Snowden bombshell: aliens helped Hitler!

Sure. Right. Or, look at it this way: If you were part of the alien conspiracy, how would you discredit anyone who attempted to reveal your secret plans for humanity? Simple. Reveal the plans yourself, with a few details changed. That's the only thing that explains this.

You're wondering if these were the same aliens in charge of the Nazi weapons program; congrats. Same guys.

Well, that explains David Bowie, but it doesn't understand why the Nazis lost.

Why would the aliens back Hitler? The article notes that they're Tall White Nordic Aliens, so that might explain things, but again, what's the point? Conquest? Or is this what advanced civilizations do when simulated entertainment gets boring? Think about it: we imagine "Independence Day" scenarios where the aliens show up to steal our resources, "Predator" scenarios where they come to hunt for sport. But what if some aliens come to amuse themselves by pitting groups against each in long-term strategic games? That's right: the world is being run by alien nerds who are playing their version of Dungeons and Dragons.

SCIENCE! The latest view of the universe is astonishing:

Just a corner of the sky, and it teems with galaxies. Slate's Bad Astronomer explains what you're looking at. (Hint: the beginning of creation.)

Wonder who's home. Seems unlikely they'd come here to help someone annex Poland.

To show how far we've come, here's a 1955 Kodak ad that shows the wonders of the universe:

That white speck is the entire Andromeda Galaxy! Captured with a Brownie! What astonishing -

No, sorry, that was dust on the scanner. Anyway, If there's someone out there, why haven't we heard from them? Perhaps we have. A Top Ten piece that ended up in my Zite app feed reminded me of the Wow! signal, a radio signal that may have been extraterrestrial in origin. I didn't know this:

Not if there's any YOLO SWAG in there.

If you're wondering what the #1 historical mystery might be - greater than the signal from aliens: "The Identity of the Babushka Lady" who was present at the JFK assassination.

Greatest mystery in history. Yep. Hands down.

ARCHITORTURE This came as a surprise: Portland hates its Municipal Building, and wants to tear it down. Atlantic Cities:

It looks cartoony now; most of the early post-modern stuff looks a bit absurd, models exaggerated to preposterous dimensions. The glassy examples look flabby, and the ones that incorporated Ironic Classical Quotations look like something a giant child made out of building blocks. Far be it from me to tell another city what they should preserve - especially if it's hated by two key groups, those who walk past it and those who have to go inside, but it was a groundbreaking idea. Can't find a public domain photo, so you'll just have to go here if you can't place it off the top of your head.

VIDEO OF THE DAY "Hey, Ron."

"Hey, Billy."

As they say: wait for it.