Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
information Link
Bookmark the site We Choose the Moon to follow the Apollo 11 mission to the moon in real time 40 years after it happened. The launch will be Thursday morning, and you can follow with NASA feeds, newscasts, and even Twitter updates.Bill Moyers interviews ex-Cigna executive Wendell Potter about how insurance companies are fighting health care reform.
The New York Times looks at the history of human-whale interaction, from whale hunting to the modern effects of sonar on the cetaceans. But in the lagoons of Baja California where gray whales give birth, mother whales seek out human contact, as if wanting to make friends. (via Metafilter)
Vanity Fair takes an in-depth look at pearls, the only precious gem that is manufactured by living beings. They've been prized for thousands of years, but may be in trouble in the present.
New technologies can tie your brain into computers, vehicles, and prosthetics. Will that lead to hackers being able to get into your brain?
How the turtle got its shell. It basically grew its ribs outside the body -and that's only the beginning of the weirdness of turtle anatomy.
Self-help through Negative Thinking. It turns out that trying to get people to think more positively can actually have the opposite effect: it can simply highlight how unhappy they are.
One out of every five U.S. soldiers comes back from Iraq and Afghanistan with mild traumatic brain injury. These invisible injuries can cause varied symptoms which make a soldier a different person.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Fun Links
Take the plot and the character development out of the movie 2012, and what you've got left is "disaster porn".The 15 Creepiest Vintage Ads Of All Time. Believe me, these were creepy even when they were new. (via Boing Boing)
16 Embarrassing Marriage Proposals. Don't plan a videotaped public spectacle to pop the question unless you're fairly sure she'll accept.
A flashmob in Stockholm performs a Michael Jackson Tribute. The effect of starting out small and spreading works rather well here.
If you live in Shanghai, and you're looking for a cat... Tagged with adorable. (via b3ta)
Trying to ask for help on the Sesame Street forums.
Marrying other species... what will it lead to?
Why Women Have Breasts: So we can make double entendres and puns.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
Thursday, July 09, 2009
7 “Flying” Animals (besides bugs, birds, and bats)
The only animals that can truly fly are birds, insects, and one type of mammal, which is of course the bat. Other animals manage to travel through the air by gliding from great heights, or leaping from the depths. See seven of these in this article I wrote for mental_floss.
Good Reads and Information
Solving Food Mysteries. Find out how they get the olives in olive loaf, how popcorn pops, and what Jello is really made of. (via Amy's Everyday Adventures)What the 1965 Medicare debate can teach us about health care reform.
Does stress trigger your chocolate habit? Probably, unless you prefer orange juice, or if you are a hungry college student, just about any kind of treat.
Flags of Forgotten Countries. These come with a mini history lesson about both heraldry and why nations disappear.
14 Basic Skills All Men Should Possess. I am assuming they mean "men" as in mankind, since these are skill all women should have as well.
The story of prisoner F95488. A rising soccer star is convicted of rape, while DNA evidence points to another man. A white man.
If you recall the mental_floss post on Animal Prosthetics, National Geographic has updates on several of those animals and others who have received prosthetic limbs and other body parts.
Think the Leaning Tower of Pisa is impressive? It’s not the only leaning building out there, and according to the venerable Guinness Book, it’s not even the leaning-est. These are.
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Fun Links
Eternal Moonwalk: A tribute to Michael Jackson. I'm embarrassed to admit that I watched this for a long, long time. (via Metafilter)Bubblicious, a really cool stop-motion video. It also contains a bit of insight into how these things are done.
Rigging a couch with an airbag is a pretty cool prank, as long as you're not the one surprised by it. Audio NSFW.
The Top 25 Most Powerful Little People. They pack a lot of fame into a small space.
The 7 Worst Underoos Your Mother Ever Bought. (via Unique Daily)
The worst landlord ever. This blog is only two pages long, so you'll want to read the whole thing. Trust me.
What do you do when an airline breaks your guitar and hasn't resolved the matter a year later? Write a song about it, of course!
Saving Private Remi. French prankster Remi Gaillard stages his own D-Day beach landing ...and is barely noticed.
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