After twelve years of not getting laid, Yan Yan the Chinese panda finally kicked the bucket late Monday at the Berlin Zoo. Officials admits she died alone and nobody immediately noticed. Now the media is running with the story that the popularity of Knut the polar bear cub may be the reason behind the death of his neighbor. In other news, the European Union celebrated its 50th birthday in Berlin. Nobody noticed.
posted by phaedon at 11:59 PM PST - 31 comments

The Problem of the Rupee. Starting off as a silver-based unit of currency by the 15th century ruler, Sher Shah Suri, the Rupee (wiki) has had a long and chequered history encompassing most of Asian and East-African colonial history. Issued by the British, the French, the Dutch, the Japanese, the Portuguese, the Germans and even the Danish, the rupee as a brand-name existed far beyond India, Pakistan, Nepal, Maldives, Sri Lanka Seychelles or the Mauritius. _{(more inside)}
posted by the cydonian at 11:47 PM PST - 15 comments

McPwnd. Person in charge of John McCain's MySpace presence decides to use Mike Davidson's MySpace/CSS hack, but fails to credit Mike, and directly hotlinks his images. Result: "Today I announce that I have reversed my position and come out in full support of gay marriage ... particularly between passionate females." Oops. Remember, folks: hotlinks are bad.
posted by brownpau at 9:53 PM PST - 58 comments

A Do-Nothing Good-for-Nothing Council
posted by yoel88 at 9:31 PM PST - 24 comments

Meth Candy! The media are reporting that meth is being mixed with candy to "make it more appealing to younger users". But drug candy is not new, although it's more likely accidentally given to kids, or maybe it's mostly speculation , hysteria and urban legends? Of course, there's always candy flipping, or chocolate pills. Just remember that chocolate is not an antidepressant.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 9:22 PM PST - 70 comments

Interactive Atlas of Indigenous Australia. (Java) "Choose from a range of maps covering historical, social, cultural, political and environmental themes."
posted by dhruva at 9:16 PM PST - 4 comments

Have you ever gotten stuck in a never-ending game of Monopoly? Turns out the game wouldn't take so long if we didn't play with so many made-up rules. There are many different variations of house rules. Some people even make up their own extreme game. The official Monopoly rules are posted at Monopoly Collector, which also has game history and facts, as do the Monopoly pages at Hasbro. If you're into statistics, Durango Bill has an excellent article on Monopoly probabilities. Also related, old-style Monopoly card illustrations. And just for fun, check out "Monopoly Cards We'd Like To See" at Dribble Glass. Or, make your own Chance and Community Chest cards at Sign Generator.
posted by amyms at 8:47 PM PST - 46 comments

Kermit the Frog covers Johnny Cash's cover of NIN's "Hurt."(NSFW)
posted by inconsequentialist at 7:14 PM PST - 63 comments

I'M THE HIGH PLAINS HEAVY METAL IRON MASTER, BOY!
posted by jason's_planet at 5:03 PM PST - 15 comments

Nearby residents didn't seem too upset. No one claimed it was the work of aliens or a secret cult. 250 animal carcases dumped. Included coyotes, dogs, cats cows, the usual stuff. "I'm a little concerned about it,""Stuff like that happens," she shrugged. But the folks in the forums think otherwise and have opinions as to what should happen to the deed doers and the cause of their actions.
posted by mss at 4:15 PM PST - 24 comments

Three Strikes is a TV pilot from the writers of Frasier, Larry Sanders and King of the Hill and executive produced by Jon Stewart for Comedy Central. It was turned down by the network but like Nobody's Watching the makers have turned to YouTube to revive its chances [Parts 1, 2, 3]. [via TVtattle]
posted by meech at 3:24 PM PST - 24 comments

The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. [25 min Google Video.]
posted by homunculus at 3:18 PM PST - 37 comments

How To Get Rid of Stuff This site? Just what it says.
posted by konolia at 3:12 PM PST - 14 comments

The Worst Films of "The Modern Era?" There are dozens of places to start - do you go by cost of production to theater revenue? Here's a list of criterias to make it the worst of the worst. Or perhaps by continuity errors? Blatant ignoring of the laws of immutable physics? This Christian Group has their criterias ... (American Psycho-ZERO). IMDB's "people" votes? man, there's lot of hate for "Crossover." It didn't get any noms at the "Razzies." And if your memory fails, check out the previous "losers." Is Everyone a Critic? Or the best film critic - here's Ebert's list (though I SERIOUSLY disagree on TOMMY BOY!). Many others weigh in: Digital Dreams; Maxim, Rotten Tomatoes, Stinkers (in alphabetical order); Metacritic and Leonard Maltin for your PDA/mobile (you'll have to do a sort on BOMB). And of course, (NSFW) the worst porn titles. Er, Enjoy!
posted by jbelkin at 2:42 PM PST - 75 comments

Graffiti murals seen in the Ukraine.
posted by Burhanistan at 2:19 PM PST - 11 comments

"Thank God I Was Raped!" Thank God for creepily masochistic self-help concepts! Thank God for network marketing publishing stunts that prey on the deranged! Thank God I was scammed out of real money by an advocate of rape therapy! But most of all, thank God there's an affiliate program!
posted by MaxVonCretin at 1:17 PM PST - 78 comments

