Interactive anatomy from the BBC.

Hand-held games of the 70s and 80s: an online museum. (No simulations, I'm afraid)

Implosion World. more inside

200 years of immigration to England. History, stories, gallery, find your roots. Educational, but don't let that put you off...

The Golden Stool of the Ashanti seems an appropriate post for Ghana's Independence Day. The story of the Golden Stool, and its defence against the British by the valiant Queen Mother, Yaa Asantewaa. A better picture of the stool, which must never rest on the ground, or be sat on, but instead lies sideways in a secret hiding place on a chair of its own. more inside

The Cloud Appreciation Society. Pledged to fight blue sky thinking wherever they find it.

The Sense of Smell Institute. Get ready for Sense of Smell Day (April 30) or read the Fun Facts with Dr Nosetradamus (sigh).

Sign and sight is the English version of on-line German culture magazine Perlentaucher. Launched heute.

Folk medicine - UCLA's searchable database. Or you could try one of these. If all else fails, maybe an Anglo-Saxon charm will sort things out.

The guillotine. Not, in fact, invented by Dr Guillotin: last used in France in the 1970s. And, er, nothing to do with the previous post. No, indeed.

Camion cartoons a kind of follow-up to the interesting images posted by dj a couple of days ago: letters home (with cartoons) from Kirkland H Day, a member of an American camion unit in 1918. A bit of a contrast with the postcards my own grandad sent home, which generally read: "Hoping this finds you as it leaves me, in the pink". Occasionally (at times of special emotional stress?) he would add "Send fags."

Tassili N'Ajjer, a plateau in the Sahara, has thousands of curious rock paintings. More pictures here and here. Also a video. (Not worth it if you're on dial-up). Some of the pictures, it is argued, are evidence of a prehistoric psychoactive mushroom cult. Tassili is on the World Heritage List, but in spite of their isolation the paintings are becoming increasingly subject to vandalism and theft.

Pancake racing is upon us again. The official Olney site. more inside

SWORDS (armed robots) could join US forces in Iraq in early 2005.

New research suggests that the Australian desert may have been created by human activity. Various ambitious proposals (pdf) have been made for greening the desert - seed the clouds, a giant egg-whisk, a transcontinental canal, a new mountain range. Perhaps the men of the trees have the answer. (Shouldn't that be people of the trees, though?) Happy Australia Day, anyway.

181 drugs you should never take (so why are they still available?) and more info. I don't think I've ever had any of these, though I dare say they go by different names in the UK. via ResourceShelf

The cunning folk were white or anti-witches, people who could undo harmful magic for you. Tammy (Tamsin, Tamson) Blee (Blight) was also known as the White Witch of Helston, a seriously weird place also known for its Furry Dance Another cunner was James Murrell, and according to this (geocities) site so was Daddy Witch, though this account of her grave suggests she was a bit on the scary side...

Most popular names of 2004 (pdf) in England and Wales. 'Mohammed' is now in the top 20. Informal or abbreviated versions - 'Jack', 'Charlie' - are ever more popular. And while a great name like, say 'Peter' doesn't feature, the top 50 includes names like 'Toby' - surely best suited to dogs (or jugs). As for the girls...

New Year resolutions; examples and advice. I'm going to stop eating butter (spread on things, I mean).

MS Subbulakshmi the 'doyen of Carnatic music' died last week and was cremated with full state honours. Carnatic music is the classical music of southern India. Not always easy on Western ears, so why bother with it? Carnatic music archive. If you're willing to risk the 'Trident' player, you could also try the MS Subbulakshmi's stuff from Music India on-line.