346 - with Links!

1. The Second Indo-China War "Do you know what Australia and New Zealand Did in 1971?" "Of course." "Withdrew." Do you think we'd pointlessly invade another country ever again?" "No, of course not." "Let's make out."

2. Dog Love I'm not sure if this is an actual product or some kind of joke website.

3. Tetrissy How to build a modular bookshelf patterned after Tetris.

4. Pistol Shrimp The snapping claw of a shrimp is used to propel high speed, high temperature bubbles that knock out its prey. I'm not sure how collapsing bubbles can reach such high temperatures, so any physicists reading this should explain that for me.

5. Pop In case you don't know how to use your new pop rivet gun, Emhart Technologies has produced a short Flash animation to demonstrate the process.

344 - Boats and Ships

1. Treasure Hunt It should be a happy time for investors in the publicly traded treasure seeking company, Odyssey Marine Exploration. Recently granted exclusive rights and permission to salvage payed off big when these adventures started pulling in what is expected to be the largest recovered shipwreck treasury in history, estimated to be worth somewhere around $500 million.

2. Dinner is Served A container ship load of provisions destined for Southern Chinese restaurants was found drifting off the coast of China. Where was the crew? Well, it is suspected thatthey abandoned ship to avoid being caught smuggling in their cargo of over 5000 rare and "critically endangered" animals that wealthy Chinese diners love noshing on despite the legal and environmental ramifications.

3. Ghost Ship Another drifting ship story. This one was a three man yacht found mysteriously with its passengers missing despite the fact that its engines were running, computers were active, and dinner was set on the table ready for eating.

4. Avast If I had to make a guess, I'd say those yachters were probably taken by real life, modern pirates. I suspect, they were killed and probably dumped overboard near whichever one of these pirate activity areas is closest to Australia.

5. You're the One I imagine you've heard this story before since the article is nearly 3 years old, but it is still pretty interesting. It's the story of how oceanographers have used rubber bath toys, which were washed off a cargo ship, to track and study wind patterns and ocean currents. See. I told you you heard it before.

321 - with Links!

1. Nothing My standard answer, when asked what I want for Christmas, is usually "nothing." And I'm not just trying to be polite, I'd normally rather not receive gifts. Thanks to the producers of this product, I won't really be able to say that anymore.

2. Mystery Hill A lot of towns seem to have these mysterious hills on which local legend claims your car will roll uphill. Usually, it is some phantom civil war soldiers or children killed on a railroad track that are said to push your car. This guy shows you the truth of why it appears that your car defies gravity.

3. Leave It To Tivo Modern freeze-frame technology reveals exactly what was contained in the letter Ward received about the Beaver's bad behavior in school.

4. Digital Delay I don't know shit about Imogen heap, but I know I love this Andrew Bird-esque performance using on the fly looping and absolutely no instruments.

5. Hee-Yah vs Yee-Hah I also wanted to tell you about John Schneider's original Dukes General Lee and how he sold it for $10 million.

304 - Advertising

1. Reality I'm sure everyone knows that restaurant advertisements don't do a very ethical job of depicting the reality of what is being advertised. A self proclaimed "Pulitzer-caliber project" puts the advertisers to the test with side by side comparisons. Surprisingly, the actual products from McDonald's look pretty similar to the ad photos, the KFC one is terrible. Anyone associated with it should be ashamed..

2. Speaking of Ads This collection of ads for novelty products from the back of vintage comic books could probably go on forever. They used to sell some really awesome stuff. One correction: Those Kryptonite Rocks weren't just painted green, they also glowed in the dark. I know, I had them.

3. Design If you are interested in graphic design; take a look at this series of short documentaries about some of the most promising independent designers working today. I'm especially partial to the work of Andy Mueller at Ohio Girl.

4. Serve and Protect Advising drivers to slow down via a roadside letterboard, and cheating the municipality out of revenue at the same time.

