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Adventures with Conspiracy Theorists, Aliens, and Robots

Explore the stories you missed this week.
Image: Kenneth Lu/Flickr

We all indulge our desire for adventure somehow, whether it's spending the weekend hiking, partying, or power-leveling in Destiny. Often it's all about pushing ourselves to get out of our comfort zone and try something new. But there are some Saturdays when the temptation to do nothing and learn nothing is too difficult to resist. If you're seeking adventure from the comfort of your bed, expand your horizons with a few of the stranger stories you may have missed this week. All you have to do is repeat them at a party later tonight and you'll sound worldly and smart!

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You can sign up for a cruise that caters to conspiracy theorists. The cruise, delightfully titled Conspira Sea, sounds just as good as you dreamed it might be. Jezebel writer Anna Merlan was set adrift on a boat of anti-vaxers and accused of being a CIA plant, but she humanizes her cruise companions and almost makes the whole adventure sound like fun.

We should imagine better aliens than those greyish-green creatures the shape of lifesize Bratz dolls. Aliens in science fiction travel like we do, in aircrafts, and shoot guns like we do—except theirs maybe shoot lasers instead of bullets. Why do we assume aliens resemble humans? And what if they're more dissimilar from us than Hollywood would have us believe? (I know I'm starting to sound like I belong on Conspira Sea, but check it out—there's actual research on this, okay?!?)

If you're not getting enough Tinder dates, try masquerading as a food item. Seriously. This actually works for people. One guy told Motherboard that pretending to be an everything bagel "breaks the ice itself" and makes it easier to start a conversation. His one warning? Don't use a copyrighted photo of food; that'll get you kicked off.

Robots could pick up boxes if we stopped slapping them out of their hands like jerks. Boston Dynamics released a video of its latest robot, a bipedal creation named Atlas. Watching Atlas struggle as it tries to pick up a box only to have one of its creators slap it away feels more relatable than it ought to.

Many people have tried and failed to reinvent the sex toy industry through crowdfunding, so the odds against you are steep. But all of those past failures are all the more reason for an innovative entrepreneur to step forward—the toy industry needs its boundaries pushed. And hey, you can always learn from the mistakes of the failed Kickstarter campaigns that came before yours.