Riddle: What has an eye on the bottom, and a hexagon on the top? [ answer inside ]
posted by (bb|[^b]{2}) at 12:41 PM PST - 26 comments

Gwen Shamblin's faith-based weight loss program, The Weigh Down Workshop, has been so successful that in 1999 she spun off her own Evangelical church, now found in over 100 cities worldwide. Her weight loss methods are not without controversy, and her church has recently been in the news.
posted by Chinese Jet Pilot at 12:33 PM PST - 24 comments

BloggingheadsTV has been discussed here before and it’s a bit wonkish on policy issues. Last night’s Althouse outburst was a bit different. About four minutes in...
posted by mania at 11:29 AM PST - 56 comments

Experiemental Thumb Pianos flickr photoset
posted by Dave Faris at 11:00 AM PST - 19 comments

Poison Dart Machine Hidden at Hong Kong Race Track No good explanation for why and how someone dug up the turf at a Hong Kong racetrack and installed a machine capable of blowing poison darts at the horses. The Triads? (First link NYT)
posted by RandlePatrickMcMurphy at 10:47 AM PST - 26 comments

Fuck SCRaps, RON N CANDY, BIG Baby Jesus, Rivise Your ideas, WE'RE ALWAYS WILLING TO GIVE SOMEBODY A CHANCE BUT, FUCK THE NEDS, SOCIALISM IN OUR LIFETIME, READ THE TESTOSTERONE FILES, I love my Mom, PASTRAMI DOT.COMMI, You too deserve HAPPINESS!, ZAPPA WAS OUR Beethoven, Aug 2, 1943, Paul is a weasal, LED ZEPPELIN RULES, FUCK YUO...
posted by serazin at 10:39 AM PST - 24 comments

"It is very rare I am lost for words but I saw the statue last week and it is awesome - a tremendous tribute to a great man. [Southampton] Fans have waited a long time for this and it is going to be fantastic. I really believe it will be the best football statue anywhere both in size and the amount of detail" -- Ted Bates Trust chairman Dave Ford

Then again, maybe not.
posted by crumbly at 9:15 AM PST - 38 comments

I talk to my haircut. The Rev. Dr. Fred Lane was a dada jazzbo as part of the Raudelunas scene in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in the 70s and 80s. His real name is T. R. Reed, and he's a creator of wonderful whirligigs. There's also a documentary in the works (careful of your eyes on that page).
posted by sleepy pete at 8:51 AM PST - 13 comments

The Evolution of Homer Simpson Best. (and Longest.) Couch gag. Evar.
posted by miss lynnster at 8:50 AM PST - 84 comments

Doctor Who fun and games. While you wait for Series 3 to start - and toss and turn wondering who the next Doctor will be - blow a little bit of time with K-9, the Daleks and the Slitheen.
posted by jbickers at 8:48 AM PST - 56 comments

Revolution: by Ben Whitehouse. Revolution is a series of 24 hour high definition digital art works that record every movement, change of light, weather and mood that takes place at the chosen composition in a 24 hour period - one revolution of the planet. Artist Ben Whitehouse took digital videos of various landscapes that are 24 hours long and are viewed in real time. On this site are 3 minute edited clips created to show some of the transitions that take place within them. Included, among others, are North Bar Lake, Central Park and Lake Michigan.
posted by psmealey at 8:21 AM PST - 4 comments

Impaired emotional processing affects moral judgements. People with damage to a key emotion-processing region of the brain also make moral decisions based on the greater good of the community, unclouded by concerns over harming an individual.
posted by semmi at 8:17 AM PST - 48 comments

Cheap Donuts and Expensive Broccoli: the Effect of Relative Prices on Obesity. Using data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) for the period 1982-1996, we find that individual BMI measures, as well as the likelihood of being overweight or obese, exhibit a statistically significant positive correlation with the prices of healthful relative to unhealthful foods.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 8:10 AM PST - 61 comments

The Onion News Network. The Onion now comes in a tube.
posted by srboisvert at 7:26 AM PST - 49 comments

The Punk Years, "A definitive history of the music that shook the world, looking at the origins and development of the punk rock movement as a social, historical, political and musical force. Achieved a record audience for Play UK on Saturday July 13th 2002." Parts 1: Wham Bam Thank You Glam [1,2,3] | 2: Year Zero [1,2,3] | 3: 1977 Never Get To Heaven [1,2,3] | 4: Take Three Chords [1,2,3] | 5: A Riot Of Your Own [1,2,3] | 6: Typical Girls [1,2,3] | 7: Ridicule Is Nothing To Be Scared Of [1,2,3] | 8: Punx Not Dead [1,2,3] | 9: Independents Days [1,2,3] | 10: California Uber Alles [1,2,3]. (via)
posted by kolophon at 4:24 AM PST - 110 comments

A Hidden Picasso: Will Shank always suspected something was buried beneath Picasso's Scène de Rue, a somber street scene painted by Picasso in the fall of 1900 during his first stay in Paris. X-rays revealed a second painting: a nightclub scene which appeared to be the prototype for Picasso's Le Moulin de la Galette, a 1900 painting thought to be the first Picasso made in Paris. Technicians extracted the colors visible through the cracks in the surface of Scène de Rue and transferred them onto a black-and-white radiograph.
posted by fandango_matt at 12:26 AM PST - 17 comments