Thursday links

It's William Shatner's birthday: here he is in 1978 'singing' Rocket Man, plus a Star Trek/Monty Python mashup.

Sold: Isaac Newton’s Notes on the Philosopher’s Stone. It was a long time before anyone admitted that he was interested in alchemy.

High-tech forgery: Computer-generated 'Rembrandt' painting unveiled.

"Nub City" - the Florida town where people cut off their appendages for insurance money.

Middle School Reading Lists 100 Years Ago vs. Today. Related: Check out this test for eighth graders in Kentucky dated 1912.

Moldy beer and pungent salt beef: a 17th c. sailor’s diet

ICYMI, Tuesday's links are here, and include science and myths of the vernal equinox, Silicon Valley billionaires prepping for the apocalypse in New Zealand, a message written by cows that could be seen from space (the message, not the cows), and a TED video classic from 2005: How To Tie Your Shoes.

Friday links

Free-market economist Milton Friedman's birthday is this weekend: some favorite quotes and short videos. And Beatrix Potter's birthday was yesterday: in addition to Peter Rabbit et al, she produced some gorgeous botanical drawings.

Ready for a career change? The Smithsonian is Looking for a Beer Historian.

Scientists think cockroach milk could be the superfood of the future.

Check out this test for eighth graders in Kentucky dated 1912.

Extreme Alpine Soccer Is Played on Impossible Slopes.

What Is American Cheese, Anyway?

ICYMI, Tuesday's links are here, and include toasters of the 1920s, the coldest places on earth. how a grizzly bear ended up on California's flag, Aldous Huxley's birthday, and an excellent photoessay of animals at war during World War I.

Monday links

You Can Now Have Your Tattoos Framed After You Die.

For my fellow grammar Nazis: Scenes From The Unproduced Screenplay: ‘Strunk & White: Grammar Police’.

Interactive chart showing how many years you probably have left to live.

The story behind Monty Python's 'Dead Parrot Sketch', with bonus Maggie Thatcher.

I had to walk miles uphill (in both directions) in my bare feet in several feet of snow, but these kids have it worse: 25 Of The Most Dangerous And Unusual Journeys To School In The World.

McDonald's Straws Are Designed to Mimic the Experience of Breastfeeding.

ICYMI, Friday's links are here, and include a lesson in correlation is not causation: charts of weird things that correlate with each other, the world's oldest beer recipe (from Sumeria, 1800 B.C.), a chicken that lived for 18 months without a head, and supercuts of everyone killed by Superman and Batman.