Tenrecs are NOT What One Imagines

There is a bizarre little creature native to Madagascar that is called a Tenrac and, though it resembles a tiny hedgehog, is related to whales and sea cows.  Go figure then read more here on BBC.co.uk!

The Guoliang Tunnel through Taihang Mountain

YouTube user Goorney has several videos showing off some of the amazing features of the Guoliang Tunnel through Taihang Mountain in China.  Enjoy!

True Facts About the Angler Fish

The often interesting io9.com recently pointed toward a ze frank YouTube video on the Angler Fish that should prove fun to view.  Enjoy!

Watching the Stars

If you're trying to add some depth to a tabletop roleplaying setting, try describing the night sky.  To get some inspiration on how to do so, check out a video or two at the JPL News YouTube channel here!

30,000 Year Old Engraved Stone

Earlier this month, Sci-News.com reported the finding of an engraved stone believed to date back 30,000 years.  Consider that when writing up the history of your own tabletop roleplaying setting.  Read more here!

Book in a Book

Check out the fascinating article on the edmontonjournal.com website about an "18th century Latin dictionary published in Switzerland hides inside the fragments of an early 13th century Italian manuscript of the Justinian Code."  Your tabletop roleplaying setting might benefit from hiding some tombs inside of others.  See more here!

Free Harnic Christmas Adventure

If you like running holiday themed adventures, check out the FREE Harnic Christmas adventure.  It's a comfortable eight pages and no doubt it could easily be adapted to many Medieval Fantasy roleplaying settings.  See more here!

Bifurcated Snake

If you ever wondered how a Medieval Fantasy or Ancient setting might depict a hydra feasting on prey, check out this YouTube video showing a "Two Headed Snake feeding." You might also like to read up a bit on axial bifurcation on the Nerdy Science blog here!  Enjoy!

Bardic Tellings of Beowulf

If you want to get an idea of how some bards might handle the stroytelling of Beowulf, check out the videos below.  Enjoy!

Maharashtra Rock Sculptures

Dozens of ancient rock sculptures have recently been rediscovered in India and they date back 6 to 9 thousand years.  Read more here!

Underground Mayan Observatory

According to a recent National Geographic YouTube video, the Mayans had an underground observatory.  Enjoy!

Fantasy Coins

Tom Maringer is an artist and craftsman making fantasy coins, some for The Game of Thrones line.  Check out his work here and I'm sure you'll find it inspirational in your setting creation work!

Pipestones Transported

A new study of 2,000 year old pipestone artifacts found in Ohio in the early part of last century might be revealing something unexpected.  The items may have been transported from elsewhere rather than being locally produced as once thought because of similarities in the local stone to that of the stone used in their carving.  Something to keep in mind when adding artifacts to a tabletop roleplaying game setting as a possible red herring.  Read more here!

Underwater Landscape

There is an interesting and inspirational photo I was linked to see on InterestingPlaces.es, a site worth bookmarking for future foraging.  See more here!

Mysterious Places on the Sea

Over on lifeslittlemysteries.com is a neat pictorial called "Dark Waters: The Most Mysterious Places on the Seas."  You can add these places to many tabletop roleplaying campaigns.  See more here!

Frogs vs. Fungus

Some predators just lie around and wait.  Check out a Natural Geographic YouTube channel video showing how a few decades of fungus growth are wiping out a Central American frog population.  Watch!

Dinosaur Extinction Might Be Linked to Volcanoes

There is a theory that rather than meteors being responsible for the downfall of the dinosaurs, it may have been volcanoes that caused their extinction.  Something to contemplate as you flesh out the deep history of your own setting.  Read more here!

Statues from the Mausoleum at Halikarnassos

There are some very cool statues from the Mausoleum at Halikarnassos that are on display at the British Museum.  Original one of thirty-six colossals suspected to have been there, it has a fascinating history.  Read more here!

De Brazza's Monkeys

There is an interesting creatures known as the De Brazza's Monkey that lives in Africa.  It has a wise, introspective appearance which would lend itself well to anthropomorphism.  See more here!

 

Estalia - A Setting from Grobius Shortling

There is a rather interesting website created by someone named (or going by) Grobius Shortling who states that he has been creating related settings since the early Sixties.  Check this out for a bit of inspiration (and some lovely ideas for maps).  See more here!

Caño Cristales - The River of Five Colors

There is a fascinating location in Columbia, the river known as Caño Cristales which is also called The River of Five Colors.  Read more here!

Setting Songs

Have you ever written a song or even a poem for your tabletop roleplaying game setting?  Here's some inspiration for you.  Enjoy!

Solar System Comparisons

If you are doing a little setting creation and you want to get a handle on comparisons of bodies within our solar system, check out this handy chart here!

Barbados Threadsnake

There is a wiki entry that many tabletop RPG setting creators will find useful.  It is on the Barbados Threadsnake and details how this tiny creature can often go unnoticed.  Add some lethal venom and put this snake into a lock trap.  Read more here!

Angus McBride Tolkien Artwork

There are some amazing images over on Gandolf.com of Angus McBride's artwork highlighting some Tolkien scenes.  See more here!

Huge Croc

There was some good footage posted to YouTube last year (originally from 2007) showing an enormous crocodile from Australia.  Enjoy!

Retro-Fitting the Explanations

No one can ever create everything that is needed for any tabletop roleplaying setting, nor have reasons for everything that happens in the moment at the table or transpires behind the scenes.  In a Doctor Who episode not long back, the iconic noises of the Tardis were explained to great comic effect.  See how they handled a mystery three decades in the making.  Enjoy!

WWI Soldiers Found Preserved in Shelter

It was reported on telegraph.co.uk that "German soldiers [were] found entombed in a perfectly preserved World War One shelter."  This might be a scenario idea for a zombie apocalypse game.  Read more here!

Canadian Dinosaur

A new type of dinosaur called the Xenoceratops has recently been discovered in Canada.  Read more here!

Saxon Dining Hall in Kent

The Telegraph ( telegraph.co.uk ) has reported that a Saxon Dining Hall uncovered in Kent is bound to yield a great deal of interesting finds as more is explored.  Read more here!

Sinkholes

IScienceTimes.com has a new article on the phenomenon of sinkholes.  Read more here!