For those at the office today, tomorrow, or Friday, there’s sure to be a lot of down time… yAwn.

Here’s a fantastic way to kill some… especially if you were a Pac-Man freak like I was growing up. It’s called Pac-Mondrian and features both familiar sound bites from the original and a fun boogie-woogie score by legendary jazz pianist, Pete Johnson.

Make sure you have your volume turned up!

At first when I read the headlines on edible cotton, I was dreaming of bale-fuls of cotton candy, but apparently, the breakthrough isn’t that advanced. Instead, the edible here actually refers to the cotton seeds, which are normally high in protein (more than 30%), but also toxic to human systems. Amazingly, scientists at Texas A&M have managed to use a new gene-silencing technique to eliminate the toxins. Currently, for every pound of cotton fiber reaped, farmers end up with 1.6 pounds of seeds; and until now those seeds have just been scattered to cows. The value here is that farmers in poor countries will now be able to utilize that protein-rich food, whether it’s for their own sustenance or for additional funds. Read more at the Tech Review.

According to G4’s TheFeed, Taco Bell is joining the frenzy for the new PlayStation3, and offering $12,500 worth of tacos, gorditas, or whatever else on their menu to the first person willing to trade his or her game console with the franchise. While the “lucky” gamer will walk away with a life time supply of pseudo-Mexican fast food, the chain plans to donate the video game system to a local Boys and Girls Club. For more information on how to earn the Taco Bell Bucks, follow the link below (note: Taco Bell fanatics will have to act fast. The offer expires December 1, 2006). Click here to read more.

The first time I glanced at this, I wondered if my eyes doth deceive me. This insect-y looking rocking chair is easily one of the most strangest pieces of furniture I’ve ever seen, but definitely super creative as well. If you’re struggling for things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, you can always be grateful that you’re not the floor under one of these. Link via Boingboing.

According to aeronautical pioneer (and Wright Brothers’ arch-nemesis) Glenn Hammond Curtiss

Do Get Into Bicycle Repair
It’s easy to forget, but biking was a high-tech, geeky hobby around the turn of the 20th century. Chains, gears, and rotors formed the backbone of brand new field of motor engine development and adaptations in lighter, more aerodynamic bike construction gave a boost to would-be flyboys. In fact, you might say that bike repair was to airplane invention what hacking would one day be to the creation of the home computer. In that train of thought, the Bill Gates of biking was definitely New Yorker Glenn Hammond Curtiss. A champion cyclist and self-taught mechanic, Curtiss spent the first few years of the 20th century designing the world’s best racing bikes and light, powerful motorcycle engines. Then he went into the airplane business and ended up the most praised and simultaneously reviled figure in the history of flight. He also ended up filthy rich.
Don’t Be Afraid to Be the Bad Guy
Curtiss moustache-twirling reputation began in 1906 with a fateful (some might say, mercenary) visit to the Wright Brothers’ Dayton, Ohio workshop. Technically, Curtiss was just in Dayton for the state fair where he was helping a friend demonstrate some dirigibles. But after the Wrights helped corral a particularly feisty airship, the three bonded over their mutual interest in flying machines and headed back to the Wright’s place for a guided tour. Although they’d flown at Kitty Hawk three years previous, the Wrights were still knee-deep in the patent process and wouldn’t show off their plane. However, they did discuss the flier’s mechanics in enough detail that when Curtiss suddenly became an airplane entrepreneur a year later, the Wrights sued him.

Do Justify Bad Behavior with Good Technology
A lot of historical accounts begin and end with Curtiss’ bad boy side. But, here at mental_floss, we are objective and, thus, willing to point out that, whether or not he stole his original ideas from the Wrights, Curtiss was hands-down the better innovator. Case in point: First flight. The Wrights’ 1903 jaunt at Kitty Hawk was a success, as we all know. But just barely. Only a couple feet off the ground, the Wrights managed cover only a few hundred feet in distance and couldn’t stay airborne longer than a minute before crash-landing. In comparison, Curtiss made the first public flight in U.S. history in 1908, behind the controls of his “June Bug” plane. He flew for over a mile and won the Scientific American Trophy. The next year, he went up against the Wrights at the first international aviation exposition in France. They brought three different planes and were expected to dominate the event. But Curtiss’ one plane ended up besting them in every category. He went on to start the first airplane manufacturing company, design the first hydroplane, and make the first plane capable of taking off and landing on a ship.

