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The Weekend Links
We all know that spelling in the English language is a convoluted subject at best, a point made rather clear in this clip, where 102-year-old Ed Rondthaler gives a convincing argument in his quick English spelling reform lesson.
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Ok, Flossers: agree or disagree? Here are 10 geeky movies on which to raise your kids. Sad to say I've only seen a few. Does anyone have suggestions for ones left off the list?
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Another round of Steve, Don't Eat It! featuring Cuitlacoche. Warning: obviously not safe if you have just eaten. I find it hard to believe things like these exist and are consumed by people without irony!
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Slate.com recently took an informal poll to determine which Netflix movies sat on readers' shelves the longest before they were watched. Check out the results here. Any confessions from you guys? I'll admit, Rashomon sat on my shelf for at least 4 months before I popped that baby in.
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Glass blowing has always fascinated me - it seems like such a magical art. Check out this video where a guy makes a glass cat in less than 2 minutes.
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20 of the world's strangest endangered species. It doesn't even pay to be a cute animal anymore - no one is safe!
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In college, my Saturdays were often spent on the couch watching countless hours of Mythbusters marathons. Never failing to impress, Adam and Jamie have done it again - this time creating a machine that can draw a Mona Lisa in 80 milliseconds at NVIDIA's show. Be sure to watch until the very end where they replay it in slow motion. Amazing!
The Sartorialist is a great photo blog if you're looking to see what crazy, amazing, and often inspired outfits people are wearing on the streets these days.
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From Jan, a photoshop "simplicity" contest for a $500 Apple gift card. According to pattern, it seems most everyone could use a much simpler phone and computer to start.
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Because there can never be too much discussion about the Dark Knight ... an article on Game Theory in the opening scene of the latest Batman film.
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Friend of Mental_Floss Regator.com just launched their site, which is most definitely worth a look. It's a blog aggregator (get it?) that features hand-picked stories from the internet each day, with users voting on the content. It's a great way to find out the best of the best! (For instance, I just found this gem on there).
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If you're as upset as I am and countless other HP fans that the next Harry Potter movie has been delayed until Summer 2009, you will get a major chuckle from this video on the subject. Never have subtitles been so unexpected (and apt!)
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From Joanna, this site allows you to input text or a URL to see which words appear most frequently, and arranges them in an aesthetically pleasing way. Full disclosure: my OS isn't upgraded enough for the Java applet, but I'd be interested to see what comes up when you put up mentalfloss.com. Can someone try and link to it?
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A note from Jason: This is long overdue, but we need to crown a winner of the Wow Us With Your First Lady Facts contest. Congratulations to Jean Butler! Here's her entry:
Harriet Lane was the first First First Lady to have a warship named after her - the Revenue Cutter Harriet Lane, commissioned in 1857. The Revenue Cutter was the forerunner of today's US Coast Guard. Harriet Lane was the niece of our only bachelor President, James Buchanan and served as his hostess. She became such a huge fashion and social icon of the day, that she was referred to as America's First Lady. Thus began the tradition of referring to the President's wife/hostess as the first Lady.
Jean, I'll be in touch about your prize—Cormac O'Brien's Secret Lives of the First Ladies: What Your Teachers Never Told You About the Women of the White House (published by Quirk Books). Thanks to everyone who entered. We promise the next contest will not take 9 days to judge. Back to you, Allison.
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Is it an office supply or a crazy weapon? Find out here.
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Finally, have some fun with this collection of tongue twisters.
As you all bask in the cerulean resplendence of the forthcoming autumn this weekend, try not to forget to keep sending in those links! You know the drill: FlossyLinks@gmail.com.