Activity for Lot-Of-Malarkey‭

Type	On...	Excerpt	Status	Date
Question	—	Weather and wind on a planet with a dense atmosphere I've been building a world that has a thicker atmosphere than that of Earth, about half the gravity, and twice the amount of oxygen. My reasoning behind these features is mainly to support the growth of large trees and megafauna, and to make it easier for my races of intelligent bats to fly. Now, on... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Question	—	Anatomically Correct Chimera The Anatomically Correct Series can be found here. The Chimera is another freaky specimen from Greek mythology. It is described as having the body and head of a lion, the head of a goat sprouting from its back, and having a tail that ended with a snake head. It was also able to breathe fire for g... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Question	—	Could a Hoop snake actually roll like a wheel? The Hoop snake is a mythical creature from the United States and Canada that looks like a regular snake, but has the ability to grab its tail in its mouth and roll like a wheel at high speeds. It hunts by chasing people in hoop-mode, getting close, and then rapidly straightening itself out and stabbi... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Question	—	Anatomically Correct Scylla Recently, a question was posted about how a creature like the mythical Charybdis could evolve. Today I want to talk about Charybdis' mythical counterpart: Scylla. Most depictions of Scylla look something like this: This already looks strange enough, but classical descriptions were even weirder. ... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Question	—	Could a hexapodal bat actually fly? Sequel to this question. Basically, I've been designing an intelligent avian race based on bats. After reading through some of the answers for the linked question, I've decided that these bats will be a cross between our modern bats (such as the Flying Fox) and Anurognathid pterosaurs. I'm still goi... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Question	—	Could you make Bat wings shaped like the different kinds of Bird wings? I've been designing an an intelligent, bat-inspired avian race, and I've been struck with a question that I need answered. Now, I want to have these bats to fulfill different types of ecological niches that are occupied by birds. Think akin to eagles, terns, ravens, maybe even flightless cassowary a... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Question	—	How would tidal forces impact two habitable moons in a horseshoe orbit? I saw this video a while ago, and recently it's gotten me thinking. Towards the end of Artifexian's video on gas giants and habitable moons, he mentions the idea of having 2 habitable moons in a horseshoe orbit. An example of a horseshoe orbit would be Saturn's moons Janus and Epimetheus. Once every ... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Question	—	How does this Monster's mouth work? So it's been a while since I've seen the Nightmare Before Christmas, but it's come up in my thoughts recently. Or at least one specific background character. (Source) This character is apparently called the Harlequin Demon. As you can see, instead on a mouth that uses a hinge joint, this guy has... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Question	—	What's the Optimum Shape for a Radially Symmetric Brain? I think the idea of radially symmetric alien organisms is really exciting in the questions it raises about function and design. For those who don't know, humans are bilaterally symmetrical. If you slice down the middle of a human, you get 2 symmetrical halves. So if half a human has one eye, one ear... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Question	—	How would it feel to sail a Rocheworld ocean? A couple days ago, I posted this question about what it would feel like to walk on a Rocheworld. For some background, a Rocheworld is a double planet system where the two planets are so close together that they have actually started merging together. This is unlikely to occur in real life, but it is... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Question	—	Can a Society of Barbie Dolls Make a Network of Aerial Cable Cars? When I was a kid, I conceptualized a post-apocalyptic story entirely starring Barbie dolls. One idea I had about how they would live and get around involved transmission towers, or power towers. Imagine something like this. Note: By the time they started living there, the power lines had long since s... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Question	—	How Would It Feel To Walk On A Rocheworld? A while back I saw this video talking about the habitability of double planets and Rocheworlds. I haven't seen any questions about the latter case here, so I decided to take a swing at it. For some background, a Rocheworld is a double planet system that is so close together that the two planets sha... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Question	—	Could Air-Breathing Mermaids Colonize Atlantis? I rediscovered this article recently and loved all the creative answers on how a mermaid might build underwater. This, for me, brought to mind Atlantis, the kingdom that sank into the sea. I've seen some media where Mermaid kingdoms were called Atlantis, and it's given me an idea. What if some me... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Question	—	How Can I Make A Bipedal Insect? I've been conceptualizing a species of intelligent insects. They would have 6 limbs, they can fly, but they walk bipedally. I've been thinking of having them get down on all limbs of they need to go fast and can't fly away from something, but I do want them to be at least mostly bipedal. Here's my p... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Question	—	Could A Torus World Have Rings? Towards the end of this article (https://io9.gizmodo.com/what-would-the-earth-be-like-if-it-was-the-shape-of-a-d-1515700296) there is mention of the different kinds of orbits the moon of a Torus world could have. Many of the more wild and crazy orbits would result in the moon becoming unstable and c... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Question	—	pH Indicators and Xenobiology Not long ago I asked about pH indicators and their use in making fantastical skin colors (pH Indicators and Fantastical Skin Colors) In that question, I listed bromothymol blue as a type of indicator that could serve this purpose. I was then politely informed that bromothymol blue is not an organic ... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Question	—	Where Would a Mermaid's Blowhole Go? Whenever people discuss mammalian-type merfolk, I usually see them be modeled after cetaceans like dolphins and whales. This is perfectly serviceable, but there is one piece of anatomy that I cannot figure out how to apply to a mermaid: the Blowhole. As to why a mermaid would have a blowhole, the re... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Question	—	What If Earth Had an Equatorial Ridge Saturnian moons Iapetus, Atlas, and Pan all have equatorial ridges. There's a few explanations as to why, but the theory behind why Iapetus has one is what intrigues me. (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/EquatorialridgeonIapetus) Apparently, Iapetus could have once had its own ring system, and that o... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Question	—	How to Use Photosynthesis Creatively in Humans I've seen many questions here about humans being capable of photosynthesis. And I know, humans don't have enough surface area to power themselves full time. However, that's assuming that the energy from the photosynthesis goes towards our calorie intake. What is a different way to use the energy a ... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Question	—	pH Indicators and Fantastical Skin Colors Ever since reading through the creative answers in this question (How can I explain alien skin being different colors?) I've been thinking about the logistics behind fantastical skin colors. However, one part that stuck out to me was the idea that pH levels could influence a creatures outward appea... (more)	—	over 6 years ago
Question	—	Complications in a Blue-Skinned Race of Elves I have been designing a species of elves with blue skin as one of their most striking features. I'm drawing inspiration from primates that also have blue skin. Think the scrotum of a vervet monkey, or the buttocks of the mandrill. According to this article,(http://jeb.biologists.org/content/207/12/21... (more)	—	over 6 years ago