Sunday, March 31, 2013
Rethinking Animal Intelligence
Some new studies have us rethinking the intelligence level of animals, in some ways. Read more here on The Wall Street Journal online (online.wsj.com).
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Drunk Monkeys
A National Geographic camera crew was on hand when a troupe of monkeys unknowing raided a site setup by a bootlegger. Watch!
Friday, March 29, 2013
Haunted Castle Glamis
Glamis Castle has been in Angus, Scotland since the 14th Century, though many of the current structures date to the 17th. Glamis is rife with legends of secrets and spirits. Read about all the creepy goings-on at the infamous Glamis here!
Thursday, March 28, 2013
African Beetles and Crickets
Over on the National Geographic YouTube channel there is a video on beetles trying drum up some business while crickets explore amplification. Enjoy!
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Tsunami Footage from National Geographic
Over on the National Geographic YouTube channel there is some rare footage from the tsunami that struck Japan in March of 2011. Watch!
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Real Pirates at the National Geographic Museum
If you happen to be in the Washington, D.C. area, or are planning a visit, you might spend some time at the Real Pirates exhibit at the National Geographic Museum. It'd be a good way top get some ideas for your pirate-themed setting or adventures. Enjoy!
Monday, March 25, 2013
The Waterford Knife
Over on http://irisharchaeology.ie there is a recent article discussing the Waterford Knife, a 12th Century blade with interesting aspects. Read more here!
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Oldest Pharaoh Rock Art Rediscovered in Egypt
Over on the National Geographic news site, there is a pictorial article on "Oldest Pharaoh Rock Art Rediscovered in Egypt." See more here!
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Hand-Forged Feasting Utensils
Over on ThinkGeek,com is a set of hand-forged Feasting Utensils. If you like to include a great level of details in your setting, these might be something to add to your players' immersion. See more here!
Friday, March 22, 2013
Early Farming Even Earlier
A recent article on LiveScience.com proffers that "Holy Land Farming Began 5,000 Years Earlier Than Thought." Read more here!
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Orchids Mushrooming in Ecuador
A recent National Geographic YouTube channel video, an On Assignment video with the wonderful Lisa McNeill, shows how some orchids disguise themselves as mushrooms in order to proliferate their species more effectively. Enjoy!
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Plague of Locusts
It was recently reported on the LifesLittleMysteries.com website that Egypt has been hit hard by an outrageously large swarm of locusts. One cannot help but imagine taking a slew of biblical plagues and visiting them on a modern roleplaying game setting just to see how the players react and deal with them given the modern tactics and weapons potentially at their disposal. Read more here!
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Grisly Ancient Practice
There is a new article up on Live Science about a Grisly Ancient Practice that has new supporting evidence. Read more here!
Monday, March 18, 2013
Black Death Graveyard
Check out the article on livescience.com titled "14th-Century Black Death Graveyard Found in London." Gruesome, yes, but I like it too. Read more here!
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Artifact in the Cupboard
Over on the bbc.co.uk website is an article titled "Roman artefact discovered in Sudeley Castle cupboard." See, treasure can be found anywhere. Read more here!
Saturday, March 16, 2013
35 More Pyramids
Just last month, it was reported on NBCNews.com that 35 additional pyramids have been uncovered in the Sudan. Read more here!
Friday, March 15, 2013
The Tolkienion
If you're looking for some poetic inspiration, check out The Tolkienion website and read some of Tolkien's poems (and save yourself from thumbing through all of your books). See more here!
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Early Man Smarter Than Thought
A new article on the Live Science website suggests that Homo Erectus was probably a lot smarter than scientists once gave them credit. Read more here!
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Fantasy Adventure Group Name Generator
Over on the Okkumarts website is a neat, little "Fantasy Adventure Group Name Generator." See more here!
Monday, March 11, 2013
Save the Bog
Over on the archaeology.org website is a recent article titled "Saving Northern Ireland's Noble Bog" that's well worth the read. Bogs are great places for finding all sorts of artifacts and historical oddities. See more here!
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Villa Epecuen, Modern Atlantis Reborn
The Argentinian town of Villa Epecuen was swallowed by the salt lake which had been the draw and catalyst for the town's location. Now the lake has receded and the town revealed again. Read more here!
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Biofluorescent Coral
A recent National Geographic YouTube channel video showed off the diversity in biofluorescent coral. Enjoy!
Friday, March 8, 2013
Our Kraken
In a recent TED Talks video, Edith Widder discusses how a team of scientists finally captures video of the giant squid. Enjoy!
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Jaguar vs. Crocodile
Over on the National Geographic YouTube channel, there is a video showing a "Jaguar vs. Crocodile" though it should be noted that the croc is a young, small one. Enjoy!
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
1920’s Slang Dictionary
If you're running a 1920s (USA) style tabletop roleplaying game, you'll find the 1920’s Slang Dictionary over on mollsanddolls.blogspot.com quite handy. Read more here!
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Taser Sword
If you were looking for an interesting weapon to include in modern and even future genre tabletop roleplaying games, perhaps the Taser Sword will be appropriate. Over on the jonathanj9969 YouTube channel, there is a recent video of a Taser Sword that has been built and appears to function quite well. Enjoy!
Monday, March 4, 2013
Across the Years: Snails
If you plan to move your campaign setting through the years, there are definitely some changes you'll want to make not only to the societies but also to the environments. The desire to make those changes might even have been the catalyst for flipping the calendar and few or a few hundred pages. In between major campaigns, I like to move the calendar randomly in my own campaign setting of forty years by either five, fifty, one hundred, or even five hundred years, and I've done this roughly a dozen times since the Mid-Seventies. With that in mind, take a look at an article on pasthorizonspr.com of a recent studies of snails from Mediterranean caves that date back from 2,500 to 9,000 years here!
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Rat-Be-Gone
Recently reported on the bbc.co.uk website, an eradication project is underway to destroy all of the brown rats on the Antarctic island of South Georgia which were introduced by ships on which they were stowaways. Imagine a location in your tabletop roleplaying setting where some species moved in many years ago and had no known predators. Read more here!
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Centipede vs. Grasshopper Mouse
A recent (though it has been posted in the past) National Geographic YouTube channel pits a Giant Centipede against a Grasshopper Mouse. Enjoy!
