Friday Links!
Unless you play NCAA or Madden, it's a wonderful Friday, so let's start destroying your productivity.Starting off, Dan Quock sent me a link to a video of the actual meeting between Christian the lion and the humans who raised him. At this point, the lion had been in Africa for several years, was in charge of his own pride, and appeared to be fully wild. They looked for the pride for several days, and when Christian recognized them, his reaction was nothing short of astounding.
One extreme warning about this video: it appeared on "The View." This means that you should turn the sound off, unless you want to hear the vomit-inducing soundtrack laid over the (silent) video.
From Shad Price, one of the most fascinating visual presentations of data I've seen in a long time: the growth of Wal-Mart. This is something you absolutely need to see.
From Skip Key, a link to a NY Times article about the Antikythera Mechanism (mentioned multiple times previously), and here's an excerpt:
After a closer examination of a surviving marvel of ancient Greek technology known as the Antikythera Mechanism, scientists have found that the device not only predicted solar eclipses but also organized the calendar in the four-year cycles of the Olympiad, forerunner of the modern Olympic Games.
The new findings, reported Wednesday in the journal Nature, also suggested that the mechanism’s concept originated in the colonies of Corinth, possibly Syracuse, on Sicily. The scientists said this implied a likely connection with Archimedes.
From Mike, a link to an amazing video of a monkey taunting tigers. The website, Neatorama, has all kinds of interesting videos and posts, so you might want to check it out as well.
Greg Bagley let me know about the World eBook Fair, where you can download any of one million books.
Brian sent me a link to a hilarious music game called Shredmaster Jr.. Crappy plastic guitar controller and pre-loaded songs which are, in Brian's word, "made of fail." This is not to imply that he actually used the Shredmaster--he didn't--but I believe any of these videos will be entirely convincing.
From the Edwin Garcia Links Machine, a link to a movie that may not quite rival Gymkata, but it's got to be close. It's called "Undefeatable," and this fight scene is clearly epic in all the wrong ways. Via Gamers With Jobs, it's Pulp Fiction as written by Shakespeare, and it's outstanding.
From Sirius, a link to an article about fish armor, and how its design may be useful in creating more advanced human armor. Next, and it's fish link #2, a fossilized haddock.
From Jessie Leimkuehler, a link to an article about the effects of living on Mars time. In this case, it's scientists working on the Phoenix Mars lander mission, who need to stay on a daily cycle that is 24:40 to stay synced with the Martian day.
From Cibby Pulikkaseril, a link to 5 hot dogs that will kill you, and you really need to see French Fry Hot Dog On A Stick.
From David Gloier, a link to a remarkable discovery: an ancient hippodrome. That's right--an actual chariot race track, discovered at Olympia in Western Greece.
I'm always a sucker for cross-species stories: a golden retriever adopting three white tiger cubs.
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