Whenever I see a truly bizarre crime story, I immediately think "Pasco County, Florida." This is partly because I once worked as a crime reporter in Pasco -- where I reported on, among other things, a case of a hanged pet goat -- and partly because, well, there's a reason Fark has an entire category devoted to the state. So guess where this gruesome tale comes from? NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. -- A woman's body was found wedged upside-down behind a bookcase in the home she shared with relatives who had spent... READ ON
My mother-in-law saw this in a magazine she was given on the Tokyo subway and sent it over. If she's trying to arouse a maternal instinct in me, it's... READ ON
There's no contest this week, since it's not really a week so much as three days. You can also gather from this that there will be no blogging on Thursday and Friday, as I personally plan to spend both days passed out on a tryptophan overdose. But check back next Monday for the opportunity to win free... READ ON
Here's everything you'll need to impress Uncle Phil at the dinner table tomorrow, courtesy of infoplease: At one time, the turkey and the bald eagle were each considered as the national symbol of America. Benjamin Franklin was one of those who argued passionately on behalf of the turkey. Franklin felt the turkey, although "vain and silly", was a better choice than the bald eagle, whom he felt was "a coward". According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, more than 45 million turkeys are cooked and... READ ON
I know I'm going a little overboard with the Amazing Animal Photos today, but check out these new pictures of an elephant in utero! These were taken at 6 and 12 months' gestation; the bun stays in the oven for two... READ ON
The following story has dolphins, music, and a superhero. There is absolutely nothing I can add that would make it any more sublime: It turns out that dolphins have the capacity to sing sweet melodies. To demonstrate this, researchers taught a dolphin to sing the greatest musical composition of our age: the theme from "Batman." They trained an adult male bottlenose dolphin from Disney's Epcot Center, first rewarding him when he produced the correct rhythm, then when he vocalized the rhythm, and finally... READ ON
In astonishing footage for the BBC's Planet Earth series, the 12ft shark is seen swallowing its victim in virtually a single gulp. Such is the impact as it blasts through the surface from the deep that both hunter and prey fly six feet clear of the... READ ON
I was so, so excited when I got my first apartment with a dishwasher. But now I feel a little outdone: Architect and design guru Zaha Hadid continues her non-stop ruling of all things craftable. This time, Hadid was commissioned by DuPont and Ernestomeda to design a futuristic kitchen for the Milan Furniture Fair. ... The Z. Island has two areas labeled "Fire" for cooking and "Water" for the washing area. Also incorporated is a special heating membrane, interactive technology features such as touch... READ ON
We've always thought that friend-of- mental-floss John Green has the best taste in music. Not only does his ringtone sound like the Super Mario theme, he has the best. cover. of "Baby Got Back." ever. on my his MySpace page. Yeah, we're almost 30. Anyway, the guy who sings that oh-so-wonderful reworked tribute to the gluteus maximus popped up on another friend-of-mental-floss website, bunnyshop, the other day. So we feel we can no longer ignore him. Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Jonathan Coulton. As... READ ON
The husband just came across what may be the best misappropriation of language ever, ever: from Victor Davis Hanson's Ripples of Battle: "The Okinawa landings may have been the most most ambitious amphibian assault in the history of warfare." I know this is technically an okay use of the word, but I still find myself wondering how the attack on Okinawa compared to the story told in Across the Andes by... READ ON
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Fatherly Advice
5 Questions: Nervous "Rex"
How Many Vice Presidents Can You Name in 10 Minutes?
Before he wrote Jaws, Peter Benchley was a speechwriter for LBJ.
