I had forgotten to turn on the air conditioning when I left my house yesterday, so when I came home, it was (to borrow from KISS) “hotter than hell.” Of course, I did what all good researchers do and wrote that idea down, then began to look up the use of the word “Hell” in the world of music. At first, I was afraid that what I’d find would be too rough-hewn to make for a suitable quiz. But I was surprised at what I found. Yes, there was Mötley Crüe, but there was also Mac Davis. And of course AC-DC made the list, but so did Aretha Franklin.

So I put together the “Hell Radio” quiz, with 13 (natch!) questions to test your knowledge of the musical underworld. Enjoy!

Take the Quiz: Hell Radio

Since the online auction giant’s founding in 1995, millions and millions of items have changed hands through its interface. Most of them probably sold for no more than a few dollars, but some have been truly, ludicrously expensive. Here’s a look at some of the priciest items ever sold on eBay, plus some other noteworthy big ticket splurges and a few recent jaw-droppers.

A Gigayacht
When Fort Lauderdale boat maker 4Yacht fires up its eBay account, it doesn’t mess around. In 2006, 4Yacht claimed to have sold the most expensive item eBay had ever seen when it auctioned off a 50% deposit on its as-yet-unbuilt “Gigayacht.” The 50% deposit sold at a Buy It Now price of $85 million. The 405-foot steel yacht sounds like it was worth every penny of its eventual $170 million price. The plans included 10 multilevel VIP suites, a theater, a workout room, and a helicopter garage. When the auction closed, it was widely speculated that Russian billionaire and Chelsea F.C. owner Roman Abramovich had purchased the giant boat to add to his considerable personal navy. If you’re scoring at home, using eBay’s current fee schedule, the final value fees alone for such a large auction would amount to over $1.2 million.

Gulfstream II jet
Prior to the sale of the gigayacht, the record for eBay’s most expensive item was believed to be held by a Gulfstream II private jet that was sold in August 2001. A Texas-based airline dealer sold the jet to an African charter company for a whopping $4.9 million. And yet, the seller still only got a single point of positive feedback for the transaction.
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Remember those puzzles from school when you had to pick which word didn’t belong? Unfortunately, the list was usually comprised of four obviously-related things and one that wasn’t… like dog, pig, cat, elk, footstool. Well, this isn’t one of those:

Which word doesn’t belong? And why?

WEED   PORT   JADE   FOOD   SICK

Click here for our answer.

We’re back with another 5-day trivia hunt!

To remind you of the rules: Every day this week, I’ll be presenting a specific challenge. Your job: come up with the answers and hold onto them! Why? Because on Friday, you’ll need them to solve a short puzzle. The first person to email in the correct answers and successfully show how you arrived at them (thus the title: How Did You Know?) wins a choice of any t-shirt and book from our store.

We’re also adding some special prizes this time around for those who come really close, but don’t get all the answers in time. And last month, we awarded some shirts and books to a couple contestants who impressed us with charts, diagrams, and other complex methods of recording and organizing the clues/answers. So we’ll be on the lookout for the creative among you, as well. This is all to say: it pays to play whether you nab the grand prize or not.

As with previous How Did You Know? posts, comments have been turned off, but I definitely encourage you to work in teams. April’s winner was the team of Bill Pearson and Adam Constable, who I know benefitted greatly from e-mailing each other throughout the week. So write your friends, send around each daily challenge, conspire, work together, whatever it takes to make sure you’re armed with the right answers going into Friday’s puzzle.

If you missed Day 1′s challenge, it can be found right over here, while Day 2 is right here.
Today we’re playing One of These Things is not Like the Others, if you recall the Sesame Street game. Your job is pretty simple: on the following pages you’ll find some images. They all have a lot in common, but there’s one that’s notably different from the others. Name it and tell us why it’s different. And don’t forget to see the hint on the last page for a clue to tomorrow’s puzzle.

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The so-called “X-Men” frogs have quite a surprise for any would-be attackers.
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Wacky buildings are proliferating in Dubai. The latest? An 80-story tower with revolving floors.
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The “Board Game Murder Mystery” is an enjoyable treat for anyone who spent his childhood playing board games.
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This summer, Sheila Taormina will become the first female three-sport Olympian.
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Rhys Jones is already the youngest person to have climbed the seven continents’ highest summits, but now he has a whole new crazy adventure planned.
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Ever wonder what medications doctors don’t trust? Men’s Health has the list of 8 drugs doctors avoid taking themselves.
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Matt Harding’s videos of global dancing unity are guaranteed to make you giggle.
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Sandy + Kara’s 5 Questions should be part of everyone’s morning routine.
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If only some of our favorite imaginary places were real…

Tomorrow, Christie’s will be selling used clothing, an old stapler and a cookie recipe. The renowned auction house hasn’t turned into your neighborhood garage sale, though—unless your neighbor is selling Tony Sopranos’ clothing, Jack Kerouac’s stapler, and a NASA cookie recipe. Here’s what else your money can buy at Christie’s Pop Culture auction.

Celebrity Items

• Celebrity-owned objects always make their way into auctions like this one. For those seeking premium office supplies, a gray Swingline stapler, replacement staples and a ball point pen owned by Jack Kerouac are for sale.

