John Oliver delivers a surprisingly tender eulogy for the dead Russian space geckos

Last week, Russia had some bad news for fans of the five geckos it had sent into space to, essentially, have zero-gravity sex for Russian scientists to watch. Nobody was a bigger fan of those geckos than John Oliver, and on Sunday night's Last Week Tonight, Oliver said goodbye to the little lizards. There are kind words, five candles, a couple of 40s, and a band — A Great Big World — singing a mournful ballad, with Oliver showing off a surprisingly good singing voice. It wasn't Joan Rivers' star-studded funeral, also on Sunday, but it's probably the best sendoff any lizards could hope for — and many humans, too. So, #GoodbyeGeckos. Do svidaniya. --Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.