Every #FollowFriday, we make a case for one Twitter account we really think you should be following. This week, we think the Sarcastic Rover—the Scare-tasticRover as he’s calling himself for Halloween—will bring a lot of joy and sciencey type things into your life. His running commentary on the Mars expedition will forever live on in our hearts as the real personality of the Mars Curiosity Rover.
Who he is:
The Sarcastic Rover is a parody Twitter account of NASA’s actual @MarsCuriosity account that expands the audience of the scientific findings from the real Rover account and adds some humor along the way. It was created by Jason Filiatrault, who is a screenwriter and self described amateur Yahtzee player.
The man behind the Rover says of himself:
An award-winning writer and social-media hack, Jason Filiatrault has worked for television comedy, feature films, movies of the week, sketches, short films, and web series… he basically just writes things and then, very rarely, someone films them.
You should also check out his website detailing the journey of the Sarcastic Rover and his personal Twitter page, which brings you even more sarcasm.
Why you should follow:
We’re big fans of anyone who tries to make science more fun, as that’s one of the things we try to do around here, and the Sarcastic Rover is a total pro. He also brings an adorable and endearing personality to a robot that would otherwise only be a vessel for science experiments, which just plain makes reality a bit more fun.
The Sarcastic Rover also encouraged followers to “do a science” while NASA was off-duty due to the government shutdown. He then started the #shutdownscienceclub to get people to do science while NASA couldn’t. Anyone that steps in and promotes science while NASA is out of commission is great in our book. Plus, “do a science” is now one of our favorite phrases, because we really love science and silly things—especially together.
Great Tweets:
Here’s today’s gem, wherein the Rover realizes he’s being watched:
Just found out NASA has been intercepting all my transmissions back home and spying on my science. DAMN YOU MODERN WORLD!
— Scare-tasticRover (@SarcasticRover) October 25, 2013
He’s even got Halloween costume ideas for you:
Halloween Costume Idea: “SEXY DOPPLER EFFECT” – wave at a friend, change the frequency of your wave while running past them, you’re a nerd.
— Scare-tasticRover (@SarcasticRover) October 24, 2013
At least he’s honest about robots’ intentions for humanity:
If a robot comes to your house on Halloween, don’t give it candy. Instead, you should just give it the future leader of the human resistance
— Scare-tasticRover (@SarcasticRover) October 23, 2013
He taunts us about alien life and graphic design:
Just found a rock with ALIEN WORDS ENGRAVED ON IT!!! …but the font is papyrus, so still no signs of intelligent life.
— Scare-tasticRover (@SarcasticRover) October 16, 2013
And here’s his classic NASA shutdown tweet:
This week I’m starting the #shutdownscienceclub. So do a science, take a pic, and share it! More info here: http://t.co/MubAkLEGNh
— Scare-tasticRover (@SarcasticRover) October 6, 2013
(via @SarcasticRover on Twitter)
- Last week we recommended @CaraSantaMaria, because she’s great
- You can also get some parody, insightful critique, and lots of capslock from @FilmCritHULK
- We also think you should follow @a_single_bear. Yep. A bear
