Baseball factors heavily into the premise of Field of Dreams, but it’s the underpinning themes of redemption and catharsis that make the movie memorable. Ray Kinsella takes advantage of an opportunity to right past wrongs. Namely, he is able to mend severed ties with his deceased father through a process of painful admission, analytical self-reflection, and sacrifice.

We won’t ask you to admit your past wrongs (or sacrifice anything) here, but we will test your knowledge of movie. How much do you know about one of the most beloved baseball films of all time?

Take the Quiz: Field of Dreams

Some people have a negative opinion of commercial photography, mistakenly believing it is not an art, and is merely a way to showcase the product being sold. This is a grossly unfair conception. While some commercial images are no more than a product picture, some are imaginative and exceptionally artistic. WebUrbanist has a great collection of the works of 18 cool commercial photography studios.

Carioca Studios created the shocking photos above with the hope that it would bring attention to the plight of children in Romania. The photos were part of the Save the Children project, whose aim was to help protect the rights of kids in the area.

After a big game in any sport, from a league championship to the World Series, Super Bowl, Stanley Cup, etc., people are going to be clamoring for commemorative merchandise. So it would make sense to have two sets printed up—declaring each team the winner.

The major sports leagues all produce official hats and shirts for the players and staff of each team in championship games—usually about 300 items per team. Manufacturers and retailers must produce enough product to meet fan demands. Based on the strong sales after the Chicago Bears’ 2007 NFC Championship win, Sports Authority printed more than 15,000 shirts proclaiming a Bears Super Bowl victory before the game even started. And then the Colts beat the Bears, 29-17.

That’s a lot of misprinted merch. Fortunately, there’s World Vision. (more…)

by Alvin Ward

Disneyland may be the Happiest Place on Earth, but don’t think that means you can just waltz in and do whatever you want. In fact, Mickey Mouse’s theme parks have banned quite a few things over the years. Here are just a few of the things on which the Mouse has dropped his hammer.

1. Long Hair

Until the late 1960s, men could either have flowing locks or enjoy Adventureland, but they definitely couldn’t do both. According to Snopes, if a long-haired fellow tried to buy a ticket, a cast member would discreetly and politely inform the man that his hairdo didn’t jive with the park’s unwritten dress code before escorting him from the park.

2. Facial Hair

It’s tough to find a picture of Walt Disney without a mustache, but for decades it was even tougher to find a Disney employee who had a ‘stache of his own. Starting in 1957, workers at Disney parks were not allowed to have long hair, grow beards, or wear mustaches. (The underlying logic was that park patrons wouldn’t want to buy a $9 soda from some filthy bearded hippie or mustachioed Snidely Whiplash type.)

In 2000, Disney was having trouble drumming up enough manpower to staff its parks, so it relaxed the facial hair ban. Employees were finally allowed to grow mustaches, provided they kept them trimmed and groomed. Beards didn’t fare so well, though; they stayed on the forbidden list.

3. Blake Lively

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It’s an all-new 5-day trivia hunt,
with an all-new set of puzzles, prizes, and now, a major sponsor!

Co-puzzle Master Josh Halbur and I are thrilled to announce that How Did You Know? now has its very own Geritol. Yes, the extraordinary video sharing site motionbox.com, which I’ve written about on this site before, is now sponsoring our monthly 5-day trivia hunt.

>> What does that mean for HDYK? We’ve got an investor interested in helping us take the game to the next level. So please, before you do anything else, mosey on over to motionbox.com and see all the amazing services they offer, most for free!

>> What does that mean for you gamers? Better prizes! Each month, motionbox.com will be giving out 3 prizes: a free premium subscription on their site; a Vado 8GB HD cam. Plus, the winner of the cam will get the opportunity to purchase a discounted premium membership on motionbox, as well.

>> How do you win? We’ve got new rules, so pay attention: anyone who submits any kind of answers at all, right or wrong, is now eligible for a prize. So long as you submit, you’ll be entered into a drawing to win the free, premium subscription to motionbox.com, worth $49.99. Next: the $199.99 Vado 8GB HD cam. Anyone who submits all the correct answers within 24 hours of the final puzzle post on day 5, will be eligible for a drawing for the this amazing little gadget that holds up to 2 hours in brilliant HD.

