Obit: Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist - last of the anti-Hitler plotters

The Economist has the obituary of Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist.  During the Second World War he twice agreed to be a suicide bomber in plots to assassinate Adolph Hitler.  He was the last surviving member of the July 20 plot (which was the subject of the Tom Cruise movie Valkyrie). 

Words from Shakespeare

Mental Floss has a post listing twenty words that were coined by William Shakespeare.  Apparently he created "over 2200 never-before-seen words".  I was amazed that one of them was the word manager.

Obit: John E. Karlin - Dialing Pioneer

The New York Times has the obituary of John Karlin who was involved in the development of the modern telephone numbering scheme.

2013 Dakar Rally Photos

The Atlantic has a nice photo post on this year's Dakar Rally.  I have never understood why this event doesn't get more coverage.

Awesome Gadget-filled Antique Desk

Make has a post with a video demonstrating the amazing features of an antique desk.  There is no electricity in the desk, all of the mechanisms are powered by falling weights.

How Tall can a Lego Tower get?

The BBC has an article, though it was in many other places as well, about a study to determine the maximum possible height of a tower made of Lego bricks.  The short answer is 3.5 km but it is worth reading the article to see how they figured that out.

via The Brothers Brick

Where the Bombs Hit

Bombsight is a website that maps the locations of all of the German bombs that were dropped on London during the Blitz (7 October 1940 to 6 June 1941).  Apparently two bombs fell on the small street we used to live on in Fulham and four landed in the square opposite my first London apartment (as well as two on the block where the apartment was).

via Yahoo News

The Sun's Energy

According to this Google+ post, the sun produces enough energy in one second to power the world for 1 million years.

Follow up: A vaguely related article in the Economist has a graph showing the falling cost per Watt of solar panels.

Mayan Calendar Converter

Now that we know the Mayan calendar still works, the New York Times has a page that converts dates to and from the Mayan system. 

NYC Criminals take day off

The Guardian reports that on Monday 26 November 2012 no one was murdered, stabbed or the victim of a violent crime in New York City.

New York police department chief spokesman Paul Browne said it was "first time in memory" that the city's police force had experienced such a peaceful 24 hours.
It comes at the end of year when the city is on target to have its lowest murder rate since 1960.

I lived in New York in 1991 and I remember my colleagues there mentioning that one big advantage of living in Toronto was that if you were murdered you were guaranteed to make the news.  In NYC at the time you would have to be murdered in a particularly gruesome way to get a mention.

Google Map of Canadian Census

This site has a nice map interface for viewing some of the data from the latest Canadian census.  It is interesting how the size of the areas being displayed changes as the map is zoomed in.

via Google Maps Mania

Hindenburg Photos

The Atlantic has a nice photo article about the Hindenburg and its fiery end.

via Rebecca's Pocket

The British have Invaded all but 22 Countries

According to this article in the Telegraph, the British have invaded all but 22 of the 190+ countries on Earth.  They do stretch things a bit far to come up with the numbers though.  They basically use present day countries and their current borders.  Then, if the British have ever invaded any place that is now within those boundaries, they count that country as having been invaded by Britain.  Canada for example has never been invaded by the UK but is counted since territories presently held by Canada have been.

I was also rather surprised that the British have never invaded Luxembourg.

via Kottke.org

There is an Abacus in Your Head

The Guardian has a blog post about a strange new sport called Flash Anzan.  Basically the game consists of rapidly adding a series of numbers in your head.  Like a spelling bee anyone who gets the wrong answer is eliminated then another round begins with the numbers displayed faster.  This year's winner added 15 three digit numbers in 1.7 seconds.

via No Tech Magazine

A Summary of Everything

Astronomy Picture of the Day has a post with a video that basically shows the history of the universe in one minute.  There may be some simplification but it is nicely done.

Toronto's First World War Dead

Global TV has a post with a map showing the locations of the homes of all of the soldiers from Toronto who were killed in the First World War.  According to the text:

in Toronto, about 2 per cent of the total male population was killed in the war

Make a Fist With Your Left Hand

The Atlantic has a story about a study that claims athletes can prevent choking under pressure by making a fist with their left hand. It only applies to situation where they are performing a task they have performed many times before (a "motor skill").