• An 11-year-old from Staten Island gets a perfect score on his pop quiz. Now it is estimated to be worth $800 to $1,200 because that student was Robert DeNiro. De Niro items are rare in the collectors market, according to Simeon Lipman, head of Christie’s pop culture department. At that price, it should be exhibited on a very nice fridge.

• In 1961, Marilyn Monroe spent $15 at a hair salon. In 2008, the opening bid for her receipt is $1,500. Lipman explained that celebrity receipts and checks are popular because the signatures are authentic, they are easy to display and everyone can appreciate them.

Sopranos Memorabilia

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We’re betting that the George W. Bush Presidential library includes a nicknames wing.

1. Pootie-Poot. Vladimir Putin, President of Russia. The Cold War is over, so warm, fuzzy nicknames must be in!
2. Congressman Kickass. John Sweeney, Republican Congressman, NY. Also possible title for Vin Diesel’s next film.
3. Hurricane Karen. Karen Hughes, Special Advisor.
4. Corndog. John Cornyn, Republican Senator, TX.
5. The Cobra. Maureen Dowd, New York Times. She got off easy. Dana Milbank of the Washington Post‘s nickname was said to be unprintable.
6. Condoleezza “Unsticker” Rice. Enough said.
7. The Brettmeister. Brett M. Kavanaugh, federal judge on the US Court of Appeals. Because no nickname list is complete without a “-meister”
8. Turd Blossom. Former Senior Advisor Karl Rove. Turd Blossom. Just had to repeat that one.
9. Quasimodo. Vice President Dick Cheney. Cheney also calls Bush “The Apprentice.”
10. The Decider. George W. Bush. The name Dubya gave to, of course, himself.

I’ve wanted to play Will Wright’s next game, Spore, for years. I first wrote about Spore way back in February 2007, proudly and naively stating that “our wait will soon be over.” Well, I was right if by “soon” I meant “in another year and a half.” Spore has been in development since 2000, and it finally has a reliable release date: September 7, 2008. Let’s hope the wait has been worth it.

Spore is a video game unlike any other. Following in the tradition of Wright’s SimCity and The Sims, it’s a “God Game” in which the player controls the lives of characters in a virtual world. But this time, you’re not a city planner or operating a doll house — you’re literally playing God as an intelligent designer, creating and guiding an organism through stages of evolution and social progress. What’s more, the technology behind the game breaks new ground, using generative mathematical processes to animate user creations and even create music on the fly. Neat stuff, this.

In the run-up to Spore’s release, EA has released the Spore Creature Creator (including a free version). Using the Creature Creator, you can play with Spore’s creator development environment to create your own beings. These creatures will then populate the actual Spore game world when the game ships (Spore downloads user-generated content in the background, populating worlds with creatures created by other users). Check out the free trial edition for a taste of the action; there’s also a $10 full version available for purchase (the full version unlocks lots of additional creature parts, like different eyes, arms, legs, and so on).

Here’s a demo of the Spore Creature Creator, showing exactly how it works:

There are various contests afoot related to the Creature Creator. There’s a dance competition in which you capture video of your creature busting a move (the prize is a trip to the Smithsonian Institute!), and a celebrity Spore contest called SporeVote, in which fans vote on their favorite Spore creatures created by celebrities. (Note: the celebrities are a weird grab bag including MC Hammer, Peaches, Stan Lee, Margaret Cho, David Lynch, Carlos Santana, and _floss friend Mo Rocca.)

So get your preorder in and spend the next few months drooling over YouTube videos (I recommend The Science Behind Spore as a good starting place, then check out the videos linked here for deep catalog nerd stuff).

Watching the NBA’s annual draft gives basketball fans a chance to see the stars of tomorrow as awkward young rookies. It also gives them a chance to see some of the most over-the-top suits ever tailored. How well do you remember the noteworthy fashions of drafts gone by?

Take the Quiz: Name That Dapper Draft Pick

I have never really been in a fistfight. I’ve had some schoolyard scuffles, sure, but never had to launch or dodge a closed-fist punch. I was reminded of this rather abruptly the other day, when I saw a friend of mine nearly get in a fistfight in a parking lot. I was trying to back out of a space, but had been parked in by someone who’d rudely left their car directly behind mine. My friend said he’d “take care of it,” which I assumed meant he would go inside the business we were parked in front of and see whose car it was. Instead, the next thing I know I see my friend getting into the offending car, which was apparently unlocked, and searching around for keys — as if he were going to move it himself. Just as I was about to tell him I didn’t think this was such a hot idea, the screaming began. A very large, very angry man was running toward him, yelling all sorts of things I can’t type in polite company, so I ran over, thinking my friend was in need of a little backup.

Luckily, he wasn’t — the guy never threw a punch, though he looked like he was about to — and the huge serrated scar along his neck made me think he had thrown (and received) plenty before. But I began to wonder what I would’ve done if he had — and here’s what I found out.

Don’t get in one

This may seem obvious, but if you can use diplomacy rather than your fists, do it. There are around 16,000 murders in the US every year, and a not-insignificant proportion of those are committed with fists rather than guns. So if you don’t want to kill someone or go to jail, do your level best to stay out of fistfights. Of course, we recognize that that’s not always possible, especially among people of certain age groups; a survey reported that 8% of high school students get into fights every month that require treatment by a doctor or nurse. So it happens. (more…)