5. Classifieds Real ads from the classified section of the newspaper. It’s like a Jay Leno segment, only funny.

288 - with Links!

1. Tuppence a Day Take a look at this ridiculously cute video of a tiny, baby duck feeding the fish in a koi pond.

2. Melt Bavarian furniture designers, AF GmbH, have designed crazy disposable patio furniture made of vegetable matter. By subscribing to their furniture program you can just dissolve your old chairs when you get tired of them and then replace them with a new design.

3. Hepatitis How to build a tattoo gun out of an eclectic toothbrush, a mechanical pencil, and a guitar string. I HIGHLY recommend not using this device to give tattoos to yourself or others.

4. Eight Bit Many, many classic nintendo games can be played from the comfort of your web browser.

5. Jelly Head We all know there are a lot of creepy animals living in the depths of the ocean. Check out this human head shaped box jellyfish with two staring eyeballs.

277 - with Links!

1. Chatroom User: Dead The death of his father, the dissolution of his marriage, and a recent debilitating car accident all conspired to send Kevin Whitrick into a deep depression. Mr Whitrick decided to take his own life. However, he wasn't content to keep his death anonymous. Whitrick logged onto a popular internet chat room, plugged in his webcam and proceeded to hang himself live via streaming video. This is the fist incidence of "cyber-suicide" in the UK, although a young American performed a similar act in 2003. I'm not going to look for the video of Kevin Whitrick's suicide, but I'd imagine it is out there if you really want to see it.

2. Chicken McButane I once read that the Chicken McNugget contains absolutely no food value. I think that was an exaggeration. Obviously, there is at least some chicken in them, so that's food, right? However, this guy claims that the nugget is 56% corn. I think he is playing with the fact a bit because he includes "ingredients...that can be derived from corn" such as corn-fed chickenas well as the chicken broth that comes from the afore mentioned corn-fed chicken. He also reports one very interesting ingredient that I doubt you'd really want to be eating; butylhydroquinone, supposedly a form of butane. That's right, lighter fluid. Considering his assertation that chicken is derived from corn, it seems the author has a pre-existing bias against McDonalds. Maybe the butane issue shouldn't go unchallenged.

3. 11 Spring The building at Eleven Spring Street has been a sort of Mecca for street artists for decades. Although their work wasn't really sanctioned, no one ever bothered to remove the layers of graffiti that continued to appear on the building's walls. When the building was purchased by a property developer, the story could have come to an end. However, the developer, Caroline Cummings, recognized the significance of the building and decided to allow a huge street art display in the building prior to remodeling.. Dozens of artists from around the world traveled to New York to be a part of the exhibition.

4. Stormy Kromer After retiring from baseball, Stormy Kromer became a railroad engineer. The high winds whipping through the locomotive engine were constantly flinging the hats off of Stormy's head and then freezing his ears. On one particularly cold day, Stormy asked his wife to modify one of his old baseball caps to protect his ears and stay firmly in place. The modification was a huge success. In fact, it was so successful that Stormy began manufacturing hats for other engineers and for anyone else that need to stay warm though the long, cold winter. Over 100 years later the Stormy Kromer hat is still made according to the original design.

5. Watchmen I've wondered for a while now if it really necessary to make a movie out of Alan Moore's classic comic Watchmen. The project has jumped around from one filmmaker to another for years. Terry Gilliam (once attached as director) notably claimed that the comic was totally unfilmable. Others have suggested it would be best suited for a 12 part miniseries on HBO. After all these starts and stops it looks like Zack Snyder is actually going to get the movie made. After seeing Dawn of the Dead, which I loved, I still was doubtful. 300, on the other hand, made me feel a little more hopeful. It really seems like Snyder understands what makes the original comic great. Keep your fingers crossed.

250 - with Links!

1. The Fake Till Scam The Real Hustle really is my new favorite television show. By supposedly teaching viewers how to avoid being scammed, they are giving me a lot of good advice on how to scam people. There are tons of short clips on Youtube or you can scam BBC Three and download the entire first two seasons.