"Hemisphere-specific priming" appears to discourage over-thinking in high-pressure situations. Activating the right hemisphere of the brain by doing a simple action with the left side of the body (making a fist, in this case) appears to negate context-related declines in complex motor performance.

via kottke.org

The Evolution of the Airline Baggage Tag

Slate has an interesting article about the evolution of the baggage tags used on commercial airplanes.  There's more to it than just the bar code.

via Flowing Data

How Corks Are Made

WineAnorak has an nicely illustrated two part article explaining how corks are made.

via kottke.org

Factoid: No one born since 1935 has walked on the moon

If you look at Wikipedia's list of Apollo astronauts you will notice that the youngest, Charles Duke, was born on October 3, 1935.

No one born since 1935 has ever walked on another world.  No Baby Boomers, no Gen-X.

Where Can You Not Buy Coca-cola?

The BBC has an article about which countries you can buy Coca-cola in.  It turns out there are only two where you can't: Cuba and North Korea.

Working for Your Beer

The Economist has a post comparing how long the average worker in various countries has to work to buy a beer.  It varies from nearly an hour in India to about five minutes in the US.

The Drake Equation

Presumably you are all familiar with the Drake Equation which lets you calculate to probability of intelligent alien life.  The BBC has a webpage that lets you play around with the various figures in the equation and see how many alien civilizations you would end up with.

Video of Mark Twain

Kottke.org has a post with a video of the only known film footage of Mark Twain.

Drivers in France Must Carry Breathalyzers

The Telegraph reports that drivers in France now have to carry two(!) single-use breathalysers in their cars at all times.  I didn't even know there was such a thing as a single-use breathalyser.

Are You Too Old for the Olympics

The Washington Post has an article that will show you which Olympic sports you are still young enough for.

People Used to Sleep Twice As Often

According to the BBC, the idea of sleeping right through the night is a fairly modern one.  Apparently in antiquity people would sleep for a few hours in the early evening then get up for a few hours then go back to bed.

His book At Day's Close: Night in Times Past, published four years later, unearths more than 500 references to a segmented sleeping pattern - in diaries, court records, medical books and literature, from Homer's Odyssey to an anthropological account of modern tribes in Nigeria.

Much like the experience of Wehr's subjects, these references describe a first sleep which began about two hours after dusk, followed by waking period of one or two hours and then a second sleep. 

Words We Don't Have in English

I think I may have blogged about this sort of thing before but I liked this list of foreign words that we don't have in English.

Some favourites:

Arigata-meiwaku (Japanese): An act someone does for you that you didn’t want to have them do and tried to avoid having them do, but they went ahead anyway, determined to do you a favor, and then things went wrong and caused you a lot of trouble, yet in the end social conventions required you to express gratitude

 Ilunga (Tshiluba, Congo): A person who is ready to forgive any abuse for the first time, to tolerate it a second time, but never a third time

 L’esprit de l’escalier (French): usually translated as “staircase wit,” is the act of thinking of a clever comeback when it is too late to deliver it

 Pena ajena (Mexican Spanish): The embarrassment you feel watching someone else’s humiliation

Evolution of Basketball Uniforms

Dubly has an infographic showing the evolution of the proffessional basketball uniform.  Interestingly it has been getting larger since the 1960s'.

via Flowing Data

2011 Census Map

Global News has a Google Map showing newly released information from the 2011 Canadian census.  You can finally find out for example what percentage of people in your neighbourhood are female.

via Google Maps Mania

Photo: A Dog Dressed as Two Pirates

I'm not really sure how to categorise this but on Twitter we have a photo of, well, a dog dressed as two pirates.

The Shadow of an Eclipse

Astronomy Picture of the Day has a photo of the Earth during the recent annular eclipse.  You can see the shadow of the moon quite clearly.

Apple I For Sale

According to Digital Trends, Sotheby's are auctioning off a working Apple I computer.  It is expected to go for more than $120,000.

Guinness-only QR Code

The dieline has a post about a new pint glass from Guinness with a QR code that can only be read when the glass is full of stout.  If the glass is empty or the contents are amber colour then the code is not readable.

via boing-boing

Youth Mortality

The Economist has a chart showing death rates and causes for 10-24 year-olds in various countries around the world.  It is interesting to compare not just the total death rates - twice as high in the US than in Singapore - but also the differences in the causes - the violence and suicide figures vary hugely.

