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That's Meth Up

I know this is going to come across completely ignorant, because while I know crystal meth is bad for you (a little fact I picked up by watching Six Feet Under and Geraldo), I had no idea that it mucked up your teeth this much! The pic to the left is of The Pogues' singer Shane MacGowan's distinctive smile, which is often attributed to his use of the drug. So, what causes meth mouth? It's supposedly due to the corrosive acids used to produce the substance, and whether meth is smoked,... READ ON

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Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Scientist: Ronald Mallett

This ought to be under "shameless self-promotion" as well as "Mad, Mad, Mad," but a few months ago I wrote a piece for Newsweek on one Ronald Mallett, who claimed that (a) time travel was possible and (b) he could make it happen. Like I said, mad. Here's the thing, though -- he may be right. The time machine pictured with him here is a movie model, but he's planning to build a real one: Basically, he wants to "swirl" empty space the way you'd swirl coffee in a cup, using a laser as the stirrer. Because... READ ON

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100 most often mispronounced words and phrases

Can someone please send this list to the president? nucular nuclear The British and Australians find the American repetition of the [u] between the [k] and [l] quaintly amusing. Good reason to get it... READ ON

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The Alps are falling

Someone alert Al Gore! Heck, alert Roland Emmerich! Global warming is implicated in the destruction of the Alps, which is happening right now -- a rock on Eiger Mountain the size of two Empire State Buildings is threatening to collapse and fall nearly 700 feet to the ground because the glacier ice that supports it is melting. More from the article: A rockslide of over 1 million cubic meters -- officially called a landslide by geologists -- on average happens every 20 to 50 years in Switzerland. In... READ ON

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Liz Taylor, take heart: 132 is the new 116

According to my copy of The Old Testament, in Genesis (23:1), it says "And Sara was a hundred and twenty seven years old: these were the years of Sara's life. And Sara died in Qiryat-arba; that is Hebron, in the land of Canaan"¦" Now while you might think 127 would earn her a place in the Guinness Book (topping even Maria Esther de Capovilla of Ecuador, who is 116 years young and still going) here comes Moloko Temo of South Africa. According to this article in Breitbart.com:... READ ON

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In space, no one can hear you burp

Astronauts on the International Space Station got a taste treat last month that would make plenty of Earthbound proles jealous: a meal from Emeril "BAM" Lagasse, who'll be chatting with (and hopefully getting four-star reviews from) the spacemen tomorrow. On the menu: jambalaya, mashed potatoes with bacon, green beans with garlic, rice pudding, and mixed fruit. Hungry yet? If the cuisine has as much spice as Lagasse is known for, all the better for the astronauts. In space, some astronauts say that food... READ ON

5 Questions: Be My Pal

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Are you ready for some jail time?

What is in the water in Cincinnati, other than boats driven by allegedy drunk football players? Adding to the Phat Phree's NFL All-Criminal Team from last year, five Bengals have been arrested in the past three months: NEWPORT, Ky. -- Bengals guard Eric Steinbach pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a charge of boating under the influence on the Ohio River, the fifth Cincinnati player in three months accused of breaking the law. ... The Bengals have been on the defensive [editors' note: ha!] over the recent... READ ON

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2,218 years later, another "Eureka!" moment

You probably know the Greek mathematician Archimedes as the guy who figured out how buoyancy worked, leapt from his bath yelling "Eureka!," and ran through the streets of Syracuse as naked as Will Ferrell in, oh, any of his movies. But don't judge him based on his exhibitionism; some mathematicians put his work on a level with Isaac Newton's. Though many of Archimedes' manuscripts were lost when the library at Alexandria went up in flames (twice), a few survive, including one that until now has been... READ ON

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Watercooler Ammo: The Manhattan Manatee

Perhaps inspired by its hapless British counterpart, a manatee from Florida appears to have swum upstream -- way upstream, past Manhattan and several miles north into the Hudson River. Unlike the whale in the Thames, the manatee isn't in any danger as long as the water stays warm. It's normal for these creatures to take a summer vacation, though usually not this far afield. Manatee trivia abounds on the Internet; here's the best of it, from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission: A... READ ON