In the history of astronomy, there were many dreams about what humans would find if and when they reached the surface of the moon. One such dream is conveyed in the 1961 movie “Nude on the Moon“. (Thanks to investigator Stevyn Colgan for bringing it to our attention.) Click on the image to be shot […]
Tag: movie
The bookish flight of Mr. Morris Lessmore
Today’s short movie about Books and What’s In Them is The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore: [vimeo]35404908[/vimeo] Some people seem to have noticed its appeal. (Thanks to investigator Kevin Petrus for bringing this to our attention.) BONUS: Suppose, now just suppose, that you had enough time to read all those books you’re wanting to read. […]
Raquel Welch (or her replacement) in your colon
New technology could both (1) improve a now-awkward medical procedure and (2) inspire a more focused re-make of a beloved science fiction movie. The Boston Globe reports: To see inside the digestive system, doctors have to thread a scope up or down – potentially doing damage along the way – or get their patients to […]
How to write a press release: Movie embarrassment
This press release from the Kansas State University shows: (1) how to write a compelling press release; (2) news of an important research breakthrough; and (3) an inarguable (for one reason or another, hardly anyone would debate with a person who makes this particular explanation) explanation of why that particular research is important. The press […]
Ig-winning flamingo in a Disney movie
The plastic pink flamingo, Don Featherstone‘s Ig Nobel Prize-winning creation, is one of the stars of a new Disney movie. The character is named “Featherstone”. Don Featherstone was awarded the 1996 Ig Nobel Prize in art for his work. The new movie, called “Gnomeo and Juliet” is a retelling of the Romeo and Juliet story, […]
Film clip + psychology question
A psychology experiment for you to do: FIRST, watch this (approximately ten-minute-long) video, about which BoingBoing says “India’s most expensive movie yields most astonishingly violent and demented action-scene in cinematic history”: THEN, ask yourself “Did you see the gorilla?” [If that seems a nonsense question, then see the Dan Simons / Chris Chabris experiment. Then […]
Best biologist-horror film: Death By Design
Death By Design is an intentionally, delightfully overdrawn horror melodrama about apotosis. (Thanks to investigator Dany Adams for recommending it.) Here’s part 1 of the action. Watch or download the entire documentary at documentary-log.
Man in white suit Monday night
Next Monday, Sept 6, at 7:00 pm, at the Coolidge Corner Cinema, in Brookline, MA, Marc Abrahams (the man in the blue suit — an Ig Nobel Prize-winning self-perfuming business suit) will introduce a special showing of the classic Alec Guinness film “The Man in the White Suit“. Daniel Rosenberg (the man in the white […]
Harryhausen’s movie monsters compiled
Behold this four-minute compilation of Ray Harryhausen’s lovingly created movie monsters, adding magnificent monster music by Tito Puente. (Thanks to investigator Sally Shelton for bringing it to our attention.) Read about Harryhausen and his work in Roy P. Webber’s book The Dinosaur Films of Ray Harryhausen, much of which is online.
Experimental smells for the audience
Scent of Mystery, a movie released in 1961, became a de facto psychology experiment by unleashing smells into the air. Commentator Jim Donahue remarked, years later, that “indeed, most movies stink to this day”. (Thanks to investigator Rose Fox for bringing this to our attention.)