10 non-work-related items that I found fun or interesting

Is the sun hard, or squishy? Reddit knows. via Boing Boing by Maggie Koerth-Baker
The collective genius of Reddit tackles a great science question from a toddler: Is the Sun hard or squishy? (Via Arria Belli)

via Arts and Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
In 1932, William Shirer, a reporter in Paris, was abruptly fired from his job at the Chicago Tribune. On a whim, he took off for Berlin...more

Brands and companies that last via In through the Outfield by Neil Infield
I have recently been sent a link to a blog post about 10 Old Brands That Managed to Stay Modern. Although it is a list of US brands, it got me thinking about companies and brands that last.
More

via Arts and Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Scholars secluded in disciplinary silos can't begin to understand social change. The result is bad social science. The cure, says Francis Fukuyama, is to train a new generation of Samuel Huntingtons...more

Is Google Messing with Human Memory? via Stephen's Lighthouse by admin
Recommended posting for those who think about media hype about Google and the Web:
The “Google Effect” Debunked: Human Memory Changes Did Not Start with Search Engines via Search Engine Journal by Gez Hebburn
“A research team led by psychologist Betsy Sparrow at Colombia University has identified a ‘new’ form of amnesia, and dubbed it the Google effect.
They are claiming – and being echoed by millions of copycat blog posts and news releases desperate for trending content – that Internet search has changed the way we think.”
Main points of Stephen’s post are:

• The Google Effect is as Old as Words
• Literacy is the Main Factor in Memory Evolution
• Libraries are storing information, culture and knowledge! They're messing with human memory!

Read in full (including the link to the original SearchEngine post)

via Arts and Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
That Heda Margolius Kovály had to write a memoir about life under Nazism and Communism is a horror. That she did it so well is a gift...more

Desert Storm Brewing: Iraq Invades Kuwait via Britannica Blog by Richard Pallardy
“Let them taste the chalice of death.”
So said the Crown Prince of Kuwait, Sheikh Saʿd al-’Abd Allāh al-Sālim al-Ṣabāḥ, of the Iraqi forces invading his country on August 2, 1990. At the command of Ṣaddām Ḥussein, they had crossed the border dividing the neighboring nations at about 2 in the morning. This act of conquest precipitated a brutal conflict that eventually drew in United Nations forces.
Read the full post, which, as always from Britannica, includes some great graphics

via Arts and Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
A skilled actor pretending to be a medical expert can, alas, fool even real medical experts. The implications of this depressing fact are good news for Big Pharma...more
Having read this piece, and many of the following comments, I’m convinced this is a case for all things grey being called elephants!

Ancient exercise contraptions and their well-dressed users via Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow
Another great gallery from How To Be A Retronaut (which is fast becoming one of my favorite sites on the net): a gallery of extraordinary vintage exercise machines. The best part of these images are the “athletic wear” enjoyed by their users – skirts and petticoats, three-piece suits, watch-chains, and shiny leather shoes.
Vintage Exercise Machines

via Arts and Letters Daily – ideas, criticism, debate
Why is it that a personal, hand-drawn map can be so very much more useful than a map pulled off the Web? Julia Turner wonders...more

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