Women's dime novels are the subject of Felicia L. Carr's site, based on her dissertation. Women's stories were one of the main kinds of dime (never 'dime-store'!) novels, though more typical were tales of derring-do. more inside

The Lulu Blooker Prize : serious literary venture, or shameless attempt to draw more hapless victims into self-publishing their worthless maunderings?

McGill postcard artwork collected by Michael Winner. Sentimental, derisive and cutesy-poos examples as well as the classic saucy ones.

Hay. In art. Over 5,000 items, and they haven't even got Constable yet.

European females evolved blonde hair and blue eyes through fierce competition over the few males who survived mammoth hunting. Wouldn't polygamy have been easier?

Ice Worms. 'Kind of hot right now.'

Visible Proofs is an exibition about the history of forensic medicine, including an account of the autopsy of Abraham Lincoln: ...we proceeded to remove the entire brain, when, as I was lifting the latter from the cavity of the skull, suddenly the bullet dropped out through my fingers and fell, breaking the solemn silence of the room with its clatter...

The London house (QuickTime) inhabited by Benjamin Franklin has just been opened to the public, marking his 300th birthday.

The Frank W. Tober Collection on Literary Forgery covers many classic forgeries - the works of Ossian, Chatterton's Rowley poems, William Henry Ireland's bogus Shakespeare, as well as others I had never heard of. In the latter category is Psalmanazar the 'Native of Formosa', who even ran up his own Formosan alphabet.

The Nature of the Beast. (Flash preferable) Splendid Japanese depictions of beasts; traditional, real and imaginary (including, somewhat incongruously, Doraemon the cartoon robot cat). With a personality-based monster generator.

Award-winning George What was the best FPP of 2005? How about this - the poster who receives most nominations in this thread by the end of the year will be awarded the coveted... more inside

This calendar of Bulgarian folklore reveals that today, the climax of the Valchi Praznitzi, or wolf days, is the day of Koutzoulan, 'the most terrible lame wolf, who ate people... " more inside

Gigantopithecus Blackii lived alongside human beings. Nervous ones, I would imagine.

One of Vietnam's oldest whale temples is to be upgraded. The temple dates from the eighteenth century. No doubt it features strongly in the whale festival. The Vietnamese also take any opportunity to worship whales al fresco.

The British Council's art collection is now online (or at least, its database featuring images of most of the works). Here's a monkey. The Council runs hundreds of cultural projects all over the world.

15th-16th century woodcuts. There are more here. And a dozen more here. more inside

Jabberwacky has apparently won the 2005 Loebner Prize (for the chatbot whose conversation comes nearest to passing the Turing Test), pipping the former winner Alice.

Ohio meets Oscar Wilde a compilation from contemporary newspapers, etc. Slightly idiosyncratic navigation - in all but one case, click the last picture on a page to go to the next page.

So you want to be a mummy? Book your own Egyptian tomb and accessories. From the Museum of Science, Boston.

A disaster , similar to the one in Niger, appears to be threatening the region of Timbuktu, the legendary city whose name is a byword for remoteness. more inside