Skeptics Guide #1108

The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Skepticast #1108 September 5 2026 Special Guests Christian Hubicki and Julia Novella Segment #1. Your Dream Costume Design your dream costume for DragonCon if you had an unlimited budget. Segment #2. Conspiracy Theories Which conspiracy theory would you least mind if it were true? Segment #3. News Items News Item #1 – Stellar Streams and Dark Matter https://phys.org/news/2026-08-milky-gravity-mimic-dark-clues.html News Item #2 – Possible Cause of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260929053543.htm News Item #3 - Ignobels 2026 https://improbable.com/the-36th-first-annual-ig-nobel-prize-ceremony/ News Item #4 - Pet Bird Research https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10827422/ News Item #5 - Speed Running Video Games https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeyjmJkhLb0 Segment #4. Science or Fiction 1) Early astronauts could not get life insurance, so starting with Apollo 11, right before launch they signed hundreds of special envelopes their families could later sell as a financial fail safe. 2) Skylab’s uncontrolled deorbit in 1979 resulted in a debris field across Western Australia, prompting one small town particularly hard hit to fine NASA $40,000, a sum they paid. 3) George Aldrich has worked for NASA for over 50 years as a sniffer, smelling objects before they can go in a crew compartment to make sure they don’t smell too much. Segment #5. Skeptical Quote of the Week Overheard at DragonCon "Bro, I just took a random pill in the bathroom." "You can't swing a Harley without hitting a Dungeon Crawler Carl." "Aargh. The daystar....it burns me!"