Polio: A Virus’ Struggle is a Graphic Novella by James Weldon. When we eradicate a disease, do we ever think about how it may effect the disease? Learn all about the history of Poliomyelitis, as he tells his story to the group.
posted by vertigo25 on Apr 12, 2009 - 16 comments

The Annals of Improbable Research magazine is available in two free online formats. Tagline: Research the makes people LAUGH and then THINK. Visit some of the site's classics or simply check out the newest members in the Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists. Hours and hours of brain stimulating fun.
posted by spock on Jan 13, 2008 - 8 comments

Duelity - the beginning in two parts The Vancover Film School does a really cool visual retelling of creation. The 'biblical' version with a science edge. The 'evolution' version with a biblical edge. And you can watch them both at the same time!
posted by filmgeek on Dec 14, 2007 - 34 comments

Theory of Humor. A scientific paper, written by Tom Veatch, describes his Theory of Humor. When is something funny? When is it not funny? When does it cross the line? Why are puns generally shitty? And the mysterious and magical powers elephant jokes have on children, revealed! A great data set to use for practice in applying the theories presented in the paper can be found here.
posted by iamkimiam on Nov 20, 2007 - 57 comments

Speculative Grammarian is the premier scholarly journal featuring research in the neglected field of satirical linguistics. Don't miss: Re-Rating the World's Languages, Hunting the Elusive Labio-Nasal, The Endangered Languages Armamentation Programme, New speech disorder linguists contracted discovered! and of course Choose Your Own Career in Linguistics.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Mar 7, 2007 - 17 comments

"To dream of eating pancakes, denotes that you will have excellent success in all enterprises undertaken at this time." "To dream of lard, signifies a rise in fortune will soon gratify you." "Dairy is a good dream both to the married and unmarried." "To dream of seeing your thigh smooth and white, denotes unusual good luck and pleasure." "To dream of noodles, denotes an abnormal appetite and desires. There is little good in this dream." "To dream of seeing a marmot, denotes that sly enemies are approaching you in the shape of fair women." -- What's in a Dream? A Scientific and Practical Interpretation of Dreams by Gustavus Hindman Miller, published in 1901.
posted by Gator on Mar 11, 2006 - 24 comments

Metabolism of evolution information in the blogosphere.
posted by melissa may on Feb 8, 2006 - 19 comments

Nothing is funnier than an academic or scientist explaining humor.
posted by Falconetti on Dec 11, 2005 - 10 comments

Electrical lighting conspiracy theories can be paranoid, downright bizarre, or actually pretty reasonable.
posted by nthdegx on Aug 5, 2005 - 27 comments

The Science Creative Quarterly. Not technically a 'quarterly,' but a 'fortnightly'. with both news/educational content (Hollywood vs. Science: How Far Are We From Intarstellar Travel?; Asparagus, Stinky Pee, and Scientific Curiosity) and creative content (Sexy Universe; African Lion Family Objects to Their Portrayal in Recent Discovery Channel Documentary; Trash Talkin' at the Aquarium.)
posted by Melinika on Jul 22, 2005 - 3 comments

Arsole? Putrescine? Dickite? Moronic Acid? This list of Molecules with Silly or Unusual Names (one NSFW image) proves that scientists can be funny, as does this Stuffy Scientists page, and Mark Isaak's terribly thorough Curiosities of Biological Nomenclature (see, especially, Puns). If you are tempted to wonder what the Father of Taxonomy might have thought of the irreverence of those last two collections, keep in mind that Linnaeus himself named this plant "Clitoria Mariana" in honor of an 'acquaintance', according to this page.
posted by taz on May 18, 2004 - 10 comments

Coyotus Interruptus? New Scientists readers were asked to come up with new and necessary scientific words and their (amusing) definitions. These are the results.
posted by biffa on Dec 19, 2003 - 8 comments

In these troubled times, we would all do well to remember the lesson of the Apasht. But you'll have a hard time finding this vanished Neolithic culture in any mainstream anthropology textbook. That's why these archives are such an invaluable resource.
posted by staggernation on Jan 31, 2003 - 8 comments

The world's funniest joke. The results are in. Here it is. Using science, British researchers have determined the funniest joke in the world.
posted by mert on Oct 3, 2002 - 149 comments

How much is inside?
posted by Spoon on Jun 14, 2002 - 19 comments

I don't remember chemistry being this interesting.
posted by redhead on Sep 8, 2001 - 7 comments

I usually wouldn't post something that I found through the office "humor" mailing list, but this just seemed very MetaFilterable. Physics geeks especially take note.
posted by jpoulos on Feb 20, 2001 - 4 comments