The Science Behind The X-Files:

Awards & Webrings

USA TODAY Hot Site: Week of 7 December 1999
http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/cyber1.htm

"Like your science with a dose of fiction thrown in? The Science Behind The X-Files lets you try to find whatever truth is out there in a long list of episodes."
USA Today is a nationally published newspaper. Their e-mail requested that I link to the main Tech section of their site (above), but the hot sites can be found here.
Thanks, USA Today.

University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Engineering Link of the Week: 1 November 1999
http://www.engr.wisc.edu/news/low/1999/Nov01.html

"Next week the season premiere of The X-Files will be sure to confound its loyal followers. But before you dismiss The X-Files as purely entertainment, be sure you browse the secretive data at The Science Behind The X-Files. The purpose of The Science Behind The X-Files is to explore the actual science which the episodes are based. The site was inspired by a book of the same title by Jeanne Cavelo, however there is no connection between the two. Cavelo also wrote the book titled 'The Science Behind Star Wars.'
"Browsing The Science Behind The X-Files is a snap. Just click on one of the episode titles on the main page and read. Each episode profile provides a brief summary of what happened in the episode, then dissects the relevant science used. The text is succinct and engrossing. Along with the description of the actual science comes a plethora of links to other places on the web which discuss the science in more detail
"Although there is no search function, clicking on a season title will list the scientific topics discussed within each of the episodes of that season. Knowing this, it is relatively easy to find a specific topic in which you are interested.
"Tempus fugit, or 'time flies,' while exploring the fascinating The Science Behind The X-Files."
Wow...a rather lengthy and flattering review of the site by the UWM College of Engineering. Thanks a lot!

New Scientist Planet Science Hot Spots: 2 August 1999
http://www.keysites.com/keysites/hotspots/hotspots.html

"Like a lot of things in life: you either love it or hate it. If you are enamoured of special agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully then check this out. Pick an episode...the Pilot show, for instance, and straightaway you find out that some of the science is a bit flawed to say the least. Scully said that time is a 'universal invariant' which of course it isn't, as the site points out with glee. It's very tastefully done, although not endorsed by the X-files producers, and provides excellent explanations, with links, to the science underpinning some of the statements and assumptions of M&S. They do seem to have got it right most of the time."
New Scientist is a fantastic British science magazine with an international bent (if you're from the US, it's analogous to DISCOVER or SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, only with offices in the US, Europe, and Australia).
Thanks, New Scientist.

Yahoo!'s Picks of the Week: 24 May 1999
http://www.yahoo.com/picks/19990524.html

"A seemingly informative hub for X-Files fans, this site purports to explore the scientific concepts behind the popular television program. Topics covered include artificial intelligence, forensic entomology, voiceprint spectrographic analysis, and the Human Genome Project. All fine and good, correct? Incorrrect. Other topics covered (though not publicized) include cockroach decapitation, microwave incineration of biological waste, tattoo guns, transorbital lobotomies, maggot infestation, and toxic body fumes. Thus, it is banned forever!"
I guess the weekly theme was "banned forever," but I'm guessing that was a good thing...
Thanks, Yahoo!

CapeCanaveral Page Of The Month: 3 October 1998
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Lab/1330/POTM/

"Although mostly science fiction, you may have noticed that the popular TV series The X-Files is not completely bogus. October's Page of the Month is dedicated to finding those facts and sharing just a little bit on each one of them. This site is filled with cross-references to many other pages, so it is a perfect starting point for any X-Files fanatic; especially those with a science streak in them!"
Special thanks to Carl Miller and the CLs of the Cape for this honor!

GeoCities Cool Page of The Day: 5 May 1998

GeoCities has since disbanded their "cool homestead of the day" program in favor of the more portal-oriented GeoAvenues program, but if you don't believe me, ask them. <grin>

The Well-Manicured Man Award: 5 October 1998
http://www.grs.se/marcus/x-files/award/

Named after a character on the show, TWMMA is "an award offered to the finest sites dedicated to X-files."

Netsurfer Digest Review: Week of 21 June 1997
http://www.netsurf.com/nsd/v03/nsd.03.20.html

"For those who spend the better part of 'The X-Files' sneering, 'Oh, come on...', the Science Behind the X-Files cheerfully attempts to elucidate and explain whatever thin science can be teased out of the show's episodes. While a long way from covering every show, the reviews that are on hand tend to be smoothly and cleverly written. The writers pick apart show summaries for their occasionally arguable scientific content ('What's so scientific about mud, you may ask....') and offer appropriate links to other sites. Educational and entertaining - sort of a 'My Dinner with Fox' as penned by Bill Nye, the Science Guy."

Thomas Quinn's Science Site of the Day: 14 May 1997
http://www.evolutionary.org/

Again, another award site that's gone down "temporarily," and I'm asking you to take my word for it...

      Date: Mon, 12 May 1997 17:01:28 -0500
      From: Thom Quinn <thomquinn@esosoft.com>
        To: jasonald@geocities.com
References: 1

Jason, Pretty cool site, I will certainly look into it deeper, but the few pages I looked at seem to be well done. Thom

Thanks, Mr. Quinn!

GeoCities A-List Close-Up: Week of 14 May 1997

Not only did The Science Behind The X-Files make the third ever issue of the A-List, but it got full billing in the sidebar.
Yet again, another fabulous feature of GeoCities that they've since taken down for bigger and better things.

Featured in KidWeb: 25 March 1997
http://www.teleport.com/~rhubarbs/kidweb/

"Is the X-Files all fiction? The X-Files Cabinet takes a look at the actual science behind the X-Files."
Not only is it good for you, it's kid-friendly, too? Wow.

Others: (dates uncertain)

Besides the awards above, The Science Behind The X-Files has been seen in:

• Fortean Times' Wired for Weird: http://www.forteantimes.com/link/
• scifi.com Dominion's ORBIT: http://www.scifi.com/orbit/scifitv.html
• Yahoo! Internet Life, Vol. 3, No. 12, December 1997, p. 90-94?: http://www3.zdnet.com/yil/filters/toc/urlv3n12.html
• The Education Haven: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/1573/educate.html
• Seattle Insider's Best Wastes of Web Space: http://www.seattleinsider.com/technology/watch/worldwidewaste_xfilesscience.html

Thanks to all!