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I have dug through the Internet this week and uncovered all this science/pop culture goodness. You can find the hundreds of links from previous weeks here.

This week we endured a terrible tragedy, bringing gun control to the forefront of everyone’s mind. I have spent the last few days arguing to no end about it, so instead we’ll get you caught up on all the science you may have missed out on.

I have marked the best links with a ∞. Enjoy.

Must Read

∞ Twinkle: Thoughts on Sagan, the Cosmos, and the Geminid Meteor Shower

Scientist gets stung by box jelly, decides to study the venom, develops something to help the pain by Nerdy Christie

∞ You know what else is “natural”? A bear attack. Snake venom. Gonorrhea. Does Mother Nature Always Know What’s Best?

The Evolutionary Mystery of Homosexuality: A fascinating overview of our theories

∞ ”Your hands are, roughly speaking, 360 million years old.” Exploring how genes point to hand evolution, by Carl Zimmer

Must Watch

Fantastic, rapid-fire nerdiness: Snowflakes, Starflakes, and Swirlflakes by Vi Hart

∞ If you watch 1 parody, it should be this: NASA Gangnam Style parody starring NASA students and ACTUAL ASTRONAUTS. EPIC

∞ Christopher Hitchens died 1 year ago this week. Celebrate his life by getting blasted and watching “Best of the Hitchslap”

Give this guy a show I say! Why Don’t We Taxidermy Humans?

His explanation is wrong, but who gets tired of seeing sulfur hexafluoride give you a demon voice while singing?

Shine a blue hue underwater and you get gorgeous florescence

∞ You have never seen a solar eclipse like this. WOW

∞ Cried. Big time. Google’s heart-warming and heart-breaking ode to 2012

In case you were wondering, yes, homeopathy is nonsense.

Touching: Young leopard kills mother baboon, decides to take care of the orphaned baby.

Can you freeze a bubble? Yep, and it’s awesome.

∞ Video of the largest recorded ice breakup is amazingly scary and changed this woman profoundly.

GLaDOS is in Pacific Rim!!

I’m with the guy who said “Where was the WARNING?!” 2000 ping-pong balls and 30 teachers weightless.

Can you freeze a bubble? Yep, and it’s awesome.

Science

I love the frankness of this post: Are There Any Side Effects of Masturbation?

Merry Christmas that’s A LOT of leaves! One Photo, 126 Frames, 2 Billion Leaves, 247 Feet [Image]

Only relativity could get Santa’s gifts to all the children in one night

We have people studying whether or not Jesus had a psychotic disorder, FYI

This is why “Sungazing” is dangerous.

This *should* scare the shit out of you: How Many Gigatons of CO2…? [Infographic]

Label your kids’ crayons with the chemical reactions that will make the colors!

∞ Possible partial gynandromorph=one awesome super-eye spider [Image]  by Alex Wild

What could go wrong with a first-time use of LSD and a little booze? You could cut your own testicles off.

Our poor risk perception shows up in how we portray sharks in the media.

“What should we name this ancient lizard we discovered?” “Hmmm…How about ‘Obamadon‘?”

Poop shields and parasites.

Funny/Cool/Interesting

Something for a quick smile? Sloth PHOTOBOMB

Looking up at the meteor shower tonight, let this poignant Calvin and Hobbes sink in [Comic]

Need to jump-start your day? This *will* make you happy. Too. much. adorable.

∞ My favorite is still the Cheetah one: 20 Great Infographics of 2012

Science makes it possible to find the mortal world enough.

Sometimes science makes the honesty bleed out of you | XKCD

∞ This is my new favorite picture on the Internet, full stop.

Hipster coloring book dinosaur [Image]

∞ This is a picture of a “bunker dog” from WWII. He carried 24 lbs of TNT into a bunker, not to return.

Creepy Batman [Comic]

How many model rocket engines would it take to launch a real rocket into space? | XKCD

Are there aphrodisiacs? Not likely. (Oysters are the snotty meat of the sea anyway)

This GIF is how I feel whenever anyone brings up a random conspiracy theory.

∞ Firefly holiday cards! Buy them!

The girls never finish taking their clothes off at the möbius strip club.

Religion+thermodynamics+exam=”Is Hell Exothermic?”

On being a philosophy professor crippled with anxiety, OCD, and fear that life is but a ruse.

∞ What if you made a planet entirely out of a mole of mole bodies? | XKCD

You can use this website to model what happens when 2 galaxies collide. It makes you feel like a space Magneto.

This is a crab. It is wooly and pissed off-looking.

∞ Woah. Floor buffer tongue: The tongue of a Lorikeet is awesome.

Take a virtual tour of the space shuttle Discovery. So. many. buttons.

Warning: You will *never* try meth after seeing these before and after shots of people who got hooked. [#21 is graphic]

XKCD combines Pokemon and deadly evolving bacteria. Yay!

A pigeon eye is like a beautiful alien world, mixed with tomato sauce.

Tweeps in this week’s linkfest: @NerdyChristie @carlzimmer @vihartvihart @tweetsauce @jtotheizzoe @notscientific @Myrmecos @JohnRHutchinson @CampbellHill @saramayhew