Nicholas Murray Butler is a Horses Ass. (The good part starts at the 6th paragraph, that begins: One of his former students ...). More info here.

Interesting noises from your head Various free teach-yourself links to making odd noises. Teach yourself Tuvan throat-singing! Learn to yodel. Put your lips together and blow! Try a little scat. Dabble in ventriloquism. Try your hand at the finger flute. Apologies to librarians everywhere.

Free Sex with coupon!!! A German magazine has sold out all its copies after advertising a free sex session at a brothel in Austria. A little one-off newsfiltery thing, but irrestible nonethless. via Huffpo

Alpha Mom (The Martha Stewart of Parenting). With the right planning, resources, and work ethic, you can, too, be a perfect and fulfilled woman, raising a perfect and happy child. "It’s not like everyone doesn’t want the best for their child, but to me, it seems people these days have a more professional attitude toward raising their children. A lot of it is very intellectually thought-out and very scheduled, almost like they have a business plan for their children.” Isabel.... would later describe the typical member of this breed as, “you know, the maven of mommyhood, the leader of the pack.... Definitely dominant." (via a little pregnant)

The History of the Fashion Bathing Suit Bathing is a sport Enjoyed by great and small In suits of any sort Though better none at all [Anonymous, 19th-century poem]

The most psychedelic car brochure ever created was for the 1968 Mazda 110S, otherwise known as the Cosmo Sport. The graphic artist was apparently Tadanori Yokoo before he moved into fine art. Sgt Pepper meets Top Gear. This is a keeper.

Retiring Chimps (NYT-reg.)

Curious George: Remembering the dotcom era. What are your memories of the dotcom era? Did the boom of those years affect you directly? Was life better for you back then? Did the times seem more optimistic? (granted, there wasn't all this 9/11 stuff) more inside

Peter Maxwell Davies is one of our most prolific contemporary composers and he has a pretty good website to boot. more inside

Catholic dissent over mystery of the pregnant Madonnas - Italian architect and author Renzo Manetti has a theory connecting a mysterious symbolic theme in western art to the suppression of the secretive Knights Templar order, the implications stirring criticism from a sensitive Roman Catholic church.

Some proposed Space Rescue systems. My favorite system is the MOOSE, which allows a single astronaut to bail out in space, fire a rocket to head towards Earth, and survive re-entry in a foam cocoon! more inside

More than just eye candy. The exhibition has been in Birmingham a while now, and includes a tactile display for the blind as well. Each photograph is coupled with some information on the plight of the abjectly poor in Third World countries.

The next fifteen minutes will destroy you. That's how long it takes to complete this game. But it will utterly destroy the rest of your life. Kinda like Borges' Zahir. Now don't say I never do anything for you.

"As we may think" This has not been a scientist's war; it has been a war in which all have had a part. The scientists, burying their old professional competition in the demand of a common cause, have shared greatly and learned much. It has been exhilarating to work in effective partnership. Now, for many, this appears to be approaching an end. What are the scientists to do next? more inside

Mr. Floaty, the seven-foot-tall poo, wants to educate us about sewage treatment. -- via BoingBoing

Patent Pending Not everyone is :). Some people are :-(. Personally, I am >:|

Himmler's Fortress of Fear - Rumours of prominent Nazis' involvement with the occult have persisted for decades. Fortean Times unearths the truth behind SS-Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler's vision of an ancient and noble Aryan prehistory that verified the superiority of the Master Race.

The Chatterbot collection contains links to hundreds of chat bots available on the internet more inside

Imaging the French Revolution. Seven scholars present essays analysing images of the crowd and violence in revolutionary France. via AHR. Flash required for image comparison tool.

EVERYONE POOPS is a kid's book that demonstrates a fact of life and a true Zen saying.