How Hard is that Language?

Not entirely sure of the source here but here is an info-graphic showing the difficulty ratings assigned to various languages (from the point of view of an English speaker) by the US Foreign Service Institute.

via LifeHacker

Maps of Wikipedia

Trace Media has a post with some maps generated by plotting the locations associated with Wikipedia entries.  It is amazing how similar they look to nighttime pictures of the Earth.

via infosthetics

Obit: The Girl in the Wallet Photo

I always find it interesting to read about people who had minor roles in historical events.  In this case the Telegraph has the obituary of Jean Gerard Leigh her picture was used as part of the false identity created during the Second World War for a body placed in the sea for the Germans to find with a set of false invasion plans in a briefcase locked to its wrist.  Operation Mincemeat fooled the Germans into leaving Sicily lightly defended before the Allied invasion.

World Population Density

Derek  Watkins has a neat little page that lets you slide a slider to see which parts of the world have a particular population density.

via Flowing Data

Airship Photo-gallery

The Telegraph has a nice photo gallery in an article about a huge sale of airship memorabilia.

Lego Math Building

An excellent micro-scale Lego model of the Math Building at the University of Waterloo.

via The Brothers Brick

Photo: Io Over Jupiter

Astronomy Picture of the Day has a nice shot of the moon Io in front of Jupiter.

The Last Swimming Elephant in the Andaman Sea

The Telegraph has a photo gallery about the last sea going elephant in the Andaman Sea.  The elephants and their mahouts used to travel from island to island to do heavy lifting but have now all be replaced by heavy equipment.

Photo: Tungurahua Erupts

Astronomy Picture of the Day has a nice shot of an erupting volcano.

Vintage Travel Posters

Brain Pickings has a post with some really nice vintage travel posters.

Explaining Commercial TV to a 4 Year Old

Minimal Mac has a post that relates trying to explain commercial TV to a four year old who had only encountered streaming TV and DVDs before a family vacation to a friend's house.

via Google+

The Only Recording of Someone Born in the 18th Century

The Atlantic has an article about a recording recently found in the Edison archives.  The recording was made in 1889 and includes the voice of German military strategist Helmuth von Moltke who was born in the year 1800.  There is a link in the article that will let you listen to the recording.

998,001

According to kottke.org if you divide 1 by 998,001 you get:

0.000001002003004005006007008009010011012013014015016017018019020021022023024025...

The three digit numbers in the decimal continue until 999 though they skip 998.

Domesday Book is Online for Free

The Open Domesday Book puts all the data from the 1086 AD book on the Internet with maps of all of the mentioned locations.  It also includes images of the original text. 

The Domesday Book was commissioned by William the Conqueror and was a survey of all of the landholdings in his new British domain.

via Google Maps Mania

Camera-less iPhone Available in Singapore

According to Engadget, Apple in Singapore have released a special iPhone that does not have camera.  This is because the Singaporean military does not allow its members to use phones with cameras.  The wrinkle here is that Singapore still has conscription and the young men doing their two years service are a prime market for expensive cell phones (and cellphone service).

Map: Ontario 2011 Election Poll by Poll Results

Global TV have an article with a Google Map showing the results for each poll in the 2011 Ontario Election.  My riding is a see of Liberal red except for a few little tiny Conservative blue boxes.  These seem to be the polls located in retirement homes.

via Google Maps Mania

Japanese Multiplication

Kottke.org has a post with a video demonstrating the way that Japanese people do multiplication.  I'm not quite sure how it works but it seems easier than the method taught in western schools.

Comic: History Repeats

A web comic.

Same Ship, Fewer People

According to the New York Times, the US Coast Guard is raising the average human weight used to calculate the passenger capacity of ships.  This means that many ships can now carry fewer passengers.  The old average was 160 lbs the new one is 185.

Video: Last US Troops Leave Iraq

Wired Dangerroom has a post with a video, taken by a Predator drone showing the last convoy of US troops leaving Iraq.  Not gripping footage but certainly of historical interest.

