Tea leaf fortune telling (Flash 5 required for the full video version). From the UK Tea Council's interesting site.

Make arty furniture from those stupid books you're never going to read, anyway...

Who's doing it most? And what in particular? Updated sex stats from Nationmaster, 'where stats come alive'

A look at the Tristram Shandy web seems a good way of marking Laurence Sterne's birthday today. By way of a further tribute I ask - is a well-formed nose essential to success in life? more inside

Chocolate is a more effective cough medicine than codeine. I knew it all along. Imperial press release. You can't see the paper on-line without a subscription, but here is the impenetrable abstract. more inside

Musipedia, inspired by, but not connected with, Wikipedia. The nice thing is that you can search for a tune by whistling it.

The National Toy Hall of Fame - the greatest toys ever? I think Plasticine was far superior to Play-Doh, and I've never heard of Lincoln Logs, but I'd agree with the majority of these. I think I'd nominate a train set (Hornby 00 gauge?) or possibly Scalextric??

The Muse Awards include some nice sites. In the Art section, for example, Visions of Enlightenment, on Buddhist art, Love and Yearning, on Persian, and the slightly silly Renaissance Connection. (All Flash 6, ideally)

It's Diwali tomorrow. - also known as Deepavali, the festival of lights. Probably too late to lay in a brass Ganesh, or a hamper, but you could whip up some Diwali food, and maybe put up Diwali wallpaper.

Guy Fawkes attempted to blow up Parliament (pdf) 399 years ago. Once again the UK will be covered in fireworks and burning effigies tomorrow, especially places like this, where six societies compete.

The New York Subway is 100 years old. Some history: celebrating the subway in film and song (RealPlayer) : Ms Subways: but there's also less happy news... All links shamelessly stolen from the Internet Scout Project more inside

Football chants were brought into the limelight last Tuesday when Millwall fans chanted "one Boris Johnson, there's only one Boris Johnson" and less amusing things at Liverpool fans. The phenomenon is explained by Wikipedia, and earlier in the year a chant laureate was selected. There is a huge (and rather undiscriminating) collection here.

The Charge of the Light Brigade took place 150 years ago - hear Tennyson himself read the poem. The National Army Museum has special features on the charge and on the Crimean War. And what about the Heavy Brigade? Why the famous charge still matters.

The Institute of Failure Two candidates for the boring thread ('Pedestrian Errors' and 'Private Lives, Public Disposal'), but the rest is rather interesting...?

Rhabarbermarmelade... Say it loud, and there's music playing. Say it soft, and it's almost like praying.

Collect Britain: a 'pre-release web site' from the British Library featuring three on-line exhibitions (I like 'Literary Landscapes') (Flash)

A blood-red moon will appear in the USA on 27 October. Or possibly orange. Clearly a portent, anyway.

Nathaniel Hawthorne is 200 (Flash)

Whistling records Some truly fine pieces of whistling here. Try a couple.

Hat facts