6 Extremely Rare National Animals
What’s Your All-Time Favorite Amazing Fact?
On Fridays, I post a series of unrelated questions meant to spark conversation in the comments. Answer one, answer all, respond to someone else’s reply, whatever you want. On to this week’s topics of discussion… 1. Besides the thing about John Tyler’s grandsons still being a[...]
John Tyler’s Grandson Discusses Still Being Alive
Kudos to New York Magazine‘s Dan Amira, who tracked down one of President John Tyler’s grandsons (not great-great-great-grandsons) to discuss the fact that he’s still living. Here’s a brief excerpt from Amira’s interview with Harrison Ruffin Tyler: It’s a really inter[...]
Why Do Drive-Up ATMs Have Braille on the Buttons?
This question was submitted by reader Lindsey. It also may have been part of a Starburst advertising campaign in the late-1990s. ATM image via Shutterstock So the visually impaired can use them, of course. People who are totally blind or severely visually impaired normally don’t drive, but th[...]
10 Other Organizations “Without Borders”
Most of us have heard of the international NGOs Doctors Without Borders and Engineers Without Borders, and you might know about Reporters Without Borders. But what about Monks Without Borders? Or Clowns? Here’s a list of borderless organizations you really should hear about. 1. Bikes Without [...]
11 Cabinet Cards Reimagined
Artist Alex Gross rejiggers and reconfigures cabinet cards from the late 19th and early 20th century, altering them to portray a contemporary comic book Super Hero. Cabinet cards were a commercial printed portrait standard back in the day. They were thin photographs mounted on cards measuring 4¼ [...]
Lectures for a New Year: What Motivates Us, Aside from Money
In this RSA Animate video, author and former Al Gore speechwriter Dan Pink discusses a series of studies about what motivates people — and more practically, what motivates workers. He takes apart the simplistic notion that monetary rewards result in better performance; such rewards do improve[...]
5 Questions: Public Enemy
This week’s theme covers musical acts that were popular in the 1980s. As usual, each question contains a word or phrase related to the theme (although the question itself will be unrelated). Today’s 5 Questions quiz: Public Enemy [...]
10 Secrets of the Vatican Exposed
Vatican City may have fewer than 1,000 citizens and span only 110 acres, but it also has a multimillion-dollar budget and an unbelievably complex history. Understanding how it all works requires parsing through centuries of religious texts. Is the Vatican confusing and mysterious? Is the Pope Cathol[...]
Starship Enterprise Coffee Table
This majestic coffee table is one that only a true Trekkie could appreciate because it’s modeled on the obscure Enterprise-C. Barry Shields (up!) built it to appear in forward motion and suspended in space. Link -via Technabob [...]
neatorama
Strangest fast food lawsuits?
Cracked has a post detailing the seven most bizarre fast food industry lawsuits. There’s quite a few hilarious ones that you probably never heard about. It’s amazing what people will sue over these days.
Strangest Sundae?
Ice cream sundaes come in all shapes and sizes, but how about this “ice cream” sundae? Apparently over in Nebraska some people prefer replacing the ice cream with a main entree! The final flavor does seem a bit intriguing. There’s another interesting meal at the end of the post over at the andiamnotlying blog.