Infographic: Mass Killings

The New York Times has an info-graphic ranking various mass killings/killers in history.  I was a bit surprised that Genghis Khan tied with Mao for second place (after the Second World War).

via Dark Roasted Blend

The History of the Bendy Straw

The Atlantic has an article detailing the history of that most modern of products, the bendy straw.

via Make

Video: Cannonball into Tub of Mercury

Make has a blog post with a very short video showing what happens if you drop a cannonball into a tub of mercury.  I must say I did not see that coming.

Spiders in the Trees

National Geographic Photo of the Day has a weird picture of a bunch of trees in Pakistan that are covered in spider webs.  This isn't a normal thing, apparently during recent floods the spiders ran up into the trees.

Days Alive

According to the Amazing Days Alive Calculator, the 20,000th day of my life will be 1 January 2020.

A Map of British Road Deaths

Flowing Data has a post about with a graphic that maps every traffic death in the UK.  I guess it is obvious but it is amazing how much the picture looks like a satellite photo of the UK at night.

Comic: The Medium is the Message

I have a vague feeling I've seen this somewhere before but I do like this comic.

Dubai in the Clouds

National Geographic Photo of the Day has a nice photo of skyscrapers in Dubai poking through the clouds.

Blackberry Outage Saved Lives

According to The National (which seems to be a newspaper in the UAE) during the recent three day Blackberry outage the traffic accident rate in Dubai fell by 20%.

The Robot that Walks like a Man

Kottke.org has a post with a video of a walking biped robot.  Like the older Big Dog four legged robot this one walks in a very natural way and can even keep going when jostled.

Photo: Clouds Over Greenland

National Geographic has an awesome photo of some clouds over Inglefield Bay in Greenland.

Abandoned Submarines

1800Recycling has a post with photos of abandoned Soviet submarines rusting away in a bay in Russia.

via Dark Roasted Blend

How Old is Your Globe?

ReplogeGlobes has a list of no longer existant countries and the year they vanished.  You can use this to date the old globe you have in the attic.  I definitely remember the Central African Republic (1960) from some maps in school.

via kottke.org

Graphic: World Population Density and Income Level

National Geographic has an article with a graphic that shows both population density and income level across the world.  It is interesting the way that some of the bright spots follow national borders.

Nerdy Day Trips

NerdyDayTrips.com is the sort of site you check before you go somewhere on vacation just in case there is something interesting nearby.  The map starts up centred on the UK but you can move around to where ever you want.

via Google Maps Mania

Graphic: Distance to Nearest McDonald's - UK Version

Flowing Data has a post with an image of the UK where the brightness of a point reflects the distance to the nearest McDonald's.

Photo: The Earth and Moon

Discovery.com has a post with a picture of the Earth and Moon taken by the Juno space probe which is on its way to Jupiter.

via Slashdot

Photo: Human Stuff on the Moon

Astronomy Picture of the Day has a shot of the Apollo 17 landing site.  You can clearly see the lander, the lunar rover and some tracks on the surface.

The Psychology of Eating

Nutrition Action Letter has an interview with Brian Wansink of Cornell University.  He goes through quite a few external cues that can cause overeating.  Interestingly he says that people still respond to these cues even when they know about them.  He has a number of suggestions for ways you can use this information to reduce overeating.  He also explains the origin of those 100 calorie mini-packs of cookies and snacks.

via I will teach you to be rich

Obit: Peter Twiss - First to Fly Faster than 1000 MPH

The Telegraph has the obituary of Royal Navy Lt Commander Peter Twiss who in 1955 became the first person to fly faster than 1000 miles per hour.  He beat the previous speed record by over 300 mile per hour.

Photo: Meteor From Above

Astronomy Photo of the Day has a shot of one of the Perseid meteors taken looking downwards from the Space Station.

Last Photo of Shuttle from Orbit

Astronomy Picture of the Day has a rather sad photo of the last Space Shuttle reentering the Earth's atmosphere as seen from the International Space Station.

Factoid: Higher Muslims Have to Wait Longer to Break Fast

The Associated Press reports that Muslims who live more than 80 storeys above the ground have to wait an extra two minutes before breaking their fast during Ramadan.

Graphic: Highest to Lowest

Our Amazing Planet has an interesting infographic showing the range of heights on Earth.  I hadn't realised the South Pole was so high up.

