Popcorn Shorts

Cool stuff that’s too small for a big article

Just like it says, Popcorn Shorts is about the kind of things we think are really interesting, but don’t really need a large article to explain them.  From the sublime to the ridiculous, check in here for crunchy bits of info you’ll love to munch.  By the way, much (but not necessarily all) of our delicious Popcorn comes from articles we’ve posted on our Facebook page.  If you’re on Facebook, please stop by and “Like” us and we’ll keep a fairly-constant-but-not-frequent-enough-to-be-annoying stream of these coming to your virtual door!

Mike Pence’s very, very fictional crime spree

As we were fact-checking a recent lurid news claim we caught a glimpse of another fact-check: “Mike Pence Resigns”.  Obviously they were explaining why that was a lie, but there were several others with it that were just as bizarre.  Taken together, we thought they offered a fascinating glimpse of the toxic Orwellian mis-information scum sprinkler we’re all living under.  So sit back and enjoy the Mike Pence Crime Spree that never happened…  “Pence Eludes Capture, Military in Hot Pursuit” (fact check here), “Pence Shot While Fleeing Military Arrest” (fact check here), “Pence Arrested as Capitol Stormed” (fact check here),

TIME’s 50 Worst Inventions of All Time

We live in a technological dream world, but some dreams are nightmares.  TIME Magazine offers a list of 50 dreams to wake up from in their article The 50 Worst Inventions of All Time.  It’s primarily a list of cringeworthy consumer products like New Coke, Farmville, and Hair in a Can, with occasional nods to things like DDT, asbestos, and Red Dye #2.  Things like nuclear weapons, AK-47s, qualified immunity, or slavery didn’t make the list at all.  It’s a fun look at some of Mother Necessity’s less popular offspring… and they did pick a pretty good #1.

The Mt. St. Helens eruption anniversary

A stunning picture (at right) brought out the full power of the 1980 Mt. St. Helens eruption.  If you feel like wandering down an ash-strewn Memory Lane, or if you just want to know what it was like to be here when it happened, here are some fascinating links…  “Mount St. Helens eruption: Never-before-published photos”, “For Decades, One of the Most Striking Photos of the Mount St. Helens Eruption Was Also One of Its Biggest Mysteries. Someone Finally Figured It Out”, “A riveting view of Mt St. Helens”, “The Eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980”, “Remembering the deadly Mount St. Helens eruption 41 years ago”, “Mount St. Helens’ 1980 Eruption Changed the Future of Volcanology”, “Footage of the 1980 Mount St. Helens Eruption”

Flying Suits Are Real

from Business Insider, 5/4/21–  “The British military been exploring the possibility of boarding ships at sea with futuristic jet packs that let wearers fly over the water like Iron Man.  The “Jet Suit” was made by Gravity Industries. The company released a video Sunday that showed its operators wearing jet packs and working with the Royal Marines to launch from rigid inflatable boats and land aboard a Royal Navy patrol ship. Maritime boarding operations, which are also known as “visit, board, search, and seizure” operations, are challenging and have traditionally involved troops stealthily coming alongside a ship in a fast boat and hooking up a caving ladder or fast-roping from a helicopter onto the ship…”