Thursday, May 30, 2013

Better than Mermaids: 50 Tips for Animal Planet, and Counting

Hey Scientists,

It would be generous to say that the brain trust is drained at Animal Planet (and that at most other television programs). For many science programs, it's all about ratings, and advertising funding. But, there are an awe-inspiring number of things about our Natural World that would make for excellent television. I'm calling on your to help crowd-source ideas for awesome (and real) topics for future television programming efforts. Off the top of my head (and in no particular order) I have listed topics and questions from myself and things friends have shared. I'll add more to the list if you post/email/tweet/fb/carrier pigeon it to me. 

Thank you!
Melissa

Y'know what's better than a mockumentary? A documentary on anything below:

1. Cloaking Klingon Cephalopods - Craig McClain
2. Disco Scallops - Craig McClain
3. Squid Sex - Craig McClain
4. Five organisms with super powers - Andrew David Thaler
5. See-through fish heads - @paleophile
6. Giant Prehistoric Rabbits - Brian Switek
7. Giant Ground Sloths - Brian Swatted
8. Tarsiers - zefrank1
9. Sea Pigs - zefrank1
10. Complex duck vaginas - Isabella Rossellini
11. Strange penises - Donna Dickens
13. The Mantis Shrimp - the Oatmeal
14. Cats (aka tiny devils) - the Oatmeal
15. Plants that eat meat - Catherine Clarke Fox
16. Viruses that have a 50% mortality rate - Scott Hensley
17. Humans that grow a second skeleton - Carl Zimmer
18. Cicadas that only come out at prime number intervals - Carl Zimmer
19. Domesticating silver foxes in our lifetime
20. Why do we itch? - Ed Yong
21. Poison dart frogs - Ed Yong
22. Malaria
23. Critters that can survive being boiled, frozen, and dehydrated
24. Ladybugs - Debbie Hadley
25. Aphids - Karen
26. Fecal transplants - Jonathan Eisen
27. Dolphins versus porpoises - Alexis Rudd
28. Half-male, half-female birds - Ker Than
29. Embryonic cannibalism in sharks - Ed Yong
30. Neandertal-Human hookups - Charles Choi
31. Adapting to high altitude - Robert Sanders
32. Armadillos
33. Fluffy T. rex - David Hone
34. Butterfly sperm competition - Wedell & Cook
35. Mushrooms - Emma Brennand
36. Dust mites
37. Kimodo dragons and virgin births - Phillip Yam
38. Yeast (and beer, bread, cheese, wine, and whiskey)
39. Slave/slavemaker ants - Pleuni Pennings
40. Killer plants - Ecoist
41. Anglerfish
42. Purple frogs
43. Anenomes
44. Giant fruit fly sperm
45. Bumblebee bats
46. Bumblebees
47. Antlions
48. Deadly bacteria
49. Healthy gut bacteria - April Flowers
50. The platypus

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Other suggestions:

51. Immortal jellyfish - submitted by Nate Coraor
52. Hot pink slugs - Dylan Stableford (submitted by Theresa Miller)
53.


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