire earth cracking in half with the caption, "Tesla claims that in a few weeks he could set the earth's crust into such a state of vibration that it would rise and fall hundreds of feet and practically destroy civilization. A continuation of this process would, he says, eventually split the earth in two."

How can you know about Tesla and not know he could have been a James Bond-esque super villain if he hasn't been such a nice guy? He frequently bragged about the weapons he could build, and offere them to the government of the US several times.

Sadly, they didn't believe him.

jvl: Elegy: You have Tesla's claims that he had invented a super weapon for

[[Citation Needed]]

And, uh, the fact that he could cause earthquakes also lends credence to his claims of being able to build a super weapon.

Elegy:

Great.  He gets drunk at one party in 1934 and everyone takes him seriously.

I especially enjoy that the patent referenced in the wiki article has nothing whatsoever to do with electricity.

I made an Earthquake once, so New York gave me a bridge.  Would you like to buy it?

#1 reason why Tesla did not work on an energy weapon: He wasn't stupid.

// I'm an EE so I actually understand exactly what Tesla did for us
/// He was a genius, but not death-ray-which-violates-physical-laws genius

jvl: Elegy:

Great.  He gets drunk at one party in 1934 and everyone takes him seriously.

I especially enjoy that the patent referenced in the wiki article has nothing whatsoever to do with electricity.

I made an Earthquake once, so New York gave me a bridge.  Would you like to buy it?

#1 reason why Tesla did not work on an energy weapon: He wasn't stupid.

// I'm an EE so I actually understand exactly what Tesla did for us
/// He was a genius, but not death-ray-which-violates-physical-laws genius

You're right. He was totally drunk in 1934 when he gave an interview in 1912 and said he could crack the world in two.

More to the point, if you read my comments above more carefully, you'll see that I didn't actually claim that Tesla built super weapons and caused Tunguska.

I merely claimed that TESLA claimed he could build super weapons, and, when asked for a citation, I provided two, from two different periods in his life. IIRC those weren't the only time he claimed he could build a super weapon - he said stuff like that all the damn time, since he was perpetually scrapping for funding and patrons.

And all of that was ancillary to my original argument that of all the conspiracy theories about Tunguska - none of which I believe, BTW - the conspiracy theory involving Tesla is the only one that hangs together on its own internal logic, without involving outside factors like space aliens or antimatter asteroids. That's rare enough to make it notable in my book, hence I remarked on it.

/you might be an EE and understand Tesla's science, but your reading comprehension sucks

jvl: Elegy:

Great.  He gets drunk at one party in 1934 and everyone takes him seriously.

I especially enjoy that the patent referenced in the wiki article has nothing whatsoever to do with electricity.

I made an Earthquake once, so New York gave me a bridge.  Would you like to buy it?

#1 reason why Tesla did not work on an energy weapon: He wasn't stupid.

// I'm an EE so I don'tactually understand exactly what Tesla did for us
/// He was a genius, but not death-ray-which-violates-physical-laws genius

he created music, mr. shiat for brains!