What if? Randall Munroe has the answer.

I’ve shared Randall Munroe’s xkcd before, and it remains one of my favorite things anywhere. Now, Munroe has added to the awesomeness with a new blog where he answers questions. What kind of questions, you ask?

What would happen if you tried to hit a baseball pitched at 90% the speed of light?

Yes, nerdy science questions. Specifically, questions Munroe can answer with either demonstrated or theoretical physics. He is posting one question and answer on Tuesday of each week and based on the first two, this is now at the top of my list of most anticipated things each week. In addition to actual science, Munroe has a gift for narrative that makes the answers extremely fun to read. A SPOILER-filled example[1] from the first post:

It hits the bat first, but then the batter, plate, and catcher are all scooped up and carried backward through the backstop as they disintegrate.

If that’s not enough to hook you, then I’m not sure why you’re even reading a post from a site called nerd.is.


  1. Turns out, the Oxford comma isn’t dead after all.  ↩