What are banks for? What are houses for? What’s credit for? What’s the economy for? Or, for that matter, what’s the environment for?

Ball Droppings. Hell to the yes.

One-eyed Filmmaker Becomes "Eyeborg" What else do you need?

Could a Dose of Ether Contain the Secret to Consciousness? "Researchers may soon be able to measure consciousness as well as we can measure a person's temperature." [Via]

A small bat that was spotted blasting off with the space shuttle Sunday and clinging to the back side of Discovery's external fuel tank apparently held on throughout the launch. more inside

Cows Really Do Have a Magnetic Sixth Sense: Power lines disrupt the magnetic alignment of cows and deer.

Manipulating drug research for fun and profit! more inside

Cleopatra's mother was black? The article asks whether Cleopatra's mother was "African". Of course she was. What it means is, was she black? This is not a new claim in itself. The excellent Isidore of Seville has a gallery of ancient images of Cleopatra and a collection of articles. The orthodox view is that as a Ptolemaic queen she was probably blonde and definitely Macedonian. Looking at those sculptures and coins - does she look a bit, well, Jewish? Could there have been a charming Hebrew slave in her father's palace?

Tactile illusions . aaaand I'm off to work. NOT going to hunt down a blackboard AT ALL.

Heiko Müeller - Paintings and Drawings. [Via]

Vita. [Via]

The Rise and Fall of the Printing Press: Another look at the inevitable demise of newspapers, and why. more inside

Is Patriotism a Subconscious Way for Humans to Avoid Disease? "We're not very aware of the 'behavioral immune system,' but it may push us toward life-saving behaviors." [Via]

Lawn mowers.

World War II: the simple version. The Second World War in a cartographic comic. [Large image; there's a smaller version here at strangemaps.com]

Newspaper clippings that make you go >o.O< (credit waraw in #mofirc) more inside

Paraplegic Man Suffers Spider Bite, Walks Again.

Christopher Walken's Twitter feed.

For anyone who loves a good heist story.

Know your meme. A public service announcement.