The horizon is an interesting netherworld of optical phenomena, where -- to the human eye -- ghost ships may sail the sky, phantom islands offer relief to weary sailors, sea monsters tower and alien ships enter the atmosphere. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe explore the Fata Morgana mirage.

In this episode of STBYM’s The Artifact, Joe contemplates the deep history of the color of the Pale Blue Dot.

From glowing rings to flaming sun discs, the halo takes many forms in religious iconography. Why do angels, saints, gods and demigods love standing beneath or in front of these things? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe explore the nature of halos in myth, art and optics.

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What is overconfidence? We tend to know it when we see it, but the concept is increasingly hard to nail down the more you think about it. In this Stuff to Blow Your Mind two-parter, Robert and Joe explore the mythic roots of hubris, the psychology of overconfidence and its role in society and business. (Originally published 2/25/2020)

In this episode of Weirdhouse Cinema, Rob and Joe dive into one of Mexican luchador El Santo's various horror cinema adventures -- and not just any Santo film but the legendary "Santo In The Treasure of Dracula," which features time travel, Dracula and more.

From glowing rings to flaming sun discs, the halo takes many forms in religious iconography. Why do angels, saints, gods and demigods love standing beneath or in front of these things? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe explore the nature of halos in myth, art and optics.

In this episode of STBYM’s The Artifact, Robert discusses the Mesoamerican weapon known as the Macuahuitl...

How many animals of each kind did Moses take on the Ark? In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe discuss The Moses Illusion, one persistent example from a class of mental phenomena known as “knowledge neglect.”

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It’s a standard tool of skeptical thinking: When presented with two hypotheses that explain the data equally well, choose the simpler of the two. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe discuss the history, nature and complexities of Occam’s Razor. (Originally published 2/13/2020)

Yes, kiddies, in this episode of Weirdhouse Cinema, Rob and Joe discuss Ernest Dickerson’s 1995 siege movie “Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight.” Strap in for grotesque monsters, a whole host of character actors and some Crypt Keeper puns.

Few places in the Star Wars universe are regarded with as much horror as the Great Pit of Carkoon, within the Dune Sea of Tatooine. In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe consider the mighty Sarlacc and compare what we know about this organism to denizens of the natural world. (Originally published 5/12/2020)

In this episode of STBYM’s The Artifact, Robert discusses an ancient Chinese sword noted for its unusual sharpness and resistance to tarnish...

In this episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe explore the nature of gold, humanity’s history extracting it from the Earth and the amazing properties of gold nanoparticles.

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In the year 79 CE, the Italian volcano Mount Vesuvius erupted with with the thermal energy of 100,000 atomic bombs. Ashen destruction rained down on Pompeii, Herculaneum, Oplontis and Stabiae. In this Stuff to Blow Your Mind two-parter, Robert and Joe explore this terrifying episode in history and what we can learn from it. (Originally published 2/11/2020)

The bonejackers thought they could jack Alex Furlong, but now he's gone freejack in the future of 2009. Yep, in this installment of Weirdhouse Cinema, Rob and Joe jack their way into the 1992 sci-fi thriller "Freejack," starring everyone and costing $30 million.

In the previous episode of Stuff to Blow Your Mind, Robert and Joe discussed the Shān Hǎi Jīng or “Classic of Mountains and Seas,” an ancient Chinese text that compiles the mythic geography and fantastic creatures of the world. In this episode, the continue by discussing some of the fantastic creatures mentioned in the text.