Grab bag of linkiness, mostly

[magid]

(now, if I'd found some interesting stuff about a toy that walks down stairs, it could be a grab bag of slinkiness....)

Interesting reading: a news article on smile research

Not sure whether I think of this as 'travel writing' or 'humor', but either way, a yummy, funny article that makes me want to go there: Argentina on two steaks a day.

Top wheelchair tennis champ Vergeer chose to have nude photos included in ESPN magazine with those of other athletes.

According to Wikipedia, the history of the hobbit, which is the unit of measurement, of course.

Some totally tasteless, yet strangely compelling, T-shirts (warning: rude, insensitive, possibly offensive, especially for people sensitive to WWII things)

Silly product of the day: pizza π cutter
Also, very cool kitcheware that immediately had me thinking about how I'd use it.

This cute representation of Boston's snow aggregation would be a much stronger graphic representation if

1. "Snowfall this year" were changed to be "Snowfall this season so far" or "Snowfall 2010–2011 so far".
   
2. The data for 2010–2011 and for 1995–996 included the month data as in the average season total (and I'd think it would be much more finadable, really, since the average is, by definition, changeable as more data is collected, but the month totals are what they are, immutable (rather like some of the current snow mountains in the corners of parking lots)).

---

"A butterfly flew in a garden for 12 minutes. It touched down on 12 plants. If it stayed on each plant for the same amount of time, how long did it stay on each plant?"

As written, this is indeterminate (well, some value between 0 and 60 seconds, presumably). However, the writers did not let this stop them. They divided 12 by 12, and said that the butterfly was on each plant for 1 minute.

Which of course means that the butterfly didn't fly at all, but teleported.

In a world with teleporting insects, so much is possible....

Comments

[530nm330hz.livejournal.com]

If a lepidopterist studied me,
I'd sip, teleport when I'm thirsty.

[magid.livejournal.com]

Ooh, nice!

[teddywolf.livejournal.com]

Wow, the writers invented teleportation for butterflies. That's, like, freaky man.

[cnoocy]

Butterflies don't teleport, they just go back in time and alter the universe slightly so they get there sooner.

[magid.livejournal.com]

*like*

(*ponders how much butterfly sf has been written*)

[alandd.livejournal.com]

... and people are concerned about the quality of the STUDENTS we're letting out of our schools?

[magid.livejournal.com]

Hey, no worries, I have wielded my mighty editorial pen, bringing us safely back to the non-teleporting butterfly universe.

[alandd.livejournal.com]

*phew* Not that there's anything wrong with a teleporting butterfly. I'd LOVE to be able to teleport... Access (technology) OR ability (mutation)! ;-)

[coorr.livejournal.com]

Where were these when I was a kid?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tLBDkpM870

[magid.livejournal.com]

Well, they hadn't evolved into those primary colors yet when we were kids!

(And while I bet I'd have tons of fun were I the right size, something about cute just-older-than-toddlers playing while the voice was saying to "Exterminate!" was just a touch creepy....)