Around this time of year, I always have to take a break from pumpkin planning (I’m making a giant squid this time around) and marvel at bird migration. How do they find their way around the world without Google Maps? We’re not really sure, but research has given us evidence that they use an array of navigation techniques…

1. Migratory reflex and navigational skills appear to be written in the genes. Captive birds have been observed getting pretty fidgety and changing their sleep patterns right before their natural migration time. Ethologists – those who study animal behavior – call the birds’ behavior zugunruhe (“migratory restlessness”). Captive birds display zugunruhe even if they’re not exposed to natural light or to seasonal temperature changes. Even with the restlessness, many of these birds will orient themselves in the direction that they would normally be traveling at that time of year. Researchers say that the fact that the birds know both when and where to migrate without environmental clues suggests that genes, and a biological calendar written into them, play a role in migration.
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The Criterion Collection is known for excellence. The Criterion folks assemble “important classic and contemporary films” and releases them on DVD (formerly Laserdisc), often restoring the film from original negatives, working with directors, and including lots of bonus materials in the process. Criterion was established in 1984, and had to transition from Laserdisc to DVD in 1998. Just a decade later, times are changing again, and Criterion is about to move their collection to high definition Blu-ray discs.

Criterion is responsible for changing the face of modern home video, introducing innovative techniques that are now seen as must-haves by the video-buying public. Criterion popularized letterboxed home video with 1987’s release of Blade Runner, and they introduced the first commentary track — a scene-by-scene discussion which appeared on the King Kong laserdisc. Criterion also popularized the notion of a “director’s cut” (and other alternate or “definitive” versions of films), often seeking out specific versions of a given movie, and working with directors to determine which is best.

As Criterion approaches the Blu-ray generation, it’s facing some interesting technical challenges. DVD was a huge step above home video in terms of image quality, versatility, capacity, and stability. Blu-ray is effectively the same as DVD, just more so: more quality, more storage, more interactive power. But how does this increase in home theater quality interact with the classic films Criterion is famous for? Will the HD quality just reveal more flaws in the source material? Gadget blog Gizmodo recently toured the Criterion headquarters, giving us a peek inside the process:

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First, a hearty congrats to all of you who got all the answers correct this month. We were impressed with how many nailed the whole thing, and how many of you sent in answers even though you had a hunch someone else probably got them all earlier in the day. We’ll be in touch in the coming week with some special offers for all of you with the right answers. Look for it via email.

Now on with the big news: We have a new champion in the form of a team: Avery Dale, Ken Laskowski and Colin Utley, who edged out several others, including many former champions taking this week’s How Did You Know?

Congrats and best of luck defending your title next month guys. Remember: if you can hold onto it for two more months, you’ll win our grand prize!

I’ll post the winning team’s answers and logic after the jump, along with a fantastic illustrated submission by a contestant named Gregory Burns, who didn’t get all the answers correct, but blew us away with his organizational talents. First, a little about our winners:
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A really good opener for this Q10 would be to tell you about this time I was choking and had my life saved by some wonderful person who knew how to do the Heimlich. Unfortunately, I have no such story.

The celebrities below do, though. Can you imagine how embarrassing the obituary would be? “Carrie Fisher, famous for her portrayal as the iconic Princess Leia in the Star Wars movies, passed away today after choking on a Brussels sprout that she was forced to eat because she was so stoned.”

Needless to say, thank God these people were saved. Here are their stories, as researched by the always-wonderful Meg McGinn.

1. Carrie Fisher. John Belushi set up and accompanied Carrie and Dan Aykroyd on a blind date, but passed out sometime during the evening. Carrie was apparently incredibly stoned, so stoned that Aykroyd forced her to eat, hoping it would help her come down a bit. Instead of Doritos, though, Carrie ate Brussels sprouts. And choked on one. Aykroyd gave her the Heimlich and then promptly proposed marriage.

2. If a choking incident could possibly be sexy, this was probably it (although I doubt it was): it involved a near-nude Halle Berry and Pierce Brosnan. When they were filming a sex scene in Die Another Day, Pierce made Halle laugh and she started choking on some fruit (a fig, according to IMDB). Pierce has said that he was thinking about giving her the Heimlich, but was a little concerned about wrapping his arms around her while they were both practically naked. Luckily, he didn’t have to make up his mind about the appropriateness of the situation – she coughed up the fig and they went on filming.

3. Who hasn’t tried to swallow a pill dry (or even just not swallowed it right) and gotten that big lump stick in your throat? Cher is proof that mundane things like that happen to celebrities, too. She was backstage at the rehearsal of a Broadway play when she starting choking on a vitamin. She apparently tried to dislodge it with some bread, but when that didn’t work, Robert Altman gave her the Heimlich.

4. Elizabeth Taylor. When Liz was married to Senator John W. Warner, the two of them were campaigning in Virginia when she got a chicken bone stuck in her throat. (more…)

Welcome to the first in a weekly series of mental_floss guitar lessons. We’re starting at the very beginning and presume that an air guitar is the only guitar you’ve ever strummed.

Tune in every Monday and we’ll see how far we can take these.

In Lesson No. 1, you’ll get a taste of what to look for when picking out your first guitar. Special thanks to Dave, the manager at West L.A. Music, for taking time out of his day to drop a pantload of 6-string knowledge. You can watch the video on our site below, or if you want to see it in better quality, go over to our YouTube page and click the link under the video screen that says watch in high quality.

