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Weekend Word Wrap

Today's Weekend Word Wrap is mostly inspired by a suggestion we received from a reader named Kelsie, who writes that we should do something on the word "Pip," which, it turns out, is one of those rare words that has 10 or more meanings, almost all unrelated to each other. Besides that Alabama boy called Pip in Moby Dick, a Pip can be: Any of the small segments that make up the surface of a pineapple. The black spot on a die or domino The small seed of a fruit, as that of an... READ ON

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Do I hear $42.66?

Sorry I haven't posted sooner but I was busy this morning listing a few items on eBay. (Anyone in the market for an old Mac Powerbook ca. 1992? Aside from the fact that it takes the better part of the morning to boot up, the thing still runs remarkably well!) Anyway, I got to thinking: what are some of the more interesting items that have sold on eBay? Wiki had a few interesting things to say on the subject: The 9-foot-high Jeopardy! logo that was etched in glass as the [TV show's set] backdrop... READ ON

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America's Funniest Design Bloopers

The keen eyes over at SugartownCreative have spotted a gaffe in the new Frank Gehry-designed InterActiveCorp headquarters, located in Chelsea. I guess Microsoft isn't the only one having a problem with their Windows. (Ba-dum-pum!) Story via Adfreak. Of course, just the mention of architect Frank Gehry's work (the genius behind the strangely beautiful Bilbao Guggenheim, and Walt Disney Concert Hall) makes me think of the Onion headline: Frank Gehry No Longer Allowed to Make Sandwiches for... READ ON

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It's hard out there for a fish

You think you've had a tough week? Just be glad you're not a member of Class Osteichthyes, which has taken a real beating in the last few days. 40,000 salmon and trout died in Scotland this week after someone poisoned their river with sodium hypochlorite, a chemical used for treating water in swimming pools. Thousands of sturgeon who already had the bad luck to be living in an aquaculture farm died in a six-alarm fire last night at the Mote Marine Lab in Sarasota. (It's unfortunate for local restaurants,... READ ON

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Hey! Who you callin' a Neanderthal?

The Times reports today that scientists are reconstructing the Neanderthal genome, which has led to lots of debate about whether we should clone one, were that possible. Putting aside what society would actually do with a cloned Neanderthal (put him in some unholy Pleistocene Park? cast him in a Geico commercial?), the guy would need some major image rehab, because over the years his species has been scientifically slandered. Here, courtesy of Channel 4, are 10 Neanderthal myths that need debunking:... READ ON

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Only the greatest magazine titles of all time

According to BoingBoing, Amazon.com has been threatened with a lawsuit from the American Humane Society for choosing to hawk subscriptions to two cockfighting magazines on their site: The Gamecock (currently the world's #1 cockfighting magazine) and The Feathered Warrior. While I'm definitely curious about the content provided in these magazines (supposedly they're about rooster grooming and maintenance), and I'm disgusted by the "sport," I do love the name The Feathered Warrior. The staff used... READ ON

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Just Plain Bananas

How is it that I've never stumbled across The Tattooed Banana site before? Billed as the only website "dedicated to the emerging appreciation for banana art," the site is chock-full of potassium, vitamin C, and hilarious art involving my favorite of the yellow fruits (sorry lemons!). My favorites from the page include an ultrasound of a pregnant banana (carrying a baby banana in tow), and the fake i-Pod baNano pictured here. Of course, what I did notice was lacking from the site was a... READ ON

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Is this how we'll take medication in the future?

According to the New Scientist Inventions Blog (which scours US patent applications for interesting finds), Hewlett-Packard is attempting to help control prescription drug abuse by creating an inhaler/printer that can be placed on a patient's tongue to deliver medications. The print head is supposedly similar in design to that of an ink jet, and the drugs are also contained in replaceable cartridges, not unlike those that contain ink. So, aside from the novel dispenser-aspect of it, what makes... READ ON

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My one and only celebrity tribute to Hockessin, DE (and the surrounding areas)

I'm definitely not trying to turn this page a Flosser Stalker site (c.f. Gawker), but I couldn't resist posting about this: my favorite newspaper in Delaware, The News Journal, is reporting that actress Reese Witherspoon has been sighted(!) in my hometown of Hockessin. Everyone in the community is apparently buzzing over the fact that she visited Tomm's Produce. (Home of some fantastic iced beverages. And produce). Anyway, because everyone's always knocking The First State... READ ON