Two vortex smoke rings colliding. Sounds simple, looks awesome.
posted by Mr_Zero on Aug 17, 2009 - 75 comments

Are US tobacco companies conspiring to make tobacco more addictive through additives or aren't they? Ever since the first reports published in 1999, this has been debated off and on for years as the tobacco lobby defended itself against allegations of racketeering and outright lies. Recently they lost the case. But the question of American cigarettes being more addictive than others still remains unsettled.
posted by infini on Jun 11, 2009 - 16 comments

Why the West is ablaze. [more inside]
posted by clearly on Jul 10, 2008 - 28 comments

Have you ever wondered how much a hamster can store in his cheeks without exploding? Smoke will show you. (Single link YouTube post)
posted by onlyconnect on Mar 9, 2008 - 33 comments

Stickk.com allows people to undertake commitment bonds: promises that they will do something (lose weight, quit smoking, etc.) or else forfeit a pre-determined amount of money to a charity. Either the honor system or a referee can be used to decide if the goal is met. The idea is related to Nobel prize-winner Thomas Schelling's concept of strategic precommitment. More here, here, and here.
posted by shivohum on Jan 18, 2008 - 17 comments

I watched man burn to death, heard others screaming in the fog. A massive, 50-car pileup, the result of three or more crashes on I-4, has led to at least 3 fatalities and 82 injuries in central Florida near Orlando. The smoke and fog were so bad that rescue efforts were hindered. Drivers with no visibility did not know whether to stay in their burning cars or risk running out onto the highway for help.
posted by misha on Jan 9, 2008 - 59 comments

Auggie Wren's Christmas Story, by Paul Auster. Read by the author and brought to life in the movie Smoke.
posted by billyfleetwood on Dec 23, 2007 - 5 comments

Aerogel Update Originally posted back in '02 by adrianhon this crazy new material looks to be on the verge of mass production. Currently used in homes for insulation & for winter clothes that are too warm to wear, this is a truly amazing technology. Want to know how to make it? Want to buy some? Here is a pic to help you believe it's real. More here. Aspen Aerogel is currently in production.
posted by thekorruptor on Aug 19, 2007 - 31 comments

It takes something truly exceptional to be both impressive and completely useless, simultaneously : Let's face it, smoke rings are cool and sometimes mysterious. (Maybe just not 5 min. and 31 seconds worth of cool and mystererious). Amaze the kids and without lighting up! (zerotoys.com YouTube video) Naturally occuring vortex rings are even cooler. The inventor in the first link, (Aussie Peter Terren of the previously mentioned tesladownunder.com) shows more on vortex ring launchers) and has also recently discovered both YouTube and MeFi. Keep up with his latest geekiness on his What's New page.
posted by spock on Jun 22, 2007 - 14 comments

Live, From Outer Space: rural fires [1, 2], The Haze in China [1 ,2, 3] and its movement, aerosols, and the brothers carbon monoxide [a photochemical smog agent] and carbon dioxide.
posted by trinarian on Apr 14, 2007 - 10 comments

Graham Jeffery's coloured smoke photos inspired folks like Myla Kent to form the Flickr artsmoke pool. [via Apothecary's Drawer]
posted by mediareport on Jan 20, 2007 - 11 comments

Jan 1st, Texas to increase tax on cigarettes by $1. Texas will increase the sales tax on cigarettes from 41 cents to $1.41 on Jan 1st. Hoping to fund schools and fight the 1.5 billion dollar health care bill from smoking related illnesses.
posted by IronWolve on Dec 25, 2006 - 128 comments

Igor Sergeev has been collecting full, unopened cigarette packs from all over the world since 1976. His site now features over 21,000 photos, arranged in alphabetical order by brand name. Some are fascinating simply for the way they differ from what we're used to seeing at the 7-11; others are straight-up nine kinds of awesome.
posted by Gator on Mar 20, 2006 - 38 comments

Smoke.
posted by 31d1 on Dec 15, 2005 - 34 comments

A lightning bolt created a beautiful smoke ring in the sky the other day. It resembles of Mt Etna's and other volcano's beautiful rings. Nature at it's best.
posted by tomplus2 on Jul 11, 2003 - 20 comments

Hazy shade of summer Days like today remind me our world is indeed small. Here in the Northeast US the sun never broke through the haze. More forest fires, only these were in Quebec. I had friends as far south as New Jersey notice. How'd the day look to you?
posted by jeremias on Jul 7, 2002 - 33 comments

Nicote-free cigarette from genetically modified tobacco Apparently a company has developed it and they're running taste-tests too, in stores soon. Looks fine for wannabe smoke quitters. You found another way to get rid of cigs ?
posted by elpapacito on Nov 9, 2001 - 41 comments

Left-handed smoke shifter and other objects to send a novice out to find. Notably missing is the spaghetti straightener. My grandfather told a story when he worked in the label printing division of the Continental Can Company. He sent a guy to the stock room for a bucket of halftone dots. The sucker^H^H^H^H^H^Hemployee got bounced from department to department trying to find who got the last bucket...
posted by plinth on Jul 3, 2001 - 16 comments

Second hand smoke doesn't cause cancer I am shocked that an organization would withhold information that is damaging to their cause.
posted by jonny rook on Mar 26, 2001 - 35 comments