Wednesday links

Excellent site for DIY intelligent women's costumes.

Home invasion, Canadian style: RCMP reminds Nova Scotians to lock their doors after pair enter stranger's home, clean it. 

The Lighthouse That Wrecked More Ships Than it Saved.

This Chart Explains the Chemicals That Give Autumn Leaves Their Different Colors.

A self-cleaning house.

Lessons from the Sioux in How to Turn a Boy Into a Man.

ICYMI, Friday's links are here, and include Trafalgar Day, Oktoberfest history, an 1880-era costume guide, how birds avoid crashing into each other in mid-air, and the history of Uranus jokes.

Monday links

Happy Birthday, Rita Hayworth: this excellent compilation of her dancing, set to Stayin' Alive, will brighten your day.

How to Track a Human.

Arsenic Pills and Lead Foundation: The History of Toxic Makeup.

Dave Barry's Halloween column from 1996: Night Of The Living Chocolate. And, from 1873: How to Make a Turnip Jack-o-Lantern, plus The Oracle of the Nuts.

Ships vs. Big Waves.

Sorry Kids, the 5-Second Rule is Bunk.

ICYMI, Friday's links are here, and include a coffee-beer hybrid, the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings, making raisins before seedless grapes, and where the Nazis hung out in occupied Paris.

Wednesday links

Video compilation of Small Dogs vs. Big Couches.

Why You Never Heard About the Largest Disaster in Maritime History.

The Dazzling Physics of Peacock Feathers.

In addition to International Respect for Chickens Day, May the Fourth (be with you) is also Star Wars Day. Here's a nice collection of Star Wars propaganda posters and a bit of trivia - per StarWars.com, one of the earliest known records of “May the 4th” used in popular culture is in 1979:

“Margaret Thatcher has won the election and become Britain’s first woman prime minister. To celebrate their victory her party took a half page of advertising space in the London Evening News. This message, referring to the day of victory, was ‘May the Fourth Be With You, Maggie. Congratulations."

In 1940, before the U.S. entered WWII, an American citizen offered a $1 million bounty on Hitler.

Your Devices' Latest Feature? They Can Spy On Your Every Move.

ICYMI, Tuesday's links are here, and include the politics of the Louisiana Purchase, how spacecraft dashboards evolved, a 1909 scheme to whiten the Hawaiian populace by importing Siberian workers, and a video of Kung Fu physics brought to life by motion capture.

A massive, abandoned freighter is drifting towards the French coast and will run aground today or tomorrow

via International Business Times:

The Panama registered – now abandoned ship – Modern Express is headed for the French coast, France's Marine Nationale reported. Authorities have been attempting to right the vessel before it runs aground, but have not been successful due to bad weather conditions.

The vessel started keeling on January 26 and the 22 crew members were immediately airlifted by Spanish rescue helicopters. The ship continued to drift through the Bay of Biscay and is nearing the resort town of Arcachon in France. It is predicted to run aground between February 1 and 2 in the Landes administrative department near Arcachon.

...

Modern Express was transporting 3,600 tonnes of wood along with construction machinery from Gabon to France. The carrier holds 300 tonnes of diesel but according to a report by the Maritime Prefect, the fuel is currently secure and there have been no signs of a leak.

Maritime officials believe the vessel may have tilted to one side after cargo stored on it moved due to rough weather conditions.

Gallery of Photos From Inside The Wreckage Of The Costa Concordia Cruise Ship

Remember the disastrous wreck of the Costa Concordia (wiki) in January, 2012 off the coast of Isola del Giglio in Italy?

The wreckage was left to rot in Genoa, and incredibly German photographer Jonathan Danko Kielkowski found it unguarded and totally open for exploration when he arrived to snap some pics for his book Concordia. The German photographer swam out to where the ship – which ran aground off Tuscany in 2012 with the loss of 32 lives – is moored.

“Against all odds, I find the shipwreck freely accessible – neither fences nor security personnel. Rather, the doors are open, lights are turned on, no man can be seen”.

More and larger photos available here.

h/t Neatorama