>> So what’s in it for the person/team who finishes first with all the correct answers? Bragging rights, as always, with your photo/bio posted on our site. But also two chances to win the motionbox.com prizes, and, as is our tradition here at the _floss, your pick of any t-shirt from our store.

There you have it! If you’re not a Fan of our Facebook page , be sure to add us so we can keep you updated, and you can get in on some pretty nifty clues throughout the week. If you’re new to our five-day hunt, you can read up on our new Rules page here. You’ll also want to check out last month’s hunt and read up on our defending champion Daniel Wilson. If you missed Day 1, that’s right this way; Day 2 is down yonder. Okay, ready to get your Hunt on? Click on through.

In the power rankings of rock musicians, drummers usually end up towards the bottom. Even though their role is invaluable, they don’t usually get the glory or the name recognition. With just the drummer’s name, can you identify the twelve bands in this quiz?

Take the Quiz: Rock & Roll Drummers

When I was 13, I dressed up as a Stormtrooper for Halloween. The costume was as fun to make as it was to trick-or-treat in. As I gamboled across suburban New Jersey lawns, I remember thinking: This must be what Stormtroopers do on their day off.

Judging from this awesome photo gallery, apparently I wasn’t too far out of the solar system. These are just some of the highlights, though. For all the great photos, hyperwarp over to WildAmmo.com.

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What if a story about your little hometown became extremely popular and brought visitors from all over the world seeking a piece of it? When a book or movie puts a quiet little town on the map, you have to expect people will want to come and see it. Whether that’s a benefit or curse may depend on the movie.

Forks, Washington

Some towns revel in the notoriety that comes with a movie. Thousands of fans make their way to Forks, Washington (population 3,221) every month to enjoy the atmosphere of the setting for the Twilight books and movies. Local businesses have erected signs referring to the movies. The principal of Forks High School says the school has designated lockers for the characters Edward and Bella -for the benefit of the tourists. Sales of Twilight merchandise and tourist services have energized the small town that once depended on logging for its economy. Even those residents who don’t like the books welcome the money the tourists bring in.

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We offered our first Math Square last week, and the positive response led us to bring it back again for today’s Brain Game. Enjoy!

The nine squares that make up the main grid should be filled with the digits 1 through 9. Each digit should appear only once in the mail grid. Two numbers (5 and 7) are already provided for you. Place the other digits in the correct spots so that the mathematical equations work both across and down. (Remember your algebraic rules when solving the problems… multiplication and division should be solved first, then addition and subtraction.) Good luck:

All this week I’m posting excerpts from my new book, The Sherlock Holmes Handbook, available in a cute little hardback edition from Amazon and bookstores everywhere. Today I wanted to highlight one of the book’s many “sidebar” chapters, which examine Holmes’ world — 19th century London — and that of his creator, Arthur Conan Doyle. Did you know that Sherlock Holmes was inspired by a real person? Read on!

The “Real” Sherlock Holmes
I thought of my old teacher Joe Bell, of his eagle face, of his curious ways, of his eerie trick of spotting details. If he were a detective he would surely reduce this fascinating but unorganized business to something nearer an exact science. —Arthur Conan Doyle, from his autobiography

There is an entire branch of Sherlockian scholarship that trades upon the playful assumption that Sherlock Holmes and Dr.Watson were real people, and that the well-loved Holmes mysteries are not fiction at all but actual events, expertly documented by Watson and published under the name of his friend and literary agent, Arthur Conan Doyle. “The Great Game,” as these speculative works of scholarship are called, are generally regarded as an ambitious and amusing distraction, but there may be at least a kernel of truth to them: If one were to ask Sir Arthur whether or not Sherlock Holmes was real, his answer may well have been in the affirmative.

The “real” Sherlock Holmes was a doctor and lecturer named Joseph Bell, under whom Conan Doyle studied while in medical school and upon whom he would later base his most famous character. Bell wasn’t interested in crime, of course, but he was a detective of medicine whose impressive observations and deductions inspired his students and colleagues, Conan Doyle especially. In an 1892 letter to his former mentor, Conan Doyle wrote: “I do not think that [Holmes’s] analytical work is in the least an exaggeration of some effects which I have seen you produce in the out-patient ward. Round the centre of deduction and inference and observation which I have heard you inculcate, I have tried to build up a man who pushed the thing as far as it would go—further occasionally.” (more…)