Don’t Let Old Feuds Stand in the Way of Future Profits
Shortly after his public success with the June Bug, Curtiss got a letter from the Wrights “reminding” him that if he were going to commercially manufacture airplanes, he’d need to pay them a cut. Curtiss apparently filed the letter in the waste bin, thus touching off nine years of increasingly hostile litigation. Curtiss’ legal battles with the Wright Company even outlasted the Wrights themselves; after Wilbur’s early death, Orville Wright sold his share of their company in 1915. The Curtiss/Wright conflict wasn’t resolved until 1917, when the U.S. government simplified their World War I manufacturing by pooling all aircraft patents into one, thus nullifying the Wright Company’s claims for restitution. With this forced peace, Curtiss and the Wright Company joined forces. Today, Curtiss-Wright still designs engines and components for aircraft and spacecraft.

The following story has dolphins, music, and a superhero. There is absolutely nothing I can add that would make it any more sublime:

It turns out that dolphins have the capacity to sing sweet melodies. To demonstrate this, researchers taught a dolphin to sing the greatest musical composition of our age: the theme from “Batman.” They trained an adult male bottlenose dolphin from Disney’s Epcot Center, first rewarding him when he produced the correct rhythm, then when he vocalized the rhythm, and finally when he also produced the correct pitch. Best of all, the dolphin sang on cue whenever he saw a Batman doll. Scientists say that the dolphins probably don’t realize they’re singing music, per se, but this ability may indicate that rhythm is an important aspect of dolphin communication. Still, since this was a year ago, I fully expect that the dolphin is now singing the Queen of the Night aria from The Magic Flute. Or at least a little Sinatra.

from SEED’s I Can’t Believe It’s Science

In astonishing footage for the BBC’s Planet Earth series, the 12ft shark is seen swallowing its victim in virtually a single gulp. Such is the impact as it blasts through the surface from the deep that both hunter and prey fly six feet clear of the water.

I was so, so excited when I got my first apartment with a dishwasher. But now I feel a little outdone:

Architect and design guru Zaha Hadid continues her non-stop ruling of all things craftable. This time, Hadid was commissioned by DuPont and Ernestomeda to design a futuristic kitchen for the Milan Furniture Fair. … The Z. Island has two areas labeled “Fire” for cooking and “Water” for the washing area. Also incorporated is a special heating membrane, interactive technology features such as touch control panels, sound activators and scent dispensers, LED lighting and a multimedia entertainment system complete with an iPod and flat screen. All of these features are adjustable elements that allow for the user to create the perfect cooking/dining environment.

For more futuristic kitchen gewgaws, check out our current issue.

We’ve always thought that friend-of- mental-floss John Green has the best taste in music. Not only does his ringtone sound like the Super Mario theme, he has the best. cover. of “Baby Got Back.” ever. on my his MySpace page.

Yeah, we’re almost 30.

Anyway, the guy who sings that oh-so-wonderful reworked tribute to the gluteus maximus popped up on another friend-of-mental-floss website, bunnyshop, the other day. So we feel we can no longer ignore him. Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Jonathan Coulton.

As bunnyshop notes, his “Ikea” is fantastic:

Long ago in days of yore
It all began with a god named Thor
There were Vikings and boats
And some plans for a furniture store
It’s not a bodega, it’s not a mall
And they sell things for apartments smaller than mine
As if there were apartments smaller than mine

His ode to that other purely American, entirely dubious shopping experience known as SkyMall is also excellent (”It’s a whimsical statue of a bear that holds a bottle of wine / But please don’t touch it, it’s mine”). But really if it’s the only thing you listen to today, check out his “Back.” Someone please give this man a big juicy contract!

Forbes.com has put together a list of America’s Drunkest Cities. Some interesting facts from the list:

• The top 5:
  1) Milwaukee, WI
  2) Minneapolis, MN
  3) Columbus, OH
  4) Boston, MA
  5) Austin, TX
• The rankings were based on a combination of 5 factors: state laws, number of drinkers, number heavy drinkers, number of binge drinkers and alcoholics.
• Many cities that you’d think would rank highly were surprisingly low on the list: Las Vegas at 14, New Orleans at 24 and Miami at 33.
• 22% of Milwaukeeans admitted to binge drinking (5 or more drinks on one occasion) in the last 30 days – the highest on the list.
• The rankings can actually be a bit skewed by what the article described as “grandmas who imbibe a glass of wine every night to keep their heart healthy.”