If Everyone Lived in One City

Per Square Mile has a post with an image showing how much space would be required if all the people in the world lived at the same population density as various cities.  For example, if we all lived at the same density as New York City then we would all fit in Texas.  That would leave the entire rest of the world for growing food and theme parks.

via Flowing Data and Dark Roasted Blend

Photos of Last Shuttle Mission

The Big Picture has a page of photos of the recent (and final) Space Shuttle mission.

Space Walk With Logos

Astronomy Picture of the Day has a photo of an astronaut on a space walk at the end of the Canadarm.  Amusingly the only logo visible in the picture is the Canada wordmark and you can see it three times.

Comic Sans Comic

This comic is a bit hard to explain if you don't get it.  The key is that Comic Sans is a font.

Lego Robots Solve Rubik's Cube and Suduko

Singularity Hub has a post with some videos of a new super fast Lego robot that solves Rubik's cubes.  There are also videos of humans setting records solving the cubes and as a bonus there is a very cool, and very slow, Lego robot that solves Sudoku puzzles.

Stars Over Dubai

Astronomy Photo of the Day has a nice nighttime shot of Dubai.

The Great Stork Derby

I came across this quote:

In 1926, a wealthy Toronto lawyer and practical joker by the name of Charles Vance Millar died. In his last will and testament Mr. Millar bequeathed the residue of his estate to the woman in Toronto who could produce the most children in the 10-year period following his death. The race became known as The Great Stork Derby and, in 1936, there were four winning mothers who each had produced nine children. They each received $125,000, which in 2011 dollars had the same buying power as $2,032,050.

 the other day in the Globe and Mail.

I had never heard of this before but it is true according to Snopes and Wikipedia.

How Much Do They Make in the UK?

The British Office for National Statistics has a google map showing weekly income by neighbourhood.  It starts out zoomed in on central London but you can zoom back out to see the entire country (well England and Wales anyway - I guess the Scots didn't want to talk about how much money they make).

via Google Maps Mania

That File is Hard to Move

Flowing Data has a post about a computer mouse that gives its user tactile feedback.  For example it makes a larger file feel harder to move (ie heavier) than a smaller one.  I think that would probably get annoying after a while but it is still an interesting idea.

Last Vietnam-era Draftee to Retire from US Army

According to Yahoo News, the last person drafted into the US Army during the Vietnam War has decided to retire.  Command Sgt. Maj. Jeff Mellinger was drafted in 1972 but decided to stay in the army.

An Interesting Headboard

I like the idea behind this headboard.  (Not that I particularly like headboards.)

How Far Can You Go in 15 Minutes

Mapnificent is a site that will show you have far you can travel from your house on foot or by public transit in 15 minutes.  It only works in certain cities (presumably ones where they have the transit information).

via Flowing Data

Comic: Who are the Superheroes?

Optipess has a webcomic about accountants and super heroes.

Slow Motion Video of a Cymbal being Struck

Kottke.org has a post with a video of a cymbal being struck.  As he says there is way more movement than I would have expected.

Organise Cables with Bread Bag Closures

Make has an interesting way to label the cables under your desk.  Use those plastic tags that secure the plastic bags that bread comes in.  I might give this a try next time I make a sandwich.

Visualising Letter Frequencies

I'm not sure if this is art or not but this post shows a keyboard where the height of the key reflects the relative frequency of the letter.

via Flowing Data

Photo: Highland Cattle

National Geographic Photo of the Day has a great picture of some Highland Cattle.  For some reason these beasties always remind me of my wife's relatives.

I once encountered a small herd of them (cattle, not relatives) on a road in the Scottish Highlands.  They were standing on the road completely blocking it.  They completely ignored the car but as soon as I got out the all ran away.

Photo: Steampowered Fire Engine

A great photo on Flickr of a steam-powered fire engine.

via Dark Roasted Blend

Photo: Lightning in Front of Eclipse

Astronomy Picture of the Day has a nice shot of a lightning strike during the recent lunar eclipse.

Space Station With Shuttle

Astronomy Picture of the Day has a great photo of the International Space Station with the Space Shuttle Endeavour docked.

Photos and plans of the Hindenburg

This site has plans and photos of the various decks and cabins on the Hindenburg.  The interiors seem like a strange cross between old ocean liners and modern airplanes although the cabins look a bit like those on trains.