Good Reads and Info

A tribute to the Apple Founder on his retirement: The Top Steve Jobs Keynote Moments.

You know how microwave ovens heat or defrost your food unevenly? Lenore at Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories accidentally uncovered the pattern her microwave uses when she heated some Indian snack crackers.

As a 6-year-old, Ruby Bridges pioneered school desegregation in 1960. This year, she visited the White House to see the Norman Rockwell painting of her historic walk to first grade. (via Metafilter)

People can’t even agree on what it means to be dead. Subjects in a study ascribe more mental power to a dead person than to someone in an irreversible vegetative state.

Robonaut 2 has been taken out of its suitcase and started a testing phase at the International Space Station. If all goes well, the space robot should be put to work in a couple of weeks.

Trivia from our 49th State. Just in case you don’t already know, that’s Alaska.

It's nice to hear that your work has influence. If someone has inspired you, you should let them know.

In 1959, nine people who went on a camping/skiing expedition to a Russian mountain were found dead with mysterious wounds, and the tongue of one woman was missing. Fifty years later, we still don’t know what happened.

The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya is the world’s most successful orphan-elephant rescue and rehabilitation center. Young elephants who’ve lost parents to poachers are sheltered until they are able to fend for themselves in the wild.

TRUE CRIME: The Incompetent Kidnapping of Frank Sinatra, Jr. The perpetrators even had to borrow gas money from their victim!

The Mystique Of Online Viral Imagery. A panel of internet people discuss what makes a meme, and what makes a meme popular.

Who knew? Muammar Gadhafi has a thing for Condoleeza Rice.

The Awl dissects the editing process of one Wikipedia entry: Lolita. The over 2,000 edits give us a glimpse into the collaboration of Wikipedia editors.

Retro Back-To-School Swag We Still Want. Those of us who don’t have to go back to school always get nostalgic this time of year, particularly when confronted with neat school gear.