Are Da Vinci and the Mona Lisa the same person! A local art historian clued me into this a couple of hours ago. Seems the biggest debate is not occurring amongst the nations of France and Italy but the scientific need to retain some tenure amongst Mona's necessity to remain an enigma.
posted by Johnny Hazard at 11:11 PM PST - 36 comments

In 1660, the Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards marched from Scotland to London under the command of General Monck, and helped end Parliamentary rule and restored the monarchy under Charles II. 350 years later, to honour their former commander and to help raise funds for their injured colleagues, soldiers from the Coldstream Guards recreated the march in aid of charity. [more inside]
posted by Petrot at 6:11 PM PST - 9 comments

As Scott Jerome-Parks lay dying, he clung to this wish: that his fatal radiation overdose — which left him deaf, struggling to see, unable to swallow, burned, with his teeth falling out, with ulcers in his mouth and throat, nauseated, in severe pain and finally unable to breathe — be studied and talked about publicly so that others might not have to live his nightmare.

From the first of a series of articles by the New York Times, putting the spotlight on what happens when radiation therapy goes wrong. [more inside]
posted by Bukvoed at 4:58 PM PST - 49 comments

A former colonel, and lieutenant colonel team up to show that 56% of kids do well (or even VERY well) when their parents are shipped off to war (again). [more inside]
posted by hal_c_on at 4:21 PM PST - 42 comments

Mameshiba They're not quite a dog, nor a bean but a hybrid of both. They love to appear out of nowhere and offer random bits of trivia whether you asked for it or not.
posted by boo_radley at 3:26 PM PST - 62 comments

The Encyclopedia of Life [previously] is E.O. Wilson's dream become reality. It has been online since February of 2008, aiming to catalog the currently known 1.9 million species on our planet. You can also add text, images, video, comments, and tags. [ FAQ • Video Introduction • Tutorials ]
posted by not_on_display at 3:22 PM PST - 10 comments

This was going to be a post about japanese fighter ace Saburo Sakai(around 60 kills) while also mentioning Hiroyoshi "the Devil" Nishizawa, Japan's top WWII ace (around 110 kills). But while comparing them to aces of other countries I encountered something your average non-war buff american probably doesn't know. That is that about the top 60 fighter aces of WWII (and all time consequently) were all german. And where does the US rank on this list. You don't want to know.
posted by jake1 at 2:32 PM PST - 53 comments

The true story behind Comrade Mario.
posted by Effigy2000 at 2:14 PM PST - 17 comments

A child's garden of race car crashes. [more inside]
posted by philip-random at 1:31 PM PST - 40 comments

The devil rides out - How Dennis Wheatley sold black magic to Britain.
posted by Artw at 1:08 PM PST - 23 comments

Seymour Sarason, a man considered to be one of the fathers of community psychology and one of the most influential U.S. researchers in educational psychology and educational reform, died on Thursday at the age of 91. [more inside]
posted by emilyd22222 at 12:39 PM PST - 7 comments

America: A Personal History of the United States (MLYT). Alistair Cooke's critically acclaimed series, originally released in 1972 to educational institutions in the US, but still unavailable on DVD in region 1 despite requests to the BBC. Synopsis here.
posted by Balonious Assault at 10:25 AM PST - 13 comments

Over 650 Philip K. Dick book covers [more inside]
posted by carter at 10:19 AM PST - 39 comments

Hope for a fusion breakthrough this year. [more inside]
posted by Hardcore Poser at 9:51 AM PST - 65 comments

Rome's Ancient Aqueduct Found. "The long-sought aqueduct that delivered fresh, clean water to Rome nearly 2,000 years ago, is found beneath a pig pasture northwest of the Italian city."
posted by homunculus at 9:22 AM PST - 29 comments

The announcement of the iPad earlier this week has prompted a lot of discussion about ebook prices among publishers and their sales partners. That discussion took a major turn yesterday when Amazon pulled the buy buttons for Macmillan's books off their site. Many of Macmillan's titles are still available through Amazon, but only through third parties. Right now, one of the largest publishers in America is no longer available from Amazon because they can not agree on ebook prices. [more inside]
posted by Toekneesan at 9:18 AM PST - 310 comments

The Knife (previously) have released a studio recording of 'Tomorrow, In A Year,' an "electro-opera"{video} based upon Darwin's 'Origin of Species.' Listen to the whole thing here.
posted by ennui.bz at 8:31 AM PST - 18 comments

Timelines: Sources from History is a decade-by-decade visual index to the holdings of the British Library from the 1210s to the present.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 7:23 AM PST - 12 comments

Morocco by Motorbike. The perfect escape for a lazy weekend day. Just watch out for ancient tombs. [more inside]
posted by Eideteker at 5:52 AM PST - 10 comments

William Shatner Reads Edgar Allan Poe (SLYT)
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 2:55 AM PST - 32 comments