Science: Ruining Everything Since 1543

Regular readers know of my love for my friend Zach Weinerâs web comic âSaturday Morning Breakfast Cerealâ. I think itâs mostly the bright colors that mesmerize me, but in fact itâs one of the funniest comics on the ânet and one I never miss. Zach is a nerdâs nerd, an übergeek. His comics frequently deal with science and math, generally skewering both the topics themselves as well as our understanding of them.

Today, Zach announced a new and exciting project: Heâs collecting his science comics into a single compendium which heâs calling âScience: Ruining Everything Since 1543â. And itâs not just old comics; heâs also written some new ones for the book. Heâs creating this book as a Kickstarter project. Give him money, and when itâs done heâll send you the book.

And thereâs more, too: He asked some well-known scientists on the web to send him a personal story about science in their lives, regaling how itâs affected them, and Zach will draw them up as a comic to put in the book. And guess who he asked? Well, the only one he told me about is me, but he assures me there are others. So I sent him an All-True Tale of Bad Astronomy Past, and he created a multi-panel comic about it. Hereâs the first panel:

You'll have to buy the book to see the rest. It's worth the price alone!

The way Kickstarter projects work is that the creator sets a goal to reach, and the project only gets funded if that goal is in fact met. Well guess what? Zach set the goal at $20,000, and he reached it in only a few billion microseconds. So the book will get made! Not only that, but Zach has set stretch goals, things added as more money is sent in. Heâs already added several, and I suspect is scrambling now to think of more stuff since the money is flowing.

I would strongly urge you to add your filthy lucre to the pile. I love SMBC right down to my alveoli. Oh. I should probably add that there is the occasional NSFW comic in there, mentioning various body parts and reproductive strategies. But itâs scientific! Usually!

So go and order your copy. If you donât, cartoon Neil Tyson and I will be very unhappy. And we have powerful friends.