Seth Shostak

Senior Astronomer, SETI Institute

Could it be that our planet isn't typical at all? If so, then maybe life isn't typical either. On the other hand, if there are plenty of planets similar to Earth, we can reasonably hope for lots of cosmic company.

Alan Elsner

Author, 'Gates of Injustice: The Crisis in America’s Prisons'

Every so often one reads about someone staging their own funeral, sometimes so they could hear themselves being eulogized, sometimes for more illicit reasons.

Peter Graham

Author

On a sunny winter's afternoon, June 1954 in Christchurch New Zealand, two teenage girls, Juliet Hulme and Pauline Parker, accompanied by Pauline's mother, Honorah Parker, went for a walk in Victoria Park. There the girls put into action their plan to murder Honorah.

Tonya Hurley

Author, "The Blessed" and "ghostgirl"

She goes, I was told, by many names: Lady Of Shadows. Holy Girl. Lady of the Night. The Skinny Lady. Santa Sebastiana. Frowned upon by the Church and the upper classes, worshiped secretly for centuries by the working classes, Santa Muerte has become the patron saint of the downtrodden.

Thrillist

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Some American beers SOUND like they're made of horrifyingly weird things, but in the end, the most actually bizarre thing about Dogfish Head is that someone in Delaware is actually doing something.

La Carmina

Travel TV host, fashion blogger at lacarmina.com

Did you know Steampunk culture existed in Japan?

Richard Zombeck

Founder, Home Preservation Network at www.hpnhelp.com

One night, when I was about 13-years-old, my dad caught me doing unspeakable things to myself and said, "You know, if you keep that up you're going to go blind." And I said, "Dad, I'm over here."

Sharon Hill

Researcher, scientific consultant, Editor of DoubtfulNews.com

There is a problem with how the word paranormal is used because it is often utilized in a way that is perhaps not consistent with the original intent.

Dan Persons

Film journalist

As Mystery Science Theater 3000's TV's Frank, comedian and writer Frank Conniff became possibly the most cuddly mad scientist in history.

John B. Alexander, Ph.D.

Retired Senior Military Officer and Retired Los Alamos National Laboratory

Despite the substantial advances that have been made in our standard of living, the reputation of science is in decline. While scientists were once revered by the American citizenry, confidence rightfully has diminished as more and more research projects become discredited.

Anneli Rufus

Comfort-food freak

These vegan-repellers bring a whole new meaning to the term "Bloody Mary."

Chris Clow

Geek, comic book enthusiast, contributor to Movies.com

If you've ever been interested in the ongoing adventures of Batman or Iron Man, of the Avengers or the Justice League, then as a geek and a comic book peddler I can tell you: now is the time.

Michael Sean Comerford

Journalist and writer

Did I look like an American drifter? Am I one of them? Should I be flattered or just find a laundromat?

John R. Talbott

Author, 'Survival Investing: How to Prosper Amid Thieving Banks and Corrupt Governments'

I can't remember who first showed me how to cure hiccups. I know it was late in life, sometime in my late thirties. The cure came too late to help me. But, ever since then I have been enormously grateful.

Alejandro Rojas

Editor at Open Minds Magazine

While not all of the former Congress members at the Citizen Hearing on Disclosure last week were convinced that we are being visited by aliens, they all did say they were impressed by the high level of credibility of some of the witnesses they heard from.

Thom Nickels

Philadelphia-based author/journalist

In the world of facial stubble, the famous five o'clock shadow has become the nearly permanent 10 o'clock shadow, proving -- as if you needed proof at this point -- that this is the season of facial hair.

Crazy Legs Conti

Competitive eater

George Shea, the head of Major League Eating, has often compared our sport to, "a ballet of the buffet." He is often ridiculed for comparing traditional art to, well, stuffing one's face for prize money and a trophy.