University of Illinois System

Sacrificial Virgins, Still-Stinky Garbage Pit Discovered at Cahokia

us.penguingroup.com​There's an interesting article in Salon today about a new book called Cahokia: Ancient America's Great City on the Mississippi by an archaeologist named Timothy Pauketat.  Three guesses what it's about, and the last two don't count.According to Pauketat, Cahokia wasn't jus ... More >>

Please Pass the Placenta: Unreal deduces the reason placentas are clogging sewers in Illinois

Placenta for Lunch, Anyone? How About You There In Urbana?

Wikimedia CommonsIf you haven't already eaten lunch today, stop reading now. Seriously. Go eat, come back, then dive into something that's sure to make you lose your appetite.Unreal was browsing news of the weird yesterday when we stumbled upon this whopper of a headline: "Placentas Found In Sewage ... More >>

Clooney Chaos Continues: Scenes From a Mall

Yes, that is the parking lot of the Crestwood Court Mall as it appeared last Saturday afternoon. That's the same Crestwood Court Mall that is about to lose one of its two anchor stores and where enochlophobes can shop in peace, even on Black Friday. It took Unreal a whole ten minutes to find a parki ... More >>

St. Louis Eliminated from Final Four: 2012-2016

The NCAA announced this morning the cities that will host the Final Four from 2012 to 2016, and St. Louis isn't one of them. From the press release: The committee received bid proposals from 10 cities – Atlanta, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, New Orleans, North Texas, Phoenix/Glend ... More >>

University of Missouri biology professor Frederick vom Saal has been sounding the alarm about bisphenol A for a decade. Has he got your attention?

Buzzkill

See all those little suckers? Did you know that they're an invasive species and a linchpin of modern agriculture? That they're dying off by the million and no one's sure why?

Rebuilt to Suit

SLU won't say what it has in store for the Locust Business District.

Oblique Strain

When a blogger fingered him in the Jason Grimsley scandal, strength coach Chris Mihlfeld found himself in a world of pain.

One Swill Game

The long and tipsy road to the World Series of Beer Pong

Unreal Fouls Out of the Final Four

The beer-drinking, the game-watching, the east-side partying: We took it all in so you wouldn't have to

The Look of a Winner

A panel of experts handicaps the Final Four the old-fashioned way: According to the coaches' fashion sense

My Sweet Lore

Oh, those wacky Final Four campuses!

Schuss, Little Darling

Skiing in the dark

Going Gondo

Behold Galen Gondolfi's funky approach to urban renewal

All the Young Punks

The Lemp Neighborhood Arts Center relieves social constipation, one ear-splitting roar at a time

Something Old, Something New

Shakespeare sings, but The Left Hand doesn't

Offside!

The Public High League once dominated the local gridiron scene, and suburban districts were perennial doormats. Now it's the other way around. Ever wonder why?

Meet the Anarchists

The brouhaha surrounding this year's World Agricultural Forum said a lot about St. Louis. And a lot of what it said wasn't very good.

Buried Tools, Forgotten Gods

Nine centuries ago, Mississippian villagers cached 70 celts underground. Was it a ceremonial offering, or did they just forget?

Bringing Home The Bacon

St. Louis 2004 has spent millions in the name of civic revival, but most of the money has gone to fatten its staff. Too bad they haven't delivered much more than buzz.

Forward Past

New art inspired by old times

Eric Dolphy

The Illinois Concert (Blue Note)

IT'S THE SHOES, IT MUST BE THE SHOES

In college athletics, the kids live under the rules and the coaches and shoe companies rule

REGARDING HENRY

A celebration of bluesman Henry Townsend on the occasion of his 90th birthday

Feature

Lights Out

Despite the efforts of rehabber Patrick Schneider, the notion of a Gaslight Square revival seems to be running short on both time and money

News of the Weird

Net Return