Help me identify this movie! 1980's: the big identifying point I can remember: Teens meet an alien. Out in space, the alien gets into a confrontation with a larger alien, and the audience can't understand what's going on... Afterwards, the most laconic of the teenagers turns to the others and says, "I think that was his dad!" and they realize their alien friend is a teenager too. [more inside]
posted by FortyT-wo on Jun 29, 2009 - 4 answers

I've read and loved the histories of Sir Robert Falcon Scott, James Kim, George Mallory, S. A. Andrée, et cetera, and now I would like to be pointed towards more stories of men and women who -- either by way of adventure or by circumstance -- succumbed to the elements after a protracted attempt at survival... preferably leaving a rich and well-written-about story. [more inside]
posted by cadastral on Jun 5, 2009 - 14 answers

Do you know of any movies with improbable technology as a plot device? [more inside]
posted by soundofsuburbia on Jul 25, 2007 - 42 answers

When did the European explorers of the Americas figure out that they were not in the Orient but reather in two "new" continents? And, at this point, why did they not stop referring to the indigenous peoples of these continents as Indians?
posted by soiled cowboy on Oct 22, 2005 - 11 answers

Lewis and Clark traveled up the Missouri River from the Mississippi to the Rockies, over 2,000 miles. UPSTREAM. What the hell? If you have to explore the river, why not just get some horses and wagons and walk alongside it? Why kill yourself paddling against the current for 2,000 miles?
posted by luser on May 11, 2004 - 10 answers