flickering pictures

Before I read this, I didn’t know that octopuses could navigate mazes, solve problems, and even work the lid off a screw-top jar in search of food.
Wikipedia says:

An octopus has a highly complex nervous system, only part of which is localized in its brain. Two-thirds of an octopus’s neurons are found in the nerve cords […]

[Read more →]

Just a little one today.
A Scottish study is shedding light on ways to safely manipulate hormone levels in men to decrease — or increase — sperm production. The result could finally lead to a long-elusive birth control pill for men, as well as new fertility-enhancing techniques for men with low sperm counts.
From the Times […]

[Read more →]

All you Italian soccer players out there can skip this lesson — hell, you could probably teach the class.
The BBC asks the asinine question: “Could a rugby injury be faked?” Yes, yes it could — and Nick Asbury of the Royal Shakespeare Company has put together a tutorial video to show you how, complete […]

[Read more →]

When I stumbled across a brief history of bartitsu on the Web, I assumed it was a Simpsons joke at best or a ninth-rate Shaq-Fu clone at worst. But as it turns out, bartitsu is a legitimate blend of jiujitsu, sumo wrestling, French kickboxing, stick fighting, and other martial arts. And despite all […]

[Read more →]

Yes, it’s a rock. But a lot of people want it. Here’s why.
The creatively named island of Rockall sits just northwest of Ireland and south of Iceland in the Atlantic Ocean, and unless you to listen to BBC shipping forecasts, it’s a safe bet you’ve never heard of it. At about 83 […]

[Read more →]

CNN takes a rare look beyond the borders of the Homeland to chronicle Britain’s long, proud tradition of throwing disgusting things in politicians’ faces. It’s not exactly news, but it beats the hell out of this, so we’ll call it a step in the right direction:
Here’s an excerpt:

Friday’s custard attack by an environmental campaigner […]

[Read more →]

This would be hilarious if it weren’t so terrifying.
The BBC reports:

HMS Vanguard and Le Triomphant were badly damaged in the crash in heavy seas earlier this month.
[…] The submarines are equipped with sonar to detect other vessels nearby but our correspondent said it be might the case that the anti-sonar devices, meant to hide […]

[Read more →]

Equal parts gimmicky and awesome, the Black Cab Sessions feature musicians from Lykke Li and the Cold War Kids to the Raveonettes and Martha Wainwright, all playing in the back seats of London’s iconic black cabs. The videos on the official site can sometimes be more than a little choppy, but the Youtube versions […]

[Read more →]

With their country’s economy reeling, Britons in search of inexpensive pastimes are apparently shopping less and shagging more.
The BBC reports:

A YouGov survey of 2,000 adults found sex was the most popular free activity, ahead of window shopping and gossiping.
The Scots were most amorous with 43% choosing sex over other pastimes, compared with 35% in South […]

[Read more →]

Strange Maps, a delightful little site that has quickly become one of my favourites, tells the story of the “Routefinder,” a dapper-looking set of wrist-mounted scrolls that provided step-by-step directions for British intercity travel in the roaring 20’s:

The technology - a curious cross between the space age and the stone age - consisted of a […]

[Read more →]