The First Bank of the United States was Americas first attempt at forming a Central Bank. Inaugurated by Congress in 1791, it was followed by The Second Bank of the United States, which was dissolved in 1836.

And then The United States of America was without a Central Bank for 77 years. [more inside]
posted by Mutant on Oct 3, 2009 - 54 comments

Look up and smile.
posted by jayCampbell on Aug 30, 2009 - 31 comments

Here's something interesting you can do with those clear plastic buffer discs that come in stacks of blank CDs: Blow a looooong bubble that looks like a condom. Here's another example. Here's a doubter trying it for himself. Apparently you can do it with actual CDs too, at least according to this post at English Russia. There are lots more videos of CD bubbles on YouTube, showing varying levels of success.
posted by amyms on Jun 30, 2009 - 21 comments

[NSFW] It's almost time to Say Goodnight to the Bad Guys -- the final episode of the Trailer Park Boys aired in December, 2008. (As Bubbles says, "It's a dirty, sassy liquor. So sassy.") Producer Mike Clattenburg says that there will be a second movie, "Countdown to Liquor Day", to be released late in 2009. After that, though, the TPB franchise will buy the great double-wide in the sky. [pervyously, preevisilly or however th' fuck you say it.] [more inside]
posted by not_on_display on Mar 11, 2009 - 58 comments

Got some dry ice? Got a swimming pool? Well, what are you waiting for? Inquisitive dogs will be confused! Start with a small chunk. Next, take a 60-pound block of dry ice and kick it into the jacuzzi. Okay, so you're looking for more of a thrill? Try a dry ice depth charge! (If you don't have a pool, a frozen lake will do.)
posted by not_on_display on Feb 23, 2009 - 68 comments

The cover of a major financial publication warns: If you're holding U.S. Treasuries, GET OUT NOW! [more inside]
posted by up in the old hotel on Jan 5, 2009 - 74 comments

Downtown Miami seems like a lot more fun when its filled with foam. That is all.
posted by allkindsoftime on Apr 20, 2008 - 30 comments

Soap Bubble Photos.
posted by Wolfdog on Apr 15, 2007 - 20 comments

Bubble Artist: Science and entertainment combined. "With every performance my goal is to leave [the] audience with a tingling sense that they've just encountered something mysterious and wonderful." ~ Keith Johnson
posted by amyms on Feb 11, 2007 - 6 comments

BubblePLY lets you easily overlay subtitles and speech balloons over videos hosted on other sites.
posted by Partial Law on Dec 27, 2006 - 9 comments

Loes Modderman's Science Art
Beautiful microscopic art, often striking similar to some modern art. Dig the abstract crystal images: cholesterol, crystal landscapes, vitamin c is psychedelic. Explore the sands of the world! Bubbles are pretty, plastics rock, fluids are minimalist. (via)
posted by MetaMonkey on Mar 30, 2006 - 5 comments

Bugs. Orisinal has been linked to several times, but this game was so fun that I had to share. NQFFF: Not Quite Friday Flash Fun.
posted by ND¢ on Dec 29, 2005 - 29 comments

Colored Soap Bubbles
Look, pretty! via
posted by fenriq on Nov 15, 2005 - 24 comments

Recent bubbles offer first confirmed desktop plasma generation through sonoluminesence. You remember sonoluminesence right? Responsible for brilliant shrimp, and skinny people...
posted by johnjoe on Mar 15, 2005 - 12 comments

Liquid Sculpture uses bubbles in the liquid to draw three-dimensional graphical patterns. (via)
posted by buriednexttoyou on Jan 9, 2005 - 7 comments

Bubbles the Artist! If you've been looking for a Pee Wee Herman dinner plate, a greeting card featuring Paul Lynde, or a painting of John Belushi drinking himself to death, then look no further. (If you love crappy disco midi files, you'll want to keep your speakers turned up.)
posted by ba on Dec 30, 2004 - 11 comments

What the (Internet) Bubble Got Right Paul Graham has written a thought-provoking essay on the positive lessons we should have taken away from the Internet bubble of the late 90s.
posted by tippiedog on Sep 29, 2004 - 10 comments

Good to see that 50 years of basic research in fulid dynamics, numerical methods, and finite element analysis has finally found a practical application.
posted by ZenMasterThis on Jun 20, 2003 - 19 comments

Big Plans. Little Brains. Mike Clattenburg's Trailer Park Boys could soon be more than just a Canadian phenomenon. The mockumentary began as a film, was adapted into a TV series and has been airing for three seasons on Showcase in Canada (not to be confused with this). Ricky, Julian and Bubbles even joined Our Lady Peace during its Fear of the Trailer Park Tour last summer (soon to be documented on CD and DVD) and could be seen alongside Don Cherry in The Tragically Hip's video for "The Darkest One" (a look behind the scenes - qt version). Bubbles even appeared in that informer guy's video for "Legal" and has been writing music reviews in character. (TPB was mentioned briefly here and here.)
posted by boost ventilator on May 26, 2003 - 14 comments

The Fluid Dynamics of a Guinness Stout. Do the bubbles in a freshly poured Guinness go up or down? Answer: both.
posted by mathowie on Jan 12, 2000 - 0 comments