David Horvitz will do things for money.
posted to MetaFilter by flatluigi at 7:59 PM on February 24, 2008 (92 comments)

Yes, We Can! -- Obama's words, set to music.
posted to MetaFilter by empath at 9:52 AM on February 2, 2008 (184 comments)

Remember when TV raised us right? Time for Timer taught us about cheese, carrots, breakfast, and oral hygiene. The Abominable Snowman taught us about lunch, money, advertising, and the Food Group Disco! Woodsy Owl taught us to Give a Hoot! and keep America lookin' good! and Mr Yuk SCARED THE LIVING CRAP OUT OF US.
posted to MetaFilter by louche mustachio at 4:29 AM on February 1, 2008 (28 comments)

10 Universities Offering Free Writing Courses Online.
posted to MetaFilter by nickyskye at 10:45 PM on January 29, 2008 (15 comments)

Ubuntu has quickly become the number one Linux distro for the desktop. Not only is it free, but it has also made Linux easier to use than ever. Now, Wubi enables Windows users to install Ubuntu just like any other application, so you no longer have to mess around with partitions, burning CDs, etc.
posted to MetaFilter by Foci for Analysis at 8:09 AM on January 21, 2008 (82 comments)

Dolphins create rings of air bubbles!
posted to MetaFilter by proj08 at 12:37 PM on January 20, 2008 (47 comments)

"it turned out the abstract compositions in the posters contained hidden letters. (The one above, for example, displays the letter A.) Hung side by side on the streets, they spelled out N-A-Z-I. A public outcry followed, and within six weeks the company was ruined." Can a designer punish a company that helped the nazis? Maybe. Maybe not. (via swiss miss)
posted to MetaFilter by wittgenstein at 10:30 AM on January 14, 2008 (28 comments)

The Dec. 13th cover of the Lewiston Tribune [pdf] features an "unidentified thief" under a picture of a familiar looking window decorator [via waxy via vsl]
posted to MetaFilter by null terminated at 1:39 PM on December 21, 2007 (22 comments)

Nowhere-neat tilings are actually pretty neat. We all know you can't "square the circle", but do you know the story of squaring the square? (And by the way, even if you can't construct π with a ruler and compass, you can come awfully close without too much work.)
posted to MetaFilter by Wolfdog at 4:41 AM on December 4, 2007 (10 comments)

Straight from the Department of Things Everybody But Me Probably Knew About Two Years Ago, it was only yesterday that I discovered the mind-boggling usefulness of the Amazon Filler Item Finder, which allows you to enter the exact price of the item you need to pad your order up to $25.00 for free shipping. Happy postage-free holidays.
posted to MetaFilter by XQUZYPHYR at 7:14 AM on December 4, 2007 (54 comments)

How to make your writing simple, clear, and compelling. (And a little on getting published.)
posted to MetaFilter by serazin at 7:43 PM on January 10, 2007 (81 comments)

"You're really smart!" Psychologist Carol Dweck says that praising a child for being smart only teaches the kid to avoid any effort that might fail. "When we praise children for their intelligence, we tell them that this is the name of the game: Look smart, don't risk making mistakes." Malcolm Gladwell chimes in with his thoughts on the importance of being a smart kid, "What a gifted child is, in many ways, is a gifted learner. And what a gifted adult is, is a gifted doer. And those are quite separate domains of achievement."
posted to MetaFilter by revgeorge at 7:15 AM on February 13, 2007 (218 comments)

Name That TV Theme Song
Need help? Television Tunes has 3000+ themes available in mp3 format.
posted to MetaFilter by carsonb at 4:47 PM on December 1, 2007 (22 comments)

Do you remember an old photo of a thunderbird/pterodactyl, nailed against a barn wall, with men standing in it for scale? So do many others (including myself). But since that photo has entirely disappeared, are we all victims of a form of mass hysteria? Or victims of a massive reality-altering conspiracy (ctrl-f for 'Birdzilla')?
posted to MetaFilter by Kickstart70 at 9:26 PM on November 26, 2007 (103 comments)

What podcasts will make me more intelligent just by listening to them? I enjoy the BBC's "In Our Time", which features serious discussion of historical events and people by academics working in the field, and also quirky, thought-provoking programs like WNYC's "Radio Lab" and "This American Life". I'm not so keen on some of the podcasts I typically get from newspapers that gloss over the surface of a subject with little analysis. What other highbrow podcasts are made by people who really know their shit?
posted to Ask Metafilter by nowonmai at 9:01 AM on November 20, 2007 (59 comments)

