Jason, Stephanie, Ethan and I put out a daily newsletter called Watercooler Ammo. This weekend we’ll be sharing a few recent editions. If you’d like this kind of thing delivered to your inbox each morning, subscribe here!

Check out these design proposals for some of Washington D.C.’s most famous landmarks. From a giant chicken weather vane meant to adorn the federal building, to putting a George Washington statue on top of the monument, to a pyramid-style Lincoln Memorial, the designs and blueprints are all a part of the National Building Museum’s incredible exhibition Unbuilt Washington.

Poking around the collection is pretty fun (try here). And while some of the images are just plain wacky, it’s intriguing to think about how different the city might have looked had a few of these changes been implemented-especially if city planners had run with Leon Krier’s notion of flooding the Mall and then creating Venice-style canals between the buildings.

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Jason, Stephanie, Ethan and I put out a daily newsletter called Watercooler Ammo. This weekend we’ll be sharing a few recent editions. If you’d like this kind of thing delivered to your inbox each morning, subscribe here!

I’ve been talking up celery flavored Jell-O for years. To be clear: I’ve never actually tried it; I just like the fact that it once existed. But this collection of ads from The Society Pages — one of my favorite blogs — shows just how versatile the jiggly food can be.

According to the photos, Jell-O once came in Seasoned Tomato and also Mixed Vegetable flavors, which could be used as a base for all sorts of wobbly salads. Simply throw some tuna, hard-boiled eggs, tomato, olives, onions, green peppers and Italian dressing into the Jell-O of your choice, and you could seriously confuse your kids. And their digestive tracts.

I’m curious why Jell-O tried to dominate every block of the food pyramid. I’m also curious how well the recipes were received at the time. Of course, salads are only the second weirdest thing you can do with Jell-O. The first is probably Jell-O taxidermy:

See more great Jell-O ads at The Society Pages.

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One of the facts that we hear repeated with some frequency is that trumpeter Louis Armstrong got his first Christmas tree at age 40, and he loved it so much that he took it on tour with him for a month. While it’s a great bit of trivia, I was curious enough to double-check it. Turns out, the story’s even better the way his wife tells it:

“We finally went to bed. And Louis was still laying up in the bed watching the tree, his eyes just like a baby’s eyes would watch something… So finally I said, “Well, I’ll turn the lights out now on the tree.” He said, “No, don’t turn them out. I have to just keep looking at it. You know, that’s the first tree I ever had.”

Well, I hadn’t realized that you know. Louis was 40 years old and it seems to me that in 40 years a person would have at least one tree. I was all swollen up inside when he told me that. We were to leave the next day for Kansas City. I figured Christmas is over; today’s the 26th nowl I’ll leave the tree. Louis said, “No, don’t leave the tree; take the tree with you.” And he had me take the tree on those one-nighters. Before I even unpacked a bag I had to set that tree up, his Christmas tree….

I kept that first little tree until way after New Year’s, putting it up every night and taking it down every morning, in a dozen hotels. And then when I did take it down for the last time, Louis wanted me to mail it home. It was a real tree, not an artificial one, and I had to convince him– I really had to convince him– that the tree would dry up.

From James Lincoln Collier’s Louis Armstrong: An American Genius, available here at Amazon.

To me, these stories aren’t just a reminder of how much heartbreak occurred on that horrific day, but they’re also a wonderful reminder to appreciate all you have. See if you agree.

More after the break.

PS: I saw that Miss C linked to these stories in the am, but hope you guys don’t mind the repost.

This year marks our 10th anniversary. To celebrate, Will and I are loading up the RV and taking the mental_floss Trivia Show on the road. We had a great time in Indianapolis last night, and on September 8th, we’re coming to Memphis!

Will there be party hats or a coloring contest with a ridiculously important prize? Maybe.

There will also be pizza.

We’d love to meet you so reserve your free tickets now. While you’re at it you can pick out a free mental_floss t-shirt. See you in Memphis!

If you didn’t manage to snag a ticket, but you still want to come see us, Jason, Will and I will all be at the Chicago Toy Fair tomorrow debuting our new game Split Decision. Come on out and play a round! (We’ll be the ones with the giant wheel, and the 80 boxes of Split Decision at our feet).

The Same Mold Story

If you’re sick of people stealing your lunch from the company fridge, these innovative Anti-Theft Lunch Bags should do the trick. The bags are stained with green splotches to look like the food inside is moldy. If you want to get your hands on some bags, you’ll have to move fast. At $8 for 25 bags, who knew fake mold was such a growth industry?

Link via my new favorite food blog Foodiggity.

Wheel Power

I’d never heard of wheelchair motorcycles, but I think this concept from Mobility Conquest is pretty wonderful. I especially love how the back of the cycle converts into a ramp at the back.

Link via OhGizmo.

Catalog Living

Our own Miss C turned me onto the wonderfully hilarious site Catalog Living– a site of standard catalog photos furnished with some pretty great captions (see below).


Elaine was not amused by Gary’s passive-aggressive response to her request to “garnish the cocktails.”

Click here to see more from the site.

All the President’s Ratings

The Wall Street Journal’s taken all of the Gallup Approval Rating polls and plotted them in one fun graph. If you’re anything like me, you’ll be racking your brain trying to figure out the historical events that correlate with each up and down.

Click here to see the graphs in greater detail.

The Best Nutmeg I’ve Ever Seen

I know, I know. Most of you are sick of soccer, but I couldn’t help but throw this in here. I couldn’t tell what was happening until the video slowed it down, but this move by the Spanish player Mata is incredible. Of course, my favorite part of the video is the post-nutmeg celebration. This is just a pre-game, warm-up exercise, and the team’s jumping up and down like they just scored a goal. Also great is the way one player consoles the guy who just got megged.

Wrapper’s Delight

If you’re wondering what gourmet food to pair with your Pizza Beer this holiday weekend, I think Turtle Burgers (cheese + burger + hot dogs all wrapped in bacon) make a lot of sense.

You can see the full instructions here.

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The water tight  car could apparently be detached to function as a little boat. According to the clip, future side cars were supposed to be fitted with rudders. Does anyone know what company made these? Or how easy they were to detach? (Seems a little scary, if they could come off with ease). In any case, it seems like a pretty fun idea. Link via the always wonderful Boingboing.

While I’ve blogged about StoryCorps (and my total admiration for the project) several times before, I’ve been hesitant to post this video because my wife is one of its producers. (She’s also one of the editors on their new bestseller Mom: A Celebration of Mothers from StoryCorps being promoted at the end.) But as an animation fan, this is one of the most beautiful pieces I’ve seen in a while. The Rauch brothers have done a gorgeous job using audio from a real-life StoryCorps interview between a mother and her son (who has Asperger’s), and the results are somehow so funny and sweet and moving. Give it a look and see if you agree…

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(PS: Just as a nepotism disclosure: If you’re a relative, and want your stuff promoted on mental_floss, it has to be at least this good for me to put it up here!)