... a small, heavy package wrapped in brown paper arrived in the mail at the Woody Guthrie Archives in New York City. Inside was a mess of wires. It wasn't a bomb - it turned out to be the only live recording of Woody Guthrie known to exist. The wire was fragile, bent, stretched and twisted. Jamie Howarth applied some algorithms he had developed to restore old recordings, and the result has been nominated for a Grammy.
posted to MetaFilter by dylanjames at 7:40 PM on February 8, 2008 (43 comments)

In 1855, Frenchman Joseph Fortuné Petiot-Groffier died. One of the first daguerrotypists, the pioneering photographer was apparently poisoned by his own chemistry. Some 152 years later, in the twilight of chemical photography, his lab, found intact, is viewed in a new light. Via.
posted to MetaFilter by sacre_bleu at 7:53 PM on February 8, 2008 (16 comments)

My new home makes my nose slightly stuffy all day, every day. Why could this be, and how can I fix it?
posted to Ask Metafilter by lorrer at 2:16 PM on November 9, 2007 (11 comments)