Friday links

Why Do We Sleep Under Blankets, Even on the Hottest Nights? Related - air conditioning: invention, historical reactions, the days before air-conditioning.

Now you can buy cough-drop flavored Kit Kats in Japan.

Why Nature Prefers Hexagons: the geometric rules behind fly eyes, honeycombs, and soap bubbles.

Extremely cool wind-propelled sculptures.

In 1943, a farmer's cornfield suddenly sprouted a 1,300-foot volcano.

The Background Paintings of Scooby Doo Are Delightfully Creepy and Rather Beautiful.

ICYMI, Thursday's links are here, and include St. Bartholomew's Day, the sisters with 37 feet of hair, women's fashion in every year from 1784-1970, and the anniversary of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and destruction of Pompeii in A.D. 79.

Thursday links

It's St. Bartholomew's Day - some history (including the massacre), a brief documentary, and Monty Python.

Women's fashion in every year from 1784-1970.

The Amazing Sutherland Sisters And Their 37 Feet Of Hair.

August 24 is the anniversary of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and destruction of Pompeii in A.D. 79.

Movie Roles That Were Only Ever Offered To One Actor.

The Stanford Professor Who Fought the Tax Lobby.

ICYMI. Wednesday's links are here, and include some of the dumbest inventions of the 20th Century, Gene Kelly's birthday, NASA's plan to save the earth from a supervolcano, and a 1957 film on how grocery stores work.

Extremely cool - wind-propelled sculptures

From Theo Jansen's Strandbeest Webshop, set to "Spartacus Ballet Suite No. 2: Adagio" by Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Yuri Temirkanov/John Fraser. Miniature Strandbeest kits are available on Amazon - see Mythbusters' Adam Savage putting one together below.

Wednesday links

It's Gene Kelly's birthday: here the famous "Singin' In The Rain" dance.

15 of the Dumbest Inventions in the 20th Century.

Photos of Victorian living rooms from the 1800s.

This 1957 film on how grocery stores work is a hoot.

NASA's ambitious plan to save Earth from a supervolcano.

Gallery: the Topiary Trees of San Francisco.

ICYMI, Monday's links are here, and include a latitude/longitude digits explainer, ranking sci-fi spacesuits, a Navy SEAL explains what to do if you're attacked by a dog, and the weird journey of Dorothy Parker's ashes.

This 1957 film on how grocery stores work is a hoot

The joys of shopping at a new-fangled supermarket in 1957: If you’re a baby boomer who went grocery shopping with Mom back when you were a young whippersnapper, this will bring back memories. Watch all the way to the end to see how much an this mother paid for a shopping cart full of groceries in 1957 - the total is at 10:40 if you don't have the patience to sit through the whole shopping trip.

Monday links

Updated links and resources for the eclipse.

Latitude/longitude digits explainer: The 5th decimal place is worth up to 1.1 meters: it distinguishes trees from each other.

A Navy SEAL explains what to do if you're attacked by a dog.

It's Dorothy Parker's birthday: quotes, poems, a brief bio, and the weird journey of her ashes.

18 Science Fiction Spacesuits, Ranked. They may look cool, but how safe and usable would they be in real life?

A digital archive of Soviet children’s books 1917-1953.

ICYMI, Friday's links are here, and include hundred year old fruitcake, all about Genghis Khan, the invention of the Illuminati conspiracy, and gin infused with vintage Harley-Davidson parts.