Animals Caught in the Act

A motion sensor adapted camera in a park in Alberta caught many creatures in the day and night in May and June this year.  Have a look at what sort of shenanigans that got up to.  Enjoy!

Vampire Bats

A recently uploaded National Geographic YouTube channel video shows the feeding practices of "Vampire Bats."  Enjoy!

Gamington Map for Fighting Fire Adventure

Some may have read that an adventure is being written in support of the Ernie Gygax Fire Relief Fund.  Here is a preview of that adventure in the form of the map of Gamington, part of the mini-setting location for the adventure.  The main body of the map is from The Forge Studies Maciej Zagorski from their fine Stock Art available on RPGNow.com with a background and labeled by Creative Mountain Games.   Enjoy!

Dolphins Hunt on Sandy Shore

A recently uploaded video to the National Geographic YouTube channel titled "Dolphins Hunt on Sandy Shore" shows one hunting technique of some bottle-nosed dolphins.  Enjoy!

The Borley Rectory

Over on the Horror Homework website is a write up of the Borley Rectory, "widely known as the most haunted house in England.” Read more here!

Ninth Planet Tyche

This has been news for a couple of years, and you can read more on Gizmodo, but it presents an interesting potential scenario for a tabletop roleplaying game set in a scifi setting.  What if a hidden planet existed and also held the key to the survival of our own?  Read more here!

The Corpse Flower

Over on the National Geographic YouTube channel there is a new video titled "The Corpse Flower: Behind the Stink." Enjoy!

First "New World" Forts, Spanish

There is a new article on the NYTimes.com website titled "Fort Tells of Spain’s Early Ambitions" telling us that the first forts in the "New World" were build by Spanish explorers in the 16th Century. If you're running a tabletop campaign in this period, there are tons of scenarios that this news can inspire. Read more here!

Elon Musk's Hyperloop

Elon Mush will make public his design for a high-speed transportation system called the Hyperloop come August.  Read more here!

Assisted Walking

A couple of recent stories have sprung up online regarding devices designed to assist with mobility.  On Gizmodo, there is an article titled "I Wore a Bionic Leg, And I Never Wanted To Take It Off Again" which may be a bit hyperbolic but interesting nonetheless. Also, Business Insider has an article called "Japanese Robot Suit Approved For Worldwide Rollout." Check them out here and here!

Red-Tailed Hawk vs. Rattler

Over on the National Geographic YouTube channel, there is a recently uploaded video titled "Red-Tailed Hawk vs. Rattler" Enjoy!

A Familiar Tail

Over on YouTube, a video was uploaded recently of a family who were allowed to assist a crow in the removal of some porcupine quills.  Also, the second video has some information on telling the difference between ravens and crows.  Enjoy!

Travel Back to Medieval Dublin

There is an interesting article on TheJournal.ie about what Medieval Dublin would have been like.  See more here!

Jumping and Climbing Atlas Robot

It's been reported on ctvnews.ca that the Pentagon has financed a very advanced humanoid robot called Atlas. Read more here!

Cannibal Scorpions vs. Shrew

Over on the National Geographic YouTube channel, they have uploaded a video titled "Cannibal Scorpions vs. Shrew." Enjoy!

Yuka The Woolly Mammoth Goes On Display In Japan

The carcass of a baby Woolly Mammoth found in the Siberian ice is now on display in Japan.  Apparently, this is the first time that actual blood has been able to be recovered from something so-long dead.  Discussions of cloning are naturally in the mix but all I want is a Mammoth steak from one of the clone mega-herd Mammoths engineered to eliminate world hunger. Is that too much to ask? Find out more here!

Burren Forest Giant’s Grave

Over on the Voices from the Dawn: The Folklore of Ireland's Ancient Monuments website, there is an interesting article titled "Burren Forest Giant’s Grave."  The stories regarding these megalithic structures can be fascinating and a fine source of inspiration for setting creation.  Read more here!

Helmets, Helmets, Helmets!

Over on the io9.com website last week, they collected a ton of images of "The Weirdest and Fiercest Helmets from the Age of Armored Combat." See more here!

How Male Chimps Show Off

National Geographic recently posted a video to their YouTube channel called, "How Male Chimps Show Off."  What if orcs were wired in a similar way?  Enjoy!

Fast and Furious: Lives of Cheetahs

There is a nifty two-minute video recently uploaded to the National Geographic YouTube channel detailing cheetahs with some wonderful footage.  Enjoy!

Nottingham Dragon

There is a very cool metal dragon sculpture in Sneinton Hermitage commissioned by the Nottingham City Council nearly a decade ago.  According to the Shelf3D.com website -

A statue of a dragon by sculptor Robert Stubley is located by the roadside on Sneinton Hermitage. It was commissioned by Nottingham City Council and was unveiled on 21 November 2006. The dragon stands 7 feet tall, has a wingspan of 15 feet and took 3 months to finish. It is made out of stainless steel. During the Christmas period, somebody puts a Santa hat on the dragon. Unfortunately, the hat always disappears a few days later.

I can imagine in a tabletop roleplaying setting where a similar statue might be erected to commemorate the slaying of a local scourge, as a tribute to a troublesome dragon landlord, or as a warning to travels not to mess around.  Read more here!

The Revised Drake Equation

If you are looking to populate a science fiction tabletop roleplaying setting, you might do well to check the revised Drake Equation for some guidance.  See more here!

Lake Vostok Teeming with Life

It seem that core samples taken some time back are showing a surprising amount of life in the Antarctic body of water known as Lake Vostok.  It wouldn't take much to extend this story into something truly fun for a tabletop roleplaying game with horror or scifi themes.  Personally, I'd go with Elder Gods or perhaps some dinosaurs.  Read more here!

Reverse Lookup for Images

Suppose you come across an image you find inspirational but it doesn't explain the location, person, or (in the case of a non-photograph) the artist.  A friendly Facebook was kind enough to clue me into this useful site called TinEye Reverse Image Search.  See more here!

Pareidolia in Action

A recent article on the Live Science website discusses who some cryptozoological finds are often a matter of wishful thinking, a type of pareidolia, as in the article titled "‘Skull’ Claimed as Rock-Solid Evidence of Bigfoot."  Read more here!

Amazing Animal Camouflage on Likes.com

Likes.com recently ran a pictorial called "Amazing Animal Camouflage" that features some very elusive creatures. See more here!

Grizzly Bears vs. Wolves in Yellowstone

A recent upload to the National Geographic YouTube channel pits "Grizzly Bears vs. Wolves in Yellowstone." Enjoy!

The Five Best Inventions of the Founding Fathers

Friend to gamers everywhere, and regular writer for Forbes, Alex Knapp, wrote an article a couple of years ago for the Independence Day (US) holiday titled "The Five Best Inventions of the Founding Fathers" expounding on some ideas of the founding Fathers that could easily port over to many tabletop roleplaying settings.  Read more here!

Medieval Dungeon Discovered in England

Over on the Medievalists.net website, there is a recent article discussing the initial finding of a dungeon while digging a new water main in the town of Faversham.

“The site is beneath where the town’s second Guildhall stood that was built during the mid-16th century. However, use of this Guildhall was short lived, as you can imagine the noise and smell coming from the dungeon meant this wouldn’t have been a pleasant place to work."

Read more here!

Celtic Europe Map

Over on maps.nationalgeographic.com, check out a "1977 Celtic Europe Map." See more here!

2013 Underwater Photography Contest from NBC News

Over on the NBCNews.com Photo Blog, check out the "2013 Underwater Photography Contest" slideshow. See more here!