In the past week, the discoveries of two very different and amazing underground temples were in the news. But they are not the only ones.

1. The Lupercale

Just last week, the first pictures of a recently-discovered underground grotto in Rome were released. The chamber is 26 feet high and 24 feet in diameter. The discovery was made about a year ago as workers were repairing the remains of Emperor Augustus’ palace on the Palatine, a hill in Rome. Archaeologists believe it is the original Lupercale, the site where legend says the founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus, were nursed by a wolf after having been abandoned by their parents, the war god Mars and mortal priestess Rhea Silvia. The chamber is partly filled with debris, but the ceiling mosaic gives a glimpse of the majesty the temple had when it was in use 2,000 years ago.

2. The Temples of Damanhur

In 1978, Oberto Airaudi and a few friends began excavating the ground under the alpine hill in Italy on whch they lived. They dug for 16 years in secret, as they had no permit for the project. When authorities demanded to see the dig in 1992, they were astonished to find nine ornately-decorated chambers, with a total volume approaching 300,000 cubic feet! Although the Italian government seized the temples for a time and was going to destroy them, a retroactive permit was eventually issued. Airaudi (who prefers the name Falco) and his colleagues continue building the underground temples to this day, with plans for bigger and better underground chambers to come.

More on the Damanhur and other temples, after the jump.
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From Paul Byrd and Rick Ankiel to the upcoming Mitchell Report, accusations of HGH are flying around baseball. But Human Growth Hormone use is also on the rise outside of sports; plenty of people looking to get bigger are injecting themselves. So, let’s say you want to bulk up, get taller, increase your focus or just feel younger. You’ve bought some HGH on the Internet or from a pharmacy (hint: stay away from BALCO). But, could it be fake? Here are some signs your HGH might be phony.

Your joints don’t hurt

With all those new hormones being injected, you can’t expect your body to just sit idly by. Among the side effects of HGH are joint pain, fluid retention and nerve pinching. There can also be unusual bone growth, potentially in the face. It’s been linked to cancer, both in mice and humans, but a definitive tie hasn’t been established.

You’re not using a needle

Lots of sites, like this one, say they have HGH in oral or nasal form, either through a spray, tongue drop or pill. Trouble is, they’re all bogus. There’s no evidence that HGH can be received through any receptor not in the bloodstream. Not only that, the fragile molecules will break apart if diluted in a spray or pill. Some testify that using the spray makes them elated and more energetic, but that’s something else talking, not the HGH.

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It’s time for another whimsical Tuesday Turnip search wherein I type a random phrase and we see what kind of interesting factoids “turn-up.”

For all you would-be dentists/dental hygienists out there, today I typed in “Four out of five dentists” unearthing the following curious tidbits:

Pfizer, maker of LISTERINE, sues Proctor & Gamble over claim that four out of five dentists would recommend CREST mouthwash, in the Southern District of NY.

Four Out of Five Dentists Say More Men Suffer From Bad Breath Than Women

Four out of five dentists recommend the ADA for their peers who join organizations. The American Dental Association is the oldest and largest dental association in the world representing more than 155,000 dentists or seven out of 10 (nearly four out of five).

4 OUT OF 5 TEXAS DENTISTS ADVOCATE THE DEATH PENALTY (heh heh)

September 15, 2005  Henry Kornhauser, an adman for 50 years and originator of the claim “Four out of five dentists recommend Trident,” died yesterday after a 10-month struggle with the progressive neurological disease myasthenia gravis. He was 73.

Four out of five dentists do not have sufficient savings and investments to “retire comfortably.” One in three dentists will fail to sell one of their most valuable assets – their practice.

The top 10 IT disasters of all time. Yes, I would agree that almost starting World War III deserves the top spot.

20 gadgets you want Santa to bring this year. I don’t know, is a Segway any less nerdy if it’s designed by Ferrari?

A gallery of radioactive products. Most have links to more information, and you can vote for your favorites.

Find out how gas prices are determined. And you thought they pulled a number out of a hat!

Fatter is dumber? Or, why you shouldn’t eat too much “brain food” before an important test.

A friend of mine is studying in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and she recently participated in Loi Kratong, an all-out lantern lighting festival that falls on the full moon of the 12th lunar month (usually November) in which one places some money, a strand of one’s hair and a fingernail clipping on a handmade raft (i.e. kratong) to expiate bad luck and incur some good. The kratong is then set afloat in the river with thousands of others, while paper lanterns and fireworks take over the sky.

