Wednesday links

June 6 is the 75th anniversary of D-Day: quotes (Shakespeare, Eisenhower, Churchill), videos (footage, FDR's and Reagan's speeches, a Lego re-enactment), lots of links.

‘Botanical Sexism’ Could Be Behind Your Seasonal Allergies: Male trees dominate city plantings, and "they’re indiscriminate, spewing their gametes in every direction."

When Cyclists Made Up an Entire Political Bloc.

Earlier this week was the anniversary of the evacuation of Dunkirk by a flotilla of small boats.- the inspiration for Churchill's "We shall fight on the beaches...we shall never surrender" speech.

Design Regulations Helped Ruin American Cars. Related: A Design Engineer Explains Exactly Why Your Car Is So Boring

Well, that's handy, I guess: Butterflies Have an Extra Stomach Attached to Their Vaginas.

ICYMI, most recent links are here, and include the 1453 fall of Constantinople, differences between moths and butterflies, weight loss via tequila drinking, determining whether snails fart, and Kurt Vonnegut's letter home after imprisonment in an underground slaughterhouse (Slaughterhouse Five) during the Dresden bombing.

Tuesday links

100 years ago today - On January 15, 1919: Boston's 2.3 million gallon molasses flood killed 21 people.

Check out this Bonsai Forest.

For Harry Potter fans - Here's How Much it Would Cost to Build Hogwarts in Real Life.

How do trees survive winter?

A Short History of Showering.

This is what Ancient Egyptian homework looked like.

ICYMI, Monday's links are here, and include the Feast of the Ass, a quickie diet advice from 1595, why moths are attracted to light, an embroidered computer, and how early filmmakers produced snow-like effects.

How do trees survive winter?

Trees go through a process similar to hibernation called dormancy, and that's what keeps them alive during the winter. Dormancy is like hibernation in that everything within the plant slows down. Metabolism, energy consumption, growth and so on. The first part of dormancy is when trees lose their leaves.

Dormancy is like hibernation in that everything within the plant slows down. Metabolism, energy consumption, growth and so on. The first part of dormancy is when trees lose their leaves. They don't make food in the winter, so they have no use for masses of leaves that would require energy to maintain.

This brief video explains it well:

More at The Guardian.

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.

Friday links

From 1930, Information Tests To Try On Your Children.

Gallery - the living root bridges of India.

The Science Behind Senior Moments. It's because your brain gets full.

Gift for the person who has everything - this UFO Detector (check the reviews).

The Mathematical Genius of Auto-Tune.

The bigger your brain, the longer you yawn.

ICYMI, Wednesday's links are here, and include maps showing how the continents would look if you could see gravity, how each of the state capitals got their names,  Stalin's body double, and a collection of vintage ads you would never see today.

Thursday links

Today is the anniversary of the death of Genghis Khan: founder of Mongolian Empire, prolific spreader of DNA, and climate change hero.

Eric Clapton Goes Fishing and Lands the Biggest Salmon of the Summer.

Do trees communicate with each other?

Is it Better to Walk or Run in the Rain?

Why doesn’t the driver get carsick?

This Is What Happens When A Fly Lands On Your Food.

ICYMI, Wednesday's links are here, and include what happens when your Roomba runs over dog poop, what happened in the seconds, hours and weeks after the dinosaur-killing asteroid, Schrödinger's cat explanation, jokes, and videos, and a brief history of athletes drinking their own urine. and a visual history of the human pyramid.

Friday links

On This Day in 1964, Democrats Filibustered the Civil Rights Act. Related - 1920's KKK application form.

Well, that's handy, I guess: Butterflies Have an Extra Stomach Attached to Their Vaginas.

The Drive-Through Trees Of California.

Shakespeare Was a Tax Evader and a Shrewd Businessman.

England vs Great Britain vs United Kingdom Explained.

ICYMI, Wednesday's links are here, and include a set of poorly translated English language T-shirts spotted in Asian countries, history's worst waiter, urban and wilderness survival hacks, air conditioning history, and the 100 day delivery process from the east to west coast before trains.