Wednesday links

It's Fred Astaire's birthday - here are clips of some of his best dancing.

Evolution or entropy? Why Doesn’t Ancient Fiction Talk About Feelings?

Ten-Year-Old Girl Survives Alligator Attack by Punching It, Shoving Fingers into Its Nostrils.

Thomas Sowell - The Greed Fallacy.

Life After Football — The Surprising New Second Careers of Former Players.

How to Digitize a 357-Year-Old Atlas That’s Nearly 6 Feet Tall.

ICYMI, Friday's links are here, and include Nazi board games, colorized x-ray photos of plants and animals, Cinco de Mayo, and the story of the song Take Me Out to the Ball Game.

It's Fred Astaire's birthday - here are clips of some of his best dancing

Today is the anniversary of the birth of the legendary American dancer extraordinaire, Fred Astaire (wiki) (1899-1987), in Omaha, Nebraska. Born Fred Austerlitz, Astaire made his vaudeville debut with his sister, Adele, at the age of five; by the 1920s, they were dancing on Broadway and in London.*

After Adele's marriage in 1932, his search for a new partner led him to Hollywood, where he teamed up with Ginger Rogers for ten classic song-and-dance films, including Top Hat (1935) and Shall We Dance? (1937). Cool, sophisticated, and rakishly elegant, Astaire gave the illusion of effortless ease to the most technically exacting routines, notably with subsequent partners like Cyd Charisse (in Band Wagon, 1953).  His remarkable potential was not always obvious - early in his Hollywood career, a casting director (who must have been drunk) famously wrote, 

“Balding. Can’t act. Can dance a little.”

Astaire fundamentally changed the way dance was portrayed on film. Utilizing extended takes, Astaire, whether solo or with a partner, performed uninterrupted, intricate dance sequences that kept audiences captivated for decades.

Top Hat (1935):

Swing Time (1936):

Too Hot To Handle:

Related: 

Here's an excellent compilation of Rita Hayworth dancing (much of the time with Astaire), set to Stayin' Alive:

*Fred and Adele:

Tuesday links

Where Dead Whales Go To Live: Smithsonian Whale Warehouse.

Amish Commerce: Costco in Lancaster, PA has stalls reserved for horse and buggy parking.

8 Countries With Fascinating Baby Naming Laws.

It's Fred Astaire's birthday: here are a few clips of his best dance scenes.

How Common Is Your Birthday? Consult This Chart And Find Out.

Gallery: Scary Faces of Olympic Divers.

ICYMI, Monday's links are here, and include the 2016 Audubon Photography Awards winners, why the Army needs foam goat heads, and the physics of using a magnifying glass and moonlight to light a fire.