2. Financial Independence In 1989 a dude bought a painting at a flea market and found a copy of the original Declaration of Independence stashed in the back of the frame. Just a few months ago, another dude found another copy at a thrift store for $4. I can't even find pants in my size.

3. Hard Core Sitting Aaron Fotheringham rides his wheelchair skatepark-style, and eventually pulls off the world's first recorded wheelchair backflip.

4. Attention Wal-Mart Shoppers John Page was bit on the pinkie by a rattlesnake in the garden center of a Florida Wal-Mart and wants to warn shoppers, "this will happen again."

5. One Quarter John Shaeffer wants to show you how much energy you could conserve by switching from incandecent light bulbs to compact flourescent

243 - All Request

1. Secret Agent Man David Hasselhoff sings.

2. Mitchel Rose The short films of Mitchel Rose.

3. Plastic Logic Is this a hoax? I didn't see anything about it on any technology websites.

4. Handshake Unnatural Why is this a good t-shirt? I don't know. Don't ask me.

Walken in 2008 A textbook example of how to make money selling t-shirts on Cafepress.

236 - The Secret

1. We Can Have Whatever We Choose "The Secret" is a feature length documentary that uses a series of interviews and dramatizations to inform viewers about how to use positive thinking to change their lives for the better. It has been getting pretty popular lately, with proponents popping up all over the web to bring the "good word" to the rest of us.

2. What Kind of House Do You Want to Live in? Sure positive thinking might actually be able to impact your life. That seems like a pretty sound philosophical concept. However, this "Law of Attraction" business takes a few extra leaps and tries to claim that positive "thought frequencies" can physically alter the world around you. They say if you think about what you want long and hard enough it will magically come to you. Tell that to an amputee; see how long it takes for his legs to grow back.

3. Do You Want to Be A Millionaire? That amputee comment might not be totally fair. Although at least one of the presenters in "The Secret" makes references to healing cancer, the main focus of the film is how to use "The Law" to gain material possessions. The only people getting rich because of "The Secret" are the presenters of the film. And it isn't by using the principles they proclaim, it is by selling books and DVDs and by setting up a multi-level marketing network (more commonly known as a pyramid scheme.)

4. What Kind of A Business Do You Want to Have? To make matters worse, they suggest their concept is a legitimate scientific principle. Of course, there is electrical activity within the brain. I'd love to see the research that suggests that those impulses can be emitted as powerful, reality changing, positive frequencies. All of the presenters in the movie are motivational speakers, metaphysicians, "visionaries," and life coaches. My research suggests that none of them are actually scientists.

5. Do You Want More Success? In my opinion, what these vultures are doing is preying on people who are desperate for any possibility of improving their lives. They are telling them "Buy our books and buy our movie. That is the only way you'll ever learn how to make your lives better." Then they give them a very simple philosophical concept wrapped up in a bunch of pseudoscience, Divinci Code-esque mythology, and flashy video editing. Please do not fall for this marketing ploy. Instead, just listen to the words of Perry Como, Nat King Cole and Rosemary Clooney, then apply their positive message to your life.

235 - with Links!

1. You Found My What? In 1947, Joan Barnes had her coat and wallet stolen. 60 years later the wallet was returned. The money was long gone, however.

2. Robot Snow Eater The Japanese are at it again. They've invented an autonomous robot that eats snow off the roads and poops out ice cubes. Not only awesome, also very cute.

3. I Was Just Really Warm William N. Barret III pleads not guilty to accusations of stripping naked and masturbating in a ski lift gondola in Vermont. I'm betting that William N. Barret II is ashamed of his son.

4. Survival of the Fizziest A tribute to the extinct soft drinks from years of old.

5. Sleepy Sloth Another entry in what I hope to be a long video series of cute baby animals falling asleep.