That got me thinking about rituals, ceremonies, and superstitions involving the application or appropriation of one’s DNA…For instance:

• Superstitions in many Eastern cultures warn against clipping one’s nails at night
• Many spells (of a contested variety) are purportedly enhanced by affixing the hair or fingernail clippings of the spell’s subject into the candle; voodoo dolls are similarly manufactured.
• On the Cook Islands, firstborn sons undergo a “hair cutting ceremony” in which up to 400 friends and relatives attend, each receiving a strand of the boy’s hair; the ceremony is a demonstration that the son is not afraid of giving his mana/power over to others, as perpetually long-haired ancestors believed
• During a Danpatsu Ceremony, a retiring rikishi (i.e. sumo wrestler) will have strands of his chonmage cut by paying fans (chonmages were originally worn for pure function: to keep the samurai helmet in place; finally, a Sumo elder called an okakata will snip the remaining topknot.

And of course there are those who’ll analyze your fingernails or hair (or, my favorite, your irises!) for nutritional deficiencies

Wow. I really hope these skinny house pics don’t give my (normal size) apartment a complex. Some astounding photos of what you can do with limited width at the weburbanist. Link thanks to Winslow Cyrus Taft, III.

The idea for Strictly No Photography is so mischievous that I simply had to post about it. The website, which I assume will be shut down in the near future, is basically a photo sharing site for photos of things that aren’t supposed to be photographed. It’s mainly bad pictures of good art, but if you poke around a little, it’s plenty fun. Check it out while you can. Link via the always entertaining ettf.

This week: How to build your own TiVo (or, How to never miss an important football game ever again.)

Building your own TiVo—or FreeVo, as some call it—is more than a dream. It’s more than a trend. It’s the new cool way to stick it to The (TiVo) Man while impressing your friends.

Make and Wired have published detailed how-tos. There are also several online communities like The Green Button that will help guide you through the tricky parts.

For the technology dunces of the world—myself included—I had several friends break down the jargon into simple steps we can all understand.

Your mission: To build your own digital video recorder from mail-order parts.

The payoff: An integrated entertainment system that records TV programs with no monthly fees. You can also build in various wrinkles so that it will record high-def programs and edit out commercials automatically.

Keep reading for your marching orders…
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Think the Leaning Tower of Pisa is impressive? It’s not the only leaning building out there, and according to the venerable Guinness Book, it’s not even the leaning-est.

The Leaning Pub of Himley

Dubbed “the Leaning Tower of Pilsner” by regulars, this British pub was built on unstable coal mining land. “Severe subsidence over time caused a 15 degree shift from the left wall to the right. Faced with the choice of repairing the damage or abandoning the structure, the owners took a different tack – buttresses now hold the building in place, and it remains at a permanent slant.” (Via metafilter and Sharpo’s world.) (more…)

Whether because of abundant food or lack of exercise, historical monarchs have been plagued with largeness of girth (a true hardship). Here are just a few of the largest kings and queens on record.

1. Itey (ca. 1490 BCE)

Sort of an ancient Egyptian punch line, this corpulent queen ruled over the mysterious land of Punt, located somewhere in East Africa. So how exactly do we know of the great monarch’s girth? Well, the Egyptian pharaoh Hatshepsut launched a trade delegation to Punt, and carvings on the walls of her temple complex at Deir el-Bahri record the expedition. Itey is depicted as grossly obese and is even pictured standing next to a diminutive husband and a tiny donkey. Under the donkey is the dry inscription, “This donkey had to carry the queen.” A beast of burden indeed.

2. Eglon (ca. 1100 BCE)

According to the Bible, Eglon was the king of Moab (in modern Jordan) who united several tribes of highland and desert raiders to conquer the central Israelite tribes sometime in the 12th century BCE. An Israelite named Ehud gained the king’s confidence, got him in a room alone, then killed him. Of course, the murder wasn’t exactly a smooth operation. The Bible describes vividly that Eglon was so fat that Ehud couldn’t retrieve his blade. Luckily, though, he managed to escape with little trouble. As he fled, Ehud told Eglon’s servants that the king was using the restroom. The stench coming from the room must have been fairly run-of-the-mill, because by the time they went in to check on their beloved king, Ehud had already rallied his followers and formed an army.

More wily (and well-rounded) monarchs after the jump… (more…)