Cracked: biology info

http://www.cracked.com/article_19384_the-5-creepiest-ways-animals-have-mastered-mind-control.html
http://www.cracked.com/article_18483_the-5-creepiest-serial-killers-who-were-animals.html
http://www.cracked.com/article/109_natures-6-most-diabolical-predators/
http://www.cracked.com/article_18764_the-6-most-insane-sex-lives-in-animal-kingdom.html

Cracked is such a monumental time-suck. I opened one of those, then couldn't leave for an hour .

Every time I open a link to Cracked I don't leave for at least an hour, usually 2 or 3.

Yeah, cracked.com should be crack.com

regardless, the information is good....written in an entertaining manner, linked to the sources so you can verify it if you like, informative.

amazing how long they have been in business... and still entertaining

Yeah, I love reading that site. 1 link leads to 14 others. Gotta love it. I've learned some REALLY neat history stuff.

JoeyM wrote: regardless, the information is good....written in an entertaining manner, linked to the sources so you can verify it if you like, informative.

Actually the information is overall pretty terrible, even with the linked sources. The sheer volume of blatant errors in those lists is staggering. But they are still massive time sinks for me even knowing that.

keethrax wrote:

JoeyM wrote: regardless, the information is good....written in an entertaining manner, linked to the sources so you can verify it if you like, informative.

Actually the information is overall pretty terrible, even with the linked sources. The sheer volume of blatant errors in those lists is staggering. But they are still massive time sinks for me even knowing that.

Interesting. I'm curious what errors you have spotted.

The only biology error I've caught - not saying there were not others, just that I haven't spotted them[*] - was someone confusing smilodon (sabertooth cat) with thylacosmilus (sabertooth marsupial) in their list six formerly kickass creatures ruined by evolution. Maybe I'm being lenient, but my general attitude was, "OK, they used the wrong latin name. They still had the right idea, and I bet a lot of their readers didn't know about sabertoothed marsupials before this." I already knew about Thylacosmilus, and I thought it was good that they informed people in an entertaining manner.

BTW, Thylacoleo was even cooler, with the biggest carnassials (premolars modified for shearing flesh) found so far

cats have the biggest carnassials of living critters, but they are nothing like those

[*] - disclaimer: I studied biology back when I was in school...but that was many years ago

Cracked has largely replaced The Onion for me as my go-to comedy site.

Interesting fact: Cracked's Seanbaby—arguably their most talented writer, although the whole crew is stellar—was an instrumental figure in a site that wasted hours and hours of GRM staff time over the years back when the web was just a pup. That site being http://fatchicksinpartyhats.com/

jg

I just checked that site, JG....I'll stick with Cracked.