10 off-topic items that may interest you

Hey, I'm catching up! This is only 26 days late (but it's only 25 days till Christmas)

Friday fun via Science, Engineering & Technology Blog by Anne on 24 October
The BBC offers this selection of space games. There are a Solar system jigsaw, a quiz on voyages to the Moon, a space doctor game, and a space invaders game.

How to build lethal weapons from office supplies via TechRepublic Blogs by Jay Garmon on 29 October
Why spend your money on common Nerf weapons when you can hack together a truly dangerous device by raiding the office manager's supply closet? It's almost worth the inevitable lawsuits.


Oldest toy in Britain via Boing Boing by David Pescovitz on 23 October
The carved animal figure [above in the original posting] may be the oldest child's toy in Britain. Archaeologists from the University of Bristol found it last month near Stonhehnge and think it's at least 2,000 years old. They dug it out of a young child's grave. There is some debate about whether the toy is a pig or hedgehog.

Friday fun
via Science, Engineering & Technology Blog by Anne on 11/14/08
Check out these alternatives to the standard periodic table of elements.
The periodic table of comic books
The wooden periodic table
An animated version of Tom Lehrer's The elements


Weblog: Mustaches of the Nineteenth Century
via Phil Bradley's weblog by 6 November
No, I am NOT making this up. It is there, complete with pictures.

Bananas, euromyths and ridiculous regulations
via Nosemonkey's EUtopia by nosemonkey on 12 Novembe
And so yet more silly EU regulations bite the dust, as a bunch of rules on the physical appearance of fruit and vegetables are set to go the way of the Dodo. The most famous of these, of course, being the infamous "straight banana" euromyth that has been doing the rounds of the UK tabloids for years - "Brussels bureaucrats ban bananas!" and suchlike.
Whoever Nosemonkey is s/he is upset that the scrapping of some of the more ridiculous regulations removes a means of making fun of the EU.

Fan powered flying car
via Boing Boing by Mark Frauenfelder on 11 November
Charles Platt pointed me to this Times Online article about a fan-poweerd flying car. The British inventor is going to fly it from London to Timbuktu.

The worst excuses for missing work via TechRepublic Blogs by Toni Bowers on 28 October
A CareerBuilder survey reveals some of the weirdest reasons employees have given to explain a day off.

Friday fun via Science, Engineering & Technology Blog by Anne on 17 October
The BBC compiled this mathematical quiz to accompany Radio 4's More or Less programme in 2005.
See how many you can answer! Remember the quiz was written in 2005 so some of the questions refer to that year.

Arts & Letters Daily 11 November
So when did public intellectuals start dying out? With the invention of the Web, or was it in the days of John Stuart Mill – or ancient Athens?... more

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