Grad student Ethan Garner created CraigStatsSF, a site that slices, dices, and visualizes CraigsList San Francisco housing rental listings with Google Maps overlays. For example, this heat map shows a… Read the rest of the article: CraigStatsSF: craigslist housing rental data

Almost a decade ago, filmmakers Syd Garon and Rodney Ascher created their fantastic, critically-acclaimed animation of the seminal Jack Chick religious tract "Somebody Goofed." Last year, the duo reunited for… Read the rest of the article: Syd and Rodney's "Jack Chick's Titanic" video

Various researchers have spent years developing robotic insects, including some that might someday fly through the air, detecting biotoxins and conducting remote surveillance. Harvard University engineer Robert Wood's robotic fly… Read the rest of the article: Robofly takes off

Wired News has an interesting photo essay on interactive birth simulators for students to practice delivery. For example, this baby is part of the Limbs & Things' Prompt Birthing Simulator,… Read the rest of the article: Childbirth simulator

The Smoker's Bib was apparently designed for senior citizens, but modeled here by someone much younger. It's $39.98 from Taylor Gifts. From the catalog: Stop fumbled lit cigarettes and dropped… Read the rest of the article: Smoker's Bib

Darren McFadden, a player on the Arkansas Razorbacks football team, drives this Crown Victoria with a lifted suspension and huge rims. Link (Thanks, Carlo Longino!) UPDATE: Thanks to all the… Read the rest of the article: Football player's pimped Crown Victoria

Last week, I posted about a China Central Television exposé that at least one Beijing steamed bun maker was using cardboard as a main ingredient. Apparently, the Beijing police have… Read the rest of the article: Cardboard buns may be hoax

Zack Kim performs a beautiful version of the Simpsons theme by playing two guitar at once. Link

Checkers has officially been "solved." A new computer-generated mathematical proof reveals that a perfectly-played game of checkers (aka draughts) always ends in a draw. University of Alberta computer games researcher… Read the rest of the article: Checkers mathematically solved

Aaron Dallas of Colorado visited doctors complaining of bleeding little bumps on his head. Turns out though that the bumps were bot fly larvae moving around under his skin. They… Read the rest of the article: Man's face infested by larvae

Daniel Whelan and his son Andrew were spending their Saturday as usual, walking around Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, with their metal detector, when the device's beep led to an incredible… Read the rest of the article: Metal detector users discover Viking treasure

Every so often, an authentic Enigma machine, turns up on eBay. The Enigma machine, introduced in 1923 by the Chiffriermaschinen Aktien-Gesellschaft (Cipher Machines Stock Corporation), was used by the Germans… Read the rest of the article: Enigma machine on eBay

Salon has a profile of "wizard rock" bands, musicians inspired by Harry Potter. BB pal Vann Hall asks, "Are these the grandkids of Hawkwind?" From Salon: "We're the Hungarian Horntails!… Read the rest of the article: Harry Potter wizard rock

Developed in the 1940s, Stratovision was a system to rebroadcast TV and FM radio signals via transmitters mounted on airplanes. Westinghouse radar engineer Charles E. Nobles invented the technology to… Read the rest of the article: Stratovision: TV transmitters in flight

The White Stripes completed a tour of every Canadian province and territory they'd never played before. The last gig was in St. John's, Newfoundland and it was a short one.… Read the rest of the article: Video: White Stripes play one second show

One of the most hazardous adversaries faced by astronauts, spacecraft, and satellites are so-called "killer electrons." The supercharged electrons may burst with 1,000 times more energy than a dental X-ray,… Read the rest of the article: Killer electrons in space

Prankster artist Mark Jenkins, creator of the infamous tape babies and lollipop parking meters, recently placed a dummy in a Brazil cafeteria, positioning her face-down in her food. Then Mark… Read the rest of the article: Mark Jenkins: cafeteria prank

For the next month, Imaginary Foundation, the surrealist design/art/culture thinktank and clothier, will exhibit a new collection of paintings and sculpture at the Stussy San Francisco store. The opening reception… Read the rest of the article: Imaginary Foundation show at Stussy San Francisco

This beautiful sign, erected in 1957 at Felix Chevrolet in Los Angeles, was declared a historic-cultural monument on Thursday. (Photo from Tejana's Flickr stream.) Antonio Villaraigosa and downtown-area City Councilwoman… Read the rest of the article: Historic landmark: Felix Chevrolet sign

If Jesus built your hot rod, or rather low-rider, it might have wheels like these. From Kid Deuce's Flickr stream of a car show this weekend in Hawthorne, California. Link… Read the rest of the article: Jesus wheels