The Predatory Lending Association takes a comic look at the dark practice of payday lending. Just when you thought charging 391% interest wasn't legal. This is from the same folks that created WalkScore.
posted to MetaFilter by commonmedia at 4:16 PM on November 13, 2007 (40 comments)

The forest preserve of Białowieza is considered to be the last primeval forest in lowland Europe. Because of its unique position on the border of the temperate and boreal climate zones, it contains a unique mixture of trees, such as Norway Spruce and oaks. It also contains an interesting mix of fauna, including the European Bison, beaver, wolves, and the Nazi re-creation of an extinct species.
posted to MetaFilter by never used baby shoes at 11:00 AM on November 13, 2007 (18 comments)

My 1952 Federal truck was originally a short frame water tank truck, I needed to lengthen the frame to accommodate the design of the house.
posted to MetaFilter by bigmusic at 10:45 PM on August 28, 2007 (36 comments)

In August 1781, the case of Brom and Bett vs. Ashley went to the jury. The year before, Mum Bett, a slave in the Ashley house since 1742, was struck by her mistress. Mum Bett left the house and refused to return. Bett had overheard conversations about the new Massachusetts constitution that included the clause, "All men are created equal" and argued that the clause applied to her. When the jury agreed, slavery was effectively abolished in the state of Massachusetts. Mum Bett took the name of Elizabeth Freeman and went to work in the employ of her lawyer. (More inside)
posted to MetaFilter by forrest at 12:44 PM on August 10, 2007 (34 comments)

The Rise and Fall of the Black Voter is a remarkable sequence of maps graphically describing the realignment of voting patterns in the U.S. during the past century (read this for a bit more context). It is an excellent companion to the purple maps of the most recent election, and a nice antidote to simplistic comparisons of pre-Civil War and recent electoral college maps. Republicans can bask in the glow of their successful "Southern Strategy," while Democrats can take heart that change, while often slow, is still possible.
posted to MetaFilter by googly at 11:57 AM on December 15, 2004 (7 comments)

Artificial reef off Fort Lauderdale coast now an ecological disaster. Then: A 1972 Goodyear news release proclaimed the reef would "provide a haven for fish and other aquatic species,' and noted the "excellent properties of scrap tires as reef material.' Now: "They're a constantly killing coral destruction machine."
posted to MetaFilter by nevercalm at 9:50 AM on February 19, 2007 (44 comments)

The Brine Pool, at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, is a salt pond more than 50 meters in length, whose water has such a high concentration of methane gas, that it supports surrounding mussel beds resembling a beach shoreline, around its entire perimeter. Called by some "one of the strangest places on earth", The Brine Pool also provides habitat for hag fish and other creatures who dive into and out of its salty water for cover and camoflage, as well as some weirdo worms that live on the strange frozen methane hydrates that can form in, or adjacent to such pools. In some photos, "waves" can be seen on the "surface" of The Brine Pool, as its heavy salt water remains distinct from the seawater of the Gulf above.
posted to MetaFilter by paulsc at 6:56 PM on September 19, 2006 (38 comments)

This song is called mathowie's community blog, and it's about mathowie, and the community blog, but mathowie's community blog is not the name of the community blog, that's just the name of the song. - lyrical brilliance by It's Raining Florence Henderson, with extra bits of artistic license taken in the studio. - Arlo-esque lead vocals by French Fry, aka Alex Millard, aka my brother.
posted to MeFi Music by cortex at 10:40 PM on September 3, 2006 (83 comments)

A PoMo audio montage, with existential overtones.
posted to MeFi Music by ladd at 3:19 PM on July 2, 2006 (3 comments)