Good Reads

Before he was a noted author, Kurt Vonnegut was a POW in Nazi Germany. In this 1945 letter to his family, he relates the experiences that would become Slaughterhouse Five.

The Gospel of Judas rocked the biblical world a couple of years ago, but the story behind the discovery, translation, and interpretation is as riveting as what the text itself says.

Extreme microbes have moved in to clean up a pit of toxic waste even the EPA's Superfund can't deal with. These species may even have the power to cure cancer.

Top Ten Things Kids Stick Up Their Noses. (via Bits and Pieces)

Foaming soap costs more than regular liquid soap, but the real difference is the container. And the secret is that the foaming soap you pay more for is regular liquid soap that has been watered down!

What is Guerrilla Marketing? An overview with links to a highly informative eight-part series.

20 Deadliest Plants on the Planet.

Excavations at Ferry Farm in Virginia have turned up the foundation of George Washington's boyhood home. Half a million artifacts have been uncovered and are being studied for clues about Washington's early life.

AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE

I've followed Jacek through two blogs already, one when he was presenting himself as a New York party boy and another which chronicled his journey to an MBA. Now he has a new one called Next Up.

Carl Zimmer and his blog The Loom have left Scienceblogs and is now blogging at Discover Magazine. He still maintains his auxiliary blog, Carl Zimmer's Science Tattoo Emporium.