Incidentally, the title of this new feature was suggested by one of our loyal readers, Johnny Cat, who sent us the following comment when we asked who’d be interested in watching weekly guitar lessons (thanks Johnny!):

…just wanted to suggest the series be called “Anyone Can Play Guitar” in honor of flossy band, Radiohead.

Back in June, just after my trifecta of matrimonial explorations appeared here on the mental_floss blog, I went on my honeymoon to Ireland. There were many things about our Irish adventure that we loved—the scenery, the beer, the kind locals—but unfortunately the television programming was not one of them. For two self avowed TiVo junkies, a week in a foreign land where our quaint, bed and breakfast-supplied in-room TVs only got two channels (one of which was broadcast in Gaelic) was like a little version of hell. We were forced to watch whatever came on the one English speaking channel, which ranged from good (Friends reruns) to bad (Private Practice pilot) to unexpectedly awesome… namely, CSI : Las Vegas.

It was a cold night in Innishannon when Gil Grissom and his motley crew came into our lives for the first time, and by the time we returned home, we were hopelessly hooked—just like the rest of America. Three months later, we’ve seen just about every single episodes of the 8 completed seasons, and it didn’t take long for us to notice one remarkable trend about this show: Just about every actor in Hollywood has sauntered through the CSI lair looking for a paycheck, the only variable being how they got there: escorted by the cops, wearing the badge themselves, or in a body bag. Do you remember who played what role?

Take the Quiz: Suspect, Killer, Law Enforcement or Deceased?

An actor, filmmaker and philanthropist among many other things, Paul Newman was one of the last great 20th century actors — and he was also the most famous alum of my undergraduate alma mater, Kenyon College. He entered Kenyon in 1946 as a Navy veteran and majored in “speech” (the field that covered drama) and starred in nearly a dozen campus theatrical productions. He also earned a reputation for charm, mischief, and good-natured rowdiness. Graduating in ‘49, he had long been a quiet if generous supporter of the school — recently making headlines for a $10 million scholarship gift.

Naturally, Kenyon grads like myself have a soft spot for ol’ Paul, and I’ve become a big fan of his films. Certainly, anyone with even a passing interest in cinema knows at least a few of his classics, be it Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Cool Hand Luke, The Sting or a number of others. I thought the best way to remember Newman would be through some of his great performances — which, conveniently, YouTube has plenty of. Here are a few of our favorites.

The Verdict

Not his best-known film, but one of my favorites. Newman plays a down-on-his-luck alcoholic lawyer who gets one last shot at redemption — and his summation during the final courtroom scene is one of film’s greatest. (Fun fact, an uncredited young guy named Bruce Willis is a background extra in this scene — can you spot him?) Screenplay by David Mamet, directed by the masterful Sidney Lumet — how can you go wrong?

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We’ve posted lists of crazy and annoying alarm clocks before. Here’s one that is guaranteed to drive you stark raving bonkers. It’s the The Tantrum Throwing Alarm Clock. This clock starts to stir five minutes before alarm time, when it begins to glow. It’s almost like the warning signs a child may give when he’s ready to go off. Then he opens his mouth, stamps his feet, and starts to whine! You can tap its head for a snooze, but do it too many times and he’ll throw a hissy fit anyway. The full-tantrum mode with kicking and screaming should wake you up, and put you in the proper mood for the day. NOT! Any parent will tell you, the last thing you want to wake up to is a tantrum. It will go on for an hour if you don’t get up and turn it off. Then just try to show up at work with a smile on your face.
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Just like a child, this alarm clock can be charming at other times. He’ll interact with an MP3 player and dance. Pet him and he “smiles” at you. I can’t see how this clock’s charms would offset the memories of the morning tantrum. But I’ll try to say something nice about this product: It would make a great gift for someone you don’t like.

Ubergizmo: $50 for some early morning stress? No thank you.

Dvice: Maybe giving your alarm clock human characteristics isn’t such a great idea after all.

Shiny Shiny: I am not down with tantrums as a method of awakening.

The Green Head: It’s definitely a cool alarm clock and looks like fun, but I fear it will be brutally executed against the wall two minutes into its temper tantrum routine.

holycool.net:  …I’m actually a little scared of it.

Runs on 4 AA batteries or can be plugged in. $49.95 from Hammacher-Schlemmer.

This weekend, I watched one of my favorite films - Cool Hand Luke - in remembrance of the late, great Paul Newman. Today’s Brain Game involves the film as well.

Your job is to transform the word COOL into the word HAND, and then HAND into LUKE, using as few steps as possible. Change one letter at a time, leaving the other letters in their original positions. We were able to do it in nine steps… can you do better?

HERE is one solution… if you find another, feel free to post it in the comments.

Einstein’s 23 Biggest Mistakes. Like I tell my kids, if you don’t make mistakes, you won’t learn anything new. (via Geek Like Me)
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The Geek Guide to New Fall TV. Science fiction is gaining a foothold in your network lineup.
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A Shadowy, Wet World of Squirt-Gun Assassins. StreetWars invades New York City.
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Despite the name, slime molds can be beautiful. Macro photography helps. (via Neatorama)
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Why can’t we divide by zero? Here’s a mathematical explanation I can’t argue with. Can you? (via YesButNoButYes)
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A dog figures out how to open his own cage. When he breaks out, he goes back to free his buddies, too!
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The world’s carbon dioxide output jumped 3 percent from 2006 to 2007. China is the biggest offender, followed by the United States.
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Whatever happened to the girl who was stuck in a well in Texas, the kid who spelled potato for Dan Quayle, and the baby on the Nevermind album cover (plus a few other child news makers)?