This year's Ignobel winners! It's a rich crop. The velocity of penguin poo, Neuticles, locusts watching Star Wars, and smelly frogs. Science is glamorous! more inside

Free Dylan! Dylan Thomas that is. On February 22, 1952, Dylan Thomas made his first recording for Caedmon Records, "A Child's Christmas in Wales and Five Poems." It was the first of many albums Thomas was to record for Caedmon and the recording not only launched Caedmon as a company, but initiated the spoken-word industry as well. Free via Salon more inside

Brits are exciting! Cast off the pinstripe suit, the bowler hat and throw away the tightly furled umbrella, us Brits are the "most extroverted and open to new experiences of any of the groups studied." According to a Science Magazine survey. Also proved: Swiss Germans are conscientious, Czechs are nice and Yanks are also extrovert ... but so are Canadians ....

Curious, George: How do you think history will describe our era? Will the dominant narrative describe our era as The dawning of the Chinese Era, or America: the building of an empire, or The decline of American dominance, or The global-warming tipping point, or The war between militant Islam and the West, or The corporatization of life around the globe, or The creation of two global economic classes, or The spread of democracy, or Sowing the seeds of political revolution, or Countdown to the Singularity, or The last days leading up to the Rapture, or The human experiment is a failure, Remulac. Set a course for our home galaxy!, or something else altogether?

Afroditi’s Ring is the rediscovery of the ancient signet ring. By Afroditikrassa the groovy industrial design consultants. [via]

Nicole (as in Kidman) traverses oceans just for a shag.

Canadian Pulp Fiction, 1940 - 1952 more inside

This entry discusses the etymology and application of a selection of words that, to varying degrees, can be considered vulgar or offensive. As a necessity, this entails the use of said words, and it is strongly advised that, should you find such words distressing or inappropriate, you do not read on beyond this point.