Today's Trivia Ten

Cognition, video games and silver surfers via Mental Health Update by John Gale on 15 December
Playing computer games has traditionally been seen as a young person's activity but an increasing number of older people are “silver surfers” and a recent study has shown that playing video games can improve cognition in this group.
Find out more about this research

Canned Libraries Open New Vistas To Readers (Aug, 1936) via Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow on 1 December
In this 1936 Modern Mechanix article, a fantasy about shrinking the Library of Congress to fit "in a few small filing cabinets" on microfiche/film. Once this is done, copies of the great library will be distributed to worthy institutions all over the world.

Friday fun via Science, Engineering & Technology Blog by Anne on 19 December
If you haven't come across it before then check out NORAD tracks Santa. See a video of Santa as he travelled the world last year, follow the Christmas countdown with updates from the North pole and prepare to track Santa this year either on the NORAD site or on Google Earth.
Fermilab has an article and correspondence on how Santa can manage his deliveries in the time available and how he satisfies the laws of physics.

Pet owners reined in by conduct code - The Guardian via Current Awareness by traceydennis on 5 November
"The cats will already have figured out that under the government's new code of conduct for pet owners the rule 'create a suitable environment for your pet to live in' should mean extra sardines and access to the duvet pile in the airing cupboard. An eight-week consultation period, on codes of conduct for owners of cats, dogs and horses, was introduced yesterday by the environment secretary, Hilary Benn, who said the guidance gave practical advice on how people should meet their responsibilities under the 2006 Animal Welfare Act."
Full story

One Minute Languages
Claims that you can learn the basics of a language in a matter of minutes. One Minute Languages will introduce you to a new language from scratch. Each language features ten lessons and each lesson is only a couple of minutes long.

Numskulls, Noodles, and Nincompoops via Daily Writing Tips by Maeve on 19 November
When I began to research words meaning "stupid person," I expected to find ten or so common ones and be done with it.
Instead I've found dozens upon dozens of English words used to describe a person of perceived limited intelligence.
I plan to continue my research, but here are twelve for a start.

Will life on planet Google be a nightmare or a dream? [The Independent]

Friday fun via Science, Engineering & Technology Blog by Anne on 7 November
Many of us have been enjoying fireworks this week but how much do we know of the science behind them.
Check out these sites and impress your friends with your knowledge!
Kaboom! from NOVA looks at the anatomy of a firework, and the contributions of individual chemical elements.
NOVA also provide a companion site to their television programme Fireworks! which was originally broadcast in 2002.
Pyrotechnics - the art of fire by Petri Pikho covers the art and science of fireworks.
Professor Bassam Z. Shakhashiri of the University of Wisconsin-Madison has a page on fireworks as part of his chemical of the week series.

Friday fun via Science, Engineering & Technology Blog by Anne on 21 November
The Mathematical Association of America (MAA) provides this blog of daily mathematical puzzles taken from the American Mathematics Competitions. Each puzzle has a hint, a solution and an indication of its difficulty.

via Arts & Letters Daily - ideas, criticism, debate on 23 October
Charles Schulz's one regret: he never once let Charlie Brown kick the football held out for him by Lucy. What was it about that unkicked football?... more

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