"Over and over he scoops up a chick with his left hand, expels its droppings with a squeeze of his thumb, opens its vent with his fingers, peers through the magnifying lenses attached to his spectacles and determines its sex." It's a dirty job (YT). Sexing chicks early is important so that the cockerels can be separated and culled^ or fed to be broilers^. The obvious differences take weeks to develop, so when the vent sexing method was developed in Japan in the 1920s, professional chicken sexers became sought after.
posted to MetaFilter by parudox at 10:14 AM on November 19, 2007 (37 comments)

"Puppies Behind Bars" gives cute lil pups to hardened prison inmates, who train them to eventually be guide dogs and police bomb sniffers. The puppies teach the convicts as much, if not more. Being responsible 24/7 for a dog can turn the most hardened criminal's life around. "This is my way of doing something to reparate," says one murderer. Some say it's their first taste of unconditional love. "The strongest guy in here's going to get that lump in his throat," says an inmate. The dogs get weekend furloughs to NYC so they can get used to city streets. No convict who trained a puppy has gone back to prison after being paroled.
posted to MetaFilter by CunningLinguist at 6:54 PM on November 7, 2007 (60 comments)

25 photos taken at just the right time.
posted to MetaFilter by mr_crash_davis at 7:39 PM on November 2, 2007 (83 comments)

Our notions of names and gender may be showing some 'fluidity.' A long-time trend of male names losing their popularity or even their acceptibility once the same names become popular for girls may be shifting to a new 'gender fluidity.' While it's still true that fewer and fewer boys are named Leslie, Shirley, Kim, Ashley, Shannon, Whitney, or Carol, other names have emerged as unisex monikers: Jordan, Angel, or Peyton. Logan has re-emerged as a more clearly male name. See this article in today's N.Y. Times Magazine. The essay was penned by Sam Kean: is that Samuel or Samantha? Does it matter?
posted to MetaFilter by Rain Man at 8:43 AM on October 28, 2007 (139 comments)

The Daily Show online. Over 13,000 segments going back to 1999. [CNET story]
posted to MetaFilter by McLir at 6:20 PM on October 18, 2007 (81 comments)

I love coupon codes, but I hate having to dig through all the ad pages with broken ones to find one that works. Behold: RetailMeNot.com, a site that ranks codes by success rate.
posted to MetaFilter by ThePinkSuperhero at 11:41 AM on October 5, 2007 (44 comments)

7 Deserted Wonders of the (Post)Modern World. 7 More Deserted Wonders of the Modern World. 7 Submerged Wonders of the World. 7 Underground Wonders of the World.
posted to MetaFilter by homunculus at 1:24 AM on October 4, 2007 (36 comments)

Denver International Airport is one of the strangest places in the US. Built in the middle of nowhere and hosting some of the longest runways in the world, DIA has attracted attention not only for it's bizarre layout but for the artwork and masonic tie-ins. The place has been getting some attention again locally.
posted to MetaFilter by shockingbluamp at 3:46 PM on September 3, 2007 (65 comments)

Dr. John C. Lilly introduced the world to dolphin intelligence (previous post), floatation tanks, early concepts of bioinformatics, and alas, during his later experiments with Ketamine ("Special K"), introduced us to an alleged group of extraterrestrials.
posted to MetaFilter by janetplanet at 2:02 PM on September 7, 2007 (23 comments)

What single book is the best introduction to your field (or specialization within your field) for laypeople?
posted to Ask Metafilter by limon at 5:40 PM on September 8, 2007 (237 comments)

"Self Control" is a song written by Giancarlo Bigazzi, Steve Piccolo, and Raffaele Riefoli in 1983; like many well-written pop songs, good musicians and production can make it better, but bad musicians have to work hard to destroy it. Without comment on which is which, here are five versions: RAF (1983, performed by one of the song's credited writers); Laura Branigan (1984); Soraya Arnelas (2006--this version reached #1 on the Spanish Hot 100); the Danish dance band Infernal (2006); and Caramelle featuring Nitro (2007, from a German label).
posted to MetaFilter by Prospero at 8:05 PM on September 10, 2007 (23 comments)

