Curious Tax Man: Very exciting tax question more inside

It's pudding. Shaped like breasts. Only in Japan would you be able to buy milk-flavored pudding in the shape of a jiggly breast, topped with a cherry or vanilla "nipple". Oh, and did I mention the packaging is designed to look like a topless woman?

A model for self-denial built in mid 18th century Pennsylvania, the upper stories of the Ephrata Cloister were so rife with mold that my sinusitis has flared up again, but it was worth seeing how The White Brotherhood and The Sisters of the Wilderness subsisted under austere conditions that would blanch a modern hedonist. more inside

Brother, can you spare me a dime nickel? . How about a nickel for your thoughts? Betcha a nickel you haven't seen these. This link's only worth five cents This makes five

The Great Pavement of Westminster Abbey, one of the Abbey's two Cosmati pavements, is to be restored to public gaze after being under carpet (except for one day a year) since the nineteenth century. more inside

Phallic bomb shelters of Nazi Germany. First appearing in 1936, they were quickly dubbed "cigarette stubbs" or "sugar beet heads". Officially they were called Winkeltürme (Winkel Towers)- after their architect Leo Winkel of Duisburg. Winkel patented his design in 1934, and in the following years Germany built 98 Winkeltürme of five different types.

When I Was 17, It Was a Very Good Toon Webcomickers draw themselves, as they are today, and when they were 17... contributing so far: Meredith Gran of Octopus Pie, Paul Southworth of Ugly Hill, Jeph Jacques of Questionable Content, Rene Engstrom of Anders Loves Maria and Jeff Zugale of some webcomic I'd never heard of before*. If you have a favorite webcomic, go bug the artist to draw "Me At 17/Me Today". more inside

The Personal Journal of Doogie Howser more inside

Incredibly cool house ...that cost less than $1,000 to build, will last 500+ years, and even before you click, I'm telling you this: more inside

Bento lunch albums

Happy Thirtieth, Spam! 30 years ago today, someone at DEC (the now defunct Digital Equipment Corp.) sent out an unsolicited email to everyone on the Arpanet, advertising their new machine, and everyone's least favorite in box clogger was born. Any particular favorites you've gotten (recently or not) that you'd like to share?

A Scottish ensemble more inside

Why Things Cost $19.95.* Think you're immune to that kind of pricing manipulation? Maybe not. more inside

A professor at Dartmouth attempted to sue the university and several freshman students ostensibly because her students didn't respect her, but also because, she claims, her coworkers and supervisor harassed her. She also seems to be claiming discrimination, but comments on various blogs from students who attended her classes (including students who were not graded by her - scroll down to comments) say that she was just a very bad lecturer. She has been very busy though: as of two days ago she was suing, the next day she publicly announced that she would no longer sue but would seek national press coverage. Also? She's going to write a book. more inside

Anatomical Theatre: Depictions of the Body, Disease, and Death in Medical Museums of the Western World. A photographic exhibition by Joanna Ebenstein of Morbid Anatomy.

Gazing too deeply into the abyss - caution: may induce queasiness or damage to furniture from white-knuckled gripping. Stolen from Ample Sanity.

*Dreamlikeliness* happens when a personal interiorscape gets interpreted for everyone's delectation - or so I would say. more inside

Memristors Coming soon: PCs that start up instantly, laptops that retain sessions after the battery dies, or mobile phones that can last for weeks without needing a charge? more inside

Dr. George Merriwether's Tempest Prognosticator- After having arranged this mouse trap contrivance, into each bottle was poured rain water, to the height of an inch and a half; and a leech placed in every bottle, which was to be its future residence; and when influenced by the electromagnetic state of the atmosphere a number of leeches ascended into the tubes; in doing which they dislodged the whalebone and caused the bell to ring. more inside

The link claims to be about nightmare playgrounds, but it's really about those awful sculptures you sometimes see in said playgrounds. (Via Neil Gaiman's blog, as usual.) more inside