Learn to Play Guitar! Justin, of JustinGuitar.com (not the dork with the TV camera strapped to his head) offers over 100 free video guitar lessons for absolute noobs & guitar enthusiasts, with lesson categories & written instrx as well. For people who want tablature to play along, the good people of Guitar Video Tabs provide full tab notation under videos hundreds of popular songs.
posted to MetaFilter by jonson at 4:26 PM on September 3, 2007 (17 comments)

A Pile of Index Cards. A somewhat byzantine way to organize your life using index cards.
posted to MetaFilter by chunking express at 8:09 AM on August 27, 2007 (83 comments)

They put it in my mouth. I didn't swallow. The savings I pass along to YOU!!! Some silliness which is keeping me sane on this slow Friday arvo...
posted to MetaFilter by pompomtom at 10:08 PM on August 23, 2007 (22 comments)

Social Wallpaper. A community effort to classify, rank, and distribute high resolution images for use as computer wallpaper.
posted to MetaFilter by Mitheral at 7:08 PM on August 12, 2007 (24 comments)

I have some jpeg images that I'd like to blow up and print on glossy paper to frame and hang in my room. Is the easiest/cheapest way to go to a local kinkos or copy shop with a usb or are there cheaper alternatives to printing poster sized prints online?
posted to Ask Metafilter by nyu2 at 7:43 PM on August 1, 2007 (9 comments)

Famous Poems Rewritten as Limericks , as brought to us by our very own Lore Sjöberg. English majors, begin your griping now.
posted to MetaFilter by SansPoint at 5:21 AM on July 23, 2007 (301 comments)

Amazing 747 landings at in the St. Martins [youtube] YouTube has a great collection of 747 landings at Princess Juliana International Airport in the St. Martin Islands, famous for its short landing strip — only 2,180 meters. Here's the view from the cockpit. Most of the videos seem to have been taken at Maho Beach. Here's an Airbus. Previously.
posted to MetaFilter by KokuRyu at 12:00 PM on July 21, 2007 (44 comments)

200 Bad Comics.
posted to MetaFilter by Prospero at 6:44 AM on July 20, 2007 (58 comments)

If it's highly virulent earworms you're looking for, you will probably want to check out "Spanish Flea," an irrepressibly cheerful song written by Julius Wechter and recorded by Herb Alpert and The Tijuana Brass. This slight, two-minute instrumental from 1965 (originally with lyrics by Cissy Wechter) has become so popular as 'waiting room music' and 'hold music' that it's become a cliche of the genre, and it's quite likely that you've heard at least a snippet of it at some point in your life. (Perhaps repeatedly, late at night, at your local supermarket?) It's been used for several film soundtracks (American Pie 2, Ocean's Eleven, Striptease, etc.) and, perhaps most famously, as one of the theme songs for the show "The Dating Game." Of course, in the most striking gauge of its cultural ubiquity, The Simpsons has referenced it not one but four times (only two are available on youtube). The song's infectious melody has spawned innumerable homages, ranging from interesting to amusing to thought-provoking to imbecilic to bizarre.
posted to MetaFilter by Vic Morrow's Personal Vietnam at 4:02 AM on July 19, 2007 (49 comments)

"I HATE YOU MORE THAN ANYTHING IN THIS DAMN WORLDDDDDDDDDD"... A dramatic reading of a break-up letter. (Audio may be NSFW, but the text is entertaining even without the audio) Via.
posted to MetaFilter by amyms at 7:48 AM on July 1, 2007 (84 comments)

AHHHH!!! An unintentional disruption pre-empted morning radio and television throughout Illinois this week when a FEMA contractor mistakenly sent the highest level of alert codes (Presidential) through the Emergency Alert System during the installation of an upgrade. (A year to the day after the upgrades were ordered) It's not the first time false warnings have been sent. Apparently (before the upgrades) the EAS data headers had no authentication and someone could have hacked a t.v. or radio station using a Mr. Microphone. The old Emergency Broadcast System had an authenticator word list, like the tone, and the voice, the words themselves were slightly unsettling. I know the old EBS tests used to scare the hell out of me. The 1971 false alarm was initiated with the code word: HATEFULNESS.
posted to MetaFilter by Smedleyman at 5:16 PM on June 27, 2007 (31 comments)

It's been nearly 50 years since the beginning of the International Geophysical Year (IGY), an 18-month period of scientific activities and discoveries that ran from July 1, 1957, to December 31, 1958. Both the US and the USSR launched the world's first artificial satellites during the IGY (Sputnik 1 and Explorer 1). Other achievements of the IGY included the discovery of the Van Allen radiation belts and the mapping of mid-ocean ridges. The IGY also inspired at least one artistic endeavor: Steely Dan's Donald Fagen wrote his 1982 solo song "I.G.Y. (International Geophysical Year)" [YouTube] as an homage to 50s optimism.
posted to MetaFilter by amyms at 11:20 PM on June 21, 2007 (14 comments)

An Earth Without People. An interesting (and I am sure it will be debatable) article in the current issue of Scientific American. Personally, I have always liked Douglas Coupland's version too
posted to MetaFilter by ShawnString at 8:24 AM on June 20, 2007 (42 comments)

The Unofficial Web Application List has a lot of neat applications. Some favorites include an amazing Ajax newsletter generator, a tool that lets you convert between any file formats, Rogue in Java, a free browser-based VoIP system that can call landlines, a music search engine that accepts humming as an input, and the lovely Flash Earth. You can also generate your own warning signs and use a page that makes browser content seem to be a MS Word document - you know, for work.
posted to MetaFilter by blahblahblah at 10:41 PM on May 30, 2007 (13 comments)

How to tie a Prince Albert. Or, a four-in-hand, a full Windsor, a bowtie, an ascot, and a few others to suit your particular fancy/fetish.
posted to MetaFilter by psmealey at 10:55 AM on May 26, 2007 (77 comments)

Chicken chicken chicken, chicken chicken? Chicken chicken chicken chicken—chicken chicken chicken-chicken chicken chicken chicken. Chicken chicken chicken chicken chicken?! (Chicken chicken.)
posted to MetaFilter by grouse at 1:57 PM on May 20, 2007 (104 comments)

Tim Ferris claims to have gained 34 lbs. of muscle in 28 days while exercising for only four hours, total.
posted to MetaFilter by craniac at 10:41 AM on May 3, 2007 (93 comments)

(Spoilers in most links). So an SNL digital short, Dear Sister spoofs the second season finale of the OC. Now the internets just don't know when to stop, with parodies (of the parody) playing on everything from the obvious like The Departed, LOST, Snatch, The Matrix, Reservoir Dogs, and Predator to the not-so-obvious like Lord of the Rings, Raging Bull, Monty Python, Duck Hunt (my favorite), Looney Toons, LazyTown, Smash Brothers, Office Space, and Bio-Ooze Super Soakers.
posted to MetaFilter by ztdavis at 12:26 PM on April 28, 2007 (65 comments)

This lip sych of Flagpole Sitta is all kinds of awesome. An old favorite made new again by the office staff of Collegehumor et al in one take. It's a little slow to start, but it hits pure joy by the end.
posted to MetaFilter by mathowie at 9:57 AM on April 27, 2007 (104 comments)

How can those skinny Japanse eaters like "Gal" Sone and Nobuyuki Shirota down so much food? CT scans show stomachs which expand to freakishly huge proportions.
posted to MetaFilter by jaimev at 3:36 PM on April 27, 2007 (18 comments)

Getting around underground in NYC is no longer only for people who already know how to get around underground in NYC. Graphic Designer Eric Jabbour has been spending his free time obsessively redesigning MTA transit maps. And the results are striking. Non-New Yorkers will undoubtedly be able to figure out what's what. Cleaner lines and neighborhood boundaries are just a few features. Also, one can clearly see and understand transfer points and more street names.
posted to MetaFilter by sneakin at 2:07 PM on April 26, 2007 (91 comments)

Meme Cats. 485 reasons why we don't have images here.
posted to MetaFilter by ewagoner at 6:38 PM on April 23, 2007 (83 comments)

In 1957, Swiss typographer Max Miedinger invented "the official typeface of the 20th century" -- Helvetica [previously discussed here, via Arts and Letters Daily].
posted to MetaFilter by digaman at 10:07 AM on April 21, 2007 (44 comments)

The Power of the Penis [YouTube],[NSFW]. I'm sorry for making my first post ever a single link YouTube post, but this Atlanta Public Access TV clip is the most educational video I have ever seen. Alexyss Tylor hosts a show on 'Vagina Power 'and 'Penis Power' with her mother. It's about 9 minutes of true insight - women, don't let men hit the bottom or use their penis as a weapon! Separate the love, the orgasm, and the penis, OK? Make sure he buys you the shrimp plate though!
posted to MetaFilter by waitingtoderail at 3:00 PM on April 17